Earlier this month, the Journal of Biological Chemistry published work done by biochemistry professor Shahir Rizk as part of team investigating ways to force proteins to adopt particular configurations. The two pictures shown above (click on image to enlarge) illustrate two different synthetic antibodies (blue) attaching themselves to the maltose-binding protein, MBP, (teal). Because the antibodies are different, they bind to MBP in different spots and affect MBP in different ways. On the left we see the antibody holding MBP in its closed state after it has captured a molecule of maltose (red), while on the right the antibody is holding MBP in its open state. Rizk continues to research interactions like this and has had many students help with this endeavor. Some of these students have been supported by summer SMART grants. Congratulations to Rizk and his colleagues on their publication. You can read the abstract and access the full paper from this link using a university computer.
