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The structural basis for the selective antagonism of soluble TNF-alpha by shark variable new antigen receptors

Ubah, O. C.; Lake, E. W.; Priyanka, S.; Shi, K.; Moeller, N. H.; Porter, A. J.; Aihara, H.; LeBeau, A. M.; Barelle, C. J.

2024-07-30 pharmacology and toxicology
10.1101/2024.07.30.605874 bioRxiv
Show abstract

The pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF)- is synthesized as transmembrane TNF- (tmTNF-) where proteolytic processing releases soluble TNF- (sTNF-). tmTNF- can act as either a ligand by activating TNF receptors, or a receptor that transmits outside-to-inside signals (reverse signalling) after binding to native receptors. All TNF- therapies bind tmTNF- and induce reverse signalling which can result in immunosuppression leading to infection. We present crystal structures of two anti-TNF- Variable New Antigen Receptors (VNAR) in complex with sTNF- via two distinct epitopes. The VNAR-D1 recognized an epitope that selectively engaged sTNF- while VNAR-C4 bound an epitope that overlapped with other biologic therapies. In activated CD4+ T cells, our VNARs did not bind tmTNF- in contrast to commercially available therapies that demonstrated induction of reverse signalling. Our findings suggest that neutralisation through a unique mechanism may lead to anti-TNF- agents with an improved safety profile that will benefit high-risk patients.

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