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Peciak K, Laurine E, Tommasi R, Choi JW, Brocchini S. Site-selective protein conjugation at histidine. Chem Sci 2019; 10:427-439. [PMID: 30809337 PMCID: PMC6354831 DOI: 10.1039/c8sc03355b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2018] [Accepted: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Site-selective conjugation generally requires both (i) molecular engineering of the protein of interest to introduce a conjugation site at a defined location and (ii) a site-specific conjugation technology. Three N-terminal interferon α2-a (IFN) variants with truncated histidine tags were prepared and conjugation was examined using a bis-alkylation reagent, PEG(10kDa)-mono-sulfone 3. A histidine tag comprised of two histidines separated by a glycine (His2-tag) underwent PEGylation. Two more IFN variants were then prepared with the His2-tag engineered at different locations in IFN. Another IFN variant was prepared with the His-tag introduced in an α-helix, and required three contiguous histidines to ensure that two histidine residues in the correct conformation would be available for conjugation. Since histidine is a natural amino acid, routine methods of site-directed mutagenesis were used to generate the IFN variants from E. coli in soluble form at titres comparable to native IFN. PEGylation conversions ranged from 28-39%. A single step purification process gave essentially the pure PEG-IFN variant (>97% by RP-HPLC) in high recovery with isolated yields ranging from 21-33%. The level of retained bioactivity was strongly dependent on the site of PEG conjugation. The highest biological activity of 74% was retained for the PEG10-106(HGHG)-IFN variant which is unprecedented for a PEGylated IFN. The His2-tag at 106(HGHG)-IFN is engineered at the flexible loop most distant from IFN interaction with its dimeric receptor. The biological activity for the PEG10-5(HGH)-IFN variant was determined to be 17% which is comparable to other PEGylated IFN conjugates achieved at or near the N-terminus that have been previously described. The lowest retained activity (10%) was reported for PEG10-120(HHH)-IFN which was prepared as a negative control targeting a IFN site thought to be involved in receptor binding. The presence of two histidines as a His2-tag to generate a site-selective target for bis-alkylating PEGylation is a feasible approach for achieving site-selective PEGylation. The use of a His2-tag to strategically engineer a conjugation site in a protein location can result in maximising the retention of the biological activity following protein modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Peciak
- UCL School of Pharmacy , University College London , 29-39 Brunswick Square , London , WC1N 1AX , UK .
- Abzena , Babraham Research Campus, Babraham , Cambridge CB22 3AT , UK
| | | | - Rita Tommasi
- Abzena , Babraham Research Campus, Babraham , Cambridge CB22 3AT , UK
| | - Ji-Won Choi
- Abzena , Babraham Research Campus, Babraham , Cambridge CB22 3AT , UK
| | - Steve Brocchini
- UCL School of Pharmacy , University College London , 29-39 Brunswick Square , London , WC1N 1AX , UK .
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Inoue M, Ando D, Kamada H, Taki S, Niiyama M, Mukai Y, Tadokoro T, Maenaka K, Nakayama T, Kado Y, Inoue T, Tsutsumi Y, Tsunoda SI. A trimeric structural fusion of an antagonistic tumor necrosis factor-α mutant enhances molecular stability and enables facile modification. J Biol Chem 2017; 292:6438-6451. [PMID: 28235800 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m117.779686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF) exerts its biological effect through two types of receptors, p55 TNF receptor (TNFR1) and p75 TNF receptor (TNFR2). An inflammatory response is known to be induced mainly by TNFR1, whereas an anti-inflammatory reaction is thought to be mediated by TNFR2 in some autoimmune diseases. We have been investigating the use of an antagonistic TNF mutant (TNFR1-selective antagonistic TNF mutant (R1antTNF)) to reveal the pharmacological effect of TNFR1-selective inhibition as a new therapeutic modality. Here, we aimed to further improve and optimize the activity and behavior of this mutant protein both in vitro and in vivo Specifically, we examined a trimeric structural fusion of R1antTNF, formed via the introduction of short peptide linkers, as a strategy to enhance bioactivity and molecular stability. By comparative analysis with R1antTNF, the trimeric fusion, referred to as single-chain R1antTNF (scR1antTNF), was found to retain in vitro molecular properties of receptor selectivity and antagonistic activity but displayed a marked increase in thermal stability. The residence time of scR1antTNF in vivo was also significantly prolonged. Furthermore, molecular modification using polyethylene glycol (PEG) was easily controlled by limiting the number of reactive sites. Taken together, our findings show that scR1antTNF displays enhanced molecular stability while maintaining biological activity compared with R1antTNF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaki Inoue
- From the Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Research and.,Center for Drug Design Research, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 7-6-8 Saito-Asagi, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0085, Japan.,Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kobe Gakuin University, 1-1-3 Minatojima, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-8586, Japan
| | - Daisuke Ando
- From the Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Research and.,Laboratories of Biomedical Innovation and
| | - Haruhiko Kamada
- From the Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Research and .,Center for Drug Design Research, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 7-6-8 Saito-Asagi, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0085, Japan.,Global Center for Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Shintaro Taki
- From the Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Research and.,Laboratories of Biomedical Innovation and
| | | | - Yohei Mukai
- From the Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Research and.,Center for Drug Design Research, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 7-6-8 Saito-Asagi, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0085, Japan
