Conformational Analysis Of Proteins Of Biopharmaceutical Interest

The activity of many biopharmaceutical polymers is dependent on conformation, and the next several years will see increased interest in the conformational analysis of these polymers resulting from the development of biosimilar or "follow-on" biological products. While a wide variety of approaches to analysis exists, finding the most viable ones wou

The Peptides: Analysis, Synthesis, Biology, Volume 7: Conformation in Biology and Drug Design focuses on the analysis of peptides, emphasizing the use of physical methods in peptide conformational analysis and the relationship of conformational properties of peptides to biological properties. This book consists of nine chapters. Chapter 1 provides a brief overview of the perspective on the application of physical methods to peptide conformational analysis. The use of circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy to examine the conformational properties of peptides in solution is elaborated in Chapter 2, while the use of fluorescence spectroscopy to examine the special relationships of aromatic side-chain groups to one another is discussed in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, the use of various theoretical methods to calculate the conformations of peptides is described. The methods used to stimulate peptide conformations and dynamics are outlined in Chapter 5. The last four chapters examine various aspects of the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in peptide conformational analysis. This volume is suitable for biologists, specialists, and researchers interested in peptides and proteins.

Proteins are still gaining importance in the pharmaceutical world, where they are used to improve our arsenal of therapeutic drugs and vaccines and as diagnostic tools. Proteins are different from "traditional" low-molecular-weight drugs. As a group, they exhibit a number of biopharmaceutical and formulation problems. These problems have drawn considerable interest from both industrial and aca demic environments, forcing pharmaceutical scientists to explore a domain previ ously examined only by peptide and protein chemists. Biopharmaceutical aspects of proteins, e.g., low oral bioavailability, have been extensively investigated. Although all possible conventional routes of ad ministration have been examined for proteins, no real, generally applicable alter native to parenteral administration in order to achieve systemic effects has yet been discovered. Several of these biopharmaceutical options have been discussed in Volume 4 of this series, Biological Barriers to Protein Delivery. Proteins are composed of many amino acids, several of which are notorious for their chemical instability. Rational design of formulations that optimize the native structure and/or bioactivity of a protein is therefore of great importance when long shelf life is required, as it is for pharmaceutical products. This issue has also been examined in two prior volumes of this series: Volume 2: Stability of Protein Pharmaceuticals (Part A) and Volume 5: Stability and Characterization of Protein and Peptide Drugs.

How the amino acid sequence of a protein determines its three-dimensional structure is a major problem in biology and chemistry. Leading experts in the fields of NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, protein engineering and molecular modeling offer provocative insights into current views on the protein folding problem and various aspects for future progress.

Biophysical Characterization of Proteins in Developing Biopharmaceuticals, Second Edition, presents the latest on the analysis and characterization of the higher-order structure (HOS) or conformation of protein based drugs. Starting from the very basics of protein structure, this book explains the best way to achieve this goal using key methods commonly employed in the biopharmaceutical industry. This book will help today’s industrial scientists plan a career in this industry and successfully implement these biophysical methodologies. This updated edition has been fully revised, with new chapters focusing on the use of chromatography and electrophoresis and the biophysical characterization of very large biopharmaceuticals. In addition, best practices of applying statistical analysis to biophysical characterization data is included, along with practical issues associated with the concept of a biopharmaceutical’s developability and the technical decision-making process needed when dealing with biophysical characterization data. Presents basic protein characterization methods and tools applicable to (bio)pharmaceutical research and development Highlights the capabilities and limitations of each technique Discusses the underlining science of each tool Empowers industrial biophysical chemists by providing a roadmap for applying biophysical tools Outlines the needs for new characterization and analytical tools in the biopharmaceutical industry

Proteins represent one of the most abundant classes of biological macromolecules and play crucial roles in a vast array of physiological and pathological processes. The knowledge of the 3D structure of a protein, as well as the possible conformational transitions occurring upon interaction with diverse ligands, are essential to fully comprehend its biological function. In addition to globular, well-folded proteins, over the past few years, intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) have received a lot of attention. IDPs are usually aggregationprone and may form toxic amyloid fibers and oligomers associated with several human pathologies. Peptides are smaller in size than proteins but similarly represent key elements of cells. A few peptides are able to work as tumor markers and find applications in the diagnostic and therapeutic fields. The conformational analysis of bioactive peptides is important to design novel potential drugs acting as selective modulators of specific receptors or enzymes. Nevertheless, synthetic peptides reproducing different protein fragments have frequently been implemented as model systems in folding studies relying on structural investigations in water and/or other environments. This book contains contributions (seven original research articles and five reviews published in the journal Molecules) on the above-described topics and, in detail, it includes structural studies on globular folded proteins, IDPs and bioactive peptides. These works were conducted usingdifferent experimental methods.

Misregulation of protein signaling pathways is the basis for many human diseases, and thus 95% of Food and Drug Administration approved drugs target proteins. Proteins are dynamic entities which can undergo transitions to reach different conformational states. The conformational state of a protein, or its three-dimensional shape, is intricately linked to functions, such as association with endogenous or exogenous binding partners, or catalysis. Thus, it is of interest to the pharmacological community to understand the mechanisms of protein conformational state transitions in order to better target and control protein functions. In two case studies, I show the importance of understanding protein dynamics in protein function and drug design. In the case of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) protease, a tremendous "open-and-closed" conformational transition is revealed by Molecular Dynamics Simulations (MDS). Through observing the dramatic difference in effectiveness of two Darunavir inhibitor derivatives differentiated by a single atom at locking the protease in the closed conformation, we discovered the residues and mechanism that lead to the protease's conformational transition. This mechanism also explained the significant difference in the binding conformation and binding affinity of these two inhibitors. This study provides insight on how to improve the potency and anti-viral capacity of these compounds. In the second case study, MDS enabled us to observe the conformational transitions of a family of seven isoforms known as the 14-3-3 proteins. Many vital cellular processes involve all or select 14-3-3 isoforms, making this family very difficult to target. Through MDS, I discovered different conformational samplings among these 14-3-3 isoforms which were then validated by SAXS. Subsequently, a FRET-based ligand binding assay was developed which can screen for preferential 14-3-3 isoform binding of endogenous ligands, giving hope that using conformations unique to a 14-3-3 isoform of interest can provide a method for selective drug design

Approaches to the Purification, Analysis and Characterization of Antibody-Based Therapeutics provides the interested and informed reader with an overview of current approaches, strategies and considerations relating to the purification, analytics and characterization of therapeutic antibodies and related molecules. While there are obviously other books published in and around this subject area, they seem to be either older (c.a. year 2000 publication date) or are more limited in scope. The book will include an extensive bibliography of the published literature in the respective areas covered. It is not, however, intended to be a how-to methods book. Covers the vital new area of R&D on therapeutic antibodies Written by leading scientists and researchers Up-to-date coverage and includes a detailed bibliography