Ferritin Cage Enzyme Encapsulation as a New Platform for Nanotechnology
Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD
In bionanotechnology, biological systems such as viruses, protein complexes, lipid vesicles and artificial cells, are being developed for applications in medicine and materials science. However, the paper published by Stephan Tetter and Donald Hilvert in Angewandte Chemie International Edition show that it is possible to encapsulate proteins such as ferritin by manipulating electrostatic interactions with the negatively charged interior of the cage.The primary role of ferritin is to protect cells from the damage caused by the Fenton reaction; where, in oxidizing conditions, free Fe(II) produces harmful reactive oxygen species that can damage the cellular machinery.
The ferritin family proteins are protein nanocages that evolved to safely store iron in an oxidizing world. Since ferritin family proteins are able to mineralize and store metal ions, they have been the focus of much research for the production of metal nanoparticles and as prototypes for semiconductor production. The ferritin cage itself is highly symmetrical, and is made up of 24 subunits arranged in an octahedral symmetry. Ferritins are smaller than other protein used for protein encapsulation. Their outer diameter is only 12 nm, whereas engineered lumazine synthase variants form cages with diameters ranging from about 20 to 60 nm.The ferritin cage displays remarkable thermal and chemical stability it is likely to modify the surface of the ferritin cage through the addition of peptide and protein tags. These characteristics have made ferritins attractive vectors for the delivery of drug molecules and as scaffolds for vaccine design.
In summary, the paper published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition is the first example of protein incorporation by a ferritin. Dr. Donald Hilvert and colleagues have shown that AfFtn not only complexes positively charged guest proteins within its naturally negatively charged luminal cavity, but that the in vitro mixing technique can be extended to the encapsulation and protection of other functional fusion proteins.
Hence, the recent discovery of encapsulated ferritins has identified an exciting new platform for use in bio nanotechnology. The use of synthetic biology tools will allow their rapid implementation in materials science, bio-nanotechnology and medical applications.
SOURCE
https://www.readbyqxmd.com/read/28902449/enzyme-encapsulation-by-a-ferritin-cage
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