A synthetic peptide ligase

Kay Severin, David H. Lee, Alan J. Kennan and M. Reza Ghadiri ()
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Kay Severin: The Scripps Research Institute
David H. Lee: The Scripps Research Institute
Alan J. Kennan: The Scripps Research Institute
M. Reza Ghadiri: The Scripps Research Institute

Nature, 1997, vol. 389, issue 6652, 706-709

Abstract: Abstract The preparation of synthetic molecules showing the remarkable efficiencies characteristic of natural biopolymer catalysts remains a formidable challenge for chemical biology. Although significant advances have been made in the understanding of protein structure and function, the de novo construction of such systems remains elusive1,2,3,4,5. Re-engineered natural enzymes and catalytic antibodies, possessing tailored binding pockets with appropriately positioned functional groups, have been successful in catalysing a number of chemical transformations, sometimes with impressive efficiencies6,7,8,9,10,11. But efforts to produce wholly synthetic catalytic peptides have typically resulted in compounds with questionable structural stability, let alone reactivity1. Here we describe a 33-residue synthetic peptide, based on the coiled-coil structural motif12,13,14, which efficiently catalyses the condensation of two shorter peptide fragments with high sequence- and diastereoselectivity. Depending on the substrates used, we observe rate enhancements of tenfold to 4,100-fold over the background, with catalytic efficiencies in excess of 104. These results augur well for the rational design of functional peptides.

Date: 1997
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DOI: 10.1038/39556

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