Psoriasis Treatment – An Engineered Locked Dimer of the Human Chemokine CCL20

Chemokines are small proteins that stimulate the migration of cells and are thus thought to play a major role in inflammation, wound healing, autoimmune diseases, as well as the ΓÇ£homingΓÇØ of stem cells and the spread of cancer cells. In nature, most chemokines ΓÇ£self-associateΓÇØ to form dimers of two identical molecules linked together non-covalently. The monomeric and dimeric forms exist in equilibrium. However, whereas the monomer is a receptor agonist, the dimer is an antagonist. The invention is a constitutively locked (always) dimeric form of CCL20 (ΓÇ£CCL20S64CΓÇØ) that binds to the CCL20 receptor (CCR6). Proof-of-concept studies show that the locked dimer inhibits cell migration. Moreover, CCL20S64C was shown to have therapeutic potential in a mouse model human of psoriasis. Joe Hill jhill@mcw.edu 414-955-4381