The Protein Factory 2.0
Welcome to a world of new solutions
Can you believe that plastic can be fully degraded simply by an enzyme in water and within hours? Watch for yourself!
We produced a newly engineered biocatalyst capable of breaking down more than 95% of PET in only 48 hours of incubation at 60 °C, without adding chemicals or using high temperatures. Enzyme-based PET biodegradation represents a useful tool and a feasible solution for the development of sustainable, environmental-friendly, and cost-effective processes for plastic recycling in a perspective of the circular economy.
Pirillo et al., 2022. Int. J. Mol. Sci. doi: 10.3390/ijms23010264.
New publication:
in this work, we report on a straightforward workflow employing semi-rational protein engineering combined to a high-throughput screening of variant libraries for their activity on PET nanoparticles. The present workflow is a well-suited protocol for the evolution of PET-hydrolysing enzymes to help generate an efficient enzymatic toolbox for the biodegradation of post-consumer PET into its main molecular components.
Pirillo et al., 2022. Int. J. Mol. Sci. doi: 10.3390/ijms23010264.
New review available on D-amino acids as novel blood-based biomarkers.
Murtas and Pollegioni, 2021. Curr Med Chem. doi: 10.2174/0929867328666211125092438.
New review available on anticancer therapy based on oxidases that produce reactive oxygen species.
Rosini and Pollegioni, 2021. Biofactors. doi: 10.1002/biof.1789.
New publication:
in this work, we reported the first multi-enzymatic one-pot bioconversion of vanillin into cis,cis-muconic acid (ccMA), which is widely used for the production of biodegradable plastic materials. Our proposed biocatalytic system represents a sustainable alternative for the eco-friendly production of a high value-added compound from underutilized lignin, a primary target of the bioeconomy.
Professor Loredano Pollegioni has been elected Treasurer of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Antibody-drug conjugates, also named “armed antibodies”, can direct drugs to specific tissues. Here an evolved version of the ROS-generating enzyme D-amino acid oxidase was delivered to tumors by generating a chimeric protein with the F8 antibody against EDA of fibronectin, a protein abundantly expressed in the subendothelial extracellular matrix of tumor vessels. The recombinant chimeric protein produced in E. coli cells generates a strong cytotoxicity to tumor cells following the supplementation of the pro-drug D-alanine, especially when an inhibitor of the antioxidant systems is used.
Rendered with 3D Protein Imaging
New publication:
the human enzyme D-3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase catalyzes the first step of the L-serine biosynthesis, which plays an important role in numerous physiological functions. This enzyme is involved in cancer progression and several neurological disorders. Here is our new publication on PHGDH biochemical properties, part of the PRIN project “Dissecting serine metabolism in the brain”. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/8/4231/htm
The cover art by Valentina Pirillo has been selected in The FEBS Journal Cover Competition 2021:
this image is an artist representation of a plastic-degrading enzyme (PET hydrolase) that is correlated with the recent Emerging Methods and Technologies article published in The FEBS Journal: ‘Analytical methods for the investigation of enzyme-catalyzed degradation of polyethylene terephthalate’ by Valentina Pirillo, Loredano Pollegioni and Gianluca Molla.
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Not only regulation of D-amino acids. We propose a new function for human D-amino acid oxidase: DAAO plays an important role in the maintenance of the homeostasis of gut microbiota through the production of two antimicrobial peptides in the intestinal lumen. Murtas et al., 2021. Cell Mol Life Sci. doi: 10.1007/s00018-020-03755-w.
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Serum D- and L-serine levels can represent a suitable, easy-to-detect and precocious biomarker for the diagnosis of the Alzheimer's disease and its progression. Piubelli et al., 2021. Transl Psych. doi.org/10.1038/s41398-021-01202-3.
NOVEMBER 2020
Elena Rosini produced the recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein. The coronavirus spike protein plays a key role in the early steps of COVID-19 viral infection, mainly through the interaction with the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) present on the surface of alveolar epithelial cells. Both the full-length and a truncated form (containing only the receptor binding domain) of S-protein are available at "The Protein Factory 2.0" lab and can be used to develop new diagnostic tools.
