WO2016048999A2 - Fgf21 truncations and mutants and uses thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides FGF21 mutant proteins, such as those having an N- terminal deletion, point mutation(s), or combinations thereof, which can reduce blood glucose in a mammal. Thus, the disclosed mutant FGF21 proteins can be used to treat one or more metabolic diseases. In some examples, mutant FGF21 proteins have reduced receptor specificity and/or reduced receptor affinity. Also provided are nucleic acid molecules that encode such proteins, and vectors and cells that include such nucleic acids. Methods of using the disclosed molecules to reduce blood glucose levels, for example to treat a metabolic disorder are also provided.

Description

7158-9356102

FGF21 TRUNCATIONS AND MUTANTS AND USES THEREOF

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/053,987, filed September 23, 2014, herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD

This application provides mutated FGF21 proteins, including FGF21 truncations, nucleic acid molecules encoding such proteins, and methods of their use, for example to treat a metabolic disease, for example by reducing blood glucose levels.

BACKGROUND

Type 2 diabetes and obesity are leading causes of mortality and are associated with the Western lifestyle, which is characterized by excessive nutritional intake and lack of exercise. A central player in the pathophysiology of these diseases is the nuclear hormone receptor (NHR) PPARy, a lipid sensor and master regulator of adipogenesis. PPARy is also the molecular target for the thiazolidinedione (TZD)-class of insulin sensitizers, which command a large share of the current oral anti-diabetic drug market. However, there are numerous side effects associated with the use of TZDs such as weight gain, liver toxicity, upper respiratory tract infection, headache, back pain, hyperglycemia, fatigue, sinusitis, diarrhea, hypoglycemia, mild to moderate edema, and anemia. Thus, the identification of new insulin sensitizers is needed.

SUMMARY

Provided herein are mutants of fibroblast growth factor (FGF)21 that can be used to reduce blood glucose in a mammal, treat one or more metabolic diseases (e.g., one or more of diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, and/or non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)), or combinations thereof. In some examples, multiple metabolic diseases are treated simultaneously. In addition, methods of reducing fed and fasting blood glucose, improving insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, reducing systemic chronic inflammation, ameliorating hepatic steatosis in a mammal, or combinations thereof using the FGF21 mutant proteins (or nucleic acids encoding such) are provided herein. In some examples, use of the disclosed methods result in one or more of: reduction in triglycerides, decrease in insulin resistance, reduction of hyperinsulinemia, increase in glucose tolerance, reduction of 7158-9356102 hyperglycemia, or combination thereof, in a mammal. Such FGF21 mutants can have an N- terminal truncation, point mutation(s), or combinations thereof. These disclosed proteins, and the encoding nucleic acid sequences, can have improved stability and/or altered (e.g., reduced) receptor specificity and/or receptor affinity relative to the native (e.g., wild type) mature FGF21 protein. Such FGF21 mutants can be used alone or in combination with other agents, such as other glucose reducing agents, such as thiazolidinedione.

Thus, provided herein are methods of reducing blood glucose, treating one or more metabolic diseases, or combinations thereof, in a mammal, which include administering a therapeutically effective amount of a mutated mature FGF21 protein to the mammal, or a nucleic acid molecule encoding the mutated mature FGF21 protein or a vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule, thereby reducing the blood glucose, treating the metabolic disease(s), or combinations thereof. Also provided are methods of reducing fed and fasting blood glucose, improving insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, reducing systemic chronic inflammation, ameliorating hepatic steatosis, or combinations thereof, in a mammal, which include

administering a therapeutically effective amount of a mutated mature FGF21 protein to the mammal, or a nucleic acid molecule encoding the mutated FGF21 protein or a vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule.

Exemplary metabolic diseases that can be treated with the disclosed methods include but are not limited to: diabetes (such as type 2 diabetes, non-type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, latent autoimmune diabetes (LAD), or maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY)), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), metabolic syndrome (MetS), obesity, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), dyslipidemia (e.g., hyperlipidemia), and cardiovascular diseases (e.g., hypertension). In some examples, one or more of these diseases are treated simultaneously with the disclosed FGF21 mutants.

In some examples, the mutated mature FGF21 protein includes deletion of at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 11, at least 12, at least 13, at least 14, at least 15, at least 16, at least 17, at least 18, at least 19, or at least 20 contiguous N-terminal amino acids (such as 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 amino acids), and in some examples the mutated FGF21 protein has improved stability and/or altered receptor specificity and/or affinity (e.g., decreased receptor specificity and/or affinity) as compared to native mature FGF21 protein. In some examples, at least one point mutation includes a mutation at one or more of R19, Y22, A45, E97, Y104, N105, P140, and L142, wherein the numbering refers to the sequence shown SEQ ID NO: 3, and wherein the mutated FGF21 protein in some 7158-9356102 examples has altered receptor interactions as compared to native mature FGF21 protein.

Specific exemplary point mutations are shown in Table 1.

In some examples, the mutated mature FGF21 protein comprises at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to any of SEQ ID NOS: 6, 7, or 8 (which in some examples has one or more, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 of the point mutations shown in Table 1). For example, any of SEQ ID NOS: 6, 7, or 8 can have one or more, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 of the point mutations shown in Table 1, and/or one or more conservative amino acid substitutions (such as 1 to 20, 1 to 10, or 1 to 5 conservative

substitutions). In some examples, the mutated mature FGF21 protein comprises or consists of any of SEQ ID NOS: 6, 7, or 8.

Provided herein are mutated FGF21 proteins, which can include deletion of an N- terminal portion of FGF21, point mutations (such as amino acid substitutions, deletions, additions, or combinations thereof), or combinations of N-terminal deletions and point mutations, and methods of their use to lower glucose, treat one or more metabolic diseases, or combinations thereof (for example reduce fed and fasting blood glucose, improve insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, reduce systemic chronic inflammation, ameliorate hepatic steatosis in a mammal, or combinations thereof). In some examples, such mutations increase the stability of FGF21 {e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3), such as an increase of at least 20%, at least 50%, at least 75%, at least 90%, at least 100%, at least 200% or at least 500%, relative to a native mature FGF21 protein. In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein is a truncated version of the mature protein {e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3), which can include for example deletion of at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 11, at least 12, at least 13, at least 14, at least 15, at least 16, at least 17, at least 18, at least 19, or at least 20 contiguous N-terminal amino acids of mature FGF21. In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein is a mutated version of the mature protein {e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3), such as one containing at least 1, at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9 or at least 10 amino acid substitutions (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 substitutions), such as one or more of those shown in Table 1. In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes both an N-terminal truncation and point mutations. In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes at least 20, at least 30, at least 40, or at least 50 consecutive amino acids of mature FGF21 {e.g., of SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5), such as in the region of amino acids 46 to 95 of mature FGF21 {e.g., of SEQ ID NO: 3), (which 7158-9356102 in some examples can include 1-20 point mutations, such as substitutions, deletions, or additions). In some examples, the mutated mature FGF21 protein comprises at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to any of SEQ ID NOS: 6, 7, or 8. In some examples, the mutated mature FGF21 protein comprises or consists of any of SEQ ID NOS: 6, 7, or 8.

Also provided are isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding the disclosed mutant FGF21 proteins. Vectors and cells that include such nucleic acid molecules are also provided.

The foregoing and other objects and features of the disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an alignment of FGF1 (SEQ ID NO: 9), FGF2 (SEQ ID NO: 10), FGF19 (amino acids 4-153 of SEQ ID NO: 11), and FGF21 (amino acids 1-145 of SEQ ID NO: 3), with amino acids that form beta strands in bold, and other relevant residues highlighted and their interaction noted.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary wild-type mature FGF21 sequence (SEQ ID NO: 3), point mutations that can be made to mature FGF21 (SEQ ID NO: 6), N-terminal deletions (in some examples with point mutations) that can be made to mature FGF21 (SEQ ID NOS: 7-8).

SEQUENCE LISTING

The nucleic and amino acid sequences are shown using standard letter abbreviations for nucleotide bases, and three letter code for amino acids, as defined in 37 C.F.R. 1.822. Only one strand of each nucleic acid sequence is shown, but the complementary strand is understood as included by any reference to the displayed strand.

SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 2 provide an exemplary human FGF21 nucleic acid and protein sequences, respectively. Source: GenBank® Accession Nos: AY359086.1 and AAQ89444.1. The signal peptide is amino acids 1-27 (nt 151-231), and the mature peptide amino acids 28-208 (shown in SEQ ID NO: 3) (encoded by nt 232-777).

SEQ ID NO: 3 provides an exemplary mature form of a human FGF21 protein sequence (without the N-terminal signal sequence). This is sometimes referred to as FGF21 (28-208αα). 7158-9356102

Amino acids at positions 19, 22, 45, 55, 56, 97, 104, 105, 138, 140 and 142 can be mutated (e.g., see Table 1).

SEQ ID NOS: 4 and 5 provide an exemplary mouse FGF21 nucleic acid and protein sequences, respectively. Source: GenBank® Accession Nos: NM_020013.4 and NP_064397.1. Signal peptide is nt 185-271, aa 1-28. Mature peptide is nt 272-817, aa 29-209 (e.g., see Nishimura et al, BBA, 492:203-206, 2000).

SEQ ID NO: 6 provides FGF21 (28-208cccc) R19V, N105V (RN), an exemplary mature form of FGF21 with point mutations (R19V, N105V, wherein numbering refers to SEQ ID NO: 3).

SEQ ID NO: 7 provides FGF21^ANT (28-208cccc), an exemplary N-terminally truncated form of FGF21, with 16 contiguous N-terminal amino acids deleted from the mature form of FGF21.

SEQ ID NO: 8 provides FGF21^ANT (28-208cccc) R19V, N105V (RN), an exemplary N- terminally truncated form of FGF21, with 16 contiguous N-terminal amino acids deleted from the mature form of FGF21 and two amino acids mutated (R19V, N105V, wherein numbering refers to SEQ ID NO: 3).

SEQ ID NO: 9 provides an exemplary mature form of FGF1 (140 aa, sometimes referred to in the art as FGF1 15- 154)

SEQ ID NO: 10 provides an exemplary portion of an FGF2 protein sequence.

SEQ ID NO: 11 provides an exemplary mature form of a human FGF19 protein sequence (without the N-terminal signal sequence). This is sometimes referred to as FGF19 (23- 216αα).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following explanations of terms and methods are provided to better describe the present disclosure and to guide those of ordinary skill in the art in the practice of the present disclosure. The singular forms "a," "an," and "the" refer to one or more than one, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, the term "comprising a cell" includes single or plural cells and is considered equivalent to the phrase "comprising at least one cell." The term "or" refers to a single element of stated alternative elements or a combination of two or more elements, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, "comprises" means "includes." Thus, "comprising A or B," means "including A, B, or A and B," without excluding 7158-9356102 additional elements. Dates of GenBank® Accession Nos. referred to herein are the sequences available at least as early as September 23, 2014.

Unless explained otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present disclosure, suitable methods and materials are described below. The materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

In order to facilitate review of the various embodiments of the disclosure, the following explanations of specific terms are provided:

Administration: To provide or give a subject an agent, such as a mutated FGF21 protein disclosed herein, by any effective route. Exemplary routes of administration include, but are not limited to, oral, injection (such as subcutaneous, intramuscular, intradermal,

intraperitoneal, intravenous, and intratumoral), sublingual, rectal, transdermal, intranasal, vaginal and inhalation routes.

C-terminal portion: A region of a protein sequence that includes a contiguous stretch of amino acids that begins at or near the C-terminal residue of the protein. A C-terminal portion of the protein can be defined by a contiguous stretch of amino acids (e.g. , a number of amino acid residues).

