WO2005085281A1 - Mutein of a bone morphogenetic protein and use thereof - Google Patents

Mutein of a bone morphogenetic protein and use thereof Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2005085281A1
WO2005085281A1 PCT/EP2005/002328 EP2005002328W WO2005085281A1 WO 2005085281 A1 WO2005085281 A1 WO 2005085281A1 EP 2005002328 W EP2005002328 W EP 2005002328W WO 2005085281 A1 WO2005085281 A1 WO 2005085281A1
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amino acid
mutein
hbmp
bone moφhogenetic
protein
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PCT/EP2005/002328
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English (en)
French (fr)
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Thomas Müller
Walter Sebald
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Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
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Priority to AU2005219556A priority Critical patent/AU2005219556B2/en
Priority to EP05715753A priority patent/EP1720902A1/en
Priority to JP2007501236A priority patent/JP2008501309A/ja
Priority to CA002557788A priority patent/CA2557788A1/en
Priority to US10/591,482 priority patent/US7786080B2/en
Publication of WO2005085281A1 publication Critical patent/WO2005085281A1/en

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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07K—PEPTIDES
    • C07K14/00—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof
    • C07K14/435—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from animals; from humans
    • C07K14/475—Growth factors; Growth regulators
    • C07K14/51—Bone morphogenetic factor; Osteogenins; Osteogenic factor; Bone-inducing factor
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P1/00—Drugs for disorders of the alimentary tract or the digestive system
    • A61P1/16—Drugs for disorders of the alimentary tract or the digestive system for liver or gallbladder disorders, e.g. hepatoprotective agents, cholagogues, litholytics
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P11/00—Drugs for disorders of the respiratory system
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P11/00—Drugs for disorders of the respiratory system
    • A61P11/06—Antiasthmatics
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P13/00—Drugs for disorders of the urinary system
    • A61P13/12—Drugs for disorders of the urinary system of the kidneys
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P17/00—Drugs for dermatological disorders
    • A61P17/02—Drugs for dermatological disorders for treating wounds, ulcers, burns, scars, keloids, or the like
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P19/00—Drugs for skeletal disorders
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P19/00—Drugs for skeletal disorders
    • A61P19/08—Drugs for skeletal disorders for bone diseases, e.g. rachitism, Paget's disease
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P19/00—Drugs for skeletal disorders
    • A61P19/08—Drugs for skeletal disorders for bone diseases, e.g. rachitism, Paget's disease
    • A61P19/10—Drugs for skeletal disorders for bone diseases, e.g. rachitism, Paget's disease for osteoporosis
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P27/00—Drugs for disorders of the senses
    • A61P27/02—Ophthalmic agents
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P29/00—Non-central analgesic, antipyretic or antiinflammatory agents, e.g. antirheumatic agents; Non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs [NSAID]
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P35/00—Antineoplastic agents
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P43/00—Drugs for specific purposes, not provided for in groups A61P1/00-A61P41/00
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P9/00—Drugs for disorders of the cardiovascular system
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P9/00—Drugs for disorders of the cardiovascular system
    • A61P9/10—Drugs for disorders of the cardiovascular system for treating ischaemic or atherosclerotic diseases, e.g. antianginal drugs, coronary vasodilators, drugs for myocardial infarction, retinopathy, cerebrovascula insufficiency, renal arteriosclerosis
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
    • A61K38/00—Medicinal preparations containing peptides

Definitions

  • the present invention is related to a mutein of a bone morphogenetic protein, nucleic acids coding therefor, methods for the production of such bone morphogenetic mutein, compositions, preferably pharmaceutical compositions comprising such mutein and the use of such mutein for the manufacture of a medicament.
  • the muteins according to the present invention are muteins of a bone morphogenetic protein.
  • Bone morphogenetic proteins which are also referred to herein as BMP-2 like proteins, are one of two major groups forming the TGF- ⁇ superfamily.
  • the other group of protems belonging to said TGF- ⁇ superfamily apart from the BMP-2 like protems are TGF- ⁇ -actin like proteins.
  • the two groups of the TGF- ⁇ superfamily differ in their binding mechanisms.
  • the members of the TGF- ⁇ superfamily being structurally related polypeptide growth factors are involved in cellular processes, including cell proliferation, cell line determination, differentiation, mobility, adhesion and cell death.
  • the factors are expressed according to a time and tissue specific pattern and are important for development, haemostasis and repair of nearly all tissues in eukaryotic organisms. These factors also account for an important part of intracellular signals which define the activity of a cell.
  • the signal transduction pathway of TGF- ⁇ has been elucidated in the more recent past.
  • the signal transduction of TGF- ⁇ involves receptor serine kinases on the cell surface, and its substrates, namely the SMAD proteins, which are, upon phosphorylation migrating to the nucleus.
  • the phosphorylated SMAD proteins activate transcription of the target gene in cooperation with DNA binding partners.
  • the multifunctional activity of TGF- ⁇ and other members of the TGF- ⁇ superfamily seem to be based on the interaction of different receptors, SMAD proteins and DNA binding proteins. Any disturbance of this signal transduction pathway is the reason for a number of diseases in mammals and in man in particular.
  • the members of the TGF- ⁇ superfamily share a number of structural features although the homology between said members is in some cases rather limited. For example, all ofthe proteins are dimers, typically are homodimers, i. e. comprised of two identical monomers. Also, the members of the TGF- ⁇ superfamily use cellular receptors which consist of two different types of serine kinase receptor chains, namely type I chain and type II chain.
  • the type I chain comprises a cytoplasmatic GS box and a serine kinase which activates SMAD-1 and SMAD-5 signal proteins if the type I chain is BRIA, BRBB or ARI.
  • the type II chain activates a type I receptor serine kinase through phosphorylation of the GS box segment.
  • the binding of BMP-2 like proteins to a type I chain occurs through the wrist epitope of the BMP-2 like proteins and to a type II chain through the "knuckle" epitope ofthe BMP-2 like proteins.
  • dissolved BMP-2 binds first to its high affinity type I chains, namely BMPR-IA, BMPR-IB and possibly also ActR-I, and subsequently assembles the low affinity type II receptor chain to form an active receptor complex. The assembling happens in the cytoplasma membrane.
