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Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Synthesis of an Intein-mediated Artificial Protein Hydrogel
Published on: January 27, 2014
Intein Zymogens: Conditional Assembly and Splicing of Split Inteins via Targeted Proteolysis
Josef A Gramespacher1, Adam J Stevens1, Duy P Nguyen2
1Frick Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Princeton University , Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
Abstract:
Naturally split inteins have found widespread use in chemical biology due to their ability to drive the ligation of separately expressed polypeptides through a process termed protein trans-splicing (PTS). In this study, we harness PTS by rendering association of split intein fragments conditional upon the presence of a user-defined protease. We show that these intein "zymogens" can be used to create protein sensors and actuators that respond to the presence of various stimuli, including bacterial pathogens, viral infections, and light. We also show that this design strategy is compatible with several orthogonal split intein pairs, thereby opening the way to the creation of multiplexed sensor systems.
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