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Jan Vilim, Ghazalova T, Petulova E, Horackova A, Stepankova V, Chaloupkova R, Bednar D, Damborsky J, Prokop Z. Computer-assisted stabilization of fibroblast growth factor FGF-18. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2023; 21:5144-5152. [PMID: 37920818 PMCID: PMC10618113 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The fibroblast growth factors (FGF) family holds significant potential for addressing chronic diseases. Specifically, recombinant FGF18 shows promise in treating osteoarthritis by stimulating cartilage formation. However, recent phase 2 clinical trial results of sprifermin (recombinant FGF18) indicate insufficient efficacy. Leveraging our expertise in rational protein engineering, we conducted a study to enhance the stability of FGF18. As a result, we obtained a stabilized variant called FGF18-E4, which exhibited improved stability with 16 °C higher melting temperature, resistance to trypsin and a 2.5-fold increase in production yields. Moreover, the FGF18-E4 maintained mitogenic activity after 1-week incubation at 37 °C and 1-day at 50 °C. Additionally, the inserted mutations did not affect its binding to the fibroblast growth factor receptors, making FGF18-E4 a promising candidate for advancing FGF-based osteoarthritis treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Vilim
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Enantis Ltd., INBIT, Kamenice 34, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | | | - Eliska Petulova
- Enantis Ltd., INBIT, Kamenice 34, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Aneta Horackova
- Enantis Ltd., INBIT, Kamenice 34, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - David Bednar
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Damborsky
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Zbynek Prokop
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
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