Combinatorial and rational approaches to engineering receptor-based antagonists of the Gas6/Axl system
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Ligand-receptor interactions and the specific molecular recognition events that define them govern many important physiological processes. When these interactions become dysregulated, normal physiology quickly degenerates into disease states. Nowhere is this more evident than in metastatic cancer, where aberrant signaling drives uncontrolled cell growth and systemic dissemination of disease. In spite of much effort, the management of metastatic disease has largely remained an intractable clinical challenge as effective treatment options are limited. Protein-based biologics, which leverage the inherent affinity and specificity of protein-protein interactions, offer an effective strategy for targeting and modulating dysregulated disease pathways in order to bring them under control. In this dissertation, we use combinatorial and rational protein engineering methods to develop receptor-based therapeutics that target Axl, a receptor tyrosine kinase shown to be involved in driving metastasis and disease progression in a wide range of human cancers. Using yeast-surface display and directed evolution, Axl variants were engineered for improved binding to Gas6, Axl's activating ligand. To gain an understanding of the molecular basis of the increased binding, detailed biochemical and structural studies were performed, including solving the structure of a high affinity Axl variant in complex with Gas6. When reformatted for in vivo applications, the engineered Axl decoy receptors were found to have apparent affinities to Gas6 as low as 93 fM, which are among some of the strongest protein-protein interactions ever reported. Importantly, when tested in a panel of aggressive mouse models of metastatic disease, the engineered decoy receptors showed significant efficacy, reducing metastatic disease by up to 95%. Collectively, these results validate Axl as a therapeutic target in metastatic disease and highlight the potential clinical value of the engineered Axl decoy receptors as novel anti-metastatic therapies.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2013 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Kariolis, Mihalis S | |
|---|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Bioengineering. | |
| Primary advisor | Cochran, Jennifer R | |
| Thesis advisor | Cochran, Jennifer R | |
| Thesis advisor | Giaccia, Amato J | |
| Thesis advisor | Khosla, Chaitan, 1964- | |
| Thesis advisor | Smolke, Christina D | |
| Advisor | Giaccia, Amato J | |
| Advisor | Khosla, Chaitan, 1964- | |
| Advisor | Smolke, Christina D |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Mihalis S. Kariolis. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Bioengineering. |
| Thesis | Ph.D. Stanford University 2013 |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2013 by Mihalis Kariolis
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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