A.Medina-Morales
et al.
(2013).
In vitro and cellular self-assembly of a Zn-binding protein cryptand via templated disulfide bonds.
J Am Chem Soc,
135,
12013-12022.
PubMed id: 23905754
DOI: 10.1021/ja405318d
Simultaneously strong and reversible through redox chemistry, disulfide bonds
play a unique and often irreplaceable role in the formation of biological and
synthetic assemblies. In an approach inspired by supramolecular chemistry, we
report here that engineered noncovalent interactions on the surface of a
monomeric protein can template its assembly into a unique cryptand-like protein
complex ((C81/C96)RIDC14) by guiding the selective formation of multiple
disulfide bonds across different interfaces. Owing to its highly interconnected
framework, (C81/C96)RIDC14 is well preorganized for metal coordination in its
interior, can support a large internal cavity surrounding the metal sites, and
can withstand significant alterations in inner-sphere metal coordination.
(C81/C96)RIDC14 self-assembles with high fidelity and yield in the periplasmic
space of E. coli cells, where it can successfully compete for Zn(II) binding.