A Library-Based Screening Strategy for the Identification of DARPins as Ligands for Receptor-Targeted AAV and Lentiviral Vectors
Delivering genes selectively to the therapeutically relevant cell type is among the prime goals of vector development. Here, we present a high-throughput selection and screening process that identifies designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) optimally suited for receptor-targeted gene delivery using adeno-associated viral (AAV) and lentiviral (LV) vectors. In particular, the process includes expression, purification, and in situ biotinylation of the extracellular domains of target receptors as Fc fusion proteins in mammalian cells and the selection of high-affinity binders by ribosome display from DARPin libraries each covering more than 1012 variants. This way, DARPins specific for the …
Transmission Electron Microscopy of GroEL, GroES, and the Symmetrical GroEL/ES Complex
Two new 2-D crystal forms of the Escherichia coli chaperone GroEL (cpn60) 2 x 7-mer have been produced using the negative staining-carbon film (NS-CF) technique. These 2-D crystals, which contain the cylindrical GroEL in side-on and end-on orientations, both possess p21 symmetry, with two molecules in the respective unit cells. The crystallographically averaged images correlate well with those obtained by other authors from single particle analysis of GroEL and our own previous crystallographic analysis. 2-D crystallization of the smaller chaperone GroES (cpn10) 7-mer has also been achieved using the NS-CF technique. Crystallographically averaged images of GroES single particle images indic…