Synthesis and semisynthesis of selenopeptides and selenoproteins.

Synthesis and semisynthesis of selenopeptides and selenoproteins. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2018 Apr 30;46:41-47 Authors: Liu J, Cheng R, Rozovsky S Abstract The versatile chemistry of the genetically encoded amino acid selenocysteine (Sec) is employed in Nature to expand the reactivity of enzymes. In addition to, its role in biology, Sec is used in protein engineering to modify folding, stability, and reactivity of proteins, to introduce conjugations and to facilitate reactions. However, due to limitations related to Sec's insertion mechanism in Nature, much of the production of Sec containing peptides and proteins relies on synthesis and semisynthesis. Here, we review recent advances that have enabled the assembly of complicated selenoproteins, including novel uses of protecting groups for solid phase peptide synthesis, rapid selenoester driven chemical ligations and versatile expressed protein ligations. PMID: 29723718 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Opinion in Chemical Biology - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: Curr Opin Chem Biol Source Type: research