  • inactive BMP-2 muteins which are no longer capable of activating the corresponding receptor.
  • the inactive muteins which have the amino acid substitution in the knuckle epitope such as BMP-2 [A34D] are nevertheless able to bind to the type I chain similar to the wildtype BMP-2.
  • the assembling of the type II chain in the membrane so as to form the active receptor complex comprising both the type I and type II chain is disturbed.
  • this kind of muteins act as inhibitors of BMP-2 as they are competing with wildtype BMP-2 for the type I chain.
  • bone morphogenetic proteins and particularly BMP-2 like proteins interact with a group of modulator protems. These modulator proteins are in turn involved in certain signal transduction pathways.
  • Modulator proteins interacting with BMP-2- like proteins comprise, among others, members of the noggin protein family, the DAN protein family and the chordin protein family.
  • modulator protems are known in the art and, for example, described in Avsian-Kretchmer, O. and Hsueh, AJ. (2004) Comparative genomic analysis of the eight-membered ring cystine knot-containing bone morphogenetic protein antagonists.
  • Mol Endocrinol, 18, 1-12 which describes BMP-modulator proteins, more particularly cystine-knot-contianing BMP-modulator proteins.
  • the noggin family comprising, e. g., noggin, is described by Canalis, E., Economides, A.N. and Gazzerro, E. (2003) Bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins, their antagonists, and the skeleton. Endocr Rev, 24, 218-235; the chordin family comprising, among others, Chordin, Nentroptin, CTGF, CYR61, Crossveinless, ProcoUagen IIA, is, for example, described in Bork, P. (1993) The modular architecture of a new family of growth regulators related to connective tissue growth factor.
  • the problem underlying the present invention was thus to provide a mutein of bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins, particularly of BMP-2-like proteins which do not compete with the wildtype form ofthe respective bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins in terms of type I and type II serine kinase receptor chains mediated effects, but are still suitable to interact with modulator proteins such as those of the noggin protein family, the DAN protein family and the chordin protein family.
  • the problem is solved in a first aspect by a mutein of a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein, whereby the mutein comprises an amino acid substitution compared to the wildtype of the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein at the amino acid position corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2.
  • the amino acid at the position corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 is leucine in the wildtype form of the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein and is preferably proline in the mutein.
  • the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is selected from the group comprising hBMP- 2, hBMP-4, hBMP-5, hBMP-6, hBMP-7, hBMP-8, hGDF-5, mGDF-6, mGDF-7, hBMP-10 and hGDF-2.
  • the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is hBMP-2 and the position corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 is amino acid position 51; the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is hBMP-4 and the position corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 is amino acid position 53; the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is hBMP-5 and the position corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 is amino acid position 68; the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is hBMP-6 and the position corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 is amino acid position 68; the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is hBMP-7 and the position corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 is amino acid position 75; the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is hBMP-8 and the position corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 is amino acid position 75; the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is hGDF-5 and the position corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 is amino acid position 56; the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic
  • the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is hBMP-10 and the position corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 is amino acid position 44;
  • the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is hGDF-2 and the position corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 is amino acid position 45. bodiment the wildtype of
  • hBMP-2 comprises an amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 1;
  • hBMP-4 comprises an amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 3;
  • hBMP-5 comprises an amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 5;
  • hBMP-6 comprises an amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 7;
  • hBMP-7 comprises an amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 9;
  • hBMP-8 comprises an amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 11;
  • hGDF-5 comprises an amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 13;
  • mGDF-6 comprises an amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 15;
  • mGDF-7 comprises an amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 17;
  • hBMP-10 comprises an amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 19;
  • hGDF-2 comprises an amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 21.
  • the wildtype of hBMP-2 is encoded by a nucleic acid according to SEQ ID No. 2;
  • hBMP-4 is encoded by a nucleic acid according to SEQ ID No. 4;
  • hBMP-5 is encoded by a nucleic acid according to SEQ ID No. 6;
  • hBMP-6 is encoded by a nucleic acid according to SEQ ID No. 8;
  • hBMP-7 is encoded by a nucleic acid according to SEQ ID No. 10;
  • hBMP-8 is encoded by a nucleic acid according to SEQ ID No.
  • hGDF-5 is encoded by a nucleic acid according to SEQ ID No. 14
  • mGDF-6 is encoded by a nucleic acid according to SEQ ID No. 16
  • mGDF-7 is encoded by a nucleic acid according to SEQ ID No. 18
  • hBMP-10 is encoded by a nucleic acid according to SEQ ID No. 20
  • hGDF-2 is encoded by a nucleic acid according to SEQ ID No. 22.
  • the problem is solved in a second aspect by a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein, whereby the mutein is not binding to a first bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor and the mutein is binding to at least a modulator protein, whereby the modulator protein is selected from the group comprising the noggin protein family, the DAN protein family, the chordin protein family and the cysteine-knot-containing BMP modulator proteins.
  • a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein which is preferably an embodiment of the first and the second aspect of the present invention, comprising a pre-helix loop structure which interacts with a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor, preferably a second bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor.
  • a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor preferably a second bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor.
  • second bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor is used in order to distinguish this kind of receptor from another receptor which is referred to herein as first bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor. This terminology is introduced herein for reasons of reference only and does not make allusion to the binding ofthe protein and mutein respectively.
  • the binding of the protein and mutein, respectively preferably occurs to a single bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor only.
  • Such single bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor can be either the first bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor or the second bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor.
  • the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein according to claim 7 and 8 whereby the first and/or the second bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor is BRIA or BRIB.
  • the interaction is related to an amino acid residue, preferably amino acid residue Gln86 of BRIA or Gin 67 of BRIB.
  • a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein which is in a preferred embodiment a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein according to the first, second and third aspect, comprising a pre-helix loop structure having an interaction with a second bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor, whereby the interaction of the pre-helix loop structure of the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein with the second bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor is different from the interaction of the pre-helix loop structure of the wildtype bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein with the second bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor.
  • the different interaction or the change is represented in refraction data, preferably such refraction data being acquired at room temperature to a resolution of at least about 2.7 A.
