Redesign of water networks for efficient biocatalysis.

Redesign of water networks for efficient biocatalysis. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2017 Mar 01;37:107-114 Authors: Fink MJ, Syrén PO Abstract Herein we highlight recent findings on the importance of water networks in proteins, and their redesign and reconfiguration as a new engineering strategy to generate enzymes with modulated binding affinity and improved catalytic versatility. Traditionally, enzyme engineering and drug design have focused on tailoring direct and favorable interactions between protein surfaces and ligands/transition states to achieve stronger binding, or an accelerated manufacturing of medicines, biofuels, fine chemicals and materials. In contrast, the opportunity to relocate water molecules in solvated binding pockets by protein design to improve overall energetics remains essentially unexplored, and fundamental understanding of the elusive processes involved is poor. Rewiring water networks in protein interiors impacts binding affinity, catalysis and the thermodynamic signature of biochemical processes through dynamic mechanisms, and thus has great potential to enhance binding specificity, accelerate catalysis and provide new reaction mechanisms and chemistry, that were not yet explored in nature. PMID: 28259084 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Opinion in Chemical Biology - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: Curr Opin Chem Biol Source Type: research