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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology
Role Of Protein Charge Density On Hepatitis B Virus Capsid Formation, Xinyu Sun, Dong Li, Zhaoshuai Wang, Panchao Yin, Rundong Hu, Rundong Hu, Hui Li, Qiao Liu, Yunyi Gao, Baiping Ren, Jie Zheng, Yinan Wei, Tianbo Liu
Role Of Protein Charge Density On Hepatitis B Virus Capsid Formation, Xinyu Sun, Dong Li, Zhaoshuai Wang, Panchao Yin, Rundong Hu, Rundong Hu, Hui Li, Qiao Liu, Yunyi Gao, Baiping Ren, Jie Zheng, Yinan Wei, Tianbo Liu
Chemistry Faculty Publications
The role of electrostatic interactions in the viral capsid assembly process was studied by comparing the assembly process of a truncated hepatitis B virus capsid protein Cp149 with its mutant protein D2N/D4N, which has the same conformational structure but four fewer charges per dimer. The capsid protein self-assembly was investigated under a wide range of protein surface charge densities by changing the protein concentration, buffer pH, and solution ionic strength. Lowering the protein charge density favored the capsid formation. However, lowering charge beyond a certain point resulted in capsid aggregation and precipitation. Interestingly, both the wild-type and D2N/D4N mutant displayed …
Computational Design Of The Affinity And Specificity Of A Therapeutic T Cell Receptor, Brian G. Pierce, Lance M. Hellman, Moushumi Hossain, Nishant K. Singh, Craig W. Vander Kooi, Zhiping Weng, Brian M. Baker
Computational Design Of The Affinity And Specificity Of A Therapeutic T Cell Receptor, Brian G. Pierce, Lance M. Hellman, Moushumi Hossain, Nishant K. Singh, Craig W. Vander Kooi, Zhiping Weng, Brian M. Baker
Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications
T cell receptors (TCRs) are key to antigen-specific immunity and are increasingly being explored as therapeutics, most visibly in cancer immunotherapy. As TCRs typically possess only low-to-moderate affinity for their peptide/MHC (pMHC) ligands, there is a recognized need to develop affinity-enhanced TCR variants. Previous in vitro engineering efforts have yielded remarkable improvements in TCR affinity, yet concerns exist about the maintenance of peptide specificity and the biological impacts of ultra-high affinity. As opposed to in vitro engineering, computational design can directly address these issues, in theory permitting the rational control of peptide specificity together with relatively controlled increments in affinity. …