  • the pre-helix loop structure is mutated compared to the wildtype ofthe bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein.
  • the amino acid corresponding to leucine at position 51 of the wildtype BMP-2 is mutated.
  • amino acid corresponding to leucine at position 51 of human BMP-2 is mutated to proline.
  • the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein is a mutein of a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein selected from the group comprising hBMP-2, hBMP-4, hBMP-5, hBMP- 6, hBMP-7, hBMP-8, hGDF-5, mGDF-6, mGDF-7, hBMP-10 and hGDF-2.
  • the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is BMP-2 or pro-BMP-2.
  • a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein comprising an amino acid sequence according to any of SEQ ID Nos. 23 to 33.
  • the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein is a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein according to any aspect ofthe present invention.
  • the problem is solved in a sixth aspect by a nucleic acid coding for a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein and bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein, respectively, according to any aspect ofthe present invention and/or a complementary strand thereto.
  • nucleic acid comprising a nucleic acid sequence according to SEQ ID Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22, preferably coding for a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein according to any aspect of the present invention, and/or a complementary strand thereto.
  • the problem is solved in an eighth aspect by a nucleic acid coding for a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein according to any aspect of the present invention, whereby the nucleic acid would hybridize to the nucleic acid according to the sixth and seventh aspect but for the degeneracy ofthe genetic code, more preferably under stringent conditions.
  • the problem is solved in a ninth aspect by a vector comprising a nucleic acid according to the sixth, seventh and eighth aspect, whereby the vector is preferably an expression vector.
  • the problem is solved in a tenth aspect by a cell, preferably a mammalian cell, comprising a nucleic acid according to the sixth, seventh and eighth aspect and/or a vector according to the tenth aspect ofthe present invention.
  • the problem is solved in an eleventh aspect by a host organism, preferably a mammalian host organism and more preferably a non-human host organism comprising a cell according to the tenth aspect ofthe present invention.
  • the problem is solved in a twelfth aspect by a method for the production of a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein according to any of the first to fifth aspect of the present invention, comprising the steps of a) cultivating a cell according to claim 25 in a cultivation broth and b) preparing the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein from the cell and/or from the cultivation broth.
  • the problem is solved in a thirteenth aspect by a monoclonal antibody specifically binding to a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein according to any of the first to fifth aspect ofthe present invention.
  • the problem is solved in a fourteenth aspect by a composition comprising a mutein according to any of the first to fifth aspect and/or a nucleic acid according to any ofthe sixth to eighth aspect ofthe present invention.
  • the problem is solved in a fifteenth aspect by a pharmaceutical composition comprising a mutein according to any ofthe first to fifth aspect or a nucleic acid according to any of the sixth to eighth aspect of the present invention, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
  • the problem is solved in a sixteenth aspect by the use of a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein according to any of the first to fifth aspect and/or of a nucleic acid according to any of the sixth to eighth aspect of the present invention, for the manufacture of a medicament.
  • the medicament is for the treatment and/or prevention of a disease selected from the group comprising fibrotic diseases, wound healing, hypervascularization, vascular diseases, fractures, and osteoporosis.
  • the fibrotic disease is selected from the group comprising renal fibrosis, hepatic cirrhosis, pulmonary fibrosis and chronic inflammation, preferably chronic inflammation associated with asthma.
  • the wound healing is related to keloid, cicatrization, and peritoneal obliteration.
  • the hypervascularization is related to or associated with retinopathies, arteriosclerosis and/or tumors.
  • the fractures are non-healing fractures.
  • the disease is osteoporosis.
  • the problem is solved in a seventeenth aspect by the use of a mo ⁇ hogenetic protein, preferably a mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein according to any of the first to fifth aspect ofthe present invention as inhibitor to a BMP interacting protein.
  • the BMP interacting protein is selected from the group comprising the noggin protein family, the DAN protein family and the chordin protein family.
  • the present inventors have su ⁇ risingly found that the muteins according to the present invention are capable of inhibiting the activity of modulator proteins such as those of the noggin family, the DAN family and the chordin protein family while not interacting with the receptor of the corresponding bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein which is the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein based on which the proteins are generated by substituting at least one amino acid, more particularly the BMP-2-like protein receptor.
  • the muteins according to the present invention may be applied to any organism where said modulator proteins are to be modulated, preferably inhibited thus abolishing or decreasing the inhibition exerted by said modulator proteins, while the other biological activity related to the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein which is mediated through said receptor chains is no longer present.
  • This design of a mutein of a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is clearly advantageous insofar as it can be used in the treatment or prevention of said modulator protein related or mediated diseases without triggering the undesired receptor mediated effects of this kind of bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein. Insofar the mutein according to the present invention is "receptor-dead".
  • a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is preferably a BMP-2-like protein.
  • the pre-helix loop structure is preferably the structure of a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein which is, preferably in a secondary structure representation, the loop preceding the helix of the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein.
  • the loop comprises four to ten, preferably six to eight, more preferably six amino acid residues.
  • the pre-helix loop structure extends from amino acid position 48 to amino acid position 53.
  • the pre-helix loop is any loop, and more preferably any sequence of amino acids which correspond to amino acids 48 to 53 ofthe human BMP-2, more preferably of the amino acid sequence according to SEQ. ID. NO. 1.
  • the pre-helix loop structure is mediating the interaction with a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor, which is preferably referred to herein as type I bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor. Even more preferably, the type I bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor is BRIA.
  • BRIA EC is the extracellular domain of BMPR- LA and described in (see Kirsch, T., Sebald, W., Dreyer, M.K. (2000) Nat Struct Biol, 7, 492- 496).
  • BRIBE C is the ecxtracellular domain of BMPR-IB.
  • ARI E c is the extracellular domain of ActR-I.
  • the muteins according to the present invention are, due to the change in the structure, preferably secondary and tertiary structure as compared to the wildtype form of the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein no longer capable to interact with the type I bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor.
  • the changes as preferably used herein, are those which are detectable by reference to the interaction of the wildtype form of the corresponding bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein with said type I mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor. More particularly, it seems that in case of the type I bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor being the BRIA EC the amino acid mostly influenced by the mutein according to the present invention is GI1186.
