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Luo R, Qu B, An L, Zhao Y, Cao Y, Ren P, Hang H. Simultaneous Maturation of Single Chain Antibody Stability and Affinity by CHO Cell Display. Bioengineering (Basel) 2022; 9:bioengineering9080360. [PMID: 36004885 PMCID: PMC9404881 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering9080360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibody stability and affinity are two important features of its applications in therapy and diagnosis. Antibody display technologies such as yeast and bacterial displays have been successfully used for improving both affinity and stability. Although mammalian cell display has also been utilized for maturing antibody affinity, it has not been applied for improving antibody stability. Previously, we developed a Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell display platform in which activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) was used to induce antibody mutation, and antibody affinity was successfully matured using the platform. In the current study, we developed thermo-resistant (TR) CHO cells for the purpose of maturing both antibody stability and affinity. We cultured TR CHO cells displaying an antibody mutant library and labeled them at temperatures above 41 °C, enriching cells that displayed antibody mutants with both the highest affinities and the highest display levels. To evaluate our system, we chose three antibodies to improve their affinities and stabilities. We succeeded in simultaneously improving both affinities and stabilities of all three antibodies. Of note, we obtained an anti-TNFα antibody mutant with a Tm (dissolution temperature) value 12 °C higher and affinity 160-fold greater than the parent antibody after two rounds of cell proliferation and flow cytometric sorting. By using CHO cells with its advantages in protein folding, post-translational modifications, and code usage, this procedure is likely to be widely used in maturing antibodies and other proteins in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruiqi Luo
- Key Laboratory for Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; (R.L.); (B.Q.); (L.A.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Baole Qu
- Key Laboratory for Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; (R.L.); (B.Q.); (L.A.); (Y.Z.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Lili An
- Key Laboratory for Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; (R.L.); (B.Q.); (L.A.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yun Zhao
- Key Laboratory for Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; (R.L.); (B.Q.); (L.A.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yang Cao
- Center of Growth, Metabolism and Aging, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
- Correspondence: (Y.C.); (P.R.); (H.H.)
| | - Peng Ren
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
- Correspondence: (Y.C.); (P.R.); (H.H.)
| | - Haiying Hang
- Key Laboratory for Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; (R.L.); (B.Q.); (L.A.); (Y.Z.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Correspondence: (Y.C.); (P.R.); (H.H.)
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Fercher C, Jones ML, Mahler SM, Corrie SR. Recombinant Antibody Engineering Enables Reversible Binding for Continuous Protein Biosensing. ACS Sens 2021; 6:764-776. [PMID: 33481587 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.0c01510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Engineering antibodies to improve target specificity, reduce detection limits, or introduce novel functionality is an important research area for biosensor development. While various affinity biosensors have been developed to generate an output signal upon varying analyte concentrations, reversible and continuous protein monitoring in complex biological samples remains challenging. Herein, we explore the concept of directed evolution to modulate dissociation kinetics of a high affinity anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) single-chain variable antibody fragment (scFv) to enable continuous protein sensing in a label-free binding assay. A mutant scFv library was generated from the wild type (WT) fragment via targeted permutation of four residues in the antibody-antigen-binding interface. A single round of phage display biopanning complemented with high-throughput screening methods then permitted isolation of a specific binder with fast reaction kinetics. We were able to obtain ∼30 times faster dissociation rates when compared to the WT without appreciably affecting overall affinity and specificity by targeting a single paratope that is known to contribute to the binding interaction. Suitability of a resulting mutant fragment to sense varying antigen concentrations in continuous mode was demonstrated in a modified label-free binding assay, achieving low nanomolar detection limits (KD = 8.39 nM). We also confirmed these results using an independent detection mechanism developed previously by our group, incorporating a polarity-dependent fluorescent dye into the scFv and reading out EGFR binding based on fluorescence wavelength shifts. In future, this generic approach could be employed to generate improved or novel binders for proteins of interest, ready for deployment in a broad range of assay platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Fercher
