A Cell study from Prof. Ming Wang's team at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, shows how programmable supramolecular targeting chimeras achieve tissue-specific, time-controlled protein degradation—and Yeasen HiActi™ recombinant human APOE helped make it happen.
Targeted protein degradation (TPD) has transformed drug discovery, but one challenge has remained stubbornly unsolved: controlling where and when degradation happens in the body. Most degrader platforms act systemically, which limits their therapeutic window and raises off-target concerns.
A team led by Prof. Ming Wang at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has now cracked this problem with a fundamentally new approach. Their programmable supramolecular targeting chimeras (SupTAC) platform enables tissue-specific and temporally controlled protein degradation in vivo—and even extends to modulating BTK phosphorylation. The work was published online in Cell in January 2026 ("Multimodal supramolecular targeting chimeras enable spatiotemporally resolved protein degradation in vivo,"
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.12.007; IF 45.1).
The Cell paper: graphical abstract (Wang lab, ICCAS).
Yeasen HiActi™ APOE: Powering the Protein Corona Mechanism
A key mechanistic experiment in the study relied on Yeasen Recombinant Human APOE/Apolipoprotein E (His Tag), Cat. #93486ES.
The team used APOE as an exogenous protein corona component to pre-coat SupTAC nanoparticles. APOE adsorbs onto the SupTAC surface and engages LDLR on hepatocytes, driving particle enrichment in the liver. Here's how the experiment worked:
- SupTAC was pre-incubated with 0.63 mg/kg APOE at 37°C for 1 hour
- SupTAC-Lung nanoparticles were administered intravenously at 1.4 mg/kg (Ada-MOC)
- Organ biodistribution was assessed 6 hours post-injection
This elegant experiment validated the ApoE–LDLR axis as a driver of SupTAC liver targeting and provided direct evidence for how organ-specific distribution is achieved—critical mechanistic insight for anyone building tissue-selective delivery systems.
Methods excerpt from the paper describing the ApoE pre-coating experiment (highlighted).
Materials list from the paper: Recombinant Human APOE/Apolipoprotein E, Yeasen, Cat# 93486ES20
HiActi™: Engineered to the "Three-High, One-Low" Standard
Yeasen's HiActi™ cytokine family is built on years of recombinant protein R&D and manufacturing expertise. Under rigorous QC and cell-based functional validation, every lot delivers:
- High activity — validated in cell-based assays
- High purity — >95% by SDS-PAGE (Figure 1)
- High stability — robust performance across storage and handling
- Low endotoxin — minimizing experimental artifacts
Binding validation by SPR (Biacore T200): Human APOE (His Tag) binds TREM2 (hFc Tag) with an affinity of 1.004 μM (Figure 2) and LILRB4 (hFc Tag) with an affinity of 115.9 nM (Figure 3)—confirming native-like biological activity.
Figure 1. Human APOE on Tris-Bis PAGE under reduced condition. The purity is greater than 95%.
Figure 2. Human TREM2, hFc Tag captured on CM5 Chip via Protein A can bind Human APOE, His Tag with an affinity constant of 1.004 μM as determined in SPR assay (Biacore T200).
Figure 3. Human LILRB4, hFc Tag captured on CM5 Chip via Protein A can bind Human APOE, His Tag with an affinity constant of 115.9 nM as determined in SPR assay (Biacore T200).
Need GMP? Yeasen Has You Covered
For cell therapy programs heading toward the clinic, Yeasen offers a growing portfolio of GMP-grade recombinant proteins manufactured under comprehensive quality control:
Quality highlights
- Purity >95%; minimal HCP/DNA residuals to reduce immunogenicity risk
- Ultra-low endotoxin (<10 EU/mg)
- Animal-origin free
- Full documentation supporting IND filings
Regulatory alignment
- Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, General Chapter on raw material QC for biological products
- USP Chapter <92> — Growth Factors and Cytokines Used in Cell Therapy Manufacturing
- Ph. Eur. General Chapter 5.2.12 — Raw Materials of Biological Origin for Cell/Gene Therapy Products
- ISO 13485:2016-certified QMS, COA available, audit support (on-site and remote)
Safety QC panel: endotoxin, residual host cell DNA (<20 ng/mg), residual host cell protein (<0.5 ng/µg), sterility, mycoplasma, and adventitious virus—all tested and documented.
|
Test item |
Specification |
|
Endotoxin |
< 10 EU/mg |
|
Residual host cell DNA |
< 20 ng/mg |
|
Residual host cell protein |
< 0.5 ng/µg |
|
Sterility test |
Negative |
|
Mycoplasma test |
Negative |
|
Adventitious virus test |
Negative |
✦ GMP-grade recombinant protein list (continuously expanding)
|
Cat. No. |
Product |
Expression system |
|
91341ES |
E. coli |
|
|
91360ES |
E. coli |
|
|
91224ES |
E. coli |
|
|
90271ES |
E. coli |
|
|
90269ES |
E. coli |
|
|
90212ES |
E. coli |
|
|
90211ES |
E. coli |
|
|
90372ES |
CHO |
|
|
90276ES |
E. coli |
|
|
90637ES |
E. coli |
|
|
92358ES |
CHO |
|
|
91120ES |
E. coli |
|
|
91521ES |
CHO |
|
|
92363ES |
CHO |