  • the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein comprises a pre-helix loop structure which is mediating the interaction with a type I bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor such as BRIA EC , whereby the interaction is different from the interaction of the pre- helix loop structure ofthe wildtype form ofthe bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein with the type I bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor.
  • a type I bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor such as BRIA EC
  • Any of these induced changes or different interaction pattern between the mutein and the respective second bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor are detected relative to the corresponding structure or interaction of the wildtype form of the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein.
  • Such changes of either or both of said type I bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein receptor and of the mutein can preferably be monitored by acquiring refraction data.
  • such refraction data are acquired at room temperature to a resolution of at least about 2.7 A.
  • the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein is BMP-2.
  • BMP-2 is known in the art and preferably comprises the amino acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 1 as described herein and is preferably encoded by a nucleic acid comprising a nucleic acid sequence according to SEQ ID No. 2.
  • the present inventors have also discovered that the particular characteristics of the muteins according to the present invention are conferred by an amino acid substitution, i. e. mutation, at the pre-helix loop structure, more particularly at the amino acid position ofthe bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins, preferably of the BMP-2 like proteins which corresponds to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2, more preferably ofthe BMP-2 according to SEQ. ID. NO. 1.
  • the respective amino acid which is mutated in the mutein is the leucine in the corresponding wildtype forms of the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins. More preferably, the exchange is from a leucine residue to a proline residue.
  • the particular position is similarly active and relevant, respectively, within the various members of this group of bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins so that the change, i. e. amino acid substitution is effective in any of said bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins and, thus, the respective muteins exhibit the characteristics outlined above.
  • the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins are hBMP-2, hBMP-4, hBMP-5, hBMP-6, hBMP-7, hBMP-8, hGDF-5, mGDF-6, mGDF-7, hBMP-10 and hGDF-2 which are as such known in the art and all of which bind in a similar manner to BRIA EC -
  • the respective mutation turning them into corresponding muteins i. e. having an amino acid substitution at their positions corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 distinguishes them from the prior art.
  • the wildtype sequences of the aforementioned bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins are disclosed herein as SEQ ID No.
  • said amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 corresponds to position 53 in case of hBMP-4, to position 68 in case of hBMP-5, to position 68 in case of hBMP-6, to position 75 in case of hBMP-7, to position 75 in case of hBMP-8, to position 56 in case of hGDF-5, to position 56 in case of mGDF-6, to position 82 in case of mGDF-7, to position 44 in case of hBMP-10, and to position 45 in case of hGDF-2.
  • a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein and thus the corresponding mutein which differs therefrom preferably only by the single amino acid substitution disclosed herein, can be present in the pre-pro-form, in the pro-form or as mature protein.
  • This basic design is inherent to all of the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins, i case of BMP-2, for example, the pre-pro-form comprises a total of 396 amino acids.
  • the pre-sequence serves as a signal peptide and is responsible for the transport of the nascent polypeptide chain into the endoplasmatic reticulum. After importation the protein folds into its native confirmation, whereupon disulfide bridges are formed.
  • the pro- form of BMP-2 comprises all of the amino acids from position 20 to position 396. Accordingly, the pro-sequence comprises the amino acids from position 20 (Gly) to amino acid position 282 (Arg) of the human pre-pro-form of BMP-2. Finally, the mature BMP-2 comprises amino acids 283 to 396 ofthe pre-pro-form.
  • the mature form is depicted herein also as SEQ ID No. 1.
  • the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins and their corresponding muteins according to the present invention are present in the pre-pro-form, in the pro-form or in the mature form, whereby any signal peptide may act as pre-sequence, preferably of a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein, and any pro-sequence of any bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein can be used as the pro-sequence ofthe particular bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein, although it is more preferred that the pro-sequence attached to the N-terminus of the mature bone mo ⁇ hogenetic muteins correspond to the one attached to the N-terminus ofthe respective bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein in vivo. The same also applies to the pre-sequence.
  • bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein and “bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein”, respectively, as preferably used herein, also comprises orthologues thereof.
  • an orthologue is a protein from another organism that fullfills the same genetic and physiological function as the reference protein.
  • the term "bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein” and “bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein” comprises any truncated protein and mutein, respectively.
  • such truncated protein and mutein lacks at least one amino acid residue, preferably at either the N terminus or the C terminus.
  • the mutein lacks at least one domain.
  • a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein according to the present invention is thus also a truncated mutein as long as it still exhibits the characteristics outlined above, i. e. being "receptor-dead” and still suitable to interact with at least one modulator proteins, preferably a member of the noggin protein family, the DAN protein family and/or the chordin protein family.
  • nucleic acid sequence also comprises the complement of such nucleic acid specified, for example as specified by the sequence according to a sequence identifiers, either alone or in combination with the other, essentially complementary strand.
  • nucleic acid as used herein also comprises any fragments of the nucleic acid as described herein, whereby preferably any such fragment comprises a length from about 19 to 30, more preferably 19 to 25 and most preferably 21 and 22 consecutive nucleotides. Even more preferably this kind of fragment of a nucleic acid is present as a double-stranded structure.
  • the nucleic acid can also be a nucleic acid which hybridizes to any other form of nucleic acid disclosed herein, whereby such hybridization preferably occurs at stringent conditions.
  • stringent conditions are, among others, described in Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E.F. and Maniatis, T. (1989) Molecular Cloning. A. Laboratory Manual, 2 nd ed. pp. 9.47 - 9.55, Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory Press.
  • sequences disclosed herein are comprised by the present invention as long as they are suitable to code for the muteins according to the present invention.
  • sequence can be derived using the genetic code and factually any permutation of such sequence which arises due to the redundancy of the genetic code is within the present invention.
  • amino acid substitution which is characteristic to the muteins according to the present invention where at the position of the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins and muteins, respectively, corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 being proline rather than leucine it is to be acknowledged that the respective codon can be CCU, CCC, CCA or CCG.
  • the vector according to the present invention contains any of the nucleic acids as disclosed herein, including any of the fragments disclosed herein.
