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Barreca M, Lang N, Tarantelli C, Spriano F, Barraja P, Bertoni F. Antibody-drug conjugates for lymphoma patients: preclinical and clinical evidences. EXPLORATION OF TARGETED ANTI-TUMOR THERAPY 2022; 3:763-794. [PMID: 36654819 PMCID: PMC9834635 DOI: 10.37349/etat.2022.00112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a recent, revolutionary approach for malignancies treatment, designed to provide superior efficacy and specific targeting of tumor cells, compared to systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy. Their structure combines highly potent anti-cancer drugs (payloads or warheads) and monoclonal antibodies (Abs), specific for a tumor-associated antigen, via a chemical linker. Because the sensitive targeting capabilities of monoclonal Abs allow the direct delivery of cytotoxic payloads to tumor cells, these agents leave healthy cells unharmed, reducing toxicity. Different ADCs have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of a wide range of malignant conditions, both as monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy, including for lymphoma patients. Over 100 ADCs are under preclinical and clinical investigation worldwide. This paper it provides an overview of approved and promising ADCs in clinical development for the treatment of lymphoma. Each component of the ADC design, their mechanism of action, and the highlights of their clinical development progress are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marilia Barreca
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Noémie Lang
- Division of Oncology, Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Chiara Tarantelli
- Institute of Oncology Research, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, USI, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Filippo Spriano
- Institute of Oncology Research, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, USI, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Paola Barraja
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Francesco Bertoni
- Institute of Oncology Research, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, USI, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
- Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
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2
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Cooper O, Waespy M, Chen D, Kelm S, Li Q, Haselhorst T, Tiralongo J. Sugar-decorated carbon dots: a novel tool for targeting immunomodulatory receptors. NANOSCALE ADVANCES 2022; 4:5355-5364. [PMID: 36540112 PMCID: PMC9729803 DOI: 10.1039/d2na00364c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Interactions between sialic acid (Sia) and sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectins (siglecs) regulate the immune system, with aberrations contributing to pathologies such as autoimmunity, infectious disease and cancer. Over the last decade, several multivalent Sia ligands have been synthesized to modulate the Sia-binding affinity of proteins/lectins. Here, we report a novel class of multivalent siglec probes through the decoration of α(2,6)-sialyllactose ligands on inherently fluorescent carbon dots (CD). We show that the preference of α(2,3)-linked Sia for siglec-1 can be altered by increasing the multivalence of Sia ligands present on the CD, and that a locally high glycan concentration can have a direct effect on linkage specificity. Additionally, micromolar (IC50 ∼ 70 μM) interaction of α(2,6)-sialyllactose-CD (6-CD) with siglec-2 (CD22) revealed it was capable of generating a significant cytotoxic effect on Burkitt's Lymphoma (BL) Daudi B cells. This phenonomen was attributed to 6-CD's ability to form trans interactions with CD22 on masked BL Daudi cells as a direct result of clustering of the Sia moiety on the CD surface. Overall, our glycoengineered carbon dots represent a novel high affinity molecular probe with multiple applications in sialoglycoscience and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oren Cooper
- Institute for Glycomics, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University Queensland 4222 Australia
| | - Mario Waespy
- Centre for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen, Department of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen 28334 Bremen Germany
| | - Dechao Chen
- School of Engineering and Built Environment, Nathan Campus, Griffith University QLD 4111 Australia
| | - Sørge Kelm
- Centre for Biomolecular Interactions Bremen, Department of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen 28334 Bremen Germany
| | - Qin Li
- School of Engineering and Built Environment, Nathan Campus, Griffith University QLD 4111 Australia
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Australia, Nathan Campus, Griffith University QLD 4111 Australia
| | - Thomas Haselhorst
- Institute for Glycomics, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University Queensland 4222 Australia
| | - Joe Tiralongo
- Institute for Glycomics, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University Queensland 4222 Australia
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3
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Wu T, Song Z, Huang H, Jakos T, Jiang H, Xie Y, Zhu J. Construction and evaluation of GPC3-targeted immunotoxins as a novel therapeutic modality for hepatocellular carcinoma. Int Immunopharmacol 2022; 113:109393. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2022.109393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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4
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A novel shiga based immunotoxin against Fn-14 receptor on colorectal and lung cancer. Int Immunopharmacol 2022; 110:109076. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2022.109076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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5
