Computational biologists designed and produced two novel proteins that strongly bind to a crucial flu protein that enables the virus to enter cells. The new creations, built with the help of more than 200,000 personal computers around the world, may one day serve as effective antiviral therapies, according to a study published today (May 12) in __Science__.
"This study is remarkable," said linkurl:John Karanicolas,;http://www.bioinformatics.ku.edu/people/karanicolas a University of Kansas computational biologist who did not contribute to the research. "This is a method which in the long run may absolutely be a useful complement to antibody technology both for diagnostics and therapeutics."To design proteins to interact with a desired target, such as a pathogen's protein, researchers can scan extensive libraries of protein structures in search of a few that roughly complement the target molecule, then...
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yellow) with design protein bound (green) Image courtesy of David Baker |
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proteins bound to hemagglutinin Image courtesy of David Baker |
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