Preparation of polysaccharide-enzyme conjugates for competitive binding assays

Recent advances in developing synthetic carbohydrate-based vaccines for cancer immunotherapies

Cancer cells can often be distinguished from healthy cells by the expression of unique carbohydrate sequences decorating the cell surface as a result of aberrant glycosyltransferase activity occurring within the cell; these unusual carbohydrates can be used as valuable immunological targets in modern vaccine designs to raise carbohydrate-specific antibodies. Many tumor antigens (e.g., GM2, Ley, globo H, sialyl Tn and TF) have been identified to date in a variety of cancers. Unfortunately, carbohydrates alone evoke poor immunogenicity, owing to their lack of ability in inducing T-cell-dependent immune responses. In order to enhance their immunogenicity and promote long-lasting immune responses, carbohydrates are often chemically modified to link to an immunogenic protein or peptide fragment for eliciting T-cell-dependent responses. This review will present a summary of efforts and advancements made to date on creating carbohydrate-based anticancer vaccines, and will include novel approaches to overcoming the poor immunogenicity of carbohydrate-based vaccines.

Optimization of immobilized bacterial disaccharides for surface plasmon resonance imaging measurements of antibody binding

The interactions between proteins and immobilized carbohydrates are crucial to biological events such as cell signaling and immune response. The modification of surfaces with carbohydrates to create sensing platforms provides a pathway to study these interactions in a laboratory setting. In this work, a family of structurally related Salmonella disaccharide epitopes is immobilized on thin gold films in an array format to probe antibody binding with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging. The disaccharides are modified with an alkyl thiol linker for facile immobilization to gold. Small differences in the stereochemistry of the immobilized, modified disaccharides are shown to greatly influence the binding of a monoclonal antibody. Specifically, binding is only observed to an immobilized abequose dideoxyhexose relative to a tyvelose or a paratose analogue. However, both the amount and relative strength of bound antibody depends on the distribution of disaccharide moieties in a mixed monolayer of the epitope and a nonbinding diluent molecule. We thoroughly characterize the mixed monolayers with a variety of techniques to understand the optimal density and distribution of the disaccharide for antibody capture. This work reinforces the importance of controlling the density of ligands at the interface for optimized surface based bioassays.

Efficient chemoenzymatic synthesis of biotinylated human serum albumin-sialoglycoside conjugates containing O-acetylated sialic acids

Sialyl Tn (STn) and sialyl lactoside derivatives containing O-acetylated sialic acid residues have been chemoenzymatically synthesized using a one-pot three-enzyme system and conjugated to biotinylated human serum albumin (HSA) using an adipic acid para-nitrophenyl ester coupling reagent. This approach provides an efficient and general protocol for preparing carbohydrate-protein conjugates containing base-sensitive groups.

Oligosaccharide recognition by antibodies: Synthesis and evaluation of talose oligosaccharide analogues

A series of monosaccharide (4–6), disaccharide (3,7–12), and trisaccharide (13–15) analogs of the native ligand 2, which fills the binding site of monoclonal antibody Se 155.4, have been synthesized and their bioactivity measured by solid- and solution-phase assays. The syntheses of disaccharide analogs sought to replace galactose by various alkyl groups at the O-2 position of mannose. The activity of one of these O-2 alkyl analogs was 75% of that observed for the trisaccharide and points to only weak net bonding between the solvent exposed galactose residue and the antibody binding site. The synthesis of talose analogs 13 and 14, where the mannose or galactose residues of 2 were replaced by talose produced ligands with activities from one-third to one-half of that seen for the native ligand 2. These activity changes did not exhibit discernable correlations with the ability of talose to disrupt water of solvation.Key words: abequose, 3,6-dideoxy-D-xylo-hexose, talose disaccharide and trisaccharide, antibody oligosaccharide interactions, molecular recognition of carbohydrates, water in antibody complexes, Salmonella LPS, monoclonal antibody Se 155.4, bacterial O-antigen.

Molecular basis for the lack of mimicry of Brucella polysaccharide antigens by Ab2gamma antibodies

The crystal structure of the complex of an anti-Id Fab with an Fab specific for a Brucella polysaccharide antigen has previously been reported (Evans et al., 1994, J. Mol. Biol. 241, 691-705). To complement this study, the binding characteristics and immunological properties of this Ab2 and two others raised with a second anti-Brucella antibody were investigated, including quantitative kinetic measurements by surface plasmon resonance. The affinities of the Fabs from the Ab2s for the Ab1s were three orders of magnitude greater than those estimated for the antigen, but the Ab2s failed to induce antigen-binding Ab3s, that is, they were of the Ab2gamma type. The avidities of the Ab1s for antigen were however within one order of magnitude of their avidities for Ab2. Tests of 16 other anti-Brucella polysaccharide antibodies showed that the two idiotopes were not present in them, and in confirmation of the lack of a dominant idiotope, N-terminal sequencing of their H and L chains showed a wide variety of V genes were employed in the immune response to the Brucella polysaccharides. The failure of the Ab2 to induce antigen-reactive Ab3 thus appears to be due to neither intrinsic affinity nor idiotope frequency, but arises instead from structural reasons, for example, the incomplete penetration of the Ab2 into the binding-site cleft of the Ab1. The surface topography of polysaccharide antigens and their binding-sites thus appears to be especially difficult for Ab2s to mimic and will restrict their routine use as surrogates for T-cell independent polysaccharide antigens.

Characterisation of residues in antibody binding sites by chemical modification of surface-adsorbed protein combined with enzyme immunoassay

Specific functional group modification of an antibody adsorbed to microtitre plates has been used to probe the binding site residues that determine antigen specificity. Chemical modification of adsorbed protein in tandem with enzyme immunoassay (termed CMAP-EIA) consumes only modest amounts of antibody, while allowing a variety of reagents to be rapidly screened in situ. Modification of tyrosine and arginine residues with 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, and p-hydroxyphenylglyoxal resulted in reduced binding of polysaccharide antigen from Yersinia enterocolitica O-polysaccharide to its homologous monoclonal antibody, YsT9-1. Modification with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide under various conditions indicated that carboxylate groups may also be involved. Parallel experiments with diethylpyrocarbonate and acetic anhydride were used to rule out the involvement of histidine and lysine residues respectively. In all cases, binding of an anti-idiotypic antibody, AJ5, could only be reduced at concentrations of modifying reagent substantially higher than those required to reduce polysaccharide antigen binding to YsT9-1. The results are discussed with regard to the structure of the combining site of YsT9-1 as determined by X ray crystallography and by modelling, and the role of particular residues in complex formation with antigen and in the idiotope.

O-antigen biotin conjugates. Preparation and use in direct competitive enzyme immunoassays

Bacterial O-antigens coupled to biotin were shown to function well as labelled antigens in direct enzyme immunoassay. O-polysaccharides released from lipopolysaccharides by mild acid hydrolysis were oxidized by sodium periodate at sites located within the lipopolysaccharide inner core region and the generated aldehyde groups were subjected to reductive amination with 1,3-diaminopropane to yield per-aminated O-polysaccharide derivatives. Biotin was coupled to the introduced amino groups by way of a N-hydroxy-succinimide ester derivative. Biotinylated polysaccharides were used in direct enzyme immunoassays, that employed monoclonal antibody coated microtitre plates and detection of bound biotinylated antigen by streptavidin/horseradish peroxidase reagent. The assay format was designed for rapid estimation of the affinity constants of monoclonal antibodies for small oligosaccharide inhibitors, but the assay is also well suited to fast and sensitive detection of bacterial O-polysaccharides at concentrations within the range 1-10 ng/ml.