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Zhai Y, Dong S, Li H, Zhang Y, Shami P, Chen M. Antibody-mediated depletion of programmed death 1-positive (PD-1 +) cells. J Control Release 2022; 349:425-433. [PMID: 35820540 PMCID: PMC10699550 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2022.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
PD-1 immune checkpoint has been intensively investigated in pathogenesis and treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Cells that express PD-1 (PD-1+ cells) draw ever-increasing attention in cancer and autoimmune disease research although the role of PD-1+ cells in the progression and treatments of these diseases remains largely ambiguous. One definite approach to elucidate their roles is to deplete these cells in disease settings and examine how the depletion impacts disease progression and treatments. To execute the depletion, we designed and generated the first depleting antibody (D-αPD-1) that specifically ablates PD-1+ cells. D-αPD-1 has the same variable domains as an anti-mouse PD-1 blocking antibody (RMP1-14). The constant domains of D-αPD-1 were derived from mouse IgG2a heavy and κ-light chain, respectively. D-αPD-1 was verified to bind with mouse PD-1 as well as mouse FcγRIV, an immuno-activating Fc receptor. The cell depletion effect of D-αPD-1 was confirmed in vivo using a PD-1+ cell transferring model. Since transferred PD-1+ cells, EL4 cells, are tumorigenic and EL4 tumors are lethal to host mice, the depleting effect of D-αPD-1 was also manifested by an absolute survival among the antibody-treated mice while groups receiving control treatments had median survival time of merely approximately 30 days. Furthermore, we found that D-αPD-1 leads to elimination of PD-1+ cells through antibody-dependent cell-mediate phagocytosis (ADCP) and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) mechanisms. These results, altogether, confirmed the specificity and effectiveness of D-αPD-1. The results also highlighted that D-αPD-1 is a robust tool to study PD-1+ cells in cancer and autoimmune diseases and a potential therapeutic for these diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujia Zhai
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Shuyun Dong
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Haojia Li
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| | - Yue Zhang
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| | - Paul Shami
- Division of Hematology and Hematologic Malignancies, Department of Internal Medicine, and Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Mingnan Chen
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
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Ammon A, Mellenthin L, Emmerich C, Naschberger E, Stürzl M, Mackensen A, Müller F. Reduced cytotoxicity by mutation of Lysine 590 of Pseudomonas exotoxin can be restored in an optimized, Lysine-free immunotoxin. IMMUNOTHERAPY ADVANCES 2022; 2:ltac007. [PMID: 35919491 PMCID: PMC9327129 DOI: 10.1093/immadv/ltac007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotoxins, which are fusion proteins of an antibody fragment and a fragment of a bacterial or a plant toxin, induce apoptosis in target cells by inhibition of protein synthesis. ADP-ribosylating toxins often have few lysine residues in their catalytic domain. As they are the target for ubiquitination, the low number of lysines possibly prevents ubiquitin-dependent degradation of the toxin in the cytosol. To reduce this potential degradation, we aimed to generate a lysine-free (noK), Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE)-based immunotoxin. The new generation 24 kDa PE, which lacks all but the furin-cleavage site of domain II, was mutated at lysine 590 (K590) and at K606 in a CD22-targeting immunotoxin and activity was determined against various B cell malignancies in vitro and in vivo. On average, K590 mutated to arginine (R) reduced cytotoxicity by 1.3-fold and K606R enhanced cytotoxicity by 1.3-fold compared to wild type (wt). Mutating K590 to histidine or deleting K590 did not prevent this loss in cytotoxicity. Neither stability nor internalization rate of K590R could explain reduced cytotoxicity. These results highlight the relevance of lysine 590 for PE intoxication. In line with in vitro results, the K606R mutant was more than 1.8-fold more active than the other variants in vivo suggesting that this single mutation may be beneficial when targeting CD22-positive malignancies. Finally, reduced cytotoxicity by K590R was compensated for by K606R and the resulting lysine-free variant achieved wt-like activity in vitro and in vivo. Thus, PE24-noK may represent a promising candidate for down-stream applications that would interfere with lysines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Ammon
- Department of Internal Medicine 5, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Lisa Mellenthin
- Department of Internal Medicine 5, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Charlotte Emmerich
- Department of Internal Medicine 5, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Naschberger
- Division of Molecular and Experimental Surgery, Translational Research Center, Department of Surgery, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Michael Stürzl
- Division of Molecular and Experimental Surgery, Translational Research Center, Department of Surgery, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Andreas Mackensen
- Department of Internal Medicine 5, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Fabian Müller
- Department of Internal Medicine 5, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
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7