| | - Takashi Tadokoro
- Center for Research and Education on Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Kita-12, Nishi-6, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0812, Japan, and
| | - Katsumi Maenaka
- Center for Research and Education on Drug Discovery, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Kita-12, Nishi-6, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0812, Japan, and
| | - Taisuke Nakayama
- From the Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Research and.,Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yuji Kado
- From the Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Research and.,Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Tsuyoshi Inoue
- From the Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Research and.,Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yasuo Tsutsumi
- Center for Drug Design Research, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 7-6-8 Saito-Asagi, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0085, Japan.,Global Center for Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.,Toxicology and Safety Science, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, 1-6 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Shin-Ichi Tsunoda
- From the Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Research and .,Center for Drug Design Research, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 7-6-8 Saito-Asagi, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0085, Japan.,Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kobe Gakuin University, 1-1-3 Minatojima, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-8586, Japan.,Laboratories of Biomedical Innovation and.,Global Center for Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
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Zhang Y, Huang S, Leng Y, Chen X, Liu T, Wang H, Wei F, Luo D, Chen G, Wei Z. Effect of DcR3-specific siRNA on cell growth suppression and apoptosis induction in glioma cells via affecting ERK and AKT. Onco Targets Ther 2016; 9:5195-202. [PMID: 27621648 PMCID: PMC5010168 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s108395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previously, we found that the expression of decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) in gliomas was significantly upregulated compared to normal brain tissues. However, the effect of DcR3-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) on cell biological function of glioma cells remains incompletely understood. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the effect of DcR3 siRNA on cell growth and apoptosis of glioma cells and to investigate the potential downstream pathways affected by DcR3. METHODS DcR3-specific siRNA was transfected into three glioma cell lines (U251MG, LN-308, and U87MG) using combiMAGnetofection method. MTS tetrazolium assay and fluorimetric resorufin viability assay were used to assess the growth of glioma cells. Then, apoptosis was examined using the Hoechst 33342/propidium iodide double-staining assay and fluorescent caspase-3/7 assay. Meanwhile, Western blot was performed to explore the probable pathway by which DcR3-specific siRNA acts in glioma cells. Also, microarray dataset analysis was applied to analyze the potential function of DcR3 in glioma. RESULTS The DcR3-specific siRNA had a potent effect on cell growth and apoptosis of all three glioma cells tested, and the effects were time dependent. Among these three glioma cell lines, U251MG had the most significant effect with regard to growth inhibition and apoptosis induction. MTS assay showed that the proliferation rate at 72 and 96 hours after the transfection was 76.333%±5.131% (t=7.611, P=0.002) and 64.333%±5.859% (t=10.983, P<0.001), respectively. The viability rate of U251MG cells was 80.667%±2.309% (t=12.302, P<0.001) and 62.333%±2.082% (t=21.213, P<0.001) at 72 and 96 hours posttreatment, respectively. The caspase-3/7 activity of U251MG cells was 2.76 (t=-6.601, P=0.003) and 4.75 (t=-9.189, P=0.001) folds that of the mock control at 72 and 96 hours, respectively. The apoptosis rate was increased to 1.85 (t=-2.496, P=0.067) and 3.93 (t=-12.587, P<0.001) folds at 72 and 96 hours after transfection, respectively. Furthermore, the levels of phospho-ERK1/2 and phospho-AKT were significantly downregulated after DcR3 silencing. CONCLUSION The DcR3-specific siRNA could efficiently inhibit growth and induce apoptosis of cells via affecting ERK and AKT. Hence, DcR3-specific siRNA treatment could act as a supplementary targeted therapy strategy for gliomas.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Suning Huang
- Department of Radiotherapy, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Zhuxin Wei
- Department of Radiotherapy, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China
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Zhang Y, Luo J, He R, Huang W, Li Z, Li P, Dang Y, Chen G, Li S. Expression and clinicopathological implication of DcR3 in lung cancer tissues: a tissue microarray study with 365 cases. Onco Targets Ther 2016; 9:4959-68. [PMID: 27570459 PMCID: PMC4986681 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s105225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) has been reported to be involved in different cancers. However, few related researches have been accomplished on the role of DcR3 in lung cancer. OBJECTIVE To explore the expression level and clinicopathological implication of DcR3 protein in lung cancer tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS Immunohistochemistry was used to examine DcR3 protein expression in lung cancer (n=365) and normal lung tissues (n=26). The relationships between DcR3 expression and clinical parameters were further investigated. Furthermore, the diagnostic and clinicopathological value of DcR3 mRNA was analyzed based on The Cancer Genome Atlas database in lung cancer patients. RESULTS Compared to normal lung tissues, DcR3 expression was significantly higher in lung cancer (P=0.007) tissues, including small-cell lung cancer (P=0.001) and non-small-cell lung cancer (P=0.008). In addition, DcR3 expression was related to tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage (P<0.001), tumor diameter (P=0.007), distant