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Fernández-Quintero ML, Ljungars A, Waibl F, Greiff V, Andersen JT, Gjølberg TT, Jenkins TP, Voldborg BG, Grav LM, Kumar S, Georges G, Kettenberger H, Liedl KR, Tessier PM, McCafferty J, Laustsen AH. Assessing developability early in the discovery process for novel biologics. MAbs 2023; 15:2171248. [PMID: 36823021 PMCID: PMC9980699 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2023.2171248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Beyond potency, a good developability profile is a key attribute of a biological drug. Selecting and screening for such attributes early in the drug development process can save resources and avoid costly late-stage failures. Here, we review some of the most important developability properties that can be assessed early on for biologics. These include the influence of the source of the biologic, its biophysical and pharmacokinetic properties, and how well it can be expressed recombinantly. We furthermore present in silico, in vitro, and in vivo methods and techniques that can be exploited at different stages of the discovery process to identify molecules with liabilities and thereby facilitate the selection of the most optimal drug leads. Finally, we reflect on the most relevant developability parameters for injectable versus orally delivered biologics and provide an outlook toward what general trends are expected to rise in the development of biologics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica L. Fernández-Quintero
- Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), Department of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Anne Ljungars
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Franz Waibl
- Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), Department of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Victor Greiff
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jan Terje Andersen
- Department of Immunology, University of Oslo, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Timothy P. Jenkins
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Bjørn Gunnar Voldborg
- National Biologics Facility, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Lise Marie Grav
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Sandeep Kumar
- Biotherapeutics Discovery, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc, Ridgefield, CT, USA
| | - Guy Georges
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Large Molecule Research, Roche Innovation Center Munich, Penzberg, Germany
| | - Hubert Kettenberger
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Large Molecule Research, Roche Innovation Center Munich, Penzberg, Germany
| | - Klaus R. Liedl
- Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), Department of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Peter M. Tessier
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - John McCafferty
- Department of Medicine, Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Maxion Therapeutics, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | - Andreas H. Laustsen
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
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2
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Ausserwöger H, Schneider MM, Herling TW, Arosio P, Invernizzi G, Knowles TPJ, Lorenzen N. Non-specificity as the sticky problem in therapeutic antibody development. Nat Rev Chem 2022; 6:844-861. [PMID: 37117703 DOI: 10.1038/s41570-022-00438-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Antibodies are highly potent therapeutic scaffolds with more than a hundred different products approved on the market. Successful development of antibody-based drugs requires a trade-off between high target specificity and target binding affinity. In order to better understand this problem, we here review non-specific interactions and explore their fundamental physicochemical origins. We discuss the role of surface patches - clusters of surface-exposed amino acid residues with similar physicochemical properties - as inducers of non-specific interactions. These patches collectively drive interactions including dipole-dipole, π-stacking and hydrophobic interactions to complementary moieties. We elucidate links between these supramolecular assembly processes and macroscopic development issues, such as decreased physical stability and poor in vivo half-life. Finally, we highlight challenges and opportunities for optimizing protein binding specificity and minimizing non-specificity for future generations of therapeutics.
