非自然氨基酸在蛋白质中的引入方法及其在化学生物学中的应Q用

蛋白质是生命的物质基础,在生物体中行驶着极为重要的功能,各种细胞活动和生命过程的发生都需要蛋白质的参与。例如,DNA复制转录,RNA翻译,以及信号传导等过程中发挥关键作用的聚合酶、翻译复合物、信号传导受体等都是蛋白质。正常细胞体内的所有蛋白质都由20种天然存在的氨基酸组成,它们通过立体构象变化及翻译后修饰等来控制其功能的发挥。而在实际应用中,学者们为了实现不同的研究目的,发展了很多在蛋白质中引入20种自然氨基酸之外的非自然氨基酸(unnatural amino acid,UAA)的方法,如化学修饰合成、体外翻译、遗传密码扩展等,从而将蛋白质的性质根据研究和应用的需要进行拓展。本文综述了各类化学与生物中引入非自然氨基酸的方法,并介绍了非自然氨基酸在化学生物学研究中的最新应用。

The Inserting Methods of Unnatural Amino Acids in Proteins and their Applications in Chemical Biology Research

Proteins are the foundation of life, they play an important part in the metabolic process of cell. These proteins which are made of 20 natural amino acids are involved in all the cellular activities and life processes. For example, the polymerase, translation complex and signal receptors which play pivotal roles in the process of DNA replication, RNA translation and signal transduction are all proteins. The activities of proteins are controlled by their spatial configuration and post-translational modifications. With the development of chemistry and biology, researchers created different methods to introduce unnatural amino acids (UAA) into proteins to change the properties of proteins, such as chemical modification and synthesis, in vitro expression system and genetic code expansion. This article reviewed various methods in chemistry and biology for UAA insertion, and discussed their latest applications in research.