Diabetes mellitus: A group of metabolic diseases in which a subject has high blood sugar, either because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. Type 1 diabetes results from the body's failure to produce insulin. This form has also been called "insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus" (IDDM) or "juvenile diabetes". Type 2 diabetes results from insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to use insulin properly, sometimes combined with an absolute insulin deficiency. This form is also called "non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus" (NIDDM) or "adult-onset diabetes." The defective responsiveness of body tissues to insulin is believed to involve the insulin receptor. Diabetes mellitus is characterized by recurrent or persistent hyperglycemia, and in some examples diagnosed by demonstrating any one of:

a. Fasting plasma glucose level > 7.0 mmol/1 (126 mg/dl);

b. Plasma glucose > 11.1 mmol/1 (200 mg/dL) two hours after a 75 g oral glucose load as in a glucose tolerance test; 7158-9356102 c. Symptoms of hyperglycemia and casual plasma glucose > 11.1 mmol/1 (200 mg/dl);

d. Glycated hemoglobin (Hb AIC) > 6.5%

Effective amount or Therapeutically effective amount: The amount of agent, such as a mutated FGF21 protein (or nucleic acid encoding such) disclosed herein, that is an amount sufficient to prevent, treat (including prophylaxis), reduce and/or ameliorate the symptoms and/or underlying causes of any of a disorder or disease. In one embodiment, an "effective amount" is sufficient to reduce or eliminate a symptom of a disease, such as one or more metabolic disorders, such as diabetes (such as type II diabetes), for example by lowering blood glucose.

Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF21): (e.g., OMIM 609436). Includes FGF21 nucleic acid molecules and proteins. FGF21 stimulates glucose uptake in adipocytes. FGF21 sequences are publically available, for example from the GenBank® sequence database (e.g., Accession Nos. AAQ89444.1, NP_061986, NP_064397.1, and AAH49592.1 provide exemplary native FGF21 protein sequences, while Accession Nos. AY359086.1, NM_020013.4, and

BC049592 provide exemplary native FGF21 nucleic acid sequences). One of ordinary skill in the art can identify additional FGF21 nucleic acid and protein sequences, including FGF21 variants.

Specific examples of native FGF21 sequences are provided in SEQ ID NOS: 1-5. A native FGF21 sequence is one that does not include a mutation that alters the normal activity of the protein (e.g., activity of SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5). One of ordinary skill in the art can identify additional native FGF21 nucleic acid and protein sequences. A mutated FGF21 is a variant of FGF21 with different or altered biological activity, such as altered receptor specificity, altered receptor affinity, increased protein stability, or combinations thereof (e.g., a variant of any of SEQ ID NOS: 1-5, such as one having at least 90%, at least

95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98% or at least 99% sequence identity to any of SEQ ID NOS: 1-5). In one example, such a variant includes an N-terminal truncation, at least one point mutation, or combinations thereof, such as changes that alter (e.g., reduce or decrease) receptor specificity and/or affinity of FGF21. Specific exemplary FGF21 mutant proteins are shown in SEQ ID NOS: 6, 7, and 8.

Host cells: Cells in which a vector can be propagated and its DNA expressed. The cell may be prokaryotic or eukaryotic. The term also includes any progeny of the subject host cell. It is understood that all progeny may not be identical to the parental cell since there may be 7158-9356102 mutations that occur during replication. However, such progeny are included when the term "host cell" is used. Thus, host cells can be transgenic, in that they include nucleic acid molecules that have been introduced into the cell, such as a nucleic acid molecule encoding a mutant FGF21 protein disclosed herein.

Isolated: An "isolated" biological component (such as a mutated FGF21 protein or nucleic acid molecule) has been substantially separated, produced apart from, or purified away from other biological components in the cell of the organism in which the component naturally occurs, such as other chromosomal and extrachromosomal DNA and RNA, and proteins.

Nucleic acids molecules and proteins which have been "isolated" thus include nucleic acids and proteins purified by standard purification methods. The term also embraces nucleic acid molecules and proteins prepared by recombinant expression in a host cell as well as chemically synthesized nucleic acids. A purified or isolated cell, protein, or nucleic acid molecule can be at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% pure.

Mammal: This term includes both human and non-human mammals. Similarly, the term "subject" includes both human and veterinary subjects (such as cats, dogs, cows, and pigs).

Metabolic disorder/disease: A disease or disorder that results from the disruption of the normal mammalian process of metabolism. Includes metabolic syndrome.

Examples include but are not limited to: (1) glucose utilization disorders and the sequelae associated therewith, including diabetes mellitus (Type I and Type-2), gestational diabetes, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, abnormal glucose metabolism, "pre-diabetes" (Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG) or Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT)), and other physiological disorders associated with, or that result from, the hyperglycemic condition, including, for example, histopathological changes such as pancreatic β-cell destruction; (2) dyslipidemias and their sequelae such as, for example, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disorders and the like; (3) other conditions which may be associated with the metabolic syndrome, such as obesity and elevated body mass (including the co-morbid conditions thereof such as, but not limited to, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), nonalcoholic

steatohepatitis (NASH), and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)), and also include

thromboses, hypercoagulable and prothrombotic states (arterial and venous), hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke and heart failure; (4) disorders or conditions in which

inflammatory reactions are involved, including atherosclerosis, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (e.g., Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), asthma, lupus erythematosus, arthritis, or 7158-9356102 other inflammatory rheumatic disorders; (5) disorders of cell cycle or cell differentiation processes such as adipose cell tumors, lipomatous carcinomas including, for example, liposarcomas, solid tumors, and neoplasms; (6) neurodegenerative diseases and/or demyelinating disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems and/or neurological diseases involving neuroinfiammatory processes and/or other peripheral neuropathies, including Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy and Guillian-Barre syndrome; (7) skin and dermatological disorders and/or disorders of wound healing processes, including erythemato-squamous dermatoses; and (8) other disorders such as syndrome X, osteoarthritis, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Other examples are provided in WO 2014/085365 (herein incorporated by reference).

In specific examples, the metabolic disease includes one or more of (such as at least 2 or at least 3 of): diabetes (such as type 2 diabetes, non-type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, latent autoimmune diabetes (LAD), or maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY)), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), metabolic syndrome (MetS), obesity, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), dyslipidemia (e.g., hyperlipidemia), and cardiovascular diseases (e.g., hypertension).

N-terminal portion: A region of a protein sequence that includes a contiguous stretch of amino acids that begins at or near the N-terminal residue of the protein. An N-terminal portion of the protein can be defined by a contiguous stretch of amino acids (e.g., a number of amino acid residues).

Operably linked: A first nucleic acid sequence is operably linked with a second nucleic acid sequence when the first nucleic acid sequence is placed in a functional relationship with the second nucleic acid sequence. For instance, a promoter is operably linked to a coding sequence if the promoter affects the transcription or expression of the coding sequence (such as a mutated FGF21 coding sequence). Generally, operably linked DNA sequences are contiguous and, where necessary to join two protein coding regions, in the same reading frame.

Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers: The pharmaceutically acceptable carriers useful in this invention are conventional. Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, by E. W. Martin, Mack Publishing Co., Easton, PA, 15th Edition (1975), describes compositions and formulations suitable for pharmaceutical delivery of the disclosed mutated FGF21 proteins (or nucleic acid molecules encoding such) herein disclosed.

In general, the nature of the carrier will depend on the particular mode of administration being employed. For instance, parenteral formulations usually comprise injectable fluids that 7158-9356102 include pharmaceutically and physiologically acceptable fluids such as water, physiological saline, balanced salt solutions, aqueous dextrose, glycerol or the like as a vehicle. For solid compositions (e.g., powder, pill, tablet, or capsule forms), conventional non-toxic solid carriers can include, for example, pharmaceutical grades of mannitol, lactose, starch, or magnesium stearate. In addition to biologically-neutral carriers, pharmaceutical compositions to be administered can contain minor amounts of non-toxic auxiliary substances, such as wetting or emulsifying agents, preservatives, and pH buffering agents and the like, for example sodium acetate or sorbitan monolaurate.

Promoter: Ann array of nucleic acid control sequences which direct transcription of a nucleic acid. A promoter includes necessary nucleic acid sequences near the start site of transcription, such as, in the case of a polymerase II type promoter, a TATA element. A promoter also optionally includes distal enhancer or repressor elements which can be located as much as several thousand base pairs from the start site of transcription.

Recombinant: A recombinant nucleic acid molecule is one that has a sequence that is not naturally occurring (e.g., a mutated FGF21) or has a sequence that is made by an artificial combination of two otherwise separated segments of sequence. This artificial combination can be accomplished by routine methods, such as chemical synthesis or by the artificial

manipulation of isolated segments of nucleic acids, such as by genetic engineering techniques. Similarly, a recombinant protein is one encoded for by a recombinant nucleic acid molecule. Similarly, a recombinant or transgenic cell is one that contains a recombinant nucleic acid molecule and expresses a recombinant protein.

Sequence identity of amino acid sequences: The similarity between amino acid (or nucleotide) sequences is expressed in terms of the similarity between the sequences, otherwise referred to as sequence identity. Sequence identity is frequently measured in terms of percentage identity (or similarity or homology); the higher the percentage, the more similar the two sequences are. Homologs of a polypeptide will possess a relatively high degree of sequence identity when aligned using standard methods.

Methods of alignment of sequences for comparison are well known in the art. Various programs and alignment algorithms are described in: Smith and Waterman, Adv. Appl. Math. 2:482, 1981; Needleman and Wunsch, J. Mol. Biol. 48:443, 1970; Pearson and Lipman, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85:2444, 1988; Higgins and Sharp, Gene 73:237, 1988; Higgins and Sharp, CABIOS 5: 151, 1989; Corpet et al., Nucleic Acids Research 16: 10881, 1988; and Pearson and Lipman, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85:2444, 1988. Altschul et al., Nature Genet. 6: 119, 7158-9356102

1994, presents a detailed consideration of sequence alignment methods and homology

calculations.

The NCBI Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) (Altschul et al, J. Mol. Biol. 215:403, 1990) is available from several sources, including the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI, Bethesda, MD) and on the internet, for use in connection with the sequence analysis programs blastp, blastn, blastx, tblastn and tblastx. A description of how to determine sequence identity using this program is available on the NCBI website on the internet.

Variants of the mutated FGF21 proteins and coding sequences disclosed herein are typically characterized by possession of at least about 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98% or at least 99% sequence identity counted over the full length alignment with the amino acid sequence using the NCBI Blast 2.0, gapped blastp set to default parameters. For comparisons of amino acid sequences of greater than about 30 amino acids, the Blast 2 sequences function is employed using the default BLOSUM62 matrix set to default parameters, (gap existence cost of 11, and a per residue gap cost of 1). When aligning short peptides (fewer than around 30 amino acids), the alignment should be performed using the Blast 2 sequences function, employing the PAM30 matrix set to default parameters (open gap 9, extension gap 1 penalties). Proteins with even greater similarity to the reference sequences will show increasing percentage identities when assessed by this method, such as at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity. When less than the entire sequence is being compared for sequence identity, homologs and variants will typically possess at least 80% sequence identity over short windows of 10-20 amino acids, and may possess sequence identities of at least 85% or at least 90% or at least 95% depending on their similarity to the reference sequence. Methods for determining sequence identity over such short windows are available at the NCBI website on the internet. One of skill in the art will appreciate that these sequence identity ranges are provided for guidance only; it is entirely possible that strongly significant homologs could be obtained that fall outside of the ranges provided.

Thus, a mutant FGF21 protein disclosed herein can have at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 91%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98% or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8 (which in some examples has one or more, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 of the point mutations shown in Table 1).

Subject: Any mammal, such as humans, non-human primates, pigs, sheep, cows, dogs, cats, rodents and the like which is to be the recipient of the particular treatment, such as 7158-9356102 treatment with a mutated FGF21 protein (or corresponding nucleic acid molecule) provided herein. In two non-limiting examples, a subject is a human subject or a murine subject. In some examples, the subject has one or more metabolic diseases, such as diabetes (e.g., type 2 diabetes, non-type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, , latent autoimmune diabetes (LAD), or maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY)), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), metabolic syndrome (MetS), obesity, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

(NAFLD), dyslipidemia (e.g., hyperlipidemia), cardiovascular disease (e.g., hypertension), or combinations thereof. In some examples, the subject has elevated blood glucose.

