Birte Höcker

The novel viper FETUA-3 protein evolved a unique mode of inhibiting snake venom metalloproteinases

This study investigates how the rattlesnake FETUA-3 protein evolved to inhibit venom metalloproteinases through structural and functional analyses.

Predicting single mutation effects on binding affinity at protein-protein interfaces based on MMPBSA calculations

The paper presents a physics-based method to predict single mutation effects on protein-protein binding affinity using MMPBSA calculations and evaluates its performance on SARS-CoV-2 and Armadillo-repeat systems.

Customizing the Structure of Minimal TIM Barrels to Craft Efficient De Novo Enzymes

The paper designs de novo TIM barrels with structural lids to create active sites for enzymatic function, achieving high catalytic efficiency.

An engineered biosensor for the fast and accurate detection of terephthalate

The paper develops a biosensor called TPAsense to rapidly and accurately detect terephthalate, a degradation product of PET and PBT, enabling faster screening of enzymatic degradation methods.

Optimizing stability in dynamic small-molecule binding proteins

This study designs stabilized variants of dynamic periplasmic binding proteins by considering mutations compatible with both conformations, improving thermal stability without compromising ligand binding.

A third type of PETase from the marine Halopseudomonas lineage

The paper identifies a new type of PETase from the marine Halopseudomonas lineage with unique active site features and high salt tolerance, proposing a new classification for PETases.

Tumbleweed: an artificial motor protein that walks along a DNA track

This paper introduces an artificial protein motor called Tumbleweed that walks directionally along a DNA track in response to ligand inputs.

De novo design of triosephosphate isomerases using generative language models

This study uses generative language models to design de novo triosephosphate isomerases, which show catalytic activity in E. coli.

Complementary evaluation of computational methods for predicting single residue effects on peptide binding specificities

The paper evaluates three physics-based computational methods for predicting single residue effects on peptide binding specificity using experimental data on armadillo repeat proteins.

A fluorescent biosensor for the visualization of agmatine

The paper develops a fluorescent biosensor (AGMsen) to visualize agmatine dynamics in cells, demonstrating its functionality across neuronal cultures.

ATLIGATOR: Editing protein interactions with an atlas-based approach

ATLIGATOR is a computational tool that builds interaction atlases from protein structures to design novel peptide binders by identifying frequent interactions and grafting them onto new scaffolds.

A deep unsupervised language model for protein design

This paper introduces ProtGPT2, a deep unsupervised language model for protein design that generates de novo protein sequences with properties similar to natural proteins.

Protlego: A Python package for the analysis and design of chimeric proteins

Protlego automates the design and structural analysis of chimeric proteins using Python, integrating fragment recombination and molecular dynamics simulations.

An Artificial Cofactor catalyzing the Baylis-Hillman Reaction using Designed Streptavidin as Protein Host

The paper describes an artificial cofactor using designed streptavidin to catalyze the Baylis-Hillman reaction with increased activity.

Ligand promiscuity in the tryptophan repressor - from structural understanding towards rational design

The paper investigates ligand promiscuity in the tryptophan repressor TrpR, elucidates structural and thermodynamic data, and demonstrates rational design of ligand specificity.