A Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer-Based Approach for Determining Antibody-Receptor Occupancy In Vivo

Integrated PK/PD Modeling Relates Smoothened Inhibitor Biomarkers to The Heterogeneous Intratumor Disposition of Cetuximab in Pancreatic Cancer Tumor Models

Therapeutic antibodies have shown little efficacy in the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC). Tumor desmoplasia, hypovascularity, and poor perfusion result in insufficient tumor cell exposure, contributing to treatment failure. Smoothened inhibitors of hedgehog signaling (sHHi) increase PDAC tumor permeability, perfusion, and drug delivery, and provide a tool to develop a quantitative, mechanistic understanding as to how the temporal dynamics of tumor priming can impact intratumor distribution of monoclonal antibodies (mAb). A linked pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamic (PD) model was developed to integrate the plasma and tumor PK of a sHHi priming agent with its effects upon downstream stromal biomarkers Gli1, hyaluronic acid, and interstitial fluid pressure in PDAC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumors. In parallel, in situ tumor concentrations of cetuximab (CTX: anti-epidermal growth factor receptor; EGFR) were quantified as a marker for tumor delivery of mAb or antibody-drug conjugates. A minimal, physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (mPBPK) model was constructed to link sHHi effects upon mechanistic effectors of tumor barrier compromise with the intratumor distribution of CTX, and CTX occupancy of EGFR in tumors. Integration of the mPBPK model of mAb deposition and intratumor distribution with the PK/PD model of tumor responses to priming not only identified physiological parameters that are critical for tumor antibody distribution, but also provides insight into dosing regimens that could achieve maximal tumor disposition of therapeutic antibodies under conditions of transient PDAC tumor permeability barrier compromise that mechanistically-diverse tumor priming strategies may achieve.

Mechanistically Weighted Metric to Predict In Vivo Antibody-Receptor Occupancy: An Analytical Approach

In situ clinical measurement of receptor occupancy (RO) is challenging, particularly for solid tumors, necessitating the use of mathematical models that predict tumor receptor occupancy to guide dose decisions. A potency metric, average free tissue target to initial target ratio (AFTIR), was previously described based on a mechanistic compartmental model and is informative for near-saturating dose regimens. However, the metric fails at clinically relevant subsaturating antibody doses, as compartmental models cannot capture the spatial heterogeneity of distribution faced by some antibodies in solid tumors. Here we employ a partial differential equation (PDE) Krogh cylinder model to simulate spatiotemporal receptor occupancy and derive an analytical solution, a mechanistically weighted global AFTIR, that can better predict receptor occupancy regardless of dosing regimen. In addition to the four key parameters previously identified, a fifth key parameter, the absolute receptor density (targets/cell), is incorporated into the mechanistic AFTIR metric. Receptor density can influence equilibrium intratumoral drug concentration relative to whether the dose is saturating or not, thereby influencing the tumor penetration depth of the antibody. We derive mechanistic RO predictions based on distinct patterns of antibody tumor penetration, presented as a global AFTIR metric guided by a Thiele Modulus and a local saturation potential (drug equivalent of binding potential for positron emissions tomography imaging) and validate the results using rigorous global and local sensitivity analysis. This generalized AFTIR serves as a more accurate analytical metric to aid clinical dose decisions and rational design of antibody-based therapeutics without the need for extensive PDE simulations. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Determining antibody-receptor occupancy (RO) is critical for dosing decisions in pharmaceutical development, but direct clinical measurement of RO is often challenging and invasive, particularly for solid tumors. Significant efforts have been made to develop mathematical models and simplified analytical metrics of RO, but these often require complex computer simulations. Here we present a mathematically rigorous but simplified analytical model to accurately predict RO across a range of affinities, doses, drug, and tumor properties.

NanoBRET in C. elegans illuminates functional receptor interactions in real time

Background

Protein-protein interactions form the basis of every organism and thus, investigating their dynamics, intracellular protein localization, trafficking and interactions of distinct proteins such as receptors and their ligand-binding are of general interest. Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) is a powerful tool to investigate these aspects in vitro. Since in vitro approaches mostly neglect the more complex in vivo situation, we established BRET as an in vivo tool for studying protein interactions in the nematode C. elegans.

Results

We generated worms expressing NanoBRET sensors and elucidated the interaction of two ligand-G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) pairs, the neuropeptide receptor NPR-11 and the Adhesion GPCR LAT-1. Furthermore, we adapted the enhanced bystander BRET technology to measure subcellular protein localization. Using this approach, we traced ligand-induced internalization of NPR-11 in vivo.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that in vivo NanoBRET is a tool to investigate specific protein interactions and localization in a physiological setting in real time in the living organism C. elegans.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12860-022-00405-w.