Transduced and Transformed: A virus or vector "transduces" a cell when it transfers nucleic acid into the cell. A cell is "transformed" or "transfected" by a nucleic acid transduced into the cell when the DNA becomes stably replicated by the cell, either by incorporation of the nucleic acid into the cellular genome, or by episomal replication.

Numerous methods of transfection are known to those skilled in the art, such as:

chemical methods (e.g., calcium-phosphate transfection), physical methods (e.g.,

electroporation, microinjection, particle bombardment), fusion (e.g., liposomes), receptor- mediated endocytosis (e.g., DNA-protein complexes, viral envelope/capsid-DNA complexes) and by biological infection by viruses such as recombinant viruses {Wolff, J. A., ed, Gene Therapeutics, Birkhauser, Boston, USA (1994)} . In the case of infection by retroviruses, the infecting retrovirus particles are absorbed by the target cells, resulting in reverse transcription of the retroviral RNA genome and integration of the resulting provirus into the cellular DNA.

Transgene: An exogenous gene supplied by a vector. In one example, a transgene includes a mutated FGF21 coding sequence.

Vector: A nucleic acid molecule as introduced into a host cell, thereby producing a transformed host cell. A vector may include nucleic acid sequences that permit it to replicate in the host cell, such as an origin of replication. A vector may also include one or more mutated FGF21 coding sequences and/or selectable marker genes and other genetic elements known in the art. A vector can transduce, transform or infect a cell, thereby causing the cell to express nucleic acids and/or proteins other than those native to the cell. A vector optionally includes materials to aid in achieving entry of the nucleic acid into the cell, such as a viral particle, liposome, protein coating or the like. 7158-9356102

Overview

In 2005 a report identifying FGF21 as a novel metabolic regulator was communicated (Kharitonenkov et al., J. Clin. Invest. 115: 1627-35, 2005). Subsequent studies demonstrated that FGF21 represented a secreted factor which was controlled by important metabolic pathways such as PPARy and PPARa. In various in vitro glucose uptake assays human recombinant FGF21 augmented insulin activity. However, while the effect was both statistically significant and reproducible it was relatively modest in nature. Subsequent studies focused on improving the FGF21 response window by tweaking the assay conditions. This yielded positive but unexpected results, indicating a unique mechanism of action. Firstly, when the time of cell stimulation was extended from 1 hour to 6 hours, FGF21 exhibited a biologically meaningful signal in glucose uptake as compared to the magnitude of response with insulin. Secondly, FGF21 induces glucose uptake in adipocytes without requiring the presence of exogenous insulin.

The present disclosure provides mutants of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 21 that have reduced receptor affinity and/or specificity (for example which can reduce undesirable downstream signaling, such as a reduction of at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 80%), but retain the ability to reduce blood glucose in a mammal. These mutant FGF21 proteins (or nucleic acids encoding such proteins) can be used to reduce blood glucose in a mammal, for example to treat a metabolic disease. The disclosed FGF21 mutants can have an N-terminal truncation, one or more point mutations, or combinations thereof, for example to improve protein stability, alter receptor specificity, and/or alter receptor affinity, to reduce the bone toxicity of the native FGF21 protein. Such FGF21 mutants can be used alone or in combination with other agents, such as other glucose reducing agents, such as thiazolidinedione. In some examples, the disclosed methods can be used in a mammal to reduce triglycerides, decrease insulin resistance, reduce hyperinsulinemia, increase glucose tolerance, reduce hyperglycemia, or combinations thereof.

Thus, methods of reducing blood glucose, treating one or more metabolic diseases, or combinations thereof, in a mammal are provided. In some examples such methods include administering a therapeutically effective amount of a mutated mature FGF21 protein to the mammal, or a nucleic acid molecule encoding the mutated mature FGF21 protein or a vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule, thereby reducing the blood glucose, treating one or more metabolic diseases, or combinations thereof. Exemplary metabolic diseases that can be treated with the disclosed methods include but are not limited to: type 2 diabetes, non-type 2 diabetes, 7158-9356102 type 1 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), metabolic syndrome (MetS), obesity, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), dyslipidemia (e.g., hyperlipidemia), cardiovascular diseases (e.g., hypertension), latent autoimmune diabetes (LAD), or maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY).

Also provided are methods of reducing fed and fasting blood glucose, improving insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, reducing systemic chronic inflammation, ameliorating hepatic steatosis, or combinations thereof, in a mammal. Such methods can include administering a therapeutically effective amount of a mutated mature FGF21 protein to the mammal, or a nucleic acid molecule encoding the mutated FGF21 protein or a vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule, thereby reducing fed and fasting blood glucose, improving insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, reducing systemic chronic inflammation, ameliorating hepatic steatosis, reduce one or more non-HDL lipid levels, or combinations thereof, in a mammal. In some examples, the fed and fasting blood glucose is reduced in the treated subject by at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 90% as compared to an absence of administration of mutant FGF21. In some examples, insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance is increased in the treated subject by at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 90% as compared to an absence of administration of mutant FGF21. In some examples, systemic chronic inflammation is reduced in the treated subject by at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 90% as compared to an absence of administration of mutant FGF21. In some examples, hepatic steatosis is reduced in the treated subject by at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 90% as compared to an absence of administration of mutant FGF21. In some examples, one or more lipids (such as a non-HDL, for example IDL, LDL and/or VLDL) are reduced in the treated subject by at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 90% as compared to an absence of administration of mutant FGF21. In some examples, triglyceride and or cholesterol levels are reduced with the mutated FGF21 by at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 90% as compared to native FGF21. In some examples, combinations of these reductions are achieved.

The mutated mature FGF21 protein used in the disclosed methods can include a deletion of at least six contiguous N-terminal amino acids, at least one point mutation, or combinations thereof. Specific examples of such proteins are provided herein. In some examples, the mutated mature FGF21 protein has increased stability and altered receptor specificity and/or affinity compared to native FGF21 (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5), has 7158-9356102 greater glucose lowering activity compared to native FGF21, or combinations thereof. In some examples, stability of FGF21 is increased with the mutated FGF21 by at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 50%, at least 75%, at least 90%, at least 100%, at least 300%, or at least 500%, as compared to native FGF21. In some examples, glucose lowering activity is increased with the mutated FGF21 by at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 90% as compared to native FGF21.

In some examples, the mutated mature FGF21 protein used in the disclosed methods has at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 11, at least 12, at least 13, at least 14, at least 15, at least 16, at least 17, at least 18, at least 19, or at least 20 contiguous N-terminal amino acids deleted from the mature native FGF21 protein, wherein the mutated FGF21 protein has altered receptor specificity and/or affinity as compared to native mature FGF21 protein. In some examples, the deleted N-terminal amino acids are replaced with other amino acids. In some examples, the mutated mature FGF21 protein used in the disclosed methods has at least one point mutation at one or more of R19, Y22, A45, L55, K56, E97, Y104, N105, P138, P140, and L142, wherein the numbering refers to the sequence shown SEQ ID NO: 3, and wherein the mutated FGF21 protein has altered receptor specificity and/or affinity as compared to native mature FGF21 protein. Exemplary point mutations are provided in Table 1. In a specific example, at least one point mutation includes a mutation at R19 and N105 (such as R19V and N105V), wherein the numbering refers to the sequence shown SEQ ID NO: 3, and wherein the mutated FGF21 protein has altered receptor specificity and/or affinity as compared to wild- type mature FGF21 protein. In some examples, the mutated mature FGF21 protein used in the disclosed methods has a combination of N-terminal deletions and amino acid substitutions. Specific exemplary mutated mature FGF21 proteins include those having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8, and which have one or more of (such as 1, 2 or 3 of) increased protein stability, altered (e.g., reduced) receptor specificity, and altered (e.g., reduced) receptor affinity, (which in some examples has one or more, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 of the point mutations shown in Table 1). In a specific example, the mutated mature FGF21 protein includes or consists of SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8.

Any routine method of administration can be used, such as subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, intramuscular, or intravenous. In some examples, the therapeutically effective amount of the mutated mature FGF21 protein is at least 0.5 mg/kg. Exemplary subjects that can be treated with the disclosed methods include mammals, such as human and veterinary subjects, such as a 7158-9356102 cat or dog or livestock. In some examples, the mammal, such as a human, cat or dog, has diabetes. In some examples, the mammal, such as a human, cat or dog, has one or more metabolic diseases.

Provided herein are mutated FGF21 proteins that can include an N-terminal deletion, one or more point mutations (such as amino acid substitutions, deletions, additions, or combinations thereof), or combinations of N-terminal deletions and point mutations. In a specific example, an isolated mutated mature FGF21 protein has at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8 (but is not a native sequence, such as one having one or more, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 of the point mutations shown in Table 1).

Also provided are method of using FGF21 mutant proteins (or their nucleic acid coding sequences) use to lower glucose, for example to treat a metabolic disease. In some examples, mutations in FGF21 increase the stability of mature FGF21 (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3), such as an increase of at least 20%, at least 50%, at least 75%, at least 90%, at least 100%, or at least 300% relative to a native mature FGF21 (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5).

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein is a truncated version of the mature protein (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5), which can include for example deletion of at least 5, at least 6, at least 9, at least 10, at least 11, at least 12, at least 13, at least 14, at least 15, at least 16, at least 17, at least 18, at least 19, or at least 20 consecutive N- terminal amino acids, such as the N-terminal 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,1 5, 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20 amino acids of mature FGF21. In some examples, such an N-terminally deleted FGF21 protein has altered receptor specificity and/or affinity as compared to a native mature FGF21 protein.

In some examples, mutations in FGF21 increase the thermostability of mature or truncated FGF21, such as an increase of at least 20%, at least 50%, at least 75% or at least 90%. Exemplary mutations that can be used to increase the thermostability of mutated FGF21 include but are not limited to one or more of: L82V, K83V, and P165V, wherein the numbering refers to SEQ ID NO: 2. For example, mutated FGF21 can be mutated to increase the thermostability of the protein compared to an FGF21 protein without the modification. Methods of measuring thermostability are known in the art.

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein is a mutated version of the mature protein (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5), such as one containing at least 1, 7158-9356102 at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 11, at least 12, at least 13, at least 14, at least 15, at least 16, at least 17, at least 18, at least 19, at least 20, at least 21, at least 22, at least 23, at least 24 or at least 25 amino acid

substitutions, such as 1-20, 1-10, 2-4, 4-8, 5-25, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, or 25 amino acid substitutions. In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes deletion of one or more amino acids, such as deletion of 1-10, 10-20, 4- 8, 5-10, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 amino acids. In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes a combination of amino acid substitutions and deletions, such as at least 1 substitution and at least 1 deletion, such as 1 to 10 substitutions with 1 to 20 deletions.

Exemplary FGF21 mutations are shown in Table 1 below, with amino acids referenced to either SEQ ID NO: 2 (precursor) or 3 (mature form). One skilled in the art will recognize that these mutations can be used singly, or in combination (such as 1-11, 1-8, 1-5, 1-4, 1-2, 2-4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11, of these amino acid substitutions).

Table 1: Exemplary FGF21 mutations

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes mutations at one or more of the following positions, such as 1, 2, 3 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 of these positions: R19, Y22, A45, 7158-9356102

L55, K56, E97, Y104, N105, P138, P140, and L142, (wherein the numbering refers to SEQ ID NO: 3), such as one or more of R19V, R19C, Y22F, Y22A, Y22V, A45E, A45V, L55V, K56V, K56I, E97V, E97A, E97S, E97T, Y104V, Y104F, Y104A, N105V, N105A, N105S, N105T, P138V, P140S, P140A, L142S, and L142A (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 of these mutations). One skilled in the art will appreciate that such mutant FGF21 proteins can further include other changes, such as 1-20, 1- 10, or 1-5 conservative amino acid substitutions that do not adversely affect the function of the mutated protein (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 conservative amino acid substitutions).

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes mutations at R19 and N105 (wherein the numbering refers to SEQ ID NO: 3), such as one of R19V, R19C, and one of N105V, N105A, N105S, and N105T.

