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生产出来。这个项目的目标是通过重新设计自动转运体来实现这一目标，自动转运体是一大家族的细菌毒力因子，具有模块化的结构，使它们能够适应合理的设计。该项目计划使用生物化学、生物物理和结构方法来检查自动转运蛋白的结构和折叠行为，以及融合到靶异源蛋白的重组衍生物。预计该项目将为决定自体转运蛋白折叠和稳定性的因素提供基本见解，这可能会提高重组蛋白的生产，并推动发现预防自体转运蛋白介导感染的策略。

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.