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Ebihara T, Masuda A, Takahashi D, Hino M, Mon H, Kakino K, Fujii T, Fujita R, Ueda T, Lee JM, Kusakabe T. Production of scFv, Fab, and IgG of CR3022 Antibodies Against SARS-CoV-2 Using Silkworm-Baculovirus Expression System. Mol Biotechnol 2021; 63:1223-1234. [PMID: 34304364 PMCID: PMC8310559 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-021-00373-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is currently spreading around the world and causing many casualties. Antibodies against such emerging infectious diseases are one of the important tools for basic viral research and the development of diagnostic and therapeutic agents. CR3022 is a monoclonal antibody against the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein (S protein) of SARS-CoV found in SARS patients, but it was also shown to have strong affinity for that of SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we produced large amounts of three formats of CR3022 antibodies (scFv, Fab and IgG) with high purity using a silkworm-baculovirus expression vector system. Furthermore, SPR measurements showed that the affinity of those silkworm-produced IgG antibodies to S protein was almost the same as that produced in mammalian expression system. These results indicate that the silkworm-baculovirus expression system is an excellent expression system for emerging infectious diseases that require urgent demand for diagnostic agents and therapeutic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takeru Ebihara
- Laboratory of Insect Genome Science, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Akitsu Masuda
- Laboratory of Insect Genome Science, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Daisuke Takahashi
- Laboratory of Protein Structure, Function and Design, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan
| | - Masato Hino
- Laboratory of Sanitary Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Mon
- Laboratory of Insect Genome Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Kohei Kakino
- Laboratory of Insect Genome Science, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Tsuguru Fujii
- Laboratory of Creative Science for Insect Industries, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Ryosuke Fujita
- Laboratory of Sanitary Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Tadashi Ueda
- Laboratory of Protein Structure, Function and Design, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan
| | - Jae Man Lee
- Laboratory of Creative Science for Insect Industries, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Takahiro Kusakabe
- Laboratory of Insect Genome Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
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8
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Dashtiahangar M, Rahbarnia L, Farajnia S, Salmaninejad A, Shabgah AG, Ghasemali S. Anti-cancer Immunotoxins, Challenges, and Approaches. Curr Pharm Des 2021; 27:932-941. [PMID: 33023437 DOI: 10.2174/1381612826666201006155346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The development of recombinant immunotoxins (RITs) as a novel therapeutic strategy has made a revolution in the treatment of cancer. RITs result from the fusion of antibodies to toxin proteins for targeting and eliminating cancerous cells by inhibiting protein synthesis. Despite indisputable outcomes of RITs regarding inhibition of multiple cancer types, high immunogenicity has been known as the main obstacle in the clinical use of RITs. Various strategies have been proposed to overcome these limitations, including immunosuppressive therapy, humanization of the antibody fragment moiety, generation of immunotoxins originated from endogenous human cytotoxic enzymes, and modification of the toxin moiety to escape the immune system. This paper is devoted to review recent advances in the design of immunotoxins with lower immunogenicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Dashtiahangar
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Leila Rahbarnia
- Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Safar Farajnia
- Biotechnology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | | | - Arezoo Gowhari Shabgah
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Samaneh Ghasemali
- Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
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9
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George R, Gsottberger F, Ammon A, Wendland K, Mellenthin L, Mackensen A, Müller F. Triton X-114 and Amine-Based Wash Strategy Reduces Lipopolysaccharides to FDA Limit and Achieves Purer, More Potent Recombinant Immunotoxin. Bioconjug Chem 2021; 32:713-720. [PMID: 33793193 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.1c00013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Many proteins are still routinely expressed prokaryotically in Escherichia coli, some because they are toxic to eukaryotes. Immunotoxins, which are fusion proteins of a targeting moiety and a truncated Pseudomonas exotoxin A, kill target cells by arresting protein synthesis. Thus, immunotoxins must be expressed in E. coli. Proteins expressed in E. coli are contaminated by endotoxin (also called lipopolysaccharides (LPS)). LPS binds to toll-like receptors, inducing up to life-threatening systemic inflammation in mammals. Therefore, accepted LPS limits for therapeutics as well as for substances used in immunological studies in animals are very low. Here, we report the use of Triton X-114 and polyamine-based wash strategies, which only in combination achieved LPS-contamination well below FDA limits. Resulting LPS-reduced immunotoxins were purer and up to 2.4-fold more active in vitro. Increased activity was associated with a 2.4-fold increase in affinity on cell surface expressed target antigen. The combination method maintained enzymatic function, protein stability, and in vivo efficacy and was effective for Fab as well as dsFv formats. With some modifications, the principle of this novel combination may be applied to any chromatography-based purification process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekka George