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, ARC Training Centre for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072 Australia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072 Australia
| | - Martina L. Jones
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, ARC Training Centre for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072 Australia
| | - Stephen M. Mahler
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, ARC Training Centre for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072 Australia
| | - Simon R. Corrie
- Department of Chemical Engineering, ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800 Australia
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Sawant MS, Streu CN, Wu L, Tessier PM. Toward Drug-Like Multispecific Antibodies by Design. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E7496. [PMID: 33053650 PMCID: PMC7589779 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21207496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Revised: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The success of antibody therapeutics is strongly influenced by their multifunctional nature that couples antigen recognition mediated by their variable regions with effector functions and half-life extension mediated by a subset of their constant regions. Nevertheless, the monospecific IgG format is not optimal for many therapeutic applications, and this has led to the design of a vast number of unique multispecific antibody formats that enable targeting of multiple antigens or multiple epitopes on the same antigen. Despite the diversity of these formats, a common challenge in generating multispecific antibodies is that they display suboptimal physical and chemical properties relative to conventional IgGs and are more difficult to develop into therapeutics. Here we review advances in the design and engineering of multispecific antibodies with drug-like properties, including favorable stability, solubility, viscosity, specificity and pharmacokinetic properties. We also highlight emerging experimental and computational methods for improving the next generation of multispecific antibodies, as well as their constituent antibody fragments, with natural IgG-like properties. Finally, we identify several outstanding challenges that need to be addressed to increase the success of multispecific antibodies in the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manali S. Sawant
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; (M.S.S.); (C.N.S.)
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;
| | - Craig N. Streu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; (M.S.S.); (C.N.S.)
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;
- Department of Chemistry, Albion College, Albion, MI 49224, USA
| | - Lina Wu
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Peter M. Tessier
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; (M.S.S.); (C.N.S.)
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Stack E, McMurray S, McMurray G, Wade J, Clark M, Young G, Marquette K, Jain S, Kelleher K, Chen T, Lin Q, Bloom L, Lin L, Finlay W, Suzuki R, Cunningham O. In vitro affinity optimization of an anti-BDNF monoclonal antibody translates to improved potency in targeting chronic pain states in vivo. MAbs 2020; 12:1755000. [PMID: 32329655 PMCID: PMC7188400 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2020.1755000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling in chronic pain has been well documented. Given the important central role of BDNF in long term plasticity and memory, we sought to engineer a high affinity, peripherally-restricted monoclonal antibody against BDNF to modulate pain. BDNF shares 100% sequence homology across human and rodents; thus, we selected chickens as an alternative immune host for initial antibody generation. Here, we describe the affinity optimization of complementarity-determining region-grafted, chicken-derived R3bH01, an anti-BDNF antibody specifically blocking the TrkB receptor interaction. Antibody optimization led to the identification of B30, which has a > 300-fold improvement in affinity based on BIAcore, an 800-fold improvement in potency in a cell-based pERK assay and demonstrates exquisite selectivity over related neurotrophins. Affinity improvements measured in vitro translated to in vivo pharmacological activity, with B30 demonstrating a 30-fold improvement in potency over parental R3bH01 in a peripheral nerve injury model. We further demonstrate that peripheral BDNF plays a role in maintaining the plasticity of sensory neurons following nerve damage, with B30 reversing neuron hyperexcitability associated with heat and mechanical stimuli in a dose-dependent fashion. In summary, our data demonstrate that effective sequestration of BDNF via a high affinity neutralizing antibody has potential utility in modulating the pathophysiological mechanisms that drive chronic pain states.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Jason Wade
- Biomedicine Design, Pfizer, Dublin, Ireland.,Biomedicine Design, Pfizer, Cambridge, US
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Ting Chen
- Biomedicine Design, Pfizer, Cambridge, US
| | | | | | - Laura Lin
- Biomedicine Design, Pfizer, Cambridge, US
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