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes at least 20, at least 30, at least 40, or at least 50, consecutive amino acids of mature FGF21 (e.g., of SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5), such as in the region of amino acids 46 to 95 (which in some examples can include further deletion of 1 to 20 N-terminal amino acids and/or 1-5, 1- 10, or 1- 20 point mutations, such as substitutions, deletions, or additions).

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes both an N-terminal truncation and point mutations, such as deletion of at least five N-terminal amino acids (such as deletion of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 , 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20 contiguous N-terminal amino acids) and at least one point mutation (such as at least 2, at least 4, at least 5, at least 8, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, or at least 30 point mutations, for example 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 , 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20 point mutations). Specific exemplary FGF21 mutant proteins are shown in SEQ ID NOS: 6, 7 and 8. In some examples, the FGF21 mutant includes an N-terminal deletion, but retains a methionine at the N-terminal position. In some examples, the FGF21 mutant is 140-200 or 160- 190 amino acids in length.

In some examples, the FGF21 mutant protein includes at least 80% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8 (but is not a native or wild-type sequence). Thus, the FGF21 mutant protein can have at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98% or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8. In some examples, the FGF21 mutant protein includes or consists of SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8. The disclosure encompasses variants of the disclosed FGF21 mutant proteins, such as SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8 having 1 to 8, 2 to 10, 1 to 5, 1 to 6, or 5 to 10 mutations, such as one or more of those in Table 1, for example in combination with conservative amino acid substitutions. 7158-9356102

Also provided are isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding the disclosed mutated FGF21 proteins, such as a nucleic acid molecule encoding a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8. Based on the coding sequence of native FGF21 shown in SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 4, one skilled in the art can generate a coding sequence of any FGF21 mutant provided herein. Vectors and cells that include such nucleic acid molecules are also provided. For example, such nucleic acid molecules can be expressed in a host cell, such as a bacterium or yeast cell (e.g., E. coli), thereby permitting expression of the mutated FGF21 protein. The resulting mutated FGF21 protein can be purified from the cell.

Methods of using the disclosed mutated FGF21 proteins (or nucleic acid molecules encoding such), are provided. As discussed herein, the mutated mature FGF21 protein can include a deletion of at least six contiguous N-terminal amino acids, at least one point mutation, or combinations thereof. For example, such methods include administering a therapeutically effective amount of a disclosed mutated FGF21 protein (such as at least 0.01, at least 0.1 mg/kg, or at least 0.5 mg/kg) (or nucleic acid molecules encoding such) to reduce blood glucose in a mammal, such as a decrease of at least 5%, at least 10%, at least 25% or at least 50%.

In some examples, use of the FGF21 mutants disclosed herein does not lead to (or significantly reduces, such as a reduction of at least 20%, at least 50%, at least 75%, or at least 90%) the adverse side effects observed with thiazolidinediones (TZDs) therapeutic insulin sensitizers, including weight gain, increased liver steatosis and bone fractures (e.g., reduced affects on bone mineral density, trabecular bone architecture and cortical bone thickness).

Mutated FGF21 Proteins

The present disclosure provides mutated FGF21 proteins that can include an N-terminal deletion, one or more point mutations (such as amino acid substitutions, deletions, additions, or combinations thereof), or combinations of N-terminal deletions and point mutations. Such proteins and corresponding coding sequences can be used in the methods provided herein. In some examples, the disclosed FGF21 mutant proteins have one or more of (such as 1, 2 or 3 of) increased protein stability, altered (e.g., reduced) receptor specificity, and altered (e.g., reduced) receptor affinity, compared to mature native FGF21 (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5), such as a reduction of at least 20%, at least 50%, at least 75% or at least 90%. 7158-9356102

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein is a truncated version of the native mature protein (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5), which can include for example deletion of at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 11, at least 12, at least 13, at least 14, at least 15, at least 16, at least 17, at least 18, at least 19, or at least 20 consecutive N-terminal amino acids. Thus, in some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein is a truncated version of the mature protein (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5), such a deletion of the N-terminal 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20 amino acids shown in SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5. Examples of N-terminally truncated FGF21 proteins are shown in SEQ ID NOS: 7 and 8. In some examples, the FGF21 mutant includes an N-terminal deletion, but retains a methionine at the N-terminal position. In some examples, such an N-terminally deleted FGF21 protein has altered receptor specificity and/or affinity as compared to wild-type mature FGF21 protein.

Thus, in some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes at least 30, at least 40, or at least 50 consecutive amino acids of mature FGF21 (e.g., of SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29- 209 of SEQ ID NO: 5), such as in the region of amino acids 46 to 95 of mature FGF21 (e.g., of SEQ ID NO: 3), (which in some examples can include 1-20 point mutations, such as

substitutions, deletions, or additions).

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein is a mutated version of the mature protein (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5), or a N-terminal truncation of the mature protein (e.g., SEQ ID NOS: 7- 11), such as one containing at least 1, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 11, at least 12, at least 13, at least 14, at least 15, at least 16, at least 17, at least 18, at least 19, or at least 20 amino acid substitutions, such as 1-20, 1- 10, 4-8, 5- 12, 5-10, 5-25, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15 amino acid substitutions. For example, point mutations can be introduced into an FGF21 sequence to alter receptor specificity, alter receptor affinity, and/or increase protein stability, compared to the FGF21 protein without the modification. Specific exemplary point mutations that can be used are shown above in Table 1.

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes mutations (such as a substitution or deletion) at one or more of the following positions, such as 1, 2, 3 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 of these positions: R19, Y22, A45, L55, K56, E97, Y104, N105, P138, P140, and L142, (wherein the numbering refers to SEQ ID NO: 3), such as one or more of R19V, R19C, Y22F, Y22A, Y22V, A45E, A45V, L55V, K56V, K56I, E97V, E97A, E97S, E97T, Y104V, Y104F, Y104A, N105V, N105A, N105S, N105T, P138V, P140S, P140A, L142S, and L142A (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7158-9356102

8, 9, 10, or 11 of these mutations). In some examples, such an FGF21 protein with one or more point mutations has altered receptor specificity and/or affinity compared to wild-type mature FGF21 protein. Examples of FGF21 mutant proteins containing point mutations include but are not limited to the protein sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 6 and 8.

In some examples, mutations in FGF21 increase the thermostability of mature or truncated FGF21. For example, mutations can be made at one or more of the following positions. Exemplary mutations that can be used to increase the thermostability of mutated FGF21 include but are not limited to one or more of: L55V, K56V, K56I, and P138V, wherein the numbering refers to SEQ ID NO: 3.

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes both an N-terminal truncation and point mutations. Specific exemplary FGF21 mutant proteins are shown in SEQ ID NO: 6, 7 and 8. In some examples, the FGF21 mutant protein includes at least 80% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7 or 8. Thus, the FGF21 mutant protein can have at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98% or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7 or 8 (which in some examples has one or more, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 of the point mutations shown in Table 1). In some examples, the FGF21 mutant protein includes or consists of SEQ ID NO: 6, 7 or 8. The disclosure encompasses variants of the disclosed FGF21 mutant proteins, such as SEQ ID NO: 6, 7 or 8 having 1 to 20, 1 to 15, 1 to 10, 1 to 8, 2 to 10, 1 to 5, 1 to 6, 2 to 12, 3 to 12, 5 to 12, or 5 to 10 mutations, such as conservative amino acid

substitutions.

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein has at its N-terminus a methionine.

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein is at least 120 amino acids in length, such as at least 125, at least 130, at least 135, at least 140, at least 145, at least 150, at least 155, at least 160, or at least 165 amino acids in length, such as 140 to 200, 140 to 190, 160 to 200, 160 to 190 or 165 to 181 amino acids in length.

Exemplary N-terminally truncated FGF21 sequences and FGF21 point mutations that can be used to generate an FGF21 mutant protein are shown in Table 1 (as well as those provided in SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, and 8). One skilled in the art will appreciate that any N-terminal truncation provided herein can be combined with any FGF21 point mutation in Table 1, to generate an FGF21 mutant protein. In addition, mutations can be made to the sequences shown in SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8, such as one or more of the mutations discussed herein (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 amino acid substitutions, such as conservative amino acid substitutions, deletions, or additions). 7158-9356102

Exemplary mutant FGF21 proteins are provided in SEQ ID NOS: 6, 7, and 8. One skilled in the art will recognize that minor variations can be made to these sequences, without adversely affecting the function of the protein (such as its ability to reduce blood glucose). For example, variants of the mutant FGF21 proteins include those having at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to any of SEQ ID NOS: 6, 7, and 8, but retain the ability to treat one or more metabolic diseases, and/or decrease blood glucose in a mammal (such as a mammal with type II diabetes). Thus, variants of any of SEQ ID NOS: 6, 7, and 8, retaining at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98% or at least 99% sequence identity (which in some examples has one or more, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 of the point mutations shown in Table 1) are of use in the disclosed methods.

FGF21

Mature forms of FGF21 (such as SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5) can be mutated to increase protein stability, alter (e.g., reduce) receptor specificity, and/or alter (e.g., reduce) receptor affinity, and to provide glucose-lowering ability to the protein.

Mutations can also be introduced into a wild- type mature FGF21 sequence that affects the stability and receptor binding selectivity of the protein.

Exemplary full-length (precursor) FGF21 proteins are shown in SEQ ID NOS: 2

(human) and 5 (mouse). In some examples, FGF21 includes SEQ ID NO: 2 or 5, but without the N-terminal methionine. In addition, the mature/active form of FGF21 is one where a portion of the N-terminus is removed, such as the N-terminal 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, or 35 amino acids from SEQ ID NO: 2 or 5. Thus, in some examples the active (mature) form of FGF21 comprises or consists of amino acids 28-208 of SEQ ID NO: 2 (e.g., see SEQ ID NO: 3) or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5. In some examples, the mature form of FGF21 that can be mutated includes SEQ ID NO: 3 with a methionine added to the N- terminus (wherein such a sequence can be mutated as discussed herein). Thus, the mutated mature FGF21 protein can include an N-terminal truncation.

Mutations can be introduced into a wild-type FGF21 (such as SEQ ID NO: 2, 3, or 5). In some examples, multiple types of mutations disclosed herein are made to the FGF21 protein.

Although mutations below are noted by a particular amino acid for example in SEQ ID NO: 2, 3 or 5, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the corresponding amino acid can be mutated in any FGF21 sequence. 7158-9356102

In one example, mutations are made to the N-terminal region of mature FGF21 (such as SEQ ID NO: 3), such as deletion of the first 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 amino acids of SEQ ID NO: 3 (or from amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5).

Mutations can be made to FGF21 (such as SEQ ID NO: 3) to alter receptor specificity and/or affinity. In some examples, such mutations alter (such as decrease) receptor specificity and/or receptor affinity by at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 75%, or at least 80%. Examples of such mutations include, but are not limited to those at R19 and N100, such as R19V, N105V (wherein the numbering refers to the sequence shown SEQ ID NO: 3). In some examples, a portion of contiguous N-terminal residues are removed, such as amino acids 1-16 or 1-20 of SEQ ID NO: 3. Examples are shown in SEQ ID NOS: 7 and 8.

In one example, mutations are introduced to improve stability of FGF21, such as an increase of at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 75%, or at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 100%, at least 200%, at least 300% at least 400%, or at least 500%, relative to a native FGF21 protein. Methods of measuring FGF21 stability are known in the art, such as measuring denaturation of FGF21 or mutants by fluorescence and circular dichroism in the absence and presence of a 5-fold molar excess of heparin in the presence of 1.5 M urea or isothermal equilibrium denaturation by guanidine hydrochloride. In one example, the assay provided by Dubey et al., J. Mol. Biol. 371:256-268, 2007 is used to measure FGF21 stability. Examples of mutations that can be used to increase stability of the protein include, but are not limited to, one or more of L55V, K56V, K56I, and P138V (wherein the numbering refers to the sequence shown SEQ ID NO: 3). In one example, mutations are introduced to improve the

thermostability of FGF21 (e.g., see Xia et al., PLoS One. 2012;7(1 l):e48210 and Zakrzewska, J Biol Chem. 284:25388-25403, 2009).

