Antibody‐mediated enzyme formation: Its legacy at age fifty‐four

• Published in: Journal of molecular recognition Vol. 34; no. 12; pp. e2931 - n/a
• Main Authors: Strom, Roberto, Celada, Franco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-12-2021; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: activation; Antibodies; antibody; beta galactosidase; Biotechnology; Conformation; Crystallography; Enzymes; flexibility; Motivation; mutation; paratope; Review; Reviews; mutation; flexibility; antibody; paratope; conformation; beta galactosidase; activation
• ISSN: 0952-3499; 1099-1352; 1099-1352
• DOI: 10.1002/jmr.2931

Antibody‐mediated enzyme formation is a phenomenon first described in 1968 and further studied by molecular Immunologists and Biochemists over the following five decades. The present review is made mainly by analyzing the 27 articles concerned with AMEF that appeared over the course of 47 years, commenting 16 original figures selected to be re‐printed in AMEF's Legacy. We, the reviewers, started by revisiting our own “insider's” experience of discovery, and followed by considering all results, our own and of members of other AMEF Labs. We had planned to conclude the review by correlating the various AMEF mutants to a detailed knowledge of the consensus betaGal structure. However, we became aware of several “robust” papers, published between 1989 and 2014, by authors outside of AMEF Labs. We familiarly called this surge: “The Second Wave” and adorned it with a doodle in Hokusai style. We were thrilled and happy to take them on board and properly examined their data. A team of this second wave had imagined unique uses for AMEF, and new doors to modern biotechnology. Another one had used AMEF as Tool and Marker to attain high levels of crystallography, solving puzzles of conformation, and ultimate structure. Together, they doubled our motivation to review AMEF. Serendipity gives us back the pleasure of finding, a treat at any age.
The Two Waves.
This sign stands on the waterfront promenade of Nervi, the East end of Genoa's municipality as a warning against dangerous storms. Here, we are using it as a conceptual illustration of the peculiar rhythm of frequency of the AMEF pubblications since 1967.