AI design tools create enzymes that cut disease proteins on command
Proteases are enzymes that cut other proteins, and evolution took ages to produce them. A team led largely by Nobel winner David Baker’s lab at the University of Washington used AI protein design tools, including RFdiffusion2 and ProteinMPNN, to build new ones around the catalytic cores of two natural proteases. Ars Technica reports that early designs worked but were weak. After tuning nearby amino acids, the best versions sped up the cutting reaction enormously while still targeting the intended sequence. The team also designed enzymes that cut proteins linked to Alzheimer’s and frontotemporal dementia inside cells. Therapies are still far off, but it shows AI can now design working molecular machines.