1.
Chem Biol
; 20(3): 351-9, 2013 Mar 21.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23521793
ABSTRACT
Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system. In most NMO patients, autoantibodies to the water channel protein Aquaporin 4 (AQP4) are present at high levels and are thought to drive pathology by mediating complement-dependent destruction of astrocytes. Here, we apply recently developed chemical library screening technology to identify a synthetic peptoid that binds anti-AQP4 antibodies in the serum of NMO patients. This finding validates, in a well-defined human disease, that synthetic, unnatural ligands for the antigen-binding site of a disease-linked antibody can be isolated by high-throughput screening.