ADMINISTRATION DEVICES DEVELOPED FROM ADENOVIRUS CAPSID PROTEIN

Abstract

The present invention relates to novel adenovirus capsid protein-based delivery vehicles. These are based on modified penton-based protomers that are assembled into VLPs. The exposed regions of the penton-based proteins can be modified to allow the VLP to specifically bind to any target and / or to include any desired peptide epitope. Additional cargo, e.g. drugs, proteins or nucleic acids, can be reversibly or irreversibly attached to the VLP via engineered protein fiber fragments.The present invention relates to such engineered penton-based protomers, engineered proteins comprising an adenovirus fiber N-terminal protein fragment that specifically binds to an adenovirus fiber protein binding cleft of a penton-based protomer, VLPs comprising the engineered penton-based protomers and optionally engineered proteins comprising an adenovirus fiber N-terminal protein fragment that specifically binds to an adenovirus fiber protein binding cleft of a penton-based protomer, nucleic acid encoding the engineered proteins, the VLPs as well as methods of producing the proteins and the VLPs.