Chemical (Semi-) Synthesis and Applications of Lysine Post-Translationally Modified Proteins

The study of native proteins with post-translational modifications (PTMs) is one of the main fields of epigenetics. The discovery of novel PTM models and their vital regulatory role for chromatin structure and gene transcription have been one of the current research focuses drawing attention of biologists especially in recent years. However, we still lack efficient strategies for the preparation of sufficient amount of native proteins with certain PTMs. The currently existing chemical biology methods are reviewed, and their advantages and disadvantages are compared, including bioorthogonal reaction technique, non-canonical amino acid incorporation, etc. Furthermore, the draft will mainly focus on the application of bioorthogonal reactions on unnatural functional groups for the incorporation of lysine PTMs.