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3
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Dkhar DS, Kumari R, Mahapatra S, Divya, Kumar R, Tripathi T, Chandra P. Antibody-receptor bioengineering and its implications in designing bioelectronic devices. Int J Biol Macromol 2022; 218:225-242. [PMID: 35870626 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.07.109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Antibodies play a crucial role in the defense mechanism countering pathogens or foreign antigens in eukaryotes. Its potential as an analytical and diagnostic tool has been exploited for over a century. It forms immunocomplexes with a specific antigen, which is the basis of immunoassays and aids in developing potent biosensors. Antibody-based sensors allow for the quick and accurate detection of various analytes. Though classical antibodies have prolonged been used as bioreceptors in biosensors fabrication due to their increased fragility, they have been engineered into more stable fragments with increased exposure of their antigen-binding sites in the recent era. In biosensing, the formats constructed by antibody engineering can enhance the signal since the resistance offered by a conventional antibody is much more than these fragments. Hence, signal amplification can be observed when antibody fragments are utilized as bioreceptors instead of full-length antibodies. We present the first systematic review on engineered antibodies as bioreceptors with the description of their engineering methods. The detection of various target analytes, including small molecules, macromolecules, and cells using antibody-based biosensors, has been discussed. A comparison of the classical polyclonal, monoclonal, and engineered antibodies as bioreceptors to construct highly accurate, sensitive, and specific sensors is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daphika S Dkhar
- Laboratory of Bio-Physio Sensors and Nano-bioengineering, School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221005, India
| | - Rohini Kumari
- Laboratory of Bio-Physio Sensors and Nano-bioengineering, School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221005, India
| | - Supratim Mahapatra
- Laboratory of Bio-Physio Sensors and Nano-bioengineering, School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221005, India
| | - Divya
- Laboratory of Bio-Physio Sensors and Nano-bioengineering, School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221005, India
| | - Rahul Kumar
- Laboratory of Bio-Physio Sensors and Nano-bioengineering, School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221005, India
| | - Timir Tripathi
- Molecular and Structural Biophysics Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong 793022, India; Regional Director's Office, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Regional Centre Kohima, Kenuozou, Kohima 797001, India.
| | - Pranjal Chandra
- Laboratory of Bio-Physio Sensors and Nano-bioengineering, School of Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221005, India.
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4
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Abstract
Polyclonal immunoglobulin (Ig) preparations have been used for several decades for treatment of primary and secondary immunodeficiencies and for treatment of some infections and intoxications. This has demonstrated the importance of Igs, also called antibodies (Abs) for prevention and elimination of infections. Moreover, elucidation of the structure and functions of Abs has suggested that they might be useful for targeted treatment of several diseases, including cancers and autoimmune diseases. The development of technologies for production of specific monoclonal Abs (MAbs) in large amounts has led to the production of highly effective therapeutic antibodies (TAbs), a collective term for MAbs (MAbs) with demonstrated clinical efficacy in one or more diseases. The number of approved TAbs is currently around hundred, and an even larger number is under development, including several engineered and modified Ab formats. The use of TAbs has provided new treatment options for many severe diseases, but prediction of clinical effect is difficult, and many patients eventually lose effect, possibly due to development of Abs to the TAbs or to other reasons. The therapeutic efficacy of TAbs can be ascribed to one or more effects, including binding and neutralization of targets, direct cytotoxicity, Ab-dependent complement-dependent cytotoxicity, Ab-dependent cellular cytotoxicity or others. The therapeutic options for TAbs have been expanded by development of several new formats of TAbs, including bispecific Abs, single domain Abs, TAb-drug conjugates, and the use of TAbs for targeted activation of immune cells. Most promisingly, current research and development can be expected to increase the number of clinical conditions, which may benefit from TAbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gunnar Houen
- Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark.
