Stephanie Hanna

Ribosomes can produce proteins in minutes and are largely constrained to proteinogenic amino acids. Here, we report highly efficient chemistry matched with an automated fast-flow instrument for the direct manufacturing of peptide chains up to 164 amino acids long over 327 consecutive reactions. The machine is rapid: Peptide chain elongation is complete in hours. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by the chemical synthesis of nine different protein chains that represent enzymes, structural units, and regulatory factors. After purification and folding, the synthetic materials display biophysical and enzymatic properties comparable to the biologically expressed proteins. High-fidelity automated flow chemistry is an alternative for producing single-domain proteins without the ribosome.

The transcription repressor Yin Yang 1 (YY1) is expressed in several human cancer cell lines and its expression correlates with resistance to immune-mediated apoptosis. This study used tissue microarrays to investigate the expression and localization of YY1 in 1364 representative tissue samples from 246 hormone naive prostate cancer patients who underwent radical prostatectomy. Staining intensity and frequency measures for both YY1 nuclear and cytoplasmic expression were higher in neoplastic tissues and in PIN samples compared to matched benign cells (p < 0.0001 for all comparisons). Expression of YY1 is predominantly elevated in early malignancy (PIN), as well as in tumors of intermediate to high morphologic grade (Gleason's grade 3-5). Using multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis, we observed that low nuclear YY1 staining is an independent predictor of a shorter time to recurrence (p = 0.012). Based on these results, we hypothesize that YY1 may play a role in prostate cancer development; however, decreased YY1 may give metastatic cells a survival advantage. These results may also implicate YY1 as a useful diagnostic and prognostic marker.

= 80-970 nM) for RBD and selectivity over human serum proteins. Nanomolar RBD concentrations in a biological matrix could be detected using the biotinylated lead peptide in ELISA format. These peptides do not compete for ACE2 binding, and their site of interaction on the SARS-CoV-2-spike-RBD might be unrelated to the ACE2 binding site, making them potential orthogonal reagents for sandwich immunoassays. These findings serve as a starting point for the development of SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics or conjugates for virus-directed delivery of therapeutics.

Widespread adoption of mirror-image biological systems presents difficulties in accessing the requisite D-protein substrates. In particular, mirror-image phage display has the potential for high-throughput generation of biologically stable macrocyclic D-peptide binders with potentially unique recognition modes but is hindered by the individualized optimization required for D-protein chemical synthesis. We demonstrate a general mirror-image phage display pipeline that utilizes automated flow peptide synthesis to prepare D-proteins in a single run. With this approach, we prepare and characterize 12 D-proteins - almost one third of all reported D-proteins to date. With access to mirror-image protein targets, we describe the successful discovery of six macrocyclic D-peptide binders: three to the oncoprotein MDM2, and three to the E3 ubiquitin ligase CHIP. Reliable production of mirror-image proteins can unlock the full potential of D-peptide drug discovery and streamline the study of mirror-image biology more broadly.