Artificial intelligence can be used for nanocages in gene therapy

Recently, Nature magazine published a breakthrough research result. The scientific research teams of the United States and South Korea cooperated to use artificial intelligence technology to simulate the structure of viruses and developed a new generation of nanocage technology platform, which brought revolutionary progress to the field of gene therapy.

Viruses invade host cells by encapsulating genetic material in protein shells. Inspired by this, scientists have been trying to create artificial protein shells that can simulate the behavior of viruses-nanocages, in order to safely and effectively deliver therapeutic genes to target cells.

Although nanocage technology has broad prospects, its small size limits its ability to carry genetic material, and simple designs make it difficult to replicate the complex functions of viral proteins in nature.

The research team of the University of Washington and Pohang University of Science and Technology used artificial intelligence to deeply analyze the microscopic characteristics of viruses and successfully designed and manufactured nanocages with tetrahedral, octahedral and icosahedral structures. Among them, the icosahedral nanocage with a diameter of 75 nanometers has three times the ability to carry genetic material than traditional gene carriers such as adeno-associated viruses.

Through electron microscopy observation, the researchers confirmed that the nanocage designed by AI has the expected precise symmetric structure. Further experiments also confirmed that these nanocages can effectively deliver therapeutic payloads to target cells.

The researchers said that advances in artificial intelligence have enabled people to design and build artificial protein structures as needed. This research is expected to accelerate the development of gene therapy and promote innovation in the next generation of vaccines and other biomedical fields.