Researchers use AI to design proteins that cut up other proteins

Researchers, primarily from David Baker’s lab at the University of Washington, used AI-based protein design tools to replace most of two types of protease while preserving their catalytic cores. The resulting enzymes can be tuned to cut specific proteins, Ars Technica reports.

The tests demonstrated the ability to cut proteins associated with neurological diseases. The work explores two mechanisms: one uses zinc to activate a water molecule that breaks the peptide bond; the other uses the amino acid cysteine to attack the bond and form a temporary intermediate. Without a catalytic enzyme, a typical peptide bond can remain stable in water for hundreds of years.