ProtChat: An AI Multi-Agent for Automated Protein Analysis Leveraging GPT-4 and Protein Language Model.

Journal: Journal of chemical information and modeling
PMID:

Abstract

Large language models (LLMs) have transformed natural language processing, enabling advanced human-machine communication. Similarly, in computational biology, protein sequences are interpreted as natural language, facilitating the creation of protein large language models (PLLMs). However, applying PLLMs requires specialized preprocessing and script development, increasing the complexity of their use. Researchers have integrated LLMs with PLLMs to develop automated protein analysis tools to address these challenges, simplifying analytical workflows. Existing technologies often require substantial human intervention for specific protein-related tasks, maintaining high barriers to implementing automated protein analysis systems. Here, we propose ProtChat, an AI multiagent system for protein analysis that integrates the inference capabilities of PLLMs with the task-planning abilities of LLMs. ProtChat integrates GPT-4 with multiple PLLMs, like ESM and MASSA, to automate tasks such as protein property prediction and protein-drug interactions without human intervention. This AI agent enables users to input instructions directly, significantly improving efficiency and usability, making it suitable for researchers without a computational background. Experiments demonstrate that ProtChat can automate complex protein tasks accurately, avoiding manual intervention and delivering results rapidly. This advancement opens new research avenues in computational biology and drug discovery. Future applications may extend ProtChat's capabilities to broader biological data analysis. Our code and data are publicly available at github.com/SIAT-code/ProtChat.

Authors

  • Huazhen Huang
    Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
  • Xianguo Shi
    Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
  • Hongyang Lei
    Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
  • Fan Hu
    Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory of Human-Machine Intelligence-Synergy Systems, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
  • Yunpeng Cai
    Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, and Key Lab for Health Informatics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, People's Republic of China. yp.cai@siat.ac.cn.