Patent ID: 8226935

Claim:
A method of inhibiting natural heteromultimer receptor activation, the method comprising: contacting a recombinant chimeric heteromultimer adhesin comprising a first amino acid sequence comprising the extracellular domain of the ErbB2 receptor monomer, and a first heterologous multimerization domain; and an additional amino acid sequence comprising the extracellular domain of the ErbB3 receptor monomer, and a second heterologous multimerization domain, wherein the first amino acid sequence and the additional amino acid sequence are brought together via interaction of the multimerization domain of the first amino acid sequence and the multimerization domain of the additional amino acid sequence to form a monovalent ligand binding domain of the chimeric heteromultimer adhesin having a higher affinity for a ligand relative to a monomer of either receptor or a homomultimer of either receptor with a sample comprising a ligand for the natural heteromultimeric receptor and the receptor; and incubating the chimeric heteromultimer adhesin with the ligand to form a complex such that activation of the natural heteromultimeric receptor by the ligand is inhibited.