European Molecular Biology Laboratory

Bayer Aktiengesellschaft

Baylor College of Medicine

National University of Ireland

University of Groningen

Vitruvean LLC

Europaisches Laboratorium Molekularbiologie

Luis Serrano

Hartmut Oschkinat

Helena Domingues

Wilhelmus J Quax

Huda Y Zoghbi

Walter Sebald

Juan Botas

Cayetano Gonzalez

Christian Boulin

Afshin Samali

Christopher J Cummings

Joerg Peters

Gregorio Fernandez-Ballester

David Cregut

Eva E Szegezdi

Vicente R Tur

Albert Martinus Van Der Sloot

Edward Faeldt

Margaret M Mullally

Robbert H Cool

The present invention relates to novel methods for the design of proteins, in particular, cytokines. These methods allow the stabilisation of such cytokines, as well as modification of their selectivity/specificity for their cognate receptors. The invention also relates to various modified proteins that have been designed by the methods of the invention.

Cytokine design

The present invention provides a method for screening for the effect of a test agent on a population of biological specimens, preferably insects, comprising the steps of providing a population of specimens, administering at least one test agent to the population, creating a digitized movie showing the movements of members of the population, measuring at least one trait of members of the population, and correlating the traits of the population with the effect of the test agent. The invention also provides a method for preparing a medicament useful for the treatment of a mammalian disease.

Method for identification of biologically active agents

The invention relates to methods for the stabilisation of cytokines and to cytokines generated by such methods. The methods of the invention involve mutating the amino acid sequence of a cytokine so as to remove solvent-exposed hydrophobic residues, and/or mutating the amino acid sequence of the cytokine so as to stabilise one or more secondary structure elements in the molecule. These steps have the effect of destabilsing intermediates that are formed during the folding process, relative to the stability of the cytokine in its naturally folded state, so increasing the yield of the cytokine as produced in vitro.

Modified cytokine

The design of antagonists of 4-helix bundle cytokine specific receptors, mimetic peptides that are able to act as such antagonists and their use as pharmaceutical agents is disclosed.

Coiled-coil dimer derived antagonists of 4-helix bundle cytokines, design and uses thereof

Growing community of inventors

Heidelberg, Germany

Luis Serrano