Finding the perfect match with Spy pairing of binders- our preprint

We have just posted on bioRxiv our preprint describing a way to make spatially directed pairs for control of cell behaviour. Great to get your feedback as we develop this approach, either in the comments below here, at the bioRxiv site, or e-mail me directly! Bispecifics are important as therapeutics and discovery tools, bringing together cancer cells and immune cells for targeted killing, or connecting other cellular targets to change signalling responses. The advantage of the approach here is that each binder only needs cloning with SpyTag and then can be plugged in through isopeptide bond formation. By uncaging a SpyMask peptide with a site-specific protease, we can specify which site on the DoubleCatcher that the binder is anchored. We also have a panel of DoubleCatchers with different angles and distances, which makes a big difference in the signalling effects on the cell when we bridge HER2 molecules. The project is being led by Claudia D. , after Anthony Keeble in the lab kicked things off. The platform should be applicable to all sorts of ligands: binding scaffolds like Fabs, nanobodies etc. but also growth factors and peptides. If you have binders that you would be interested to SpyTag and explore through this platform, let's discuss.