Protein engineering Web alert

Abstract

Proteins are large biomolecules, or macromolecules, consisting of one or more long chains of amino acid residues. They are the most versatile macromolecules in all living systems and serve crucial functions in essentially all biological processes. The origin of diseases often lies in a complex network of biological interactions that need to be understood not only at a clinical level, but also at phenotypic and molecular levels. The dynamic processes of living organisms depend on the coordinated formation of such protein-protein interactions; for example, they occur during DNA replication, gene regulation, transcription and splicing of mRNA, protein synthesis and secretion, formation of intracellular structures and oligomeric enzymes, and in the many pathways associated with cell signaling. It is their interactions with one another and also with other molecules which mediate metabolic and signaling pathways, cellular processes. These protein interactions also control the mechanisms, leading to healthy and diseased states in organisms. An error in protein conformation or misfolding of protein can lead to disease. The synthetic proteins/peptides provide the advantage of high specificity and affinity of proteins, coupled with less production costs, lower toxicity, and the potential to permeate the cell. Proteins are synthesized either chemically, enzymatically, or recombinant technology. These proteins are purified and characterized to be of specific purity and structure.