Study Of Human Erythropoietin Mimetic Peptides

Activation of transmembrane receptors for cytokines occurs when oligomerization of receptor chains is induced by binding of a protein ligand (cytokine) to a specific ligand-binding domain on the receptor. The resulting clustering of tyrosine kinase domains on the cytoplasmic side of the receptor initiates signal transduction events. Receptors may also be activated by bivalent receptor antibodies and by dimeric peptides that interact with the ligand binding domain. Thus activation of receptors by small,peptidyl molecules might make it possible to develop cytokine mimetics that may replace natural counterparts that are now on the market for therapy. This is illustrated here for erythropoietin (EPO). EPO,used for stimulating production of red blood cells,is a major product in biotechnology with world-wide sales of $2.6 billion already in 1995. Thus there has been an increasing interest in molecular mimicry with EPO potency for obviously huge commercial...