Autotransporter folding: insights advancing recombinant protein production

想象一下，在一个世界里，任何蛋白质都可以用一个生产平台来生产。这个项目旨在通过重新设计自动转运蛋白来实现这一点，自动转运蛋白是一大类细菌毒力因子，具有模块化结构，使它们易于合理设计。该项目计划使用生化、生物物理和结构方法来检查融合到靶向异源蛋白质的自体转运体和重新设计的衍生物的结构和折叠行为。预计该项目将为决定自动转运蛋白折叠和稳定性的因素提供基本的见解，这可能会促进重组蛋白的生产，并推动发现防止自动转运蛋白介导的感染的策略。

Imagine a world in which any protein could be produced using a single production platform. This project aims to make this a reality by reengineering autotransporters, a large family of bacterial virulence factors with a modular structure that makes them amenable to rational design. The project plans to examine the structures and folding behaviour of autotransporters and reengineered derivatives fused to target heterologous proteins using biochemical, biophysical, and structural methods. It is expected that this project will provide fundamental insights into factors that dictate autotransporter folding and stability, which may enhance recombinant protein production and drive discovery of strategies to prevent autotransporter-mediated infection.