Design of a symmetry-broken tetrahedral protein cage by a method of internal steric occlusion.

ABSTRACT: Methods in protein design have made it possible to create large and complex, self-assembling protein cages with diverse applications. These have largely been based on highly symmetric forms exemplified by the Platonic solids. Prospective applications of protein cages would be expanded by strategies for breaking the designed symmetry, e.g., so that only one or a few (instead of many) copies of an exterior domain or motif might be displayed on their surfaces. Here we demonstrate a straightforward design approach for creating symmetry-broken protein cages able to display singular copies of outward-facing domains. We modify the subunit of an otherwise symmetric protein cage through fusion to a small inward-facing domain, only one copy of which can be accommodated in the cage interior. U

SUBMITTER: Gladkov N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10659388 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature