Curvature-Sensing Peptides for Virus and Extracellular Vesicle Applications

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Molecular Biology
• Protein Engineering

Background:

• Membrane curvature is crucial for biological processes.
• Proteins with curvature-sensing motifs can target enveloped viruses and extracellular vesicles (EVs).
• A need exists to categorize these motifs for tailored peptide design.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce membrane curvature sensing as a unifying principle.
• Develop a classification framework for curvature-sensing motifs.
• Guide peptide engineering for targeting viruses and EVs.

Main Methods:

• Critically evaluate structural and mechanistic features of motifs.
• Utilize experimental, theoretical, and simulation approaches.
• Employ machine learning-aided thermodynamic modeling.

Main Results:

• A four-type classification framework for curvature-sensing motifs was developed.
• The framework spans membrane binding and disruption.
• Recent advances in peptide engineering for diagnostics and therapies were analyzed.

Conclusions:

• Curvature-sensing peptide engineering offers potential for diagnostics and therapies.
• Design parameters like amino acid composition and dynamics influence performance.
• Future directions and translational opportunities were proposed.