- Department of Internal Medicine 5, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.,Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nurnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Franziska Gsottberger
- Department of Internal Medicine 5, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Anna Ammon
- Department of Internal Medicine 5, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Kerstin Wendland
- Department of Internal Medicine 5, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Lisa Mellenthin
- Department of Internal Medicine 5, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Andreas Mackensen
- Department of Internal Medicine 5, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Fabian Müller
- Department of Internal Medicine 5, Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
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10
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Functions and therapeutic targets of Siglec-mediated infections, inflammations and cancers. J Formos Med Assoc 2021; 120:5-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jfma.2019.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2019] [Revised: 06/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
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11
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Bera TK. Anti-BCMA Immunotoxins: Design, Production, and Preclinical Evaluation. Biomolecules 2020; 10:biom10101387. [PMID: 33003418 PMCID: PMC7600380 DOI: 10.3390/biom10101387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a B-cell malignancy that is incurable for a majority of patients. B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is a lineage-restricted differentiation protein highly expressed in multiple myeloma cells but not in other normal tissues except normal plasma B cells. Due to the restricted expression and being a cell surface membrane protein, BCMA is an ideal target for immunotherapy approaches in MM. Recombinant immunotoxins (RITs) are a novel class of protein therapeutics that are composed of the Fv or Fab portion of an antibody fused to a cytotoxic agent. RITs were produced by expressing plasmids encoding the components of the anti-BCMA RITs in E. coli followed by inclusion body preparation, solubilization, renaturation, and purification by column chromatography. The cytotoxic activity of RITs was tested in vitro by WST-8 assays using BCMA expressing cell lines and on cells isolated from MM patients. The in vivo efficacy of RITs was tested in a xenograft mouse model using BCMA expressing multiple myeloma cell lines. Anti-BCMA recombinant immunotoxins are very effective in killing myeloma cell lines and cells isolated from myeloma patients expressing BCMA. Two mouse models of myeloma showed that the anti-BCMA immunotoxins can produce a long-term complete response and warrant further preclinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tapan K Bera
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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12
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HER2-Specific Pseudomonas Exotoxin A PE25 Based Fusions: Influence of Targeting Domain on Target Binding, Toxicity, and In Vivo Biodistribution. Pharmaceutics 2020; 12:pharmaceutics12040391. [PMID: 32344762 PMCID: PMC7238247 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12040391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a clinically validated target for cancer therapy, and targeted therapies are often used in regimens for patients with a high HER2 expression level. Despite the success of current drugs, a number of patients succumb to their disease, which motivates development of novel drugs with other modes of action. We have previously shown that an albumin binding domain-derived affinity protein with specific affinity for HER2, ADAPT6, can be used to deliver the highly cytotoxic protein domain PE25, a derivative of Pseudomonas exotoxin A, to HER2 overexpressing malignant cells, leading to potent and specific cell killing. In this study we expanded the investigation for an optimal targeting domain and constructed two fusion toxins where a HER2-binding affibody molecule, ZHER2:2891, or the dual-HER2-binding hybrid ZHER2:2891-ADAPT6 were used for cancer cell targeting. We found that both targeting domains conferred strong binding to HER2; both to the purified extracellular domain and to the HER2 overexpressing cell line SKOV3. This resulted in fusion toxins with high cytotoxic potency toward cell lines with high expression levels of HER2, with EC50 values between 10 and 100 pM. For extension of the plasma half-life, an albumin binding domain was also included. Intravenous injection of the fusion toxins into mice showed a profound influence of the targeting domain on biodistribution. Compared to previous results, with ADAPT6 as targeting domain, ZHER2:2891 gave rise to further extension of the plasma half-life and also shifted the clearance route of the fusion toxin from the liver to the kidneys. Collectively, the results show that the targeting domain has a major impact on uptake of PE25-based fusion toxins in different organs. The results also show that PE25-based fusion toxins with high affinity to HER2 do not necessarily increase the cytotoxicity beyond a certain point in affinity. In conclusion, ZHER2:2891 has the most favorable characteristics as targeting domain for PE25.
