Diminishing the immunogenicity of therapeutic proteins without hindering their function will improve clinical outcomes. This can be accomplished by substitution of key amino acids in the T cell epitope sequences which abrogate binding to HLA and thereby attenuate epitope potential to trigger a T cell response. Altered T cell epitopes no longer bind to HLA. Epitope modifications are easily evaluated in vitro and in vivo prior to release of the protein therapeutic for clinical development. This method of reducing immunogenicity, also known as de-immunization, is described in further detail here.
