A biomimetic electrostatic assistance for guiding and promoting N-terminal protein chemical modification

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34392-5
• Publication Date: 2022-11-05T06:02:40Z
• Authors: Nathalie Ollivier; Magalie Sénéchal; Rémi Desmet; Benoît Snella; Vangelis Agouridas; Oleg Melnyk
• Keywords: Biomolecule; Posttranslational modification; Chemical modification; Electrostatics; Static electricity

Abstract The modification of protein electrostatics by phosphorylation is a mechanism used cells to promote the association proteins with other biomolecules. In this work, we show that introducing negatively charged phosphoserines in reactant powerful means for directing and accelerating chemical equipped oppositely arginines. While extra amino acid residues induce no detectable affinity between reactants, they bring site-selectivity reaction otherwise devoid such property. They also enable rate accelerations four orders magnitude some cases, thereby permitting processes proceed at level low micromolar range, using reactions are normally too slow be useful dilute conditions.