Affimer

An affimer is an artificially produced protein from the group of cystatins that has a certain amino acid sequence on the surface. Affimers are a form of peptide aptamers .

properties

Affimers are based on the protease inhibitor cystatin A, but in the course of a protein design, some amino acids are exchanged at one point on the molecular surface. This allows the generated affimer to bind to molecules that bind to the inserted sequence. The cystatin component serves as a framework for stabilizing the conformation of the inserted sequence, e.g. B. an α-helix . Cystatins have a comparatively long biological half-life and thermal stability . Between 12 and 36 amino acids with a contact area of 650 to 1000 Å ² can be inserted into an affimer .

Based on plant cystatines, the Adhirons were developed analogously to the Affimers .

application

Affimers are used, among other things, for protein characterization and in immunassays .

literature

A. Skerra: Alternative non-antibody scaffolds for molecular recognition. In: Current Opinion in Biotechnology. Volume 18, Number 4, August 2007, pp. 295-304, ISSN 0958-1669 . doi : 10.1016 / j.copbio.2007.04.010 . PMID 17643280 .
M. Gebauer, A. Skerra: Engineered protein scaffolds as next-generation antibody therapeutics. In: Current opinion in chemical biology. Volume 13, Number 3, June 2009, pp. 245-255, ISSN 1879-0402 . doi : 10.1016 / j.cbpa.2009.04.627 . PMID 19501012 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b R. Woodman, JT Yeh, S. Laurenson, P. Ko Ferrigno: Design and validation of a neutral protein scaffold for the presentation of peptide aptamers. In: Journal of molecular biology. Volume 352, Number 5, October 2005, pp. 1118-1133, ISSN 0022-2836 . doi : 10.1016 / j.jmb.2005.08.001 . PMID 16139842 .
↑ C. Tiede, AA Tang, SE Deacon, U. Mandal, JE Nettleship, RL Owen, SE George, DJ Harrison, RJ Owens, DC Tomlinson, MJ McPherson: Adhiron: a stable and versatile peptide display scaffold for molecular recognition applications. In: Protein engineering, design & selection: PEDS. Volume 27, Number 5, May 2014, pp. 145-155, ISSN 1741-0134 . doi : 10.1093 / protein / gzu007 . PMID 24668773 . PMC 4000234 (free full text).
^ A. Johnson, Q. Song, P. Ko Ferrigno, PR Bueno, JJ Davis: Sensitive affimer and antibody based impedimetric label-free assays for C-reactive protein. In: Analytical chemistry. Volume 84, Number 15, August 2012, pp. 6553-6560, ISSN 1520-6882 . doi : 10.1021 / ac300835b . PMID 22789061 .

[PMID_16139842-1] R. Woodman, JT Yeh, S. Laurenson, P. Ko Ferrigno: Design and validation of a neutral protein scaffold for the presentation of peptide aptamers. In: Journal of molecular biology. Volume 352, Number 5, October 2005, pp. 1118-1133, ISSN 0022-2836 . doi : 10.1016 / j.jmb.2005.08.001 . PMID 16139842 .

[2] C. Tiede, AA Tang, SE Deacon, U. Mandal, JE Nettleship, RL Owen, SE George, DJ Harrison, RJ Owens, DC Tomlinson, MJ McPherson: Adhiron: a stable and versatile peptide display scaffold for molecular recognition applications. In: Protein engineering, design & selection: PEDS. Volume 27, Number 5, May 2014, pp. 145-155, ISSN 1741-0134 . doi : 10.1093 / protein / gzu007 . PMID 24668773 . PMC 4000234 (free full text).

[3] A. Johnson, Q. Song, P. Ko Ferrigno, PR Bueno, JJ Davis: Sensitive affimer and antibody based impedimetric label-free assays for C-reactive protein. In: Analytical chemistry. Volume 84, Number 15, August 2012, pp. 6553-6560, ISSN 1520-6882 . doi : 10.1021 / ac300835b . PMID 22789061 .