An artificially designed pore-forming protein with anti-tumor effects.
Protein engineering is an emerging area that has expanded our understanding of protein folding and laid the groundwork for the creation of unprecedented structures with unique functions. We previously designed the first native-like pore-forming protein, small globular protein (SGP). We show here that this artificially engineered protein has membrane-disrupting properties and anti-tumor activity in several cancer animal models. We propose and validate a mechanism for the selectivity of SGP toward cell membranes in tumors. SGP is the prototype for a new class of artificial proteins designed for therapeutic applications.
Ellerby
H Michael
HM
Program on Cancer and Aging, The Buck Institute, Novato, California 94945, USA. mellerby@buckinstitute.org
Lee
Sannamu
S
Ellerby
Lisa M
LM
Chen
Sylvia
S
Kiyota
Taira
T
del Rio
Gabriel
G
Sugihara
Gohsuke
G
Sun
Yan
Y
Bredesen
Dale E
DE
Arap
Wadih
W
Pasqualini
Renata
R
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D015195:Drug Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017510:Protein Folding; D011506:Proteins / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011506:Proteins