Probing the ligand receptor interface of TNF ligand family members RANKL and TRAIL

During the last two decades, research has shown that the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily is of importance in numerous biological activities, such as mediating cellular apoptosis, survival, differentiation or proliferation. The binding between the TNF superfamily ligands and receptors regulates normal physiological processes, while the deregulation may cause harmful effects. Therefore, targeting TNF superfamily ligands or receptors with either agonistic or antagonistic molecules may provide novel approaches for therapy. The work described in this thesis is focused on the ligand-receptor interface of TNF super family members Ligand of Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor κB (RANKL) and TNF-Related Apoptosis Inducing Ligand (TRAIL), to design and characterization novel recombinant RANKL and TRAIL variants for their use as potential therapeutics.