Artificial intelligence designs sterilizing proteins from scratch, and the same method could be used to develop new drugs

Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids. Image source: New Scientist magazine website

American scientists published a paper in the latest issue of "Nature Biotechnology" magazine stating that they have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool ProGen, which can design antibacterial proteins from scratch that have been proven to be effective. The latest method is promising Used to develop new drugs.

Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids, and the order of these amino acids determines the protein's shape and function. In the latest study, researchers at California biotech startup Profiloent used AI to design millions of new proteins and then selected some of them to make small samples to test whether they worked.

The researchers noted that ProGen works similarly to an AI that generates text. ProGen learned how to generate new proteins by learning how amino acids combine to form the 280 million existing proteins. Furthermore, researchers can focus ProGen on designing a certain group of similar proteins, such as those with antimicrobial activity.

The scientists checked the AI's design process so that it didn't let the amino acids "babble". They also tested the AI-designed molecular samples in real cells. The results showed that of the 100 molecules they created based on the AI ​​design, 66 participated in chemical reactions similar to natural proteins, destroying bacteria in egg whites and saliva, suggesting that these new proteins can kill bacteria. The researchers then selected the five most reactive proteins and added them to the E. coli samples. Two of the proteins destroyed the bacteria.

Next, the researchers imaged the proteins with X-rays, which showed that although the proteins' amino acid sequences differed by up to 30 percent from any existing protein, their shapes were almost similar to those of native proteins. Researchers say a similar process could be used to develop new molecules for testing in drugs.

As organic macromolecules, proteins are an important material basis of life and are undoubtedly an important research object in life sciences. With the continuous penetration of artificial intelligence technology in the field of life sciences, protein-related research has become the forefront of artificial intelligence "testing the waters": from "alpha folding" that can accurately predict the static three-dimensional structure of proteins to the first attempt to analyze the dynamic conformation of proteins From artificial intelligence methods to the ability to design new proteins from scratch or even focus on designing a group of similar proteins, the field of protein research is witnessing rapid iterative upgrades in artificial intelligence applications.