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5
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Korie NPU, Tandoh KZ, Kwofie SK, Quaye O. Therapeutic potential of HIV-1 entry inhibitor peptidomimetics. Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2021; 246:1060-1068. [PMID: 33596698 PMCID: PMC8113741 DOI: 10.1177/1535370221990870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infection remains a public health concern globally. Although great strides in the management of HIV-1 have been achieved, current highly active antiretroviral therapy is limited by multidrug resistance, prolonged use-related effects, and inability to purge the HIV-1 latent pool. Even though novel therapeutic options with HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) are being explored, the scalability of bNAbs is limited by economic cost of production and obligatory requirement for parenteral administration. However, these limitations can be addressed by antibody mimetics/peptidomimetics of HIV-1 bNAbs. In this review we discuss the limitations of HIV-1 bNAbs as HIV-1 entry inhibitors and explore the potential therapeutic use of antibody mimetics/peptidomimetics of HIV-1 entry inhibitors as an alternative for HIV-1 bNAbs. We highlight the reduced cost of production, high specificity, and oral bioavailability of peptidomimetics compared to bNAbs to demonstrate their suitability as candidates for novel HIV-1 therapy and conclude with some perspectives on future research toward HIV-1 novel drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nneka PU Korie
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra 00233, Ghana
| | - Kwesi Z Tandoh
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra 00233, Ghana
| | - Samuel K Kwofie
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra 00233, Ghana
| | - Osbourne Quaye
- Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra 00233, Ghana
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6
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Bailly M, Mieczkowski C, Juan V, Metwally E, Tomazela D, Baker J, Uchida M, Kofman E, Raoufi F, Motlagh S, Yu Y, Park J, Raghava S, Welsh J, Rauscher M, Raghunathan G, Hsieh M, Chen YL, Nguyen HT, Nguyen N, Cipriano D, Fayadat-Dilman L. Predicting Antibody Developability Profiles Through Early Stage Discovery Screening. MAbs 2021; 12:1743053. [PMID: 32249670 PMCID: PMC7153844 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2020.1743053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 121] [Impact Index Per Article: 40.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies play an increasingly important role for the development of new drugs across multiple therapy areas. The term 'developability' encompasses the feasibility of molecules to successfully progress from discovery to development via evaluation of their physicochemical properties. These properties include the tendency for self-interaction and aggregation, thermal stability, colloidal stability, and optimization of their properties through sequence engineering. Selection of the best antibody molecule based on biological function, efficacy, safety, and developability allows for a streamlined and successful CMC phase. An efficient and practical high-throughput developability workflow (100 s-1,000 s of molecules) implemented during early antibody generation and screening is crucial to select the best lead candidates. This involves careful assessment of critical developability parameters, combined with binding affinity and biological properties evaluation using small amounts of purified material (<1 mg), as well as an efficient data management and database system. Herein, a panel of 152 various human or humanized monoclonal antibodies was analyzed in biophysical property assays. Correlations between assays for different sets of properties were established. We demonstrated in two case studies that physicochemical properties and key assay endpoints correlate with key downstream process parameters. The workflow allows the elimination of antibodies with suboptimal properties and a rank ordering of molecules for further evaluation early in the candidate selection process. This enables any further engineering for problematic sequence attributes without affecting program timelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Bailly
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Carl Mieczkowski
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Veronica Juan
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Essam Metwally
- Computation and Structural Chemistry, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Daniela Tomazela
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jeanne Baker
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Makiko Uchida
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ester Kofman
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Fahimeh Raoufi
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Soha Motlagh
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yao Yu
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jihea Park
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Smita Raghava
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sterile FormulationSciences, Kenilworth, NJ, USA
| | - John Welsh
- Downstream Process Development andEngineering, Kenilworth, NJ, USA
| | - Michael Rauscher
- Downstream Process Development andEngineering, Kenilworth, NJ, USA
| | | | - Mark Hsieh
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yi-Ling Chen
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Hang Thu Nguyen
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Nhung Nguyen
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Dan Cipriano
- Discovery Biologics, Protein Sciences, South San Francisco, CA, USA
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7
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Kohli N, Geddie ML. Novel HPLC-Based Screening Method to Assess Developability of Antibody-Like Molecules. Methods Mol Biol 2017; 1575:189-196. [PMID: 28255881 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-6857-2_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The discovery of antibodies that bind to targets with high affinity is now a routine exercise. However, it is still challenging to screen for candidates that, in addition to having excellent biological properties, also have optimal biophysical characteristics. Here, we describe a simple HPLC-based screening method to assess for developability factors earlier in the discovery process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neeraj Kohli
- Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Suite B7201, 1 Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
| | - Melissa L Geddie
- Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Suite B7201, 1 Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
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8
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Kohli N, Jain N, Geddie ML, Razlog M, Xu L, Lugovskoy AA. A novel screening method to assess developability of antibody-like molecules. MAbs 2016; 7:752-8. [PMID: 25961854 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2015.1048410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies and antibody-like molecules represent a fast-growing class of bio-therapeutics that has rapidly transformed patient care in a variety of disease indications. The discovery of antibodies that bind to particular targets with high affinity is now a routine exercise and a variety of in vitro and in vivo techniques are available for this purpose. However, it is still challenging to identify antibodies that, in addition to having the desired biological effect, also express well, remain soluble at different pH levels, remain stable at high concentrations, can withstand high shear stress, and have minimal non-specific interactions. Many promising antibody programs have ultimately failed in development due to the problems associated with one of these factors. Here, we present a simple high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-based screening method to assess these developability factors earlier in discovery process. This method is robust and requires only microgram quantities of proteins. Briefly, we show that for antibodies injected on a commercially available pre-packed Zenix HPLC column, the retention times are inversely related to their colloidal stability with antibodies prone to precipitation or aggregation retained longer on the column with broader peaks. By simply varying the salt content of running buffer, we were also able to estimate the nature of interactions between the antibodies and the column. We believe this approach should generally be applicable to assessment of the developability of other classes of bio-therapeutic molecules, and that the addition of this simple tool early in the discovery process will lead to selection of molecules with improved developability characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neeraj Kohli
- a Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ; Cambridge , MA , USA
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9
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Villaudy J, Schotte R, Legrand N, Spits H. Critical assessment of human antibody generation in humanized mouse models. J Immunol Methods 2014; 410:18-27. [PMID: 24952244 DOI: 10.1016/j.jim.2014.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2014] [Revised: 06/10/2014] [Accepted: 06/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Immunodeficient mice reconstituted with human hematopoietic stem cells provide a small-animal model for the study of development and function of human hematopoietic cells in vivo. However, in the current models, the immune response, and especially the humoral response by the human immune cells is far from optimal. The B cells found in these mice exhibit an immature and abnormal phenotype correlating with a reduced capacity to produce antigen-specific affinity matured antibodies upon infection or immunization. Herein, we review the current state of knowledge of development, function and antibody production of human B cells and discuss the obstacles for the improvement of these models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Villaudy
- AIMM Therapeutics, Meibergdreef 59, 1105 BA Amsterdam Zuidoost, Netherlands; Department of Medical Microbiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 BA Amsterdam Zuidoost, Netherlands.
| | - Remko Schotte
- AIMM Therapeutics, Meibergdreef 59, 1105 BA Amsterdam Zuidoost, Netherlands.
| | - Nicolas Legrand
- AXENIS, Institut Pasteur, Centre Francois Jacob, 28, rue du Dr. Roux, 75015 Paris, France.
| | - Hergen Spits
- AIMM Therapeutics, Meibergdreef 59, 1105 BA Amsterdam Zuidoost, Netherlands; Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 BA Amsterdam Zuidoost, Netherlands.
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10
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Complete humanization of the mouse immunoglobulin loci enables efficient therapeutic antibody discovery. Nat Biotechnol 2014; 32:356-63. [PMID: 24633243 DOI: 10.1038/nbt.2825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2013] [Accepted: 01/15/2014] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
If immunized with an antigen of interest, transgenic mice with large portions of unrearranged human immunoglobulin loci can produce fully human antigen-specific antibodies; several such antibodies are in clinical use. However, technical limitations inherent to conventional transgenic technology and sequence divergence between the human and mouse immunoglobulin constant regions limit the utility of these mice. Here, using repetitive cycles of genome engineering in embryonic stem cells, we have inserted the entire human immunoglobulin variable-gene repertoire (2.7 Mb) into the mouse genome, leaving the mouse constant regions intact. These transgenic mice are viable and fertile, with an immune system resembling that of wild-type mice. Antigen immunization results in production of high-affinity antibodies with long human-like complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3H), broad epitope coverage and strong signatures of somatic hypermutation. These mice provide a robust system for the discovery of therapeutic human monoclonal antibodies; as a surrogate readout of the human antibody response, they may also aid vaccine design efforts.
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