Lecture Series
Prof. A. Plückthun, Universität Zürich, Biochemisches Institut, Switzerland
Prof. J. van Hest, Radboud University, Nijmegen
Repeat proteins are,
next to antibodies, the most widely used class of specific binding
proteins in nature. By analyzing their architecture, consensus
structures have been build where only the potentially interacting
residues are randomized. Designed Ankyrin Repeat Proteins (DARPins)
have been selected and evolved by ribosome display and phage
display to bind to a wide variety of targets with picomolar
affinity, and a number of structures of such complexes have been
determined. DARPins are very highly expressed, and full consensus
proteins are extraordinarily stable. Applications of DARPins that
will be highlighted include tumor targeting, particularly
exploiting multispecific constructs, retargeting of viruses and
intracellular applications of DARPins, creating sensors and
inhibitors of kinases, and as a toolbox for facilitating crystal
growth for protein structure determination.
Andreas Plückthun, University of Zurich, Dept. Biochemistry, Zurich, Switzerland
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