Protein Cluster Enzyme Revealed as a Nanomachine by UNIST!

If Enzyme 'Viscoelasticity' Decreases,
Its Chemical Activity Also Drops
Published in Nature Physics

It has been proven that enzymes, which coordinate the biochemical reactions in our bodies, actually operate like nano-machines designed by genes.

The results of this study were published on June 28 (local time) in Nature Physics, the most prestigious journal in the field of physics.

The research team led by Distinguished Professor Tsvi Tlusty from the Department of Physics at UNIST experimentally revealed that the viscoelasticity inside enzymes plays a decisive role in their biological function.

UNIST Professor Tzvi Tlusty. Provided by UNIST

Enzymes are biological proteins that activate chemical processes such as digesting food, producing energy, replicating DNA, and processing waste.

According to the research results, when the mechanical property of viscoelasticity in enzymes was disrupted, their chemical function, or activity, was significantly reduced. Just as a machine breaks down when its shock absorber fails, enzymes also lose their original function if their viscoelasticity?the immediate and flexible restorative force like a spring?is damaged.

The research team identified high strain regions in enzymes that function like shock absorbers in machines using advanced measurement techniques. They then experimentally confirmed these findings by creating mutations that replaced just one amino acid in these regions.

An experimental analytical method to identify highly deformable regions that function like joints in a machine. Provided by the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

As a result of this experiment, even a single amino acid mutation reduced enzyme activity by more than 50%. The guanylate kinase enzyme used in the experiment is composed of a total of 207 amino acids.

AlphaFold, an artificial intelligence for protein structure prediction, was used to predict the three-dimensional structural changes caused by the mutations. The analysis showed that the greater the actual structural change, the more the enzyme activity decreased. This supports the idea that the mechanical performance and biochemical function of enzyme structures are intricately connected.

Professor Tsvi Tlusty, who led the research, explained, "We must now view enzymes not as simple tools for chemical reactions, but as soft nano-machines intricately designed by genes. This study shows that mechanical properties are the driving force of evolution that brings about the precision and efficiency of life."

This research was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Elisha Moses's team at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

The study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea under the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), and the Israel Science Foundation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.