In one example, mutations are introduced to increase protease resistance of FGF21, such as an increase of at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 75%, or at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 100%, at least 200%, at least 300% at least 400%, or at least 500%, relative to a native FGF21 protein. In one example, FGF21 K56 (of SEQ ID NO: 3) is mutated to a hydrophobic residue, such as like isoleucine. In one example, FGF21 L55 and/or P138 (of SEQ ID NO: 3) are mutated to L55V and/or P138V.

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein is PEGylated at one or more positions, such as at N 105 (for example see methods of Niu et al., J. Chwmatog. 1327:66-72, 2014, herein incorporated by reference). Pegylation consists of covalently linking a polyethylene glycol group to surface residues and/or the N-terminal amino group. N 105 is involved in 7158-9356102 receptor binding, thus is on the surface of the folded protein. As mutations to surface exposed residues could potentially generate immunogenic sequences, pegylation is an alternative method to abrogate a specific interaction. Pegylation is an option for any surface exposed site implicated in the receptor binding and/or proteolytic degradation. Pegylation can "cover" functional amino acids, e.g. N105, as well as increase serum stability.

In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes an immunoglobin Fc domain (for example see Czajkowsky et al., EMBO Mol. Med. 4: 1015-28, 2012, herein incorporated by reference). The conserved FC fragment of an antibody can be incorporated either N-terminal or C-terminal of the mutant FGF21 protein, and can enhance stability of the protein and therefore serum half-life. The Fc domain can also be used as a means to purify the proteins on protein A or Protein G sepharose beads. This makes the FGF21 mutants having heparin binding mutations easier to purify.

Variant sequences

Variant FGF21 proteins, including variants of the sequences shown SEQ ID NOS: 6, 7, and 8 can contain one or more mutations, such as a single insertion, a single deletion, a single substitution. In some examples, the mutant FGF21 protein includes 1-20 insertions, 1-20 deletions, 1-20 substitutions, or any combination thereof {e.g., single insertion together with 1- 19 substitutions). In some examples, the disclosure provides a variant of any disclosed mutant FGF21 protein having 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20 amino acid changes. In some examples, SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8 includes and additional 1-8 insertions, 1-15 deletions, 1-10 substitutions, or any combination thereof {e.g., 1-15, 1-4, or 1-5 amino acid deletions together with 1-10, 1-5 or 1-7 amino acid substitutions). In some examples, the disclosure provides a variant of SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8, having 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 or 30 amino acid changes. In one example, such variant peptides are produced by manipulating the nucleotide sequence encoding a peptide using standard procedures such as site-directed mutagenesis or PCR. Such variants can also be chemically synthesized.

One type of modification or mutation includes the substitution of amino acids for amino acid residues having a similar biochemical property, that is, a conservative substitution (such as 1-4, 1-8, 1-10, or 1-20 conservative substitutions). Typically, conservative substitutions have little to no impact on the activity of a resulting peptide. For example, a conservative substitution is an amino acid substitution in SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8, that does not substantially affect the 7158-9356102 ability of the peptide to decrease blood glucose in a mammal. An alanine scan can be used to identify which amino acid residues in a mutant FGF21 protein, such as SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8, can tolerate an amino acid substitution. In one example, the blood glucose lowering activity of FGF21, or SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8, is not altered by more than 25%, for example not more than 20%, for example not more than 10%, when an alanine, or other conservative amino acid, is substituted for 1-4, 1-8, 1-10, or 1-20 native amino acids. Examples of amino acids which may be substituted for an original amino acid in a protein and which are regarded as conservative substitutions include: Ser for Ala; Lys for Arg; Gin or His for Asn; Glu for Asp; Ser for Cys; Asn for Gin; Asp for Glu; Pro for Gly; Asn or Gin for His; Leu or Val for He; He or Val for Leu; Arg or Gin for Lys; Leu or He for Met; Met, Leu or Tyr for Phe; Thr for Ser; Ser for Thr; Tyr for Trp; Trp or Phe for Tyr; and He or Leu for Val.

More substantial changes can be made by using substitutions that are less conservative, e.g., selecting residues that differ more significantly in their effect on maintaining: (a) the structure of the polypeptide backbone in the area of the substitution, for example, as a sheet or helical conformation; (b) the charge or hydrophobicity of the polypeptide at the target site; or (c) the bulk of the side chain. The substitutions that in general are expected to produce the greatest changes in polypeptide function are those in which: (a) a hydrophilic residue, e.g., serine or threonine, is substituted for (or by) a hydrophobic residue, e.g., leucine, isoleucine,

phenylalanine, valine or alanine; (b) a cysteine or proline is substituted for (or by) any other residue; (c) a residue having an electropositive side chain, e.g., lysine, arginine, or histidine, is substituted for (or by) an electronegative residue, e.g., glutamic acid or aspartic acid; or (d) a residue having a bulky side chain, e.g., phenylalanine, is substituted for (or by) one not having a side chain, e.g., glycine. The effects of these amino acid substitutions (or other deletions or additions) can be assessed by analyzing the function of the mutant FGF21 protein, such as SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8, by analyzing the ability of the variant protein to decrease blood glucose in a mammal.

Generation of Proteins

Isolation and purification of recombinantly expressed mutated FGF21 proteins can be carried out by conventional means, such as preparative chromatography and immunological separations. Once expressed, mutated FGF21 proteins can be purified according to standard procedures of the art, including ammonium sulfate precipitation, affinity columns, column chromatography, and the like (see, generally, R. Scopes, Protein Purification, Springer- Verlag, 7158-9356102

N.Y., 1982). Substantially pure compositions of at least about 90 to 95% homogeneity are disclosed herein, and 98 to 99% or more homogeneity can be used for pharmaceutical purposes.

In addition to recombinant methods, mutated FGF21 proteins disclosed herein can also be constructed in whole or in part using standard peptide synthesis. In one example, mutated FGF21 proteins are synthesized by condensation of the amino and carboxyl termini of shorter fragments. Methods of forming peptide bonds by activation of a carboxyl terminal end (such as by the use of the coupling reagent N, N'-dicylohexylcarbodimide) are well known in the art.

Mutated FGF21 Nucleic Acid Molecules and Vectors

Nucleic acid molecules encoding a mutated FGF21 protein are encompassed by this disclosure. Based on the genetic code, nucleic acid sequences coding for any mutated FGF21 protein, such as those having at least 90% or at least 95% sequence identity to those shown in SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8 (which in some examples has one or more, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 of the point mutations shown in Table 1) can be routinely generated. In some examples, such a sequence is optimized for expression in a host cell, such as a host cell used to express the mutant FGF21 protein.

In one example, a nucleic acid sequence coding for a mutant FGF21 protein has at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at lest 96%, at least 97%, at least 99% or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8 (which is not a native or wild-type sequence), can readily be produced by one of skill in the art, using the amino acid sequences provided herein, and the genetic code. In addition, one of skill can readily construct a variety of clones containing functionally equivalent nucleic acids, such as nucleic acids which differ in sequence but which encode the same mutant FGF21 protein sequence.

Nucleic acid molecules include DNA, cDNA and RNA sequences which encode a mutated FGF21 peptide. Silent mutations in the coding sequence result from the degeneracy

(i.e., redundancy) of the genetic code, whereby more than one codon can encode the same amino acid residue. Thus, for example, leucine can be encoded by CTT, CTC, CTA, CTG, TTA, or TTG; serine can be encoded by TCT, TCC, TCA, TCG, AGT, or AGC; asparagine can be encoded by AAT or AAC; aspartic acid can be encoded by GAT or GAC; cysteine can be encoded by TGT or TGC; alanine can be encoded by GCT, GCC, GCA, or GCG; glutamine can be encoded by CAA or CAG; tyrosine can be encoded by TAT or TAC; and isoleucine can be encoded by ATT, ATC, or ATA. Tables showing the standard genetic code can be found in 7158-9356102 various sources (see, for example, Stryer, 1988, Biochemistry, 3^rd Edition, W.H. 5 Freeman and Co., NY).

Codon preferences and codon usage tables for a particular species can be used to engineer isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) that take advantage of the codon usage preferences of that particular species. For example, the mutated FGF21 proteins disclosed herein can be designed to have codons that are preferentially used by a particular organism of interest.

A nucleic acid encoding a mutant FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can be cloned or amplified by in vitro methods, such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the ligase chain reaction (LCR), the transcription-based amplification system (TAS), the self- sustained sequence replication system (3SR) and the QP replicase amplification system (QB). A wide variety of cloning and in vitro amplification methodologies are well known to persons skilled in the art. In addition, nucleic acids encoding sequences encoding a mutant FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can be prepared by cloning techniques. Examples of appropriate cloning and sequencing techniques, and instructions sufficient to direct persons of skill through cloning are found in Sambrook et al. (ed.), Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual 2nd ed., vol. 1-3, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring, Harbor, N.Y., 1989, and Ausubel et al., (1987) in "Current Protocols in Molecular Biology," John Wiley and Sons, New York, N.Y..

Nucleic acid sequences encoding a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can be prepared by any suitable method including, for example, cloning of appropriate sequences or by direct chemical synthesis by methods such as the phosphotriester method of Narang et al., 7158-9356102

Meth. Enzymol. 68:90-99, 1979; the phosphodiester method of Brown et al., Meth. Enzymol. 68: 109-151, 1979; the diethylphosphoramidite method of Beaucage et al., Tetra. Lett. 22: 1859- 1862, 1981; the solid phase phosphoramidite triester method described by Beaucage &

Caruthers, Tetra. Letts. 22(20): 1859-1862, 1981, for example, using an automated synthesizer as described in, for example, Needham-VanDevanter et al., Nucl. Acids Res. 12:6159-6168, 1984; and, the solid support method of U.S. Patent No. 4,458,066. Chemical synthesis produces a single stranded oligonucleotide. This can be converted into double stranded DNA by

hybridization with a complementary sequence, or by polymerization with a DNA polymerase using the single strand as a template. One of skill would recognize that while chemical synthesis of DNA is generally limited to sequences of about 100 bases, longer sequences may be obtained by the ligation of shorter sequences.

In one example, a mutant FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) is prepared by inserting the cDNA which encodes the mutant FGF21 protein into a vector. The insertion can be made so that the mutant FGF21 protein is read in frame so that the mutant FGF21 protein is produced.

The mutated FGF21 protein nucleic acid coding sequence (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can be inserted into an expression vector including, but not limited to a plasmid, virus or other vehicle that can be manipulated to allow insertion or incorporation of sequences and can be expressed in either prokaryotes or eukaryotes. Hosts can include microbial, yeast, insect, plant and mammalian organisms. Methods of expressing DNA sequences having eukaryotic or viral sequences in prokaryotes are well known in the art. Biologically functional viral and plasmid DNA vectors capable of expression and replication in a host are known in the art. The vector can encode a selectable marker, such as a thymidine kinase gene.

Nucleic acid sequences encoding a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can be operatively linked to expression control sequences. An expression control sequence 7158-9356102 operatively linked to a mutated FGF21 protein coding sequence is ligated such that expression of the mutant FGF21 protein coding sequence is achieved under conditions compatible with the expression control sequences. The expression control sequences include, but are not limited to appropriate promoters, enhancers, transcription terminators, a start codon (i.e., ATG) in front of a mutated FGF21 protein-encoding gene, splicing signal for introns, maintenance of the correct reading frame of that gene to permit proper translation of mRNA, and stop codons.

