Multivalent avimer proteins evolved by exon shuffling of a family of human receptor domains.
We have developed a class of binding proteins, called avimers, to overcome the limitations of antibodies and other immunoglobulin-based therapeutic proteins. Avimers are evolved from a large family of human extracellular receptor domains by in vitro exon shuffling and phage display, generating multidomain proteins with binding and inhibitory properties. Linking multiple independent binding domains creates avidity and results in improved affinity and specificity compared with conventional single-epitope binding proteins. Other potential advantages over immunoglobulin domains include simple and efficient production of multitarget-specific molecules in Escherichia coli, improved thermostability and resistance to proteases. Avimers with sub-nM affinities were obtained against five targets. An avimer that inhibits interleukin 6 with 0.8 pM IC50 in cell-based assays is biologically active in two animal models.
Silverman
Joshua
J
Avidia, Inc., 2450 Bayshore Parkway, Mountain View, California 94043, USA. josh.silverman@avidia.com
Liu
Qiang
Q
Lu
Qiang
Q
Bakker
Alice
A
To
Wayne
W
Duguay
Amy
A
Alba
Ben M
BM
Smith
Richard
R
Rivas
Alberto
A
Li
Peng
P
Le
Hon
H
Whitehorn
Erik
E
Moore
Kevin W
KW
Swimmer
Candace
C
Perlroth
Victor
V
Vogt
Martin
M
Kolkman
Joost
J
Stemmer
Willem Pim C
WP
D000818:Animals; D032621:DNA Shuffling / Q000379:methods*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface