Terminal complement inhibitor fusion proteins

摘要

Nucleic acid sequences encoding chimeric proteins that comprise a functional portion of a parent terminal complement inhibitor, such as CD59, and a heterologous transmembrane domain are provided. The parent terminal complement inhibitor is modified to inactivate its GPI signal sequence. The heterologous transmembrane domain serves to anchor the chimeric protein to the cell membrane without substantially interfering with the complement inhibitor activity of the terminal complement inhibitor. The nucleic acid sequences and encoded chimeric proteins can be used to protect cells from complement attack.