In one embodiment, vectors are used for expression in yeast such as S. cerevisiae, P. pastoris, or Kluyveromyces lactis. Several promoters are known to be of use in yeast expression systems such as the constitutive promoters plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase (PMA1),

glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD), phosphoglycerate kinase-1 (PGK1), alcohol dehydrogenase- 1 (ADH1), and pleiotropic drug-resistant pump (PDR5). In addition, many inducible promoters are of use, such as GALl-10 (induced by galactose), PH05 (induced by low extracellular inorganic phosphate), and tandem heat shock HSE elements (induced by

temperature elevation to 37°C). Promoters that direct variable expression in response to a titratable inducer include the methionine-responsive MET3 and MET25 promoters and copper- dependent CUP1 promoters. Any of these promoters may be cloned into multicopy (2μ) or single copy (CEN) plasmids to give an additional level of control in expression level. The plasmids can include nutritional markers (such as URA3, ADE3, HIS1, and others) for selection in yeast and antibiotic resistance (AMP) for propagation in bacteria. Plasmids for expression on K. lactis are known, such as pKLACl. Thus, in one example, after amplification in bacteria, plasmids can be introduced into the corresponding yeast auxotrophs by methods similar to bacterial transformation. The nucleic acid molecules encoding a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can also be designed to express in insect cells.

A mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can be expressed in a variety of yeast strains. For example, seven pleiotropic drug-resistant transporters, YOR1, SNQ2, PDR5, YCF1, PDR10, PDR11, and PDR15, together with their activating transcription factors, PDR1 and PDR3, have been simultaneously deleted in yeast host cells, rendering the resultant strain 7158-9356102 sensitive to drugs. Yeast strains with altered lipid composition of the plasma membrane, such as the erg6 mutant defective in ergosterol biosynthesis, can also be utilized. Proteins that are highly sensitive to proteolysis can be expressed in a yeast cell lacking the master vacuolar endopeptidase Pep4, which controls the activation of other vacuolar hydrolases. Heterologous expression in strains carrying temperature- sensitive (ts) alleles of genes can be employed if the corresponding null mutant is inviable.

Viral vectors can also be prepared that encode a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N- terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8). Exemplary viral vectors include polyoma, SV40, adenovirus, vaccinia virus, adeno-associated virus, herpes viruses including HSV and EBV, Sindbis viruses, alphaviruses and retroviruses of avian, murine, and human origin. Baculovirus (Autographa californica multinuclear polyhedrosis virus; AcMNPV) vectors are also known in the art, and may be obtained from commercial sources. Other suitable vectors include retrovirus vectors, orthopox vectors, avipox vectors, fowlpox vectors, capripox vectors, suipox vectors, adenoviral vectors, herpes virus vectors, alpha virus vectors, baculovirus vectors, Sindbis virus vectors, vaccinia virus vectors and poliovirus vectors. Specific exemplary vectors are poxvirus vectors such as vaccinia virus, fowlpox virus and a highly attenuated vaccinia virus (MVA), adenovirus, baculovirus and the like. Pox viruses of use include orthopox, suipox, avipox, and capripox virus. Orthopox include vaccinia, ectromelia, and raccoon pox. One example of an orthopox of use is vaccinia. Avipox includes fowlpox, canary pox and pigeon pox. Capripox include goatpox and sheeppox. In one example, the suipox is swinepox. Other viral vectors that can be used include other DNA viruses such as herpes virus and adenoviruses, and RNA viruses such as retroviruses and polio.

Viral vectors that encode a mutated truncated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can include at least one expression control element operationally linked to the nucleic acid sequence encoding the mutated FGF21 protein. The expression control elements are inserted in the vector to control and regulate the expression of the nucleic acid sequence. Examples of expression control elements of use in these vectors includes, but is not limited to, lac system, operator and 7158-9356102 promoter regions of phage lambda, yeast promoters and promoters derived from polyoma, adenovirus, retrovirus or SV40. Additional operational elements include, but are not limited to, leader sequence, termination codons, polyadenylation signals and any other sequences necessary for the appropriate transcription and subsequent translation of the nucleic acid sequence encoding the mutated FGF21 protein in the host system. The expression vector can contain additional elements necessary for the transfer and subsequent replication of the expression vector containing the nucleic acid sequence in the host system. Examples of such elements include, but are not limited to, origins of replication and selectable markers. It will further be understood by one skilled in the art that such vectors are easily constructed using conventional methods (Ausubel et al., (1987) in "Current Protocols in Molecular Biology," John Wiley and Sons, New York, N.Y.) and are commercially available.

Basic techniques for preparing recombinant DNA viruses containing a heterologous DNA sequence encoding the mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) are known. Such techniques involve, for example, homologous recombination between the viral DNA sequences flanking the DNA sequence in a donor plasmid and homologous sequences present in the parental virus. The vector can be constructed for example by steps known in the art, such as by using a unique restriction endonuclease site that is naturally present or artificially inserted in the parental viral vector to insert the heterologous DNA.

When the host is a eukaryote, such methods of transfection of DNA as calcium phosphate coprecipitates, conventional mechanical procedures such as microinjection, electroporation, insertion of a plasmid encased in liposomes, or virus vectors can be used.

Eukaryotic cells can also be co-transformed with polynucleotide sequences encoding an mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), and a second foreign DNA molecule encoding a selectable phenotype, such as the herpes simplex thymidine kinase gene. Another method is to use a eukaryotic viral vector, such as simian virus 40 (SV40) or bovine papilloma virus, to transiently infect or transform eukaryotic cells and express the protein (see for example, Eukaryotic Viral Vectors, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Gluzman ed., 1982). One of skill in 7158-9356102 the art can readily use an expression systems such as plasmids and vectors of use in producing mutated FGF21 proteins in cells including eukaryotic cells such as the COS, CHO, HeLa and myeloma cell lines. Cells Expressing Mutated FGF21 Proteins

A nucleic acid molecule encoding a mutated FGF21 protein disclosed herein, can be used to transform cells and make transformed cells. Thus, cells expressing a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) are disclosed. Cells expressing a mutated FGF21 protein disclosed herein, can be eukaryotic or prokaryotic. Examples of such cells include, but are not limited to bacteria, archea, plant, fungal, yeast, insect, and mammalian cells, such as Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Bacillus (such as B. subtilis), Escherichia (such as E. coli), Clostridium, Saccharomyces or Pichia (such as S. cerevisiae or P. pastoris), Kluyveromyces lactis, Salmonella typhimurium, SF9 cells, CI 29 cells, 293 cells, Neurospora, and immortalized mammalian myeloid and lymphoid cell lines.

Cells expressing a mutated FGF21 protein are transformed or recombinant cells. Such cells can include at least one exogenous nucleic acid molecule that encodes a mutated FGF21 protein, for example a sequence encoding a mutant FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8). It is understood that all progeny may not be identical to the parental cell since there may be mutations that occur during replication. Methods of stable transfer, meaning that the foreign DNA is continuously maintained in the host cell, are known in the art.

Transformation of a host cell with recombinant DNA may be carried out by conventional techniques as are well known. Where the host is prokaryotic, such as E. coli, competent cells which are capable of DNA uptake can be prepared from cells harvested after exponential growth phase and subsequently treated by the CaCl₂ method using procedures well known in the art.

Alternatively, MgCl₂ or RbCl can be used. Transformation can also be performed after forming a protoplast of the host cell if desired, or by electroporation. Techniques for the propagation of mammalian cells in culture are well-known (see, Jakoby and Pastan (eds), 1979, Cell Culture. 7158-9356102

Methods in Enzymology, volume 58, Academic Press, Inc., Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, N.Y.). Examples of commonly used mammalian host cell lines are VERO and HeLa cells, CHO cells, and WI38, BHK, and COS cell lines, although cell lines may be used, such as cells designed to provide higher expression desirable glycosylation patterns, or other features. Techniques for the transformation of yeast cells, such as polyethylene glycol transformation, protoplast

transformation and gene guns are also known in the art.

Pharmaceutical Compositions That Include

Mutated FGF21 Molecules

Pharmaceutical compositions that include a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1 alone or in combination with an N-terminal deletion, such as a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 91%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, at least 99% or 100% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) or a nucleic acid encoding these proteins, can be formulated with an appropriate pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, depending upon the particular mode of administration chosen.

In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition consists essentially of a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) (or a nucleic acid encoding such a protein) and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. In these embodiments, additional therapeutically effective agents are not included in the compositions.

In other embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition includes a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) (or a nucleic acid encoding such a protein) and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. Additional therapeutic agents, such as agents for the treatment of diabetes or other metabolic disorder, can be included. Thus, the pharmaceutical compositions can include a therapeutically effective amount of another agent. Examples of such agents include, without limitation, anti-apoptotic substances such as the Nemo-Binding Domain and compounds that induce proliferation such as cyclin dependent kinase (CDK)-6, CDK-4 and 7158-9356102 cyclin Dl. Other active agents can be utilized, such as antidiabetic agents for example, metformin, sulphonylureas (e.g., glibenclamide, tolbutamide, glimepiride), nateglinide, repaglinide, thiazolidinediones (e.g., rosiglitazone, pioglitazone), peroxisome proliferator- activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma-agonists (such as C 1262570) and antagonists, PPAR- gamma/alpha modulators (such as KRP 297), alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (e.g., acarbose, voglibose), dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-IV inhibitors (such as LAF237, MK-431), alpha2- antagonists, agents for lowering blood sugar, cholesterol-absorption inhibitors, 3-hydroxy-3- methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMGCoA) reductase inhibitors (such as a statin), insulin and insulin analogues, GLP-1 and GLP-1 analogues (e.g. exendin-4) or amylin. Additional examples include immunomodulatory factors such as anti-CD3 mAb, growth factors such as HGF, VEGF, PDGF, lactogens, and PTHrP. In some examples, the pharmaceutical

compositions containing a mutated FGF21 protein can further include a therapeutically effective amount of other FGFs, such as FGF19, heparin, or combinations thereof.

The pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and excipients useful in this disclosure are conventional. See, e.g., Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Editor, Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 21^st Edition (2005). For instance, parenteral formulations usually include injectable fluids that are pharmaceutically and physiologically acceptable fluid vehicles such as water, physiological saline, other balanced salt solutions, aqueous dextrose, glycerol or the like. For solid compositions (e.g., powder, pill, tablet, or capsule forms), conventional non-toxic solid carriers can include, for example, pharmaceutical grades of mannitol, lactose, starch, or magnesium stearate. In addition to biologically-neutral carriers, pharmaceutical compositions to be administered can contain minor amounts of non-toxic auxiliary substances, such as wetting or emulsifying agents, preservatives, pH buffering agents, or the like, for example sodium acetate or sorbitan monolaurate. Excipients that can be included are, for instance, other proteins, such as human serum albumin or plasma preparations.

In some embodiments, a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) is included in a controlled release formulation, for example, a microencapsulated formulation. Various types of biodegradable and biocompatible polymers, methods can be used, and methods of encapsulating a variety of synthetic compounds, proteins and nucleic acids, have been well 7158-9356102 described in the art (see, for example, U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2007/0148074;

2007/0092575; and 2006/0246139; U.S. Patent Nos. 4,522, 811; 5,753,234; and 7,081,489; PCT Publication No. WO/2006/052285; Benita, Microencapsulation: Methods and Industrial Applications, 2^nd ed., CRC Press, 2006).

In other embodiments, a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) is included in a nanodispersion system. Nanodispersion systems and methods for producing such nanodispersions are well known to one of skill in the art. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,780,324; U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2009/0175953. For example, a nanodispersion system includes a biologically active agent and a dispersing agent (such as a polymer, copolymer, or low molecular weight surfactant). Exemplary polymers or copolymers include polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PLA), poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), poly(ethylene glycol). Exemplary low molecular weight surfactants include sodium dodecyl sulfate, hexadecyl pyridinium chloride, polysorbates, sorbitans, poly(oxyethylene) alkyl ethers, poly(oxyethylene) alkyl esters, and combinations thereof. In one example, the nanodispersion system includes PVP and ODP or a variant thereof (such as 80/20 w/w). In some examples, the nanodispersion is prepared using the solvent evaporation method, see for example, Kanaze et ah, Drug Dev. Indus. Pharm. 36:292-301, 2010; Kanaze et al, J. Appl. Polymer Sci. 102:460-471, 2006. With regard to the administration of nucleic acids, one approach to administration of nucleic acids is direct treatment with plasmid DNA, such as with a mammalian expression plasmid. As described above, the nucleotide sequence encoding a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can be placed under the control of a promoter to increase expression of the protein.