  • the vector is an expression vector.
  • Such expression vector typically comprises a promotor or promotor-like structure and optionally further elements which are suitable to control the expression of the nucleic acid cloned into the vector such as to be controlled by such promotor and other controlling elements.
  • the expression vector is a prokaryotic expression vector or an eukaryotic expression vector or a respective shuttle vector. The particular design of expression vectors of this type is known to the ones skilled in the art.
  • the cell according to the present invention is either a prokaryotic cell or an eukaryotic cell.
  • prokaryotic cell in principle, E. coli, B. subtilis or S. carnosus, is used for the expression ofthe nucleic acid coding for a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein according to the present invention, or a fragment or derivative thereof.
  • An eukaryotic cell as used herein is preferably a yeast cell or a mammalian cell. More preferably, the mammalian cell is a cell from mouse, rat, guinea-pig, pig, monkey or human being.
  • the host organism as used herein is preferably any ofthe cells according to the present invention or a multi-cellular organism.
  • Such multi-cellular organism is preferably a mammal, more preferably a non-human mammalian.
  • a preferred non-human mammal is selected from the group comprising mouse, rat, guinea-pig, sheep, rabbit and pig.
  • a cell according to the invention is cultivated.
  • Such cultivation is preferably performed in a cultivation broth.
  • a cultivation broth is preferably a fermentation broth or any other solution which is suitable for the cultivation and more preferably for the propagation of the cell to be cultivated.
  • Cultivation broths are known to the ones skilled in the art.
  • the muteins according to the present invention may be prepared from the cultivation broth.
  • Preparation from the cultivation broth comprises the preparation from the cell which may contain the mutein according to the present invention either intracellularly or otherwise attached to the cell, or may comprise the isolation or preparation of the mutein according to the present invention from the cultivation broth.
  • Methods for preparing or isolating the mutein according to the present invention are known to the ones skilled in the art.
  • the present invention is related to a monoclonal antibody which is directed against a mutein according to the present invention.
  • the antibody is a monoclonal antibody. It is to be acknowledged by the one skilled in the art that it is possible to prepare an antibody, preferably a monoclonal antibody which is specifically binding to a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein according to the present invention.
  • the term "specifically binding” means that the antibody is not binding to the wildtype form of the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein to the same extent or following the same binding characteristics as to the mutein, whereby at least the binding constant of the mutein compared to the corresponding wildtype form ofthe bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein differs by a factor of at least 2, preferably by a factor of at least 5 and most preferably by a factor of at least 10.
  • the present invention is related to a composition comprising either a mutein according to the present invention or a nucleic acid according to the present invention.
  • Such composition may comprise apart from the protein and/or the nucleic acid a carrier.
  • a carrier is selected from the group comprising solid phases, aqueous phases and lipid phases.
  • Lipid phases as used herein are preferably lipids or a lipid compositions complexing or encompassing the nucleic acid and the mutein, respectively.
  • Preferred lipid compositions insofar are liposomes as known to the ones skilled in the art.
  • Aqueous phases are preferably selected from the group comprising water and aqueous buffer solutions and hyaluronic acid.
  • Solid phases are preferably tricalcium phosphat, polylactides, collagen and insoluble collagen bone matrix.
  • the present invention is related to a pharmaceutical composition.
  • Such pharmaceutical composition comprises a mutein according to the present invention or a nucleic acid according to the present invention, or both, in addition to a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
  • a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is preferably either a liquid or a solid carrier. Suitable liquid carriers are, among others, water, aqueous solutions, more preferably buffers, or lipids or lipid compositions. Preferred solid carriers comprise, among others, sugar, cellulose and starch. It is to be acknowledged that those skilled in the art, preferably in the art of formulations, are aware of further pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and carrier material, respectively.
  • the pharmaceutical composition comprises a further pharmaceutically active agent.
  • the present invention is related to the use of a bone mo ⁇ hogenetic mutein according to the present invention and/or of a nucleic acid according to the present invention for the manufacture of a medicament.
  • the muteins according to the present invention and nucleic acids coding therefor can be applied to a patient in need thereof without running into the risk that the known undesired effects of bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins will occur, thus outweighing the benefits of interacting with the modulator proteins inhibiting their inhibitory activity.
  • undesired activities of BMP-2 are, among others, promoting tumor growth.
  • the medical use of bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins, including any muteins thereof of the prior art has been limited to local administration such as in bone regeneration.
  • the muteins according to the present invention being devoid of those effects of bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein activities particularly mediated through the interaction with their receptors allow for the very first time the medical application of this class of pharmaceutically active compounds.
  • a further aspect of the present invention is related to a method for the treatment of a patient suffering from or being in a condition to develop any of the diseases described herein for which the medicament according to the present invention may be used.
  • Such method comprises the administration of a mutein or a nucleic acid coding therefor, to the patient.
  • the patient is a mammal, more preferably the patient is a human being. Due to the mode of action of the muteins according to the present invention, they can be readily used for various diseases, namely those diseases which can be treated or prevented by providing for an undisturbed interaction between the bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins and corresponding muteins according to the present invention, and any modulator proteins.
  • the modulator proteins are known in the art and are selected from the group comprising cystine knot- containing bone mo ⁇ hogenetic proteins, more particularly the cystine knot-containing BMP modulator proteins, the noggin family, the chordin family, and the DAN family.
  • the cystine knot-containing BMP modulator proteins are, for example, described in Avsian-Kretchmer, O. and Hsueh, AJ. (2004) Comparative genomic analysis ofthe eight-membered ring cystine knot- containing bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein antagonists. Mol Endocrinol, 18, 1-12.
  • the noggin family comprising, e. g., noggin, is described by Canalis, E., Economides, A.N. and Gazzerro, E.
  • the muteins according to the present invention which may still interact with said modulator proteins and can thus inhibit their modulatory effect allowing that the process otherwise inhibited or stimulated by the modulator proteins can be performed at all or at a higher or lower level compared to the extent observed in the presence ofthe modulator proteins alone.
  • Particularly preferred diseases which can be treated by the muteins and the nucleic acids coding therefor, according to the present invention are fibrotic diseases.