Development of a Human Estrogen Receptor Dimerization Assay for the Estrogenic Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Using Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are found in food and various other substances, including pesticides and plastics. EDCs are easily absorbed into the body and have the ability to mimic or block hormone function. The radioligand binding assay based on the estrogen receptors binding affinity is widely used to detect estrogenic EDCs but is limited to radioactive substances and requires specific conditions. As an alternative, we developed a human cell-based dimerization assay for detecting EDC-mediated ER-alpha (ERα) dimerization using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET). The resultant novel BRET-based on the ERα dimerization assay was used to identify the binding affinity of 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-estradiol, corticosterone, diethylhexyl phthalate, bisphenol A, and 4-nonylphenol with ERα by measuring the corresponding BRET signals. Consequently, the BRET signals from five chemicals except corticosterone showed a dose-dependent sigmoidal curve for ERα, and these chemicals were suggested as positive chemicals for ERα. In contrast, corticosterone, which induced a BRET signal comparable to that of the vehicle control, was suggested as a negative chemical for ERα. Therefore, these results were consistent with the results of the existing binding assay for ERα and suggested that a novel BRET system can provide information about EDCs-mediated dimerization to ERα.

Emerging tools for bioluminescence imaging

Bioluminescence (BL) relies on the enzymatic reaction between luciferase, a substrate conventionally named luciferin, and various cofactors. BL imaging has become a widely used technique to interrogate gene expression and cell fate, both in small and large animal models of research. Recent developments include the generation of improved luciferase-luciferin systems for deeper and more sensitive imaging as well as new caged luciferins to report on enzymatic activity and other intracellular functions. Here, we critically evaluate the emerging tools for BL imaging aiming to provide the reader with an updated compendium of the latest developments (2018-2020) and their notable applications.

Modeling Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Therapeutic Antibodies: Progress, Challenges, and Future Directions

With more than 90 approved drugs by 2020, therapeutic antibodies have played a central role in shifting the treatment landscape of many diseases, including autoimmune disorders and cancers. While showing many therapeutic advantages such as long half-life and highly selective actions, therapeutic antibodies still face many outstanding issues associated with their pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD), including high variabilities, low tissue distributions, poorly-defined PK/PD characteristics for novel antibody formats, and high rates of treatment resistance. We have witnessed many successful cases applying PK/PD modeling to answer critical questions in therapeutic antibodies’ development and regulations. These models have yielded substantial insights into antibody PK/PD properties. This review summarized the progress, challenges, and future directions in modeling antibody PK/PD and highlighted the potential of applying mechanistic models addressing the development questions.

Modeling the dynamics of antibody-target binding in living tumors

Antibodies have become an attractive class of therapeutic agents for solid tumors, mainly because of their high target selectivity and affinity. The target binding properties of antibodies are critical for their efficacy and toxicity. Our lab has developed a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) imaging approach that directly supports the measurement of the binding dynamics between antibodies and their targets in the native tumor environment. In the present study, we have developed a spatially resolved computational model analyzing the longitudinal BRET imaging data of antibody–target binding and exploring the mechanisms of biphasic binding dynamics between a model antibody cetuximab and its target, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The model suggested that cetuximab is bound differently to EGFR in the stroma-rich area than in stroma-poor regions, which was confirmed by immunofluorescence staining. Compared to the binding in vitro, cetuximab bound to EGFR to a “slower-but-tighter” degree in the living tumors. These findings have provided spatially resolved characterizations of antibody–target binding in living tumors and have yielded many mechanistic insights into the factors that affect antibody interactions with its targets and treatment efficacy.

Recent progress in the molecular imaging of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies have become one of the central components of the healthcare system and continuous efforts are made to bring innovative antibody therapeutics to patients in need. It is equally critical to acquire sufficient knowledge of their molecular structure and biological functions to ensure the efficacy and safety by incorporating new detection approaches since new challenges like individual differences and resistance are presented. Conventional techniques for determining antibody disposition including plasma drug concentration measurements using LC-MS or ELISA, and tissue distribution using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence are now complemented with molecular imaging modalities like positron emission tomography and near-infrared fluorescence imaging to obtain more dynamic information, while methods for characterization of antibody's interaction with the target antigen as well as visualization of its cellular and intercellular behavior are still under development. Recent progress in detecting therapeutic antibodies, in particular, the development of methods suitable for illustrating the molecular dynamics, is described here.

Self-Illuminating Agents for Deep-Tissue Optical Imaging

Optical imaging plays an indispensable role in biology and medicine attributing to its noninvasiveness, high spatiotemporal resolution, and high sensitivity. However, as a conventional optical imaging modality, fluorescence imaging confronts issues of shallow imaging depth due to the need for real-time light excitation which produces tissue autofluorescence. By contrast, self-luminescence imaging eliminates the concurrent light excitation, permitting deeper imaging depth and higher signal-to-background ratio (SBR), which has attracted growing attention. Herein, this review summarizes the progress on the development of near-infrared (NIR) emitting self-luminescence agents in deep-tissue optical imaging with highlighting the design principles including molecular- and nano-engineering approaches. Finally, it discusses current challenges and guidelines to develop more effective self-illuminating agents for biomedical diagnosis and treatment.