Many types of release delivery systems are available and known. Examples include polymer based systems such as poly(lactide-glycolide), copolyoxalates, polycaprolactones, polyesteramides, polyorthoesters, polyhydroxybutyric acid, and polyanhydrides. Microcapsules of the foregoing polymers containing drugs are described in, for example, U.S. Patent No.

5,075,109. Delivery systems also include non-polymer systems, such as lipids including sterols such as cholesterol, cholesterol esters and fatty acids or neutral fats such as mono- di- and tri- 7158-9356102 glycerides; hydrogel release systems; silastic systems; peptide based systems; wax coatings; compressed tablets using conventional binders and excipients; partially fused implants; and the like. Specific examples include, but are not limited to: (a) erosional systems in which a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), or polynucleotide encoding this protein, is contained in a form within a matrix such as those described in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,452,775;

4,667,014; 4,748,034; 5,239,660; and 6,218,371 and (b) diffusional systems in which an active component permeates at a controlled rate from a polymer such as described in U.S. Patent Nos. 3,832,253 and 3,854,480. In addition, pump-based hardware delivery systems can be used, some of which are adapted for implantation.

Use of a long-term sustained release implant may be particularly suitable for treatment of chronic conditions, such as diabetes. Long-term release, as used herein, means that the implant is constructed and arranged to deliver therapeutic levels of the active ingredient for at least 30 days, or at least 60 days. Long-term sustained release implants are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and include some of the release systems described above. These systems have been described for use with nucleic acids (see U.S. Patent No. 6,218,371). For use in vivo, nucleic acids and peptides are preferably relatively resistant to degradation (such as via endo- and exo-nucleases). Thus, modifications of the disclosed mutated FGF21 proteins, such as the inclusion of a C-terminal amide, can be used.

The dosage form of the pharmaceutical composition can be determined by the mode of administration chosen. For instance, in addition to injectable fluids, topical, inhalation, oral and suppository formulations can be employed. Topical preparations can include eye drops, ointments, sprays, patches and the like. Inhalation preparations can be liquid (e.g., solutions or suspensions) and include mists, sprays and the like. Oral formulations can be liquid (e.g., syrups, solutions or suspensions), or solid (e.g. , powders, pills, tablets, or capsules).

Suppository preparations can also be solid, gel, or in a suspension form. For solid compositions, conventional non-toxic solid carriers can include pharmaceutical grades of mannitol, lactose, cellulose, starch, or magnesium stearate. Actual methods of preparing such dosage forms are known, or will be apparent, to those skilled in the art.

The pharmaceutical compositions that include a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N- 7158-9356102 terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can be formulated in unit dosage form, suitable for individual administration of precise dosages. In one non-limiting example, a unit dosage contains from about 1 mg to about 1 g of a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), such as about 10 mg to about 100 mg, about 50 mg to about 500 mg, about 100 mg to about 900 mg, about 250 mg to about 750 mg, or about 400 mg to about 600 mg. In other examples, a therapeutically effective amount of a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) is about 0.01 mg/kg to about 50 mg/kg, for example, about 0.5 mg/kg to about 25 mg/kg or about 1 mg/kg to about 10 mg/kg. In other examples, a therapeutically effective amount of a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) is about 1 mg/kg to about 5 mg/kg, for example about 2 mg/kg. In a particular example, a therapeutically effective amount of a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) includes about 1 mg/kg to about 10 mg/kg, such as about 2 mg/kg.

Treatment Using Mutated FGF21

The disclosed mutated FGF21 proteins (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), or nucleic acids encoding such proteins, can be administered to a subject, for example to treat a metabolic disease, for example by reducing fed and fasting blood glucose, improving insulin sensitivity 7158-9356102 and glucose tolerance, reducing systemic chronic inflammation, ameliorating hepatic steatosis in a mammal, reducing hypertension, reducing non-HDL lipid and/or triglyceride levels, or combinations thereof. The disclosed mutated FGF21 proteins (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), or nucleic acids encoding such proteins, can be administered to a subject, for example to reduce glucose levels, increase insulin sensitivity, reduce insulin resistance, reduce glucagon, improve glucose tolerance, or glucose metabolism or homeostasis, improve pancreatic function, reduce triglyceride, cholesterol, IDL, LDL and/or VLDL levels, decrease blood pressure, decrease intimal thickening of the blood vessel, decrease body mass or weight gain, decrease

hypertension, or combinations thereof.

Thus, the disclosed mutated FGF21 proteins can be administered to subjects having a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level greater than about 100 mg/d and/or has a hemoglobin Ale (Hb Ale) level above 6% .

The disclosed mutated FGF21 proteins (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), or nucleic acids encoding such proteins, can be administered to a subject, for example to treat a subject having a hyperglycemic condition (e.g., diabetes, such as insulin-dependent (type I) diabetes, type II diabetes, or gestational diabetes), insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, glucose intolerance or metabolic syndrome, or is obese or has an undesirable body mass.

The disclosed mutated FGF21 proteins (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), or nucleic acids encoding such proteins, can be administered to a subject, for example to treat other

hyperglycemic -related disorders, including kidney damage (e.g. , tubule damage or

nephropathy), liver degeneration, eye damage (e.g., diabetic retinopathy or cataracts), and diabetic foot disorders; dyslipidemias and their sequelae such as, for example, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disorders and the like. 7158-9356102

The compositions of this disclosure that include a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N- terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) (or nucleic acids encoding these molecules) can be administered to humans or other animals by any means, including orally, intravenously, intramuscularly, intraperitoneally, intranasally, intradermally, intrathecally, subcutaneously, via inhalation or via suppository. In one non-limiting example, the composition is administered via injection. In some examples, site-specific administration of the composition can be used, for example by administering a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) (or a nucleic acid encoding these molecules) to pancreas tissue (for example by using a pump, or by implantation of a slow release form at the site of the pancreas). The particular mode of administration and the dosage regimen will be selected by the attending clinician, taking into account the particulars of the case (e.g. the subject, the disease, the disease state involved, the particular treatment, and whether the treatment is prophylactic).

Treatment can involve daily or multi-daily or less than daily (such as weekly or monthly etc.) doses over a period of a few days to months, or even years. For example, a therapeutically effective amount of a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can be administered in a single dose, twice daily, weekly, or in several doses, for example daily, or during a course of treatment. In a particular non-limiting example, treatment involves once daily dose or twice daily dose.

The amount of mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) administered can be dependent on the subject being treated, the severity of the affliction, and the manner of administration, and can be left to the judgment of the prescribing clinician. Within these 7158-9356102 bounds, the formulation to be administered will contain a quantity of the mutated FGF21 protein in amounts effective to achieve the desired effect in the subject being treated. A therapeutically effective amount of mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can be the amount of the mutant FGF21 protein, or a nucleic acid encoding these molecules that is necessary to treat diabetes, reduce blood glucose levels, and/or treat one or more metabolic diseases (for example a reduction of at least 5%, at least 10%, at least 20%, or at least 50%).

When a viral vector is utilized for administration of an nucleic acid encoding a mutated

FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), the recipient can receive a dosage of each recombinant virus in the composition in the range of from about 10⁵ to about 10¹⁰ plaque forming units/mg mammal, although a lower or higher dose can be administered. Examples of methods for administering the composition into mammals include, but are not limited to, exposure of cells to the recombinant virus ex vivo, or injection of the composition into the affected tissue or intravenous, subcutaneous, intradermal or intramuscular administration of the virus. Alternatively the recombinant viral vector or combination of recombinant viral vectors may be administered locally by direct injection into the pancreases in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. Generally, the quantity of recombinant viral vector, carrying the nucleic acid sequence of the mutated FGF21 protein to be administered (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) is based on the titer of virus particles. An exemplary range to be administered is 10⁵ to 10¹⁰ virus particles per mammal, such as a human.

In some examples, a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), or a nucleic acid encoding the mutated FGF21 protein, is administered in combination (such as 7158-9356102 sequentially or simultaneously or contemporaneously) with one or more other agents, such as those useful in the treatment of diabetes, insulin resistance, heart disease, dyslipidemia, or combinations thereof.

Anti-diabetic agents are generally categorized into six classes: biguanides;

thiazolidinediones; sulfonylureas; inhibitors of carbohydrate absorption; fatty acid oxidase inhibitors and anti-lipolytic drugs; and weight-loss agents. Any of these agents can also be used in the methods disclosed herein. The anti-diabetic agents include those agents disclosed in Diabetes Care, 22(4):623-634. One class of anti-diabetic agents of use is the sulfonylureas, which are believed to increase secretion of insulin, decrease hepatic glucogenesis, and increase insulin receptor sensitivity. Another class of anti-diabetic agents use the biguanide

antihyperglycemics, which decrease hepatic glucose production and intestinal absorption, and increase peripheral glucose uptake and utilization, without inducing hyperinsulinemia.

In some examples, mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) can be administered in combination with effective doses of anti-diabetic agents (such as biguanides, thiazolidinediones, or incretins), lipid lowering compounds (such as statins or fibrates)). The term "administration in combination" or "co-administration" refers to both concurrent and sequential administration of the active agents. Administration of mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) or a nucleic acid encoding such a mutant FGF21 protein, may also be in combination with lifestyle modifications, such as increased physical activity, low fat diet, low sugar diet, and smoking cessation. Additional agents of use include, without limitation, anti- apoptotic substances such as the Nemo-Binding Domain and compounds that induce proliferation such as cyclin dependent kinase (CDK)-6, CDK-4 and Cyclin Dl . Other active agents can be utilized, such as antidiabetic agents for example, metformin, sulphonylureas (e.g., glibenclamide, tolbutamide, glimepiride), nateglinide, repaglinide, thiazolidinediones (e.g., rosiglitazone, pioglitazone), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma- agonists (such as C1262570) and antagonists, PPAR- gamma/alpha modulators (such as KRP 297), alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (e.g., acarbose, voglibose), Dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-IV 7158-9356102 inhibitors (such as LAF237, MK-431), alpha2-antagonists, agents for lowering blood sugar, cholesterol-absorption inhibitors, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMGCoA) reductase inhibitors (such as a statin), insulin and insulin analogues, GLP-1 and GLP- 1 analogues (e.g., exendin-4) or amylin. In some embodiments the agent is an

immunomodulatory factor such as anti-CD3 mAb, growth factors such as HGF, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), lactogens, or parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP). In one example, the mutated FGF21 protein is administered in combination with a therapeutically effective amount of another FGF, such as FGF21, heparin, or combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, methods are provided for treating diabetes or pre-diabetes in a subject by administering a therapeutically effective amount of a composition including a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), or a nucleic acid encoding the mutated FGF21 protein, to the subject. The subject can have diabetes type I or diabetes type II. The subject can be any mammalian subject, including human subjects and veterinary subjects such as cats and dogs. The subject can be a child or an adult. The subject can also be administered insulin. The method can include measuring blood glucose levels.

In some examples, the method includes selecting a subject with diabetes, such as type I or type II diabetes, or a subject at risk for diabetes, such as a subject with pre-diabetes. These subjects can be selected for treatment with the disclosed mutated FGF21 proteins (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N- terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) or nucleic acid molecules encoding such.

In some examples, a subject with diabetes may be clinically diagnosed by a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentration of greater than or equal to 7.0 millimole per liter (mmol/L) (126 milligram per deciliter (mg/dL)), or a plasma glucose concentration of greater than or equal to 11.1 mmol/L (200 mg/dL) at about two hours after an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) with a 75 gram (g) load, or in a patient with classic symptoms of hyperglycemia or hyperglycemic crisis, a random plasma glucose concentration of greater than or equal to 11.1 mmol/L (200 mg/dL), or HbAlc levels of greater than or equal to 6.5%. In other examples, a subject with 7158-9356102 pre-diabetes may be diagnosed by impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). An OGTT two-hour plasma glucose of greater than or equal to 140 mg/dL and less than 200 mg/dL (7.8-11.0 mM), or a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentration of greater than or equal to 100 mg/dL and less than 125 mg/dL (5.6-6.9 mmol/L), or HbAlc levels of greater than or equal to 5.7% and less than 6.4% (5.7-6.4%) is considered to be IGT, and indicates that a subject has pre-diabetes. Additional information can be found in Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes— 2010

(American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Care 33:S11-61, 2010).

