Patent ID: 7930109

Claim:
A method of identifying a potential Complement Receptor of the Immunoglobulin superfamily (CRIg) agonist which mimics the C3b binding site of CRIg comprising: (a) determining the three-dimensional structure of a crystalline CRIg polypeptide selected from the group consisting of: (i) a CRIg polypeptide having amino acids 1-119 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and forms in space group P2 1 2 1 2 1 with unit cell dimensions of a=30.3 Å, b=50.8 Å, c=62.0 Å; (ii) a complex of a CRIg polypeptide having amino acids 1-119 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and complement factor C3b which forms in space group C222 1 with unit cell dimensions of a=97.6 Å, b=255.7 Å, c=180.3 Å; and (iii) a complex of a CRIg polypeptide having amino acids 1-119 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and complement factor C3c which forms in space group C2 with unit cell dimensions of a=382.8 Å, b=65.0 Å, c=147.2 Å and β=102.7°; (b) employing the three-dimensional structure determined in part (a) in rational drug design to design or identify a potential CRIg agonist which mimics the CRIg C3b binding site; and (c) contacting said potential CRIg agonist from step (b) with C3b to determine its capacity to act as a CRIg agonist.