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13
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Application of therapeutic protein-based fusion toxins. Mol Cell Toxicol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s13273-019-0040-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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14
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Hosts for Hostile Protein Production: The Challenge of Recombinant Immunotoxin Expression. Biomedicines 2019; 7:biomedicines7020038. [PMID: 31108917 PMCID: PMC6630761 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines7020038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2019] [Revised: 05/07/2019] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
For the recombinant expression of toxin-based drugs, a crucial step lies not only in the choice of the production host(s) but also in the accurate design of the protein chimera. These issues are particularly important since such products may be toxic to the expressing host itself. To avoid or limit the toxicity to productive cells while obtaining a consistent yield in chimeric protein, several systems from bacterial to mammalian host cells have been employed. In this review, we will discuss the development of immunotoxin (IT) expression, placing special emphasis on advantages and on potential drawbacks, as one single perfect host for every chimeric protein toxin or ligand does not exist.
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15
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Zhao P, Wang P, Dong S, Zhou Z, Cao Y, Yagita H, He X, Zheng SG, Fisher SJ, Fujinami RS, Chen M. Depletion of PD-1-positive cells ameliorates autoimmune disease. Nat Biomed Eng 2019; 3:292-305. [PMID: 30952980 PMCID: PMC6452906 DOI: 10.1038/s41551-019-0360-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Targeted suppression of autoimmune diseases without collateral suppression of normal immunity remains an elusive yet clinically important goal. Targeted blockade of programmed-cell-death-protein-1 (PD-1)-an immune checkpoint factor expressed by activated T cells and B cells-is an efficacious therapy for potentiating immune activation against tumours. Here we show that an immunotoxin consisting of an anti-PD-1 single-chain variable fragment, an albumin-binding domain and Pseudomonas exotoxin targeting PD-1-expressing cells, selectively recognizes and induces the killing of the cells. Administration of the immunotoxin to mouse models of autoimmune diabetes delays disease onset, and its administration in mice paralysed by experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis ameliorates symptoms. In all mouse models, the immunotoxin reduced the numbers of PD-1-expressing cells, of total T cells and of cells of an autoreactive T-cell clone found in inflamed organs, while maintaining active adaptive immunity, as evidenced by full-strength immune responses to vaccinations. The targeted depletion of PD-1-expressing cells contingent to the preservation of adaptive immunity might be effective in the treatment of a wide range of autoimmune diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Zhao
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Peng Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Shuyun Dong
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Zemin Zhou
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Yanguang Cao
- Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Hideo Yagita
- Department of Immunology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Xiao He
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Song Guo Zheng
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA
| | - Simon J Fisher
- Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Robert S Fujinami
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Mingnan Chen
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
