Designing Stable Structures of Leishmania major Small Hydrophilic Endoplasmic Reticulum associated Protein (SHERP): templates for Antibody Production and Rational Drug Design

Doctor Robert William Janes (primary)
School of Biological and Chemical Sciences
Queen Mary University of London
Professor Bonnie Ann Wallace (secondary)
Biological Sciences
Birkbeck University of London

Abstract

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are associated with many disease states caused by parasites. Many key IDPs such as Small Hydrophilic Endoplasmic Reticulum-associated Protein (SHERP) from the parasite Leishmania major, adopt their active (folded) structure only when binding to their site of action in the host organism. The folded structure, though fleetingly in existence, is the potential target for the development both of antibodies and for rational drug design (RDD). The project aims are to generate a stable active SHERP structure for use as a template either for creating antibodies for potential vaccines, or for RDD of SHERP inhibitors in situ.


References

Doehl JSP, Sádlová J, Aslan H, Pružinová K, Metangmo S, et al. (2017) Leishmania HASP and SHERP Genes Are Required for In Vivo Differentiation, Parasite Transmission and Virulence Attenuation in the Host. PLOS Pathogens 13(1): e1006130.

Moore, B. Miles, A.J., Guerra, C.G., Simpson, P., Iwata, M., Wallace, B.A., Matthews, S.J., Smith, D.F., and Brown, K.A. (2010) Structural Basis of Molecular Recognition by SHERP at Membrane Surfaces. J. Biol. Chem. 286:9246-9256.

Drew, E, Jones, D., Wallace, B.A. (2018) Protein Design for Decreased Disorder. SHERP as an Exemplar Protein Biophysical Journal 110: 555a.


BBSRC Area
Molecules, cells and industrial biotechnology
Area of Biology
BiotechnologyStructural Biology
Techniques & Approaches
BiochemistryBioinformaticsBiophysicsChemistryMolecular BiologySimulation / Modelling