Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

KREX is a patented protein expression technology originally developed as collaboration between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in the late 1990s. Fundamental advantages of KREX include: (1) High-throughput expression of correctly folded proteins using Biotin Carboxyl Carrier Protein (BCCP) as a folding marker and solubility enhancer; (2) 98% of proteins produced using KREX are soluble when expressed as BCCP fusions; and (3) No conventional purifi cation is required. Individually purifi ed BCCP-tagged proteins are immobilized onto purposed-design surfaces such that they retain folded structure and function and behave in miniaturized, highly multiplexed quantitative assays as if they are in free solution. We have utilized protein microarrays consisting of full-length KREX produced proteins in various applications including autoantibody biomarker profi ling, stratifi cation of patients on the basis of irAEs, identifi cation of novel drug targets, as well as drug safety and predictive toxicology. Th is presentation describes how these applications have successfully facilitated the identifi cation, validation and discovery of new biomarkers in cancer, autoimmune and infectious diseases.