Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41350440›Full record

ArticleNature chemical biology2026

Accurate single-domain scaffolding of three nonoverlapping protein epitopes using deep learning.

Karla M Castro, Joseph L Watson, Jue Wang, Joshua Southern, Reyhaneh Ayardulabi, Sandrine Georgeon, Stéphane Rosset, David Baker, Bruno E Correia

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature chemical biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Twenty-five years of human metapneumovirus research.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2026
    Review
  2. De Novo-Designed Bifunctional Proteins for Targeted Protein Degradation.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Turning KEAP1 against NRF2.Nature chemical biology · 2026
    Article
  5. AI-Driven BCR Modeling for Precision Immunology.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Karla M Castro *Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7753-6060
Joseph L Watson *Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Jue Wang *Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Joshua SouthernImperial College London, London, UK.
Reyhaneh AyardulabiInstitute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8752-9131
Sandrine GeorgeonInstitute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8158-4508
Stéphane RossetInstitute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
David BakerDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. dabaker@uw.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7896-6217
Bruno E CorreiaInstitute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland. bruno.correia@epfl.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7377-8636

Funding

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation) 310030_197724
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

De novo protein design has seen major success in scaffolding single functional motifs; however, in nature, most proteins present multiple functional sites. Here, we describe an approach to simultaneously scaffold multiple functional sites in a single-domain protein using deep learning. We designed small single-domain immunogens, under 130 residues, that present three distinct and irregular motifs from respiratory syncytial virus. These motifs together comprise nearly half of the designed proteins; hence, the overall folds are quite unusual with little global similarity to proteins in the Protein Data Bank. Despite this, X-ray crystal structures confirmed the accuracy of presentation of each of the motifs and the multiepitope design yields improved cross-reactive titers and neutralizing response compared to a single-epitope immunogen. The successful presentation of three distinct binding surfaces in a small single-domain protein highlights the power of generative deep learning methods to solve complex protein design problems.

Indexed as

Deep LearningEpitopesCrystallography, X-RayHumansModels, MolecularProtein EngineeringRespiratory Syncytial VirusesEpitopes

Identifiers

PMID41350440
PMCPMC13038408

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.