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Methods and systems for predicting misfolded protein epitopes

a protein epitope and protein technology, applied in the field of methods, can solve the problems of uncontrolled proliferation, low sequence similarity, and low prediction accuracy, and achieve the effect of high sequence similarity and high probability of unfolding

Inactive Publication Date: 2010-09-16
THE UNIV OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a method for identifying an epitope unique to a misfolded form of a protein by using a model of the protein, a candidate selection unit, a free energy computation unit, and an epitope identification unit. The method involves receiving a model of the protein, selecting one or more sets of amino acid residues from the model, determining the free energy of unfolding of each set, and identifying the epitope based on the free energy of unfolding of the sets. The method can be used to identify the epitope by selecting the region in the model where the epitope is most likely to be found. The method can also be used to identify the epitope by selecting all sets with a minimum probability of unfolding. The model can be a predicted structure of the protein or a homolog of the protein. The method can also be used to identify the epitope based on the total probability of unfolding of the sets. The method can be applied by receiving a selection of a region in the model, selecting one or more sets of amino acid residues within the region, determining the free energy of unfolding of each set, and identifying the epitope based on the free energy of unfolding of the sets. The method can also be used to identify the epitope by selecting all sets with a minimum probability of unfolding. The method can also be used to identify the epitope based on the solvent accessible surface area of the amino acid residues in the model."

Problems solved by technology

As with human disease, there is no effective treatment or vaccine prevention for animal prion diseases.
In cancer cells, dysregulation of cell cycle control results in their uncontrolled proliferation.
Folding fidelity is expected to be particularly impaired with the overexpression of certain proteins by selected tumor cells Which membrane proteins are over-expressed depends on the form of cancer.
Unfortunately, technical limitations have rendered futile such atomic level structures for PrPSc, amyloids composed of Abeta, TTR, or Thy-1, or any misfolded protein on cancer cells, obviating predication of any stable discontinuous epitope or structured conformational epitope.
A further limitation of this approach is that misfolded proteins may exist in an ensemble of interchangeable forms, with stable conformational epitope formation likely being non-universal.
However this “shotgun approach” for the thousands of overlapping linear epitopes in a medium-sized protein is likely to be expensive, laborious, and time-consuming.
Furthermore, misfolding-specific epitopes are poorly recognized in the context of whole proteins (like PrPSc), and whole protein immunization runs the risk of immune recognition of native surface epitopes that could trigger autoimmunity.

Method used

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  • Methods and systems for predicting misfolded protein epitopes
  • Methods and systems for predicting misfolded protein epitopes
  • Methods and systems for predicting misfolded protein epitopes

Examples

Experimental program
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Effect test

example 1

hSOD1

[0308]As described in WO2007 / 098607, Cashman et al teach the production of an hSOD1 antibody that was raised against the 35-45 region of hSOD1, a region essentially predicted by the present epitope prediction methods as constituting an hSOD1 epitope with a propensity for unfolding. The predicted sequence of 35-41 is essentially a truncated version of the 35-45 region targeted by the published antibody. The antibody production and testing work published in that patent application is reproduced below.

[0309]For antibody production, 4 female BALB / c mice were initially immunized by intraperitoneal injections with 25 μg of immunogen comprising peptide C-IKGLTEGLHGF (SEQ ID NO:89, corresponding to hSOD1 residues 35-45) coupled to KLH by disulfide formation with a cysteine that was added to the N terminus, in Complete Freund's Adjuvant. Four subsequent boosts were administered as above, spaced at 3 week intervals, with Incomplete Freund's Adjuvant. When the serum titre had risen more t...

example 2

EGFR

[0312]As noted in Table 1 herein, application of the epitope prediction methods to the structure of human epidermal growth factor receptor (hEGFR) indicates that an epitope with propensity for unfolding resides at residues 288-301, having the peptide sequence GADSYEMEEDGVRK (SEQ ID No. 76). The EGFR itself is a protein targeted for therapeutic intervention by a variety of antibodies that are either marketed (cetuximab as Erbitux®, panitumumab as Vectibix®) or in clinical development (nimotuzumab). These antibodies have efficacy in the treatment of various solid tumours, including head and neck as well as pediatric glioma. With the exception of nimotuzumab, the antibodies targeting EGFR raise significant toxicities associated particularly with their interaction with keratinocytes—while improvements can be shown in the stasis or regression of tumour growth, recipients show a variety of skin disorders including severe rash. This results from the antibody's non-selective binding not...

example 3

Additional EGFR Epitopes

[0314]Rabbits were immunized with EGFR peptides predicted by the epitope prediction methods to have a propensity for unfolding to present unique epitopes (see Table 1). For convenience, rabbit E1 was immunized with 8 peptides, i.e., peptides having SEQ ID Nos. 67, 69, 70, 72, 73, 75, and 78. Rabbit E2 was immunized with 7 peptides, i.e., peptides having SEQ ID Nos. 66, 71, 74, 76, 77, 79 and 80.

[0315]Antisera from these rabbits were tested for their ability to bind to one normal cell (HUVEC) and 14 tumor cells. Preimmune rabbit serum was used as a binding control. Each cell was also evaluated for its level of EGFR expression using a commercially available anti-EGFR antibody compared to an isotype control antibody.

[0316]On analysis of the results, it was observed that the normal cells (HUVEC) express low levels of EGFR and do not bind antisera from rabbit E1 or E2. Two of the tumors tested (human GI stromal colon tumour LTL-257, and human cervical carcinoma ce...

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Abstract

A method and system to identify an epitope unique to a misfolded form of a protein is provided. Sets of one or more amino acid residues are selected from a model representing the structure of the protein; the free energy of unfolding of each set is determined; and the epitope is identified from the sets having a total probability of unfolding above a minimum probability or a free energy of unfolding below a minimum energy. In other aspects, the invention provides for the use of epitopes identified by the epitope prediction methods, and related antibodies, to diagnose and treat disease and to screen samples for the presence of such epitopes.

Description

[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 61 / 136,815 filed Oct. 6, 2008 and 61 / 156,807 filed Mar. 2, 2009, the full disclosure of both of which is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention provides methods and systems for identifying epitopes. More specifically, the invention provides methods and systems for identifying epitopes unique to a misfolded form of a protein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a specialized folding environment in which nearly one-third of the proteins encoded by a eukaryotic genome are translocated and folded as either luminal secreted proteins or transmembrane proteins. Proteins are exported from the ER by the concatamer complex II (COPII) machinery which generates transport vesicles for delivery of cargo to the Golgi (Lee et al., Annu. Rev Cell Dev. Biol. 20, 87 (2004)). The ER-associated folding (ERAF) pathways are also coordinated with ER-associ...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): A61K39/395C07K16/28G01N33/53A61P25/28A61P25/16A61K39/00C07K7/06C07K7/08G06F19/00G16B5/30G16B15/20G16B20/30G16B20/50
CPCG06F19/16G06F19/18C07K16/2863C07K2317/34C07K16/40A61K2039/505C07K2317/73C07K16/2872G16B15/00G16B5/00G16B20/00C12N9/0089C12N9/12C12Y115/01001C12Y207/10001A61P11/00A61P13/12A61P15/00A61P17/00A61P21/00A61P25/00A61P25/16A61P25/28A61P31/00A61P35/00A61P35/02A61P35/04A61P37/04A61P43/00G16B20/30G16B15/20G16B5/30G16B20/50G06N7/01C07K14/70596G06N3/126
Inventor CASHMAN, NEIL R.PLOTKIN, STEVEN S.GUEST, WILLIAM C.
Owner THE UNIV OF BRITISH COLUMBIA