  • Particularly preferred diseases which may be treated according to the present invention are renal fibrosis, hepatic cirrhosis, pulmonary fibrosis and chronic inflammation, more preferably chronic inflammation associated with asthma and, therefore, also the treatment of asthma is comprised by the present invention.
  • CTGF belonging to the Chordin-family interacts with BMP-2 and thus with the muteins according to the present invention.
  • CTGF is mediating a pro-fibrotic activity of TGF- ⁇ .
  • TGF- ⁇ is stimulating the production of proteins of the extracellular matrix and inhibits the degradation of this kind of proteins.
  • this process is an integral part of the healing of tissue, case of chronic diseases, however, such as inflammatory diseases and more particularly chronic inflammation, TGF- ⁇ activity is exuberant thus leading to tissue fibrosis, particularly excessive tissue fibrosis (Branton, M.H. and Kopp, J.B. (1999) TGF-beta and fibrosis. Microbes Infect, 1, 1349-1365).
  • These various fibrotic diseases can thus be inhibited by the administration of a mutein according to the present invention.
  • a further kind of diseases which may be treated according to the present invention is wound healing. More preferably, the form of this medical condition, i. e. wound healing, are keloid, cicatrization, and peritoneal obliteration.
  • a particular group of patients which can be treated according to the present invention are patients who undergo or have undergone a glaucoma surgery which preferably goes along with intense cicatrization affecting eye vision.
  • the exuberant cicatrization seems to be mediated through CTGF and CYR61 (Branton, M.H. and Kopp, J.B. (1999) TGF-beta and fibrosis. Microbes Infect, 1, 1349-1365) so that an inhibition of these modulator proteins through the muteins according to the present invention is a suitable means to avoid cicatrization and thus to treat the respective condition and disease, respectively.
  • hypervascularization comprises any disease which is caused, related to or associated with hypervascularization.
  • this kind of diseases are tumors, retinopathies and arteriosclerosis.
  • the present invention is also related to the use of the muteins according to the present invention for the treatment of tumors, retinopathies.
  • the tumors are solid tumors.
  • vascular diseases such as preferably arteriosclerosis, can be treated according to the present invention. Again, without wishing to be bound by any theory it seems that solid tumors require a sufficient vascularization in case they grow beyond a volume of 1 to 3 mm 3 .
  • CYR61 is involved in tumor angiogenesis. More particularly, CYR61 and CTGF, respectively, are understood as being involved in angiogenic and fibrogenous progresses which are involved in progressive vascular occlusion (Brigstock, D.R. (2002) Regulation of angiogenesis and endothelial cell function by connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and cysteine-rich 61 (CYR61), Angiogenesis, 5, 153-165).
  • CTGF connective tissue growth factor
  • CYR61 cysteine-rich 61
  • the muteins according to the present invention are suitable for the prevention and treatment ofthe respective diseases.
  • a further disease and condition, respectively, which can be treated according to the present invention are fractures, preferably non-healing fractures.
  • noggin and CTGF are BMP-modulating proteins involved in the healing of fractures. More particularly, noggin and CTGF inhibit and terminate bone formation (Yoshimura, Y., et al., (2001), Colocalization of noggin and bone mo ⁇ hogenetic protein-4 during fracture healing, J Bone Miner Res, 16, 876-884).
  • the muteins according to the present invention affect a treatment of this condition.
  • Osteoporosis is another disease which can be treated according to the present invention. Again without wishing to be bound by any theory, it seems that in connection with this disease the target is sclerostin. Sclerostin inhibits the bone forming processes in an organism. People suffering from an inactivation ofthe sclerostin gene (SOST) show a continuous increase in bone density which may reach up to three times of the standard value. Insofar any compound inhibiting sclerostin would be a suitable means for the treatment of conditions going along with reduced bone density such as, for example, osteoporosis (Balemans, W. and Nan Hul, W.
  • Fig. 1 (A) shows a ribbon sketch ofthe complex structure of BMP-2 and BRIA EC ;
  • Fig. 1 (B) shows a surface representation in an "open book” view with the receptor BRIA being rotated 180° around the y-axis, ofthe interface of BMP-2 and BRIA EC ;
  • Fig. 1 (C) shows a surface representation ofthe interface of BMP-2 and BRIA EC ;
  • Fig. 2 shows a zoom-in into the interface ofthe BMP-2-BRIA interaction
  • Fig. 3 (A) shows a stereo view ofthe pre-helix loop segment showing the crystal structure of the BMP-2 L5 IP
  • Fig. 4 shows the biological activity of BMP-2 proline muteins expressed as induction of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity measured in ATDC5 (A) and C2C12 (B) cells in response to BMP-2 and BMP-2 muteins;
  • ALP alkaline phosphatase
  • Fig. 5 shows the release of noggin inhibition by BMP-2 proline mutein L5 IP
  • Fig. 6 shows an alignment of BMP-2 like proteins which upon exchanging the amino acid residue at the position corresponding to amino acid position 51 of human BMP-2 from leucine to preferably proline form preferred embodiments of the muteins according to the present invention
  • Fig. 7 shows sensograms of the interaction between BMP proline muteins and (A) BRIAEC, (B) BRIBEC, or (C) Activin receptor II ectodomain and (D) interaction between BMP-2 and BRLA EC muteins, whereby all ligands were present at 120 nM concentration and the sensorgrams were normalised by setting resonance units (RU) calculated for saturating analyte BMP-2 concentration as 100%; and Fig. 8 shows structural differences between BMP-2 wild type and BMP-2 L51P, whereby the C ⁇ -atoms of both structures were superimposed and the in-between distances are shown and the region for the pre-helix loop is highlighted in grey.
  • RU resonance units
  • BMP-2 mutein and BMP receptor ectodomain proteins were prepared as described previously (Kirsch et al., 2000b; Ruppert et al, 1996). Variants for BMP-2 or BRIA EC were obtained by recombinant PCR (Kirsch et al, 2000a). BMP-2 wildtype and mutein protein used for crystallization was purified by cation exchange chromatography using an EMD SO 3 " column (Merck). Fractions were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and pooled fractions were dialyzed against water and freeze-dried. Homogeneity of the proteins was checked by ESI FT-CR mass spectroscopy and analytical reversed-phase HPLC.