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Kaplan G, Mazor R, Lee F, Jang Y, Leshem Y, Pastan I. Improving the In Vivo Efficacy of an Anti-Tac (CD25) Immunotoxin by Pseudomonas Exotoxin A Domain II Engineering. Mol Cancer Ther 2018; 17:1486-1493. [PMID: 29695631 PMCID: PMC6030476 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-17-1041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2017] [Revised: 01/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Tac (CD25) is expressed on multiple hematologic malignancies and is a target for cancer therapies. LMB-2 is an extremely active anti-Tac recombinant immunotoxin composed of an Fv that binds to Tac and a 38-kDa fragment of Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE38). Although LMB-2 has shown high cytotoxicity toward Tac-expressing cancer cells in clinical trials, its efficacy was hampered by the formation of anti-drug antibodies against the immunogenic bacterial toxin and by dose-limiting off-target toxicity. To reduce toxin immunogenicity and nonspecific toxicity, we introduced six point mutations into domain III that were previously shown to reduce T-cell immunogenicity and deleted domain II from the toxin, leaving only the 11aa furin cleavage site, which is required for cytotoxic activity. Although this strategy has been successfully implemented for mesothelin and CD22-targeting immunotoxins, we found that removal of domain II significantly lowered the cytotoxic activity of anti-Tac immunotoxins. To restore cytotoxic activity in the absence of PE domain II, we implemented a combined rational design and screening approach to isolate highly active domain II-deleted toxin variants. The domain II-deleted variant with the highest activity contained an engineered disulfide-bridged furin cleavage site designed to mimic its native conformation within domain II. We found that this approach restored 5-fold of the cytotoxic activity and dramatically improved the MTD. Both of these improvements led to significantly increased antitumor efficacy in vivo We conclude that the next-generation anti-Tac immunotoxin is an improved candidate for targeting Tac-expressing malignancies. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(7); 1486-93. ©2018 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilad Kaplan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Ronit Mazor
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Fred Lee
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Youjin Jang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Yasmin Leshem
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Ira Pastan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland.
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Domain II of Pseudomonas Exotoxin Is Critical for Efficacy of Bolus Doses in a Xenograft Model of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Toxins (Basel) 2018; 10:toxins10050210. [PMID: 29883379 PMCID: PMC5983266 DOI: 10.3390/toxins10050210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Revised: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 05/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Moxetumomab pasudotox is a fusion protein of a CD22-targeting antibody and Pseudomonas exotoxin. Minutes of exposure to Moxetumomab achieves similar cell killing than hours of exposure to a novel deimmunized variant against some acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Because blood levels fall quickly, Moxetumomab is more than 1000-fold more active than the deimmunized variant in vivo. We aimed to identify which part of Moxetumomab increases in vivo efficacy and generated five immunotoxins, tested time-dependent activity, and determined the efficacy in a KOPN-8 xenograft model. Full domain II shortened the time cells had to be exposed to die to only a few minutes for some ALL; deimmunized domain III consistently extended the time. Against KOPN-8, full domain II accelerated time to arrest protein synthesis by three-fold and tripled PARP-cleavage. In vivo efficacy was increased by more than 10-fold by domain II and increasing size, and therefore half-life enhanced efficacy two- to four-fold. In summary, in vivo efficacy is determined by the time cells have to be exposed to immunotoxin to die and serum half-life. Thus, domain II is most critical for activity against some ALL treated with bolus doses; however, immunotoxins lacking all but the furin-cleavage site of domain II may be advantageous when treating continuously.
