Cited by 95Protein Structure and DynamicsAdvanced NMR Techniques and ApplicationsEnzyme Structure and Function

AlphaFold 2 and NMR Spectroscopy: Partners to Understand Protein Structure, Dynamics and Function

Open access
Laurents, Douglas V.·2022·Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences

Abstract

The artificial intelligence program AlphaFold 2 is revolutionizing the field of protein structure determination as it accurately predicts the 3D structure of two thirds of the human proteome. Its predictions can be used directly as structural models or indirectly as aids for experimental structure determination using X-ray crystallography, CryoEM or NMR spectroscopy. Nevertheless, AlphaFold 2 can neither afford insight into how proteins fold, nor can it determine protein stability or dynamics. Rare folds or minor alternative conformations are also not predicted by AlphaFold 2 and the program does not forecast the impact of post translational modifications, mutations or ligand binding. The remaining third of human proteome which is poorly predicted largely corresponds to intrinsically disordered regions of proteins. Key to regulation and signaling networks, these disordered regions often form biomolecular condensates or amyloids. Fortunately, the limitations of AlphaFold 2 are largely complemented by NMR spectroscopy. This experimental approach provides information on protein folding and dynamics as well as biomolecular condensates and amyloids and their modulation by experimental conditions, small molecules, post translational modifications, mutations, flanking sequence, interactions with other proteins, RNA and virus. Together, NMR spectroscopy and AlphaFold 2 can collaborate to advance our comprehension of proteins.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3389/fmolb.2022.906437

Cites

90 of 90 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Gupta M. Azumaya C. M. Moritz M. Pourmal S. Diallo A. Merz G. E. (2021). CryoEM and AI Reveal a Structure of SARS-CoV-2 Nsp2, a Multifunctional Protein Involved in Key Host Processes. bioRxiv 11.2021.05.10.443524.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Laurents, D. V.
Affiliations
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES)
Corresponding author
Laurents, Douglas V.
Venue
Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
Published
2022-05-17
Volume
9
Pages
906437-906437
ISSN
2296-889X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4280548378
Cited by
95
References
90
Citations by year
2026: 21 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 3
FWCI
1.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Structure and Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Spectroscopy › Advanced NMR Techniques and Applications
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Enzyme Structure and Function
Keywords
AlphaFold2, protein structure prediction, NMR spectroscopy, protein folding, protein dynamics, intrinsically disordered regions, biomolecular condensates, amyloid, post-translational modification, protein stability, protein-ligand binding, protein-protein interaction

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review