COMPOUNDS COMPRISING TWO OR MORE IDENTICAL PROTEIN DOMAINS INTERLINKED BY A PEPTIDE HAVING SUCH A LENGTH THAT EACH OF THE PROTEIN DOMAINS CAN INTERACT SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH ITS SPECIFIC CELL-SURFACE STRUCTURE AND THEREBY BLOCK THE FUNCTION OF THE STRUCTURE

摘要

On the surface of a cell there are different surface molecules, so called receptors. These receptors bind specific ligands, through which the cell becomes affected by its surroundings. Receptor molecules are also found on the surface of viruses and other pathogens. In contrast, such receptors are used for the attachment of the pathogen to a specific protein in the host and thereby for initiating the infection process. If membrane receptors of the cell are blocked, the cell will be prevented from being affected by a specific ligand, and if surface receptors of a pathogen are blocked, the pathogen will be prevented from being infectious. This invention relates to compounds, which will form very strong complexes with and thereby inhibit the biological function of for the compound specific surface structures (receptors) on cells, pathogenic microorganisms or viruses. The invention also relates to the design and preparation of such compounds for use as drugs or as tools for analytical or diagnostic purposes. The compounds comprise two or more identical protein domains interlinked by a peptide having such a length that each of the protein domains can interact simultaneously with its specific surface structure and thereby block the function of its structure. The protein domains might be human interleukin 2 (IL-2).