1
Return

Total synthesis and structural characterization of a novel protein scaffold from the snail Biomphalaria glabrata

delete2026-08-11
delete0
delete
OA
AI
O
Oleg Melnyk
S
Stéphanie Caby
A
Armelle Vigouroux
C
Christine Demanche
R
Rémi Desmet
M
Magalie Sénéchal
B
Benoît Snella
A
Alexandra Mougel
C
Céline Boidin‐Wichlacz
A
Aurélie Parmentier
U
Ugo Pasco
S
Sonia Cantel
S
S. Moréra *
J
Jérôme Vicogne *
DOI:10.1002/pro.70745delete
deleteOriginal
deleteShare
deleteSave
View PDF
Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Disulfide-rich miniproteins constitute compact and highly stable scaffolds of growing interest for molecular and structural engineering. Schistosomins are ~80-residue proteins conserved across gastropods that form a long-standing orphan family whose structure and biological roles have remained unknown. Here, we report the total chemical synthesis and structural characterization of a schistosomin isoform from Biomphalaria glabrata, a medically relevant intermediate host of the parasite Schistosoma mansoni. Using state-of-the-art solid-phase peptide synthesis, chemoselective peptide ligation, and controlled oxidative folding, we obtained homogeneous, well-folded schistosomin suitable for biophysical and structural studies. High-resolution X-ray crystallography reveals a previously undescribed disulfide-rich fold defining a new class of miniprotein scaffold. Nano differential scanning fluorimetry and circular dichroism experiments demonstrate the remarkable thermal stability of this scaffold. Complementary in silico analyses suggest that the two naturally occurring isoforms, which differ by a single residue, exhibit highly similar structural and dynamic properties. Finally, transcript and protein analyses across snail tissues provide the first spatial expression map of schistosomin in a medically relevant mollusk. Together, this work establishes schistosomin as a novel and robust miniprotein scaffold and provides a structural and biological framework for exploring its function and potential applications.
Keywords:
Biomphalaria glabrata
chemical protein synthesis
disulfide-rich proteins
miniprotein scaffold
molecular dynamics simulations
schistosomin
X-ray crystallography
AI Summary

AI Summary

Key information extracted from the uploaded paper, including a brief overview, abstract, background, key highlights, visual analysis, and future outlook.

Journal

Protein Science cover
Protein Science
IF:
5.2
Papers:
729
Citations:
2.2W

Organization

U
univ. montpellier
Scholars:
1.9K
Papers: 883
Citations: 4
U
université paris-saclay and cea and cnrs
Scholars:
47
Papers: 12
Citations: 0
Cited Papers

Cited Papers

Citing Papers

Citing Papers