Proteins are considered the construction material for the human body. However, its functions are much broader. Thousands of proteins are responsible for chemical reactions and vital processes that happen in our body thanks to their unique structure. The secret properties of proteins are in the sights of researchers.
It is explained by the bioinformatic Dmitri Ivankov. «Practically, all work in living organisms are done [las proteínas]». This was stressed by the specialist and professor of the Skólkovo Institute of Science and Technology.
Multiproposites
Specifically, the objective of proteins is to interact with other atomic and molecular formations. They often do it with nucleic acids, Ivankov detailed. The human organism has about 20,000 genes that encode the same amount of protein types. Therefore, each of these small “workers” exercises their own function determined in the body.
«If we do an analogy with a factory, this [equivale a] 20,000 trades, ”he explained. The protein is formed by amino acid particles that bind to each other. They form long chains called sequences. They have protein capacity to transform into a three -dimensional structure that has a rigid shape. It is a key element for this chemical to perform its work.
According to Ivankov, «the amino acid sequence determines the structure of a protein. And the structure determines its function ». What would happen if there were a computer program that allowed you to create this chain of amino acids based on the desired protein functions? It would be possible to generate the necessary protein in the laboratory. “It is a perspective for the future,” he described.
Replicating proteins
Research in this area is called »computerized protein design». It began by looking for the ways to “predict” how the stability of a protein will change if a single unit of its sequence is replaced. That is, an amino acid. To this day, a method capable of predicting what will happen in case of such structural amendments has not yet been invented.
The secret properties of proteins could be replicated very soon. However, there are some digital programs that allow calculating the variability of amino acid sequences. They have not yet reached the required levels of accuracy. «It turns out that they show a correlation with experimental data at the level from 35% to 60%, but it is too low. Only with an accuracy of 90% we can say that the problem has been solved, ”he explained.
