AI Healthcare
AI-designed SynTnpB editors beat natural TnpB activity in human cells
By Arjun
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12 Aug 10:10 AM
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Via Nature Biotechnology
A Nature Biotechnology research highlight covers a Science study in which Petr Skopintsev and colleagues used ESM inverse folding plus evolution-informed constraints to invent SynTnpB nucleases not found in nature. After bacterial screens and domain swaps, selected variants showed higher gene-editing activity than natural TnpB in bacteria, plants and human cells while keeping comparable specificity. Cryo-EM on the most divergent design revealed new stabilising contacts at the RNA-DNA interface and a previously unseen DNA-bound conformation. The work enlarges the designable space for compact CRISPR-like editors. The caveat is that these are early cell assays; delivery, off-target maps and clinical readiness remain open.
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