Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 25, 2026

Synthesis of an Intein-mediated Artificial Protein Hydrogel
Published on: January 27, 2014
Precisely Designed Isopeptide Bridge-Crosslinking Endows Artificial Hydrolases with High Stability and Catalytic
Yu Bai1,2, Chao Wang1, Guodong Liang1
1State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing, 100850, China.
Abstract:
Enzymes normally lose their activities under extreme conditions due to the dissociation of their active tertiary structure. If an enzyme could maintain its catalytic activity under non-physiological or denaturing conditions, it might be used in more applications in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Recently, we reported a coiled-coil six-helical bundle (6HB) structure as a scaffold for designing artificial hydrolytic enzymes. Here, intermolecular isopeptide bonds were incorporated to enhance the stability and activity of such biomolecules under denaturing conditions. These isopeptide bridge-tethered 6HB enzymes showed exceptional stability against unfolding and retained or even had increased catalytic activity for a model hydrolysis reaction under thermal and chemical denaturing conditions. Thus, isopeptide bond-tethering represents an efficient route to construct ultrastable artificial hydrolases, with promising potential to maintain biocatalysis under extreme conditions.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Lysosomal Hydrolases
Introduction to Mechanisms of Enzyme Catalysis
Catalytically Perfect Enzymes
Most enzymes...
Enzymes
Enzyme deficiencies can often translate into life-threatening diseases. For example, a genetic abnormality resulting in the deficiency of the enzyme G6PD...
Peptide Bonds
The Proteasome Structure
The proteasome is an...