  • Binding activity of the refolded BMP-2 muteins was assessed by measurement of the binding affinity for BMP type I and II receptor using BIAcore methodology. Preparation ofthe BMP-2 - BRIA EC complex for structure analysis was performed as published (Kirsch et al., 2000b).
  • BMP-2 D53P and BMP-2 L51P were dissolved in water at a concentration of 5 and 8 mg ml "1 , respectively.
  • BMP-2 L51P was crystallised by the hanging drop vapour diffusion method at room temperature from 15% t-butanol, 0.1 M lithium sulphate and 0.1 M sodium citrate pH 5.0.
  • Crystallisation of the complex of BMP-2 - BRIAE C was performed basically as published (Kirsch et al, 2000b) however crystals for measurement at 100 K were obtained by co-crystallising using glucose as cryo-protectant.
  • High quality crystals for data acquisition grew from 0.75 M sodium acetate, 0.1 M imidazole pH 7.0 and 30% glucose at 10°C using a protein concentration of 11 mg ml "1 .
  • the exposure time was set to 5 min per 0.5° rotation, crystals diffracted up to 2.5 A.
  • An acquisition strategy was determined using the software CrystalClear (Rigaku) to minimize radiation damage, however to realize reasonable completeness, data from two crystals was collected, merged and scaled using the software MOSFLM and SCALA (Evans, 1993; Leslie, 1992).
  • the structure of the complex of BMP-2 - BRIA EC was refined by using the lower resolution structure (PDB entry 1ES7) as a start model.
  • the BMP-2 - BRIA EC complex crystallises in the space group P6 5 , with the asymmetric unit holding a BMP-2 dimer and two BRIA E C molecules. Due to slight changes in the cell constants, a molecular replacement step consisting of a rotation and translation search followed by a rigid body refinement was performed using the software CNS 1.1 (Brunger et al, 1998). ( The program REFMAC5 (Murshudov et al., 1997) was subsequently used for refinement followed by manual rebuilding of the coordinates using the software QUANT A2000 (Accelrys).
  • the resolution was gradually increased to a final resolution range of 20 to 1.9 A.
  • One TLS group was defined for each chain, i.e. BMP-2 monomers and each BRIAEC molecule to account for anisotropy in the data (Winn et al., 2001).
  • the progress of refinement was monitored by cross-validation using a test data set comprising of 5 % of the reflections (Brunger, 1992). Since the complex structure is principally symmetrical, we tried to employ non-crystallographic symmetry restraints, however in the subsequent refinement steps the R free could not be lowered without the NCS restraints being violated.
  • Proteins were biotinylated and immobilised to streptavidin-coated sensor chip CM5 (Kirsch et al., 2000a).
  • the extracellular domain of BRIA, BRIB and ARII were prepared as described (Kirsch et al., 2000a).
  • Noggin/Fc, Chordin and Gremlin were obtained from R&D systems (Wiesbaden-Nordenstadt).
  • Interaction with analyte was measured on a BIAcore 2000 system (Kirsch et al., 2000a). Evaluation of sensorgrams (Biaevaluation software 2.0) yielded kinetic constants for complex formation (k on ) and dissociation (k 0ff ).
  • Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was determined in serum-starved ATDC5 (Riken Bioresource Center, Cell number RCB0565) and C2C12 (ATCC Number CRL-1772) cells (Kirsch et al, 2000a).
  • the high resolution structure of the BMP-2 - BRIA EC complex contains one complete BMP-2 dimer bound to two BRIA ectodomains in the asymmetric unit (Fig. 1A). Applying strict non- crystallographic symmetry failed showing that the symmetry of the ligand-receptor complex is not perfect. However, differences between the two segments (BMP-2 dimer and one BRIA EC molecule) are small with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.9 A for all atoms and 0.4 A for all C ⁇ -atoms. A detailed analysis shows that the structure of the two BMP-2/BRIA EC interfaces is the same. All dissimilarities between the non-crystallographic symmetry related molecules are due to differences in the packing environment in the crystal lattice. The high temperature factor in these segments suggests that all the differences might be due to backbone flexibility. Thus, structural variations in the symmetry-related protein segments do not reflect real dissimilarities between the individual molecules but rather possible conformations and dynamics of the BMP-2 and BRIA polypeptide chains.
  • the BMP-2/BRIA interface represents a new paradigm for a growth factor/receptor interface.
  • the binding epitope of BMP-2 is highly hydrophobic with almost 60% ofthe total buried surface area of 2310 A 2 built by hydrophobic residues (Fig. lb).
  • binding epitopes of other growth factors like human growth hormone (de Vos et al., 1992), interleukin-4 (Hage et al., 1999), erythropoietin (Syed et al., 1998) or interleukin-6 (Boulanger et al., 2003), this level of hydrophobicity is quite high.
  • Table 1 Geometry of H-bonds in the BMP-2 - BRIA interface.
  • the numbers in bracket represent the distances of donor-acceptor atom and angles in the second interface related by non-crystallographic symmetry.
  • H-bonds in the shaded rows were excluded from above geometrical statistics;
  • N-O-C are the Donor-Acceptor atoms; from statistics (Xu et al, 1997) this angle is 149° ⁇ 15° for MC-MC hydrogen bonds and 129° ⁇ 18° for SC-MC and SC-SC H-bonds;
  • the receptor Q86A substitution resulted in an 86-fold increased K ⁇ during BMP-2 interaction.
  • Such a large decrease in affinity was however expected, since the BMP-2 L51P mutein has already demonstrated that the affected H-bond represents a major binding determinant (see above).
  • the hot spot identified by the mutational analysis coincides with the hot spot surmised by the analysis of the residual fractional accessibility of the engaged donor and acceptor groups (Fig. 1C).
  • the loss in affinity in the receptor Q86A mutein is less severe than in the BMP-2 L51P mutein (Table 2). Neighbouring side chains in the receptor, e.g.
  • Lys 79, or Glu 81, or Asp 89 might compensate partially for the carboxamide group of Gin 86 lost (Fig. lb).
