Introduction

The RSC Norman Heatley Award Lecture will be given by Prof. Mark Howarth at the University of Huddersfield.

Abstract:

A special feature of the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes enables spontaneous isopeptide bond formation within particular proteins. We have re-engineered this chemistry to generate an irreversible peptide-protein interaction (SpyTag/SpyCatcher). This reaction is rapid, genetically-encodable and specific in diverse biological environments. Cyclizing enzymes using SpyTag conferred resilience to boiling, as may be applicable for enhancing animal dietary supplementation. SpyTag and its related superglue SnoopTag allows programmable synthesis of multi-functional teams, to modulate precisely cancer cell signalling. Virus-like particles (VLPs) are nano-assemblies with many attractive features for vaccination. However, decorating VLPs with target antigens by genetic fusion or chemical modification is often unsuccessful. We demonstrated 100% reaction to SpyCatcher-VLPs after mixing with SpyTag linked to a range of malaria antigens and cancer peptides. Spy-VLPs efficiently induced antibody responses after only a single immunization and without adjuvant. Plug-and-display VLP decoration has potential to accelerate vaccine development against a range of human and veterinary diseases.
 

Speakers

• Professor Mark Howarth University of Oxford, United Kingdom

  http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/howarth/

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Venue

University of Huddersfield

Buckley Lecture Theatre, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield, HD13DH, United Kingdom

Committee

• Jason Camp University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom

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Contact information

Dr Jason Camp
Department of Chemical Sciences
University of Huddersfield
Contact us by email

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