Engineered human lipocalin as an antibody mimetic: Application to analysis of the small peptide hormone hepcidin

摘要

To the Editor: Anticalin? proteins are human li-pocalins that are engineered to bind relevant targets with high affinity and specificity (1). By applying a mutation and selection process, it is possible to select Anticalin proteins that can specifically bind to very diverse protein targets in a monovalent fashion. Anticalin proteins are also suited for engaging small and compact ligands owing to their cuplike binding pocket. Compared with monoclonal antibodies, Anticalin proteins are about 8 times smaller and can be recombinantly produced in bacterial cells in large amounts.