metastasis (P<0.001), and lymph node metastasis (P<0.001) in lung cancers. When concerning non-small-cell lung cancer, consistent correlations between DcR3 expression and TNM stage (P<0.001), tumor diameter (P=0.019), distant metastasis (P<0.001), and lymph node metastasis (P<0.001) were found. Simultaneously, in small-cell lung cancer, TNM stage (P=0.004) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.005) were also associated with DcR3 expression. Additionally, receiver operator characteristic curve revealed that the area under curve (AUC) of DcR3 was 0.637 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.531-0.742) for lung cancer. Furthermore, DcR3 was overexpressed in both adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma tissues than in noncancerous lung tissues (all P<0.0001) based on the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. AUC of DcR3 was 0.726 (95% CI 0.644-0.788) for lung adenocarcinoma patients and 0.647 (95% CI 0.566-0.728) for squamous cell carcinoma patients. DcR3 expression was also related to the overall survival (P<0.001) and disease-free survival (P<0.001) of lung adenocarcinoma according to the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. CONCLUSION Our study confirms that DcR3 might be involved in the tumorigenesis and deterioration of lung cancer. Therefore, the detection of DcR3 gains the potential to be applied in the clinic for screening and progression prediction of lung cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jie Luo
- Department of Medical Oncology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University
| | - Rongquan He
- Center for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Guangxi Medical University
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Shikang Li
- Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, People's Republic of China
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Overexpression of DcR3 and its significance on tumor cell differentiation and proliferation in glioma. ScientificWorldJournal 2014; 2014:605236. [PMID: 24741354 PMCID: PMC3972858 DOI: 10.1155/2014/605236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2013] [Accepted: 01/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background. Overexpression of decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) have been reported in various classes of malignancies. However, its expression and clinicopathological contribution in gliomas has not been fully elucidated. Objective. To explore the expression and clinical significance of DcR3 protein in relation to tumor cell differentiation and proliferation in glioma cell lines and tissues. Methods. One hundred and twenty-five samples of glioma patients and 18 cases of normal brain tissues were recruited. The expression of DcR3 protein was detected using immunohistochemistry. Tumor differentiation was assessed by histologic characters and the status of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Tumor cell labeling indexes (LIs) of Ki-67 and PCNA were also obtained. The relationship between the DcR3 level and clinicopathological features was investigated, including tumor differentiation, LIs, and survival. Meanwhile, the expression of DcR3 protein was also measured in the supernatants of 8 glioma cell lines and glioma cells freshly prepared from 8 human glioblastoma specimens by using western blot. Results. The level of DcR3 protein in gliomas was significantly higher than that in normal brain tissues (P < 0.01). DcR3 expression showed positive correlations with tumor pathological grade (r = 0.621, P < 0.01) and negative with GFAP expression (r = −0.489, P < 0.01). Furthermore, there were positive correlations between DcR3 expression and Ki-67, PCNA LIs (r = 0.529, P < 0.01; r = 0.556, P < 0.01). The survival in the DcR3 negative group was 50 ± 1.79 months, longer than that of the DcR3 positive group (48.36 ± 2.90), however, without significance (P = 0.149). Different levels of DcR3 could also be detected in the culturing supernatants of all the 8 glioma cell lines and glioma cells freshly obtained from 8 human glioblastoma specimens. Conclusions. The overexpression of DcR3 might play a crucial role in the tumorigenesis, differentiation, and proliferation of glioma.
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Zhang C, Yang XL, Yuan YH, Pu J, Liao F. Site-specific PEGylation of therapeutic proteins via optimization of both accessible reactive amino acid residues and PEG derivatives. BioDrugs 2012. [PMID: 22721556 DOI: 10.2165/11633350-000000000-00000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Modification of accessible amino acid residues with poly(ethylene glycol) [PEG] is a widely used technique for formulating therapeutic proteins. In practice, site-specific PEGylation of all selected/engineered accessible nonessential reactive residues of therapeutic proteins with common activated PEG derivatives is a promising strategy to concomitantly improve pharmacokinetics, allow retention of activity, alleviate immunogenicity, and avoid modification isomers. Specifically, through molecular engineering of a therapeutic protein, accessible essential residues reactive to an activated PEG derivative are substituted with unreactive residues provided that protein activity is retained, and a limited number of accessible nonessential reactive residues with optimized distributions are selected/introduced. Subsequently, all accessible nonessential reactive residues are completely PEGylated with the activated PEG derivative in great excess. Branched PEG derivatives containing new PEG chains with negligible metabolic toxicity are more desirable for site-specific PEGylation. Accordingly, for the successful formulation of therapeutic proteins, optimization of the number and distributions of accessible nonessential reactive residues via molecular engineering can be integrated with the design of large-sized PEG derivatives to achieve site-specific PEGylation of all selected/engineered accessible reactive residues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun Zhang
- Unit for Analytical Probes and Protein Biotechnology, Key Laboratory of Medical Laboratory Diagnostics of the Education Ministry, College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, China
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