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Mimotopes: realization of an unlikely concept
Author(s) -
Meloen R. H.,
Puijk W. C.,
Slootstra J. W.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of molecular recognition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.401
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1099-1352
pISSN - 0952-3499
DOI - 10.1002/1099-1352(200011/12)13:6<352::aid-jmr509>3.0.co;2-c
Subject(s) - mimotope , epitope , measles virus , antibody , virology , antigen , computational biology , peptide , biology , virus , peptide vaccine , chemistry , immunology , biochemistry , measles , vaccination
Theoretically it seems highly unlikely that relatively small peptides could mimic functionally discontinuous epitopes of antigens. Nevertheless various recent reports show this to be the case. Peptide mimics of protein‐, polysaccharide‐ and DNA‐epitopes have been shown to be able to replace the native epitope. Moreover, some of them are able to induce, when used in a vaccine, antibodies with the same activity as that of the antibody used as a template. These mimics, called mimotopes, can be used in vaccines and diagnostics and can be developed more or less systematically using solely antibodies and random, semi‐random and dedicated peptide arrays or libraries. Furthermore, the mimotope concept which seems to have proven itself for antibody and antigen interaction can be applied equally well to many receptor ligand interactions and thus may form a new generic approach to the development of drugs. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Abbreviations used: FMDV foot and mouth disease virusMV measles virusN‐AChR nicotine acetyl choline receptorRSV respiratory syncytical virus