Elution of human IgG from affinity columns containing immobilised variants of protein A

Protein A chromatography increases monoclonal antibody aggregation rate during subsequent low pH virus inactivation hold

Protein A chromatography is a near-ubiquitous method of mAb capture in bioprocesses. The use of low pH buffer for elution from protein A is known to contribute to product aggregation. Yet, a more limited set of evidence suggests that low pH may not be the sole cause of aggregation in protein A chromatography, rather, other facets of the process may contribute significantly. This paper presents a well-defined method for investigating this problem. An IgG4 was incubated in elution buffer after protein A chromatography (typical of the viral inactivation hold) and the quantity of monomer in neutralised samples was determined by size exclusion chromatography; elution buffers of different pH values predetermined to induce aggregation of the IgG4 were used. Rate constants for monomer decay over time were determined by fitting exponential decay functions to the data. Similar experiments were implemented in the absence of a chromatography step, i.e. IgG4 aggregation at low pH. Rate constants for aggregation after protein A chromatography were considerably higher than those from low pH exposure alone; a distinct shift in aggregation rates was apparent across the pH range tested.

Histidine based adsorbents for selective removal of monoclonal immunoglobulin IgM antibodies from Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia patient sera: a preliminary study

Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) is considered by the Revised European American Lymphoma (REAL) and World Health Organization (WHO) as a clinical lympho plasmacytic syndrome associated with high monoclonal (IgM) secretion. The hyper viscosity syndrome is associated with several clinical disorders of monoclonal IgM. Patients with clinical symptoms of hyper viscosity should be treated with plasma pheresis, which is limited by its non-selective removal of all plasma components. These limitations have steered efforts to find a more specific removal according to clinical needs and avoiding plasma components replacement. Removal by specific adsorption is the most powerful selective apheresis technique. The active adsorbed ligand is covalently bound to an insoluble matrix through which plasma is passed. Amino acids have been introduced as ligands in clinical apheresis for the removal of auto antibodies associated with autoimmune diseases. The present preliminary study describes the binding of monoclonal IgM antibodies from sera of patients with WM, on histidine immobilized to activated sepharose. The advantages of efficient binding and elution, suggest histidine adsorbents as prospective clinical means suitable for the removal of monoclonal IgM from sera of patients diagnosed with WM. The advantages of efficient adsorption and elution, non toxicity of histidine, good selectivity, good stability, as well as their low cost strongly suggest histidine adsorbents as prospective clinical means suitable for the removal of monoclonal IgM from sera of patients diagnosed with WM.

Design of pH sensitive binding proteins from the hyperthermophilic Sso7d scaffold

We have engineered pH sensitive binding proteins for the Fc portion of human immunoglobulin G (hIgG) (hFc) using two different strategies – histidine scanning and random mutagenesis. We obtained an hFc-binding protein, Sso7d-hFc, through mutagenesis of the Sso7d protein from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus; Sso7d-hFc was isolated from a combinatorial library of Sso7d mutants using yeast surface display. Subsequently, we identified a pH sensitive mutant, Sso7d-his-hFc, through systematic evaluation of Sso7d-hFc mutants containing single histidine substitutions. In parallel, we also developed a yeast display screening strategy to isolate a different pH sensitive hFc binder, Sso7d-ev-hFc, from a library of mutants obtained by random mutagenesis of a pool of hFc binders. In contrast to Sso7d-hFc, both Sso7d-his-hFc and Sso7d-ev-hFc have a higher binding affinity for hFc at pH 7.4 than at pH 4.5. The Sso7d-mutant hFc binders can be recombinantly expressed at high yield in E. coli and are monomeric in solution. They bind an epitope in the CH3 domain of hFc that has high sequence homology in all four hIgG isotypes (hIgG_1–4), and recognize hIgG_1–4 as well as deglycosylated hIgG in western blotting assays. pH sensitive hFc binders are attractive candidates for use in chromatography, to achieve elution of IgG under milder pH conditions. However, the surface density of immobilized hFc binders, as well as the avidity effect arising from the multivalent interaction of dimeric hFc with the capture surface, influences the pH dependence of dissociation from the capture surface. Therefore, further studies are needed to evaluate if the Sso7d mutants identified in this study are indeed useful as affinity ligands in chromatography.

