Shape-Morphing of an Artificial Protein Cage with Unusual Geometry Induced by a Single Amino Acid Change

Sharma, Mohit; Biela, Artur P.; Kowalczyk, Agnieszka; Borzęcka-Solarz, Kinga; Piette, Bernard M.A.G.; Gaweł, Szymon; Bishop, Joshua; Kukura, Philipp; Benesch, Justin L.P.; Imamura, Motonori; Scheuring, Simon; Heddle, Jonathan G.

doi:10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.2c00019

Shape-Morphing of an Artificial Protein Cage with Unusual Geometry Induced by a Single Amino Acid Change

Sharma, Mohit; Biela, Artur P.; Kowalczyk, Agnieszka; Borzęcka-Solarz, Kinga; Piette, Bernard M.A.G.; Gaweł, Szymon; Bishop, Joshua; Kukura, Philipp; Benesch, Justin L.P.; Imamura, Motonori; Scheuring, Simon; Heddle, Jonathan G.

Authors

Mohit Sharma

Artur P. Biela

Agnieszka Kowalczyk

Kinga Borzęcka-Solarz

Professor Bernard Piette b.m.a.g.piette@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Szymon Gaweł

Joshua Bishop

Philipp Kukura

Justin L.P. Benesch

Motonori Imamura

Simon Scheuring

Jonathan G. Heddle

Abstract

Artificial protein cages are constructed from multiple protein subunits. The interaction between the subunits, notably the angle formed between them, controls the geometry of the resulting cage. Here, using the artificial protein cage, “TRAP-cage”, we show that a simple alteration in the position of a single amino acid responsible for Au(I)-mediated subunit–subunit interactions in the constituent ring-shaped building blocks results in a more acute dihedral angle between them. In turn, this causes a dramatic shift in the structure from a 24-ring cage with an octahedral symmetry to a 20-ring cage with a C2 symmetry. This symmetry change is accompanied by a decrease in the number of Au(I)-mediated bonds between cysteines and a concomitant change in biophysical properties of the cage.

Citation

Sharma, M., Biela, A. P., Kowalczyk, A., Borzęcka-Solarz, K., Piette, B. M., Gaweł, S., …Heddle, J. G. (2022). Shape-Morphing of an Artificial Protein Cage with Unusual Geometry Induced by a Single Amino Acid Change. ACS Nanoscience Au, 2(5), 404-413. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.2c00019

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Apr 22, 2022
Online Publication Date	May 9, 2022
Publication Date	Oct 19, 2022
Deposit Date	May 27, 2022
Publicly Available Date	Dec 15, 2022
Journal	ACS Nanoscience Au
Electronic ISSN	2694-2496
Publisher	American Chemical Society
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	2
Issue	5
Pages	404-413
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.2c00019