Science. 2011 Oct 21; 334(6054):373-6.

PubMed ID: 22021856

Computation-guided backbone grafting of a discontinuous motif onto a protein scaffold

Azoitei ML, Correia BE, Ban YE, Carrico C, Kalyuzhniy O, Chen L, Schroeter A, Huang PS, McLellan JS, Kwong PD, Baker D, Strong RK, Schief WR

The manipulation of protein backbone structure to control interaction and function is a challenge for protein engineering. We integrated computational design with experimental selection for grafting the backbone and side chains of a two-segment HIV gp120 epitope, targeted by the cross-neutralizing antibody b12, onto an unrelated scaffold protein. The final scaffolds bound b12 with high specificity and with affinity similar to that of gp120, and crystallographic analysis of a scaffold bound to b12 revealed high structural mimicry of the gp120-b12 complex structure. The method can be generalized to design other functional proteins through backbone grafting.