Application of a Novel Protein Therapeutic Discovery Platform in Cancer Research
Project Number
1415
Description
The Invention:
The current invention comprises a unique platform technology used to create highly specific DNA-binding proteins (MHP’s). The technology specifically enables researchers to develop highly efficacious therapeutic compounds that are both selective and competitive in terms of binding affinity. The proteins are based on naturally occurring homo- or hetero-dimer structures that incorporate novel functional design elements that include 1) a DNA-binding region derived from bHLH sequences, 2) a flexible ‘hinge’ region used to optimize the orientation of the binding regions and 3) structural tail units used to provide stability and define whether the protein subunits engage in homo or heterodimerization. These structural units may include leucine zipper dimerization domain from bZIP proteins or other similar leucine zipper sequences. A key feature of this platform technology centres on the programmable nature of the relevant binding and structural sequences of the proteins, which are optimized through a mutagenic evolution to target, with high affinity, specific DNA binding regions with known therapeutic potential. In addition, the resulting proteins are small, well-defined, helical structure of 25-60 amino acids (“minimalist”) which have stable and easily characterized protein sequences that can be synthesized at low cost.
