Cited by 16Protein Structure and DynamicsComputational Drug Discovery MethodsArtificial Intelligence Applications

Generative artificial intelligence performs rudimentary structural biology modeling

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Ille, Alexander M., Markosian, Christopher, Burley, Stephen K., Mathews, Michael B., Pasqualini, Renata, Arap, Wadih·2024·Scientific Reports

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

Natural language-based generative artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly prevalent in scientific research. Intriguingly, capabilities of generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) language models beyond the scope of natural language tasks have recently been identified. Here we explored how GPT-4 might be able to perform rudimentary structural biology modeling. We prompted GPT-4 to model 3D structures for the 20 standard amino acids and an α-helical polypeptide chain, with the latter incorporating Wolfram mathematical computation. We also used GPT-4 to perform structural interaction analysis between nirmatrelvir and its target, the SARS-CoV-2 main protease. Geometric parameters of the generated structures typically approximated close to experimental references. However, modeling was sporadically error-prone and molecular complexity was not well tolerated. Interaction analysis further revealed the ability of GPT-4 to identify specific amino acid residues involved in ligand binding along with corresponding bond distances. Despite current limitations, we show the capacity of natural language generative AI to perform basic structural biology modeling and interaction analysis with atomic-scale accuracy.

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Authors
Ille, A. M., Markosian, C., Burley, S. K., Mathews, M. B., Pasqualini, R., & Arap, W.
Affiliations
  • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
  • Rutgers Cancer Institute (US)
Corresponding author
  • Pasqualini, Renata
  • Arap, Wadih
Venue
Scientific Reports
Published
2024-08-21
Volume
14
Issue
1
Pages
19372-19372
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4401759647
Cited by
16
References
69
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2
FWCI
1.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (DBI-1832184)
  • U.S. Department of Energy (DE-SC0019749)
  • National Institutes of Health (R01GM133198, R01CA226537)
  • Levy-Longenbaugh Donor-Advised Fund
  • Rutgers Cancer Institute (P30CA072720)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Structure and Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computational Theory and Mathematics › Computational Drug Discovery Methods
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Artificial Intelligence Applications
Keywords
generative AI, GPT-4, protein structure prediction, α-helical polypeptides, nirmatrelvir, main protease, large language models

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