Molecular mechanism of the effects of salt and pH on the affinity between protein A and human immunoglobulin G1 revealed by molecular simulations

Protein A from the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (SpA) has been widely used as an affinity ligand for purification of immunoglobulin G (IgG). The affinity between SpA and IgG is affected differently by salt and pH, but their molecular mechanisms still remain unclear. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations and molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area analysis were performed to investigate the salt (NaCl) and pH effects on the affinity between SpA and human IgG1 (hIgG1). It is found that salt and pH affect the interactions of the hot spots of SpA by different mechanisms. In the salt solution, the compensations between helices I and II of SpA as well as between the nonpolar and electrostatic energies make the binding free energy independent of salt concentration. At pH 3.0, the unfavorable electrostatic interactions increase greatly and become the driving force for dissociation of the SpA-hIgG1 complex. They mainly come from the strong electrostatic repulsions between positively charged residues (H137, R146, and K154) of SpA and the positively charged residues of hIgG1. It is considered to be the molecular basis for hIgG1 elution from SpA-based affinity adsorbents at pH 3.0. The dissociation mechanism is then used to refine the binding model of SpA to hIgG1. The model is expected to help design high-affinity peptide ligands of IgG.

Tryptophan complexed hydroxyapatite nanoparticles for immunoglobulin adsorption

The selective removal of immunoglobulin using different affinity-type particulate adsorbents has clinical significance in certain autoimmune diseases. This study reports the use of modified nanosized hydroxyapatite as a matrix for affinity based immunoglobulin adsorption. The adsorbent matrix consists of cyclodextrin complexed hydroxyapatite nanoparticles modified with tryptophan. It appears that presence of cyclodextrin has a synergic effect in the adsorption of immunoglobulin proteins having affinity with tryptophan complexed hydroxyapatite. The complexes were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis (TG) and differential scanning analysis (DSC) methods. The preferential affinity of the immunoglobulin towards tryptophan complexed particles was confirmed with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and Lowry adsorption techniques. Immunoglobulin adsorption was confirmed by quantitative turbidimetric assay using a standard immunoglobulin kit. The cytotoxicity index of the nanoparticle complexes were evaluated by MTT assay. Our proposed matrix for immunoglobulin adsorption is cost effective and adaptable for applications towards plasma perfusion.

Screening and chromatographic assessing of a novel IgG biomimetic ligand

A novel biomimetic ligand, N-benzyloxycarbonyl-l-tyrosine (N-cbz-l-Tyr), was screened by a combination method of molecular docking and immobilized receptor technique. Then, N-cbz-l-Tyr was immobilized on Sepharose CL-4B to prepare a specific affinity adsorbent for immunoglobulin G (IgG). Scatchard analysis of the binding isotherm for IgG on the adsorbent gave an association constant (K(a)) of 4.91 x 10(6) m(-1) and a theoretical maximum adsorption capacity of 17.3 mg IgG/mL gel. IgG with a purity of 98% was separated from human plasma by this new affinity adsorbent.

Antibody variable region interactions with Protein A: implications for the development of generic purification processes

In this paper, a wide range of antibodies from various subclasses and subfamilies are employed to evaluate the creation of generic separation processes using Protein A chromatography. The reasons for elution pH differences amongst several IgG1s, IgG2s, antibody fragments, and Fc-fusion proteins during Protein A chromatography are investigated using several complimentary techniques. The results indicate that variable region interactions play a major role in determining elution pH for VH3 subfamily antibodies while using traditional protein A chromatographic materials. On the other hand, experiments with a resin which employs a ligand consisting solely of B domain of Protein A indicate that variable region interactions can be mitigated, enabling the use of a single elution pH for a range of antibodies. Finally, the moderation of elution conditions associated with this engineered ligand are shown to minimize problems associated with low pH induced aggregation. It is expected that the findings reported in this paper will facilitate faster process development cycle times for this important class of human therapeutics.

Covalent coupling of immunoglobulin G to a poly(vinyl)alcohol-poly(acrylic acid) graft polymer as a method for fabricating the interfacial-recognition layer of a surface plasmon resonance immunosensor

The synthesis of a terminally thiolated poly(vinyl)alcohol (PVA) grafted with Poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) side chains is described. The PVA-PAA graft polymer (PVAg) was end-tethered to silver surfaces via the terminal thiol functionality and the resultant mobile, hydrophilic polymer matrix exploited for the covalent immobilization of large quantities of polyclonal goat (anti-hIgG) antibody (IgG) with low levels of non-specific adsorption. An SPR immunosensor, fabricated with an IgG-PVA-silver interfacial layer proved capable of performing a sensitive label-free assay of human IgG antigen (hIgG) with minimal non-specific binding interference. A detection limit (DL) for hIgG from serum of 0.8 microgram/ml (5 nM) and an assay sensitivity of 0.66 ng hIgG/mm2/nM are reported.