  • the proline introduced in BMP-2 L51P causes steric hindrance or disturb nearby bonds by local structural rearrangements, e.g. between the BMP-2 Asp 53 backbone amide and the receptor Cys 77 carbonyl, and thereby would aggravate the effect ofthe substitution (Fig. 2).
  • BMP-2 L51P and also D53P muteins were submitted to crystallisation trials.
  • BMP-2 L51P could be crystallised under the same conditions as wild type BMP-2, with identical crystal parameters, e.g. the same space group, R32, and almost identical cell constants as observed for crystals of wild type BMP-2.
  • the proline residue can be accommodated in place of Leu 51 whose hydrophobic side chain points into the protein core of BMP-2.
  • the mutein D53P did not crystallise under those conditions, crystals of D53P growing from either ethanol or 2-methyl-2,4-pentandiol diffracted only to very low resolution and were not further analysed.
  • Diffraction data for BMP-2 L51P were obtained at room temperature to a resolution of 2.7 A.
  • the structures of BMP-2 wild type and L51P are basically identical within the error boundaries of the structure determination method depicted in table 3; the r.m.s. deviation for all C ⁇ atom positions is 0.6 A.
  • Clear changes are observed in the pre- helix loop comprising residues Pro 48 to His 54 carrying also the site of mutation at position 51.
  • residues Pro 48, Phe 49, Pro 50, Leu/Pro51, Ala 52, and His 54 the distances between the C ⁇ -position ofthe wild type and mutein exceeds 1 A, with the largest difference of 1.8 A for the C ⁇ of Ala 52 (table 3). Since the overall positional error for both structures, BMP-2 wild type and L51P, is about 0.4 as calculated from ⁇ A -plot, the change in conformation for the pre-helix loop might be considered small but significant.
  • Table 3 Processing and refinement statistics for BMP-2 - BRIA complex and BMP-2 L51P.
  • This change may be due to altered backbone geometry for the proline residue compared to that for wild type leucine.
  • the differences between the C ⁇ positions are of the same magnitude as observed between BMP-2 wild type and mutein L51P, showing that the conformation ofthe pre-helix loop is neither preformed nor fixated, and adapts on the receptor surface upon complex formation.
  • the side chain of Pro 51 is oriented as Leu 51 in wild type BMP-2, indicating that the packing of the hydrophobic core is not affected by the mutation.
  • exchange of Leu 51 to proline does not alter the orientation of the backbone carbonyl of residue 51 therefore one hydrogen bond of residue 51 with BRIA Gin 86 might still be formed in the complex (Figs. 2,3A).
  • the rather small structural differences introduced in the unbound proteins by the mutation the large change in binding affinity seems puzzling.
  • the biological activity of the BMP-2 proline muteins was determined by dose-dependent induction of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity using C2C12 cells as well as the slightly more sensitive ATDC5 cell line.
  • the dose of wild type BMP-2 resulting in 50% > of the maximal response (ED 50 ) was 25nM in C2C12 cells.
  • ATDC5 cells the ED 50 was 8nM showing the increased responsiveness of these cells.
  • BMP-2 L51P has no measurable biological activity in C2C12 (> 1600nM) or in the ATDC5 cells (> 1500nM).
  • the BMP-2 D53P mutein shows ED 50 values of 330nM and 140nM for C2C12 and ATDC5 cells, respectively.
  • BMP-2 L51P to bind to BRIA EC raised the question, whether the interaction with other binding proteins might be also affected by the proline substitution.
  • Noggin that binds BMPs with high affinity and whose structure in complex with BMP-7 has been recently determined (Groppe et al, 2002).
  • Chordin Another important binding protein is Chordin, that interacts with BMP-2 by means of two cysteine-rich domains.
  • Gremlin that interacts with BMP-2 via a so-called DAN domain.
  • Each of the three proteins was immobilised at the surface of a biosensor and analysed for BMP-2 mutein interaction as depicted in table 4.
  • Table 4 Binding affinities between BMP-2 proline muteins and Noggin, Chordin, and Gremlin (Biacore interaction analysis).
  • the dissociation constants K ⁇ of the two BMP-2 proline muteins for the complex with Noggin were similar to those of BMP-2 wild type and ranged from 0.5 to 2.5 nM.
  • BMP-2 Leu 51 and Asp 53 are not the main binding determinants for Noggin, despite the fact that the N- terminal amino acids of Noggin have been shown to be in contact with the BMP-7 region corresponding to BMP-2 Leu 51 (BMP-7 Leu 75) and Asp 53 (BMP-7 Ser 77, pre-helix loop) and that Noggin prevents BRIA binding to BMP-2.
  • Example 7 Proline mutein L51P releases Noggin inhibition in C2C12 cells
  • BMP-2 induces in starved promyeloblastic cell line C2C12 the expression of alkaline phosphatase. This BMP response is inhibited to background levels by equimolar concentration of Noggin-Fc fusion protein (Fig. 5). The inhibition of BMP-2 activity by Noggin is released in a dose dependent manner by the L51P mutein. At roughly equimolar concentrations of the mutein L51P and Noggin the inhibitory effect of Noggin is neutralized to more than 80%. This indicates that the receptor-dead L51P mutein represents an efficient inhibitor of the Noggin protein. This result is in accordance with the physical binding studies showing disruption of type I receptor binding and conservation of Noggin binding after the BMP-2 L51P substitution.
  • the BMP7/ActRII extracellular domain complex provides new insights into the cooperative nature of receptor assembly. Mol Cell, 11, 605-617.
  • BMP-2 antagonists emerge from alterations in the low-affinity binding epitope for receptor BMPR-II. Embo J, 19, 3314-3324.
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US7786080B2 (en) 2004-03-04 2010-08-31 Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg Mutein of a bone morphogenetic protein and use thereof
CN101301467B (zh) * 2008-04-22 2012-01-25 同济大学 Bmp-7在制备预防和/或治疗肝纤维化药物中的应用
US9718867B2 (en) 2011-12-05 2017-08-01 Biopharma Gesellschaft Zur Biotechnologischen Entwicklung Von Pharmaka Mbh GDF-5 mutant for inducing cartilage formation

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