In some examples, the subject treated with the disclosed compositions and methods has HbAlC of greater than 6.5% or greater than 7%.

In some examples, treating diabetes includes one or more of increasing glucose tolerance, decreasing insulin resistance (for example, decreasing plasma glucose levels, decreasing plasma insulin levels, or a combination thereof), decreasing serum triglycerides, decreasing serum non-HDL lipids (such as one or more of IDL, LDL, or VLDL), decreasing free fatty acid levels, and decreasing HbAlc levels in the subject. In some embodiments, the disclosed methods include measuring glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, plasma glucose levels, plasma insulin levels, serum triglycerides, serum lipids, free fatty acids, and/or HbAlc levels in a subject.

In some examples, administration of a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8) or pre-diabetes, by decreasing of HbAlC, such as a reduction of at least 0.5%, at least 1%, or at least 1.5%, such as a decrease of 0.5% to 0.8%, 0.5% to 1%, 1 to 1.5% or 0.5% to 2%. In some examples the target for HbAlC is less than about 6.5%, such as about 4-6%, 4-6.4%, or 4- 6.2%. In some examples, such target levels are achieved within about 26 weeks, within about 40 weeks, or within about 52 weeks. Methods of measuring HbAlC are routine, and the disclosure is not limited to particular methods. Exemplary methods include HPLC,

immunoassays, and boronate affinity chromatography.

In some examples, administration of a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), or nucleic acid molecule encoding such, treats diabetes or pre-diabetes by increasing 7158-9356102 glucose tolerance, for example, by decreasing blood glucose levels (such as two-hour plasma glucose in an OGTT or FPG) in a subject. In some examples, the method includes decreasing blood glucose by at least 5% (such as at least 10%, at least 15%, at least 20%, at least 25%, at least 30%, at least 35%, or more) as compared with a control (such as no administration of any of insulin, a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8). In particular examples, a decrease in blood glucose level is determined relative to the starting blood glucose level of the subject (for example, prior to treatment with a mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N-terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), or nucleic acid molecule encoding such). In other examples, decreasing blood glucose levels of a subject includes reduction of blood glucose from a starting point (for example greater than about 126 mg/dL FPG or greater than about 200 mg/dL OGTT two-hour plasma glucose) to a target level (for example, FPG of less than 126 mg/dL or OGTT two-hour plasma glucose of less than 200 mg/dL). In some examples, a target FPG may be less than 100 mg/dL. In other examples, a target OGTT two-hour plasma glucose may be less than 140 mg/dL. Methods to measure blood glucose levels in a subject (for example, in a blood sample from a subject) are routine.

In other embodiments, the disclosed methods include comparing one or more indicator of diabetes (such as glucose tolerance, triglyceride levels, free fatty acid levels, or HbAlc levels) to a control (such as no administration of any of insulin, any mutated FGF21 protein (such as a protein generated using the mutations shown in Table 1, for example in combination with an N- terminal deletion, or a protein having at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8), or a nucleic acid molecule encoding such), wherein an increase or decrease in the particular indicator relative to the control (as discussed above) indicates effective treatment of diabetes. The control can be any suitable control against which to compare the indicator of diabetes in a subject. In some embodiments, the control is a sample obtained from a healthy subject (such as a subject without diabetes). In some embodiments, the control is a historical control or standard reference value or range of values (such as a previously tested control 7158-9356102 sample, such as a group of subjects with diabetes, or group of samples from subjects that do not have diabetes and/or a metabolic disorder). In further examples, the control is a reference value, such as a standard value obtained from a population of normal individuals that is used by those of skill in the art. Similar to a control population, the value of the sample from the subject can be compared to the mean reference value or to a range of reference values (such as the high and low values in the reference group or the 95% confidence interval). In other examples, the control is the subject (or group of subjects) treated with placebo compared to the same subject (or group of subjects) treated with the therapeutic compound in a cross-over study. In further examples, the control is the subject (or group of subjects) prior to treatment.

EXAMPLE 1

Preparation of Mutated FGF21 Proteins

Mutated FGF21 proteins can be made using known methods (e.g., see Zhang et al., Appl

Microbiol Biotechnol. 93:613-621, 2012). An example is provided below.

Briefly, a nucleic acid sequence encoding an FGF21 mutant protein (e.g., any of SEQ ID

NOs: 6, 7, or 8) can be fused downstream of an N-terminal (His)₆ tag. The resulting expressed fusion protein utilizes the (His)₆ tag for efficient purification.

The mutant FGF21 protein can be expressed from an E. coli host after induction with isopropyl-P-D-thio-galactoside. The expressed protein can be purified utilizing sequential column chromatography on Ni- nitrilotriacetic acid (NT A) affinity resin followed by Sephadex

S-100 size exclusion chromatography. The purified protein can be formulated in 5% tregalose solution to limit degradation.

For storage and use, the purified mutant FGF21 protein can be sterile filtered through a

0.22 micron filter, purged with N₂, snap frozen in dry ice and stored at -80°C prior to use. The purity of the mutant FGF21 protein can be assessed by both Coomassie Brilliant Blue and Silver

Stain Plus (BIO-RAD Laboratories, Inc., Hercules CA) stained sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS PAGE).

EXAMPLE 2

Measuring Blood Glucose in ob/ob or Diabetic Mice

This example describes methods that can be used to test any of the FGF21 mutants provided herein (e.g., any of SEQ ID NOS: 6, 7 or 8) for their ability to lower blood glucose in vivo. 7158-9356102

Animals

Mice are housed in a temperature-controlled environment with a 12-hour light/ 12- hour dark cycle and handled according to institutional guidelines complying with U.S.

legislation. Male ob/ob mice (B6.V-Lep^ob/J, Jackson laboratories) and male C57BL/6J mice receive a standard or high fat diet (MI laboratory rodent diet 5001, Harlan Teklad; high fat (60%) diet F3282, Bio-Serv) and acidified water ad libitum. STZ-induced diabetic mice on the C57BL/6J background can be purchased from Jackson laboratories. 0.1 mg/ml solutions in PBS of mouse FGF15, human FGF19, or mutated FGF19 proteins can be injected.

Serum analysis

Blood can be collected by tail bleeding either in the ad libitum fed state or following overnight fasting. Free fatty acids (Wako), triglycerides (Thermo) and cholesterol (Thermo) can be measured using enzymatic colorimetric methods following the manufacturer' s instructions. Serum insulin levels can be measured using an Ultra Sensitive Insulin ELISA kit (Crystal Chem). Plasma adipokine and cytokine levels can be measured using Milliplex™ MAP and Bio-Plex Pro™ kits (Millipore and Bio-Rad).

Metabolic studies

Glucose tolerance tests (GTT) can be conducted after o/n fasting. Mice can be injected i.p. with 1 g of glucose per/kg bodyweight and blood glucose was monitored at 0, 15, 30, 60, and 120 min using a OneTouch Ultra glucometer (Lifescan Inc). Insulin tolerance tests (ITT) can be conducted after 3h fasting. Mice can be injected i.p. with 2U of insulin/kg bodyweight (Humulin R; Eli Lilly) and blood glucose monitored at 0, 15, 30, 60, and 90 min using a OneTouch Ultra glucometer (Lifescan Inc).

Real-time metabolic analyses can be conducted in a Comprehensive Lab Animal Monitoring System (Columbus Instruments). C0₂ production, O2 consumption, RQ (relative rates of carbohydrate versus fat oxidation), and ambulatory counts can be determined for six consecutive days and nights, with at least 24 h for adaptation before data recording. Total body composition analysis can be performed using an EchoMRI-100™ (Echo Medical Systems, LLC). 7158-9356102

In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of the disclosure may be applied, it should be recognized that the illustrated embodiments are only examples of the disclosure and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the disclosure is defined by the following claims. We therefore claim as our invention all that comes within the scope and spirit of these claims.

Claims

7158-9356102 We claim:

1. A method of reducing blood glucose in a mammal, comprising:

administering a therapeutically effective amount of a mutated mature fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 21 protein to the mammal, or a nucleic acid molecule encoding the mutated mature FGF21 protein or a vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule, thereby reducing the blood glucose,

wherein the mutated mature FGF21 protein comprises:

a deletion of at least six contiguous N-terminal amino acids;

at least one point mutation;

or combinations thereof.

2. A method of reducing fed and fasting blood glucose, improving insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, reducing systemic chronic inflammation, ameliorating hepatic steatosis, or combinations thereof, in a mammal, comprising:

administering a therapeutically effective amount of a mutated mature FGF21 protein to the mammal, or a nucleic acid molecule encoding the mutated FGF21 protein or a vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule, thereby reducing fed and fasting blood glucose, improving insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, reducing systemic chronic inflammation, ameliorating hepatic steatosis in a mammal, or combinations thereof, in a mammal,

wherein the mutated mature FGF21 protein comprises:

a deletion of at least six contiguous N-terminal amino acids;

at least one point mutation;

or combinations thereof.

3. A method of treating one or more metabolic diseases in a mammal, comprising:

administering a therapeutically effective amount of a mutated mature fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 21 protein to the mammal, or a nucleic acid molecule encoding the mutated mature FGF21 protein or a vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule, thereby treating the one or more metabolic diseases,

wherein the mutated mature FGF21 protein comprises:

a deletion of at least six contiguous N-terminal amino acids;

at least one point mutation; 7158-9356102 or combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 1 or 3, wherein the one or more metabolic diseases is one or more of diabetes, dyslipidemia, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), metabolic syndrome (MetS), obesity, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), or hypertension.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the mutated mature FGF21 protein has reduced receptor specificity and/or reduced receptor affinity compared to native mature FGF21.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the therapeutically effective amount of the mutated mature FGF21 protein is at least 0.5 mg/kg.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the administering is subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, intramuscular, or intravenous.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the mammal is a cat or dog.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the mammal is a human.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the mutated mature FGF21 protein comprises a deletion of at least 9, at least 10, at least 11, at least 12, at least 13, at least 14, at least 15, at least 16, at least 17, at least 18, at least 10, or at least 20 contiguous N-terminal amino acids.

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the at least one point mutation comprises a mutation at one or more of R19, Y22, A45, L55, K56, E97, Y104, N105, P138, P140, and L142, wherein the numbering refers to the sequence shown SEQ ID NO: 3

12. The method of any of claims 1 to 11, wherein the at least one point mutation comprises one or more of the mutations shown in Table 1.

13. The method of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the at least one point mutation comprises a mutation at R19 and N105, wherein the numbering refers to the sequence shown SEQ ID NO: 3. 7158-9356102

14. The method of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the at least one point mutation comprises R19V and N105V, wherein the numbering refers to the sequence shown SEQ ID NO: 3.

15. The method of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the native mature FGF21 protein comprises SEQ ID NO: 3 or amino acids 29-209 of SEQ ID NO: 5.

16. The method of any of claims 1 to 15, wherein the mutated mature FGF21 protein comprises at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8.

17. The method of any of claims 1 to 16, wherein the mutated mature FGF21 protein comprises or consists of SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8.

18. An isolated mutated mature fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 21 protein comprising at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 92%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8.

19. The isolated mutated mature FGF21 protein of claim 18, wherein the mutated mature FGF 21 protein comprises or consists of SEQ ID NO: 6, 7, or 8.

20. The isolated protein of claim 18 or 19, wherein the protein is 140 to 200, 160 to 200, 160 to 190, or 165 to 181 amino acids in length.

21. An isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding the isolated protein of any of claims 18 to 20.

22. A nucleic acid vector comprising the isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 21.

23. A host cell comprising the vector of claim 22.

24. The host cell of claim 23, wherein the host cell is a bacterium or yeast cell. The host cell of claim 24, wherein the bacterium is E. coli.