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18
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Construction of an immunotoxin, HN3-mPE24, targeting glypican-3 for liver cancer therapy. Oncotarget 2018; 8:32450-32460. [PMID: 27419635 PMCID: PMC5464801 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.10592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2016] [Accepted: 06/30/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Glypican-3 (GPC3) is overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We constructed a recombinant immunotoxin, HN3-mPE24, which contains a truncated form of Pseudomonas exotoxin A. The toxin portion lacks most of domain II and has seven point mutations in domain III to remove the B-cell epitopes thought to be responsible for causing off-target side effects and immunogenicity. We also fused a bivalent HN3 to mPE24. We tested these two molecules for GPC3 binding and cytotoxicity in HCC cell models. The KD values of HN3-mPE24 and HN3-HN3-mPE24 for GPC3-expressing tumor cells were 12 nM and 1.4 nM, respectively. The IC50 values of HN3-mPE24 and HN3-HN3-mPE24 for HCC cells were 0.2 nM and 0.4 nM, respectively. We also evaluated their toxicity and anti-tumor efficacy in mice. The maximum tolerated doses of HN3-mPE24 and HN3-HN3-mPE24 were 7 mg kg−1 and 3.6 mg kg−1, respectively. We treated mice with 5 mg kg−1 of HN3-mPE24 intravenously every other day for ten injections. The alpha-fetoprotein level of HN3-mPE24 treated group was approximately 700 fold less than that of the untreated group (1.1 μg ml−1 vs. 692.1 μg ml−1). In addition, 25% of the mice treated with HN3-mPE24 survived to the end of this study, which was 105 days after HCC tumor implantation. In conclusion, the HN3-mPE24 immunotoxin caused liver tumor regressions and extended survival with no significant side effects in mice. It is a promising candidate for the treatment of liver cancer that may be readily translated to humans.
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Hu P, Zhang S, Lu SY, Li M, Chang J, Wang MY, Li C, Zhao K, Guan YT, Zhang YY, Li YS, Zhou Y, Liu ZS, Bai O, Ren HL. An efficient scheme for purification of a novel recombinant immunotoxin, rCCK8PE38, for anti-tumour experiments. Biomed Chromatogr 2018; 32:e4197. [DOI: 10.1002/bmc.4197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2017] [Revised: 01/06/2018] [Accepted: 01/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Pan Hu
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Song Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Shi-ying Lu
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Meng Li
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Jiang Chang
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Meng-yun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Chang Li
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Ke Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Yu-Ting Guan
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Yuan-Yuan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Yan-Song Li
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Yu Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Zeng-Shan Liu
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Ou Bai
- Department of Oncology; First Hospital of Jilin University; Changchun China
| | - Hong-Lin Ren
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education/Institute of Zoonosis/College of Veterinary Medicine; Jilin University; Changchun China
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Li M, Liu ZS, Liu XL, Hui Q, Lu SY, Qu LL, Li YS, Zhou Y, Ren HL, Hu P. Clinical targeting recombinant immunotoxins for cancer therapy. Onco Targets Ther 2017; 10:3645-3665. [PMID: 28790855 PMCID: PMC5530862 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s134584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Recombinant immunotoxins (RITs) are proteins that contain a toxin fused to an antibody or small molecules and are constructed by the genetic engineering technique. RITs can bind to and be internalized by cells and kill cancerous or non-cancerous cells by inhibiting protein synthesis. A wide variety of RITs have been tested against different cancers in cell culture, xenograft models, and human patients during the past several decades. RITs have shown activity in therapy of several kinds of cancers, but different levels of side effects, mainly related to vascular leak syndrome, were also observed in the treated patients. High immunogenicity of RITs limited their long-term or repeat applications in clinical cases. Recent advances in the design of immunotoxins, such as humanization of antibody fragment, PEGylation, and modification of human B- and T-cell epitopes, are overcoming the above mentioned problems, which predict the use of these immunotoxins as a potential therapeutic method to treat cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Li
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, College of Veterinary Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun
| | - Zeng-Shan Liu
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, College of Veterinary Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun
| | - Xi-Lin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, College of Veterinary Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun
| | - Qi Hui
- School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Shi-Ying Lu
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, College of Veterinary Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun
| | - Lin-Lin Qu
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, College of Veterinary Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun
| | - Yan-Song Li
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, College of Veterinary Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun
| | - Yu Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, College of Veterinary Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun
| | - Hong-Lin Ren
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, College of Veterinary Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun
| | - Pan Hu
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, College of Veterinary Medicine, China-Japan Union Hospital, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun
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Abstract
Hematological malignancies manifest as lymphoma, leukemia, and myeloma, and remain a burden on society. From initial therapy to endless relapse-related treatment, societal burden is felt not only in the context of healthcare cost, but also in the compromised quality of life of patients. Long-term therapeutic strategies have become the standard in keeping hematological malignancies at bay as these cancers develop resistance to each round of therapy with time. As a result, there is a continual need for the development of new drugs to combat resistant disease in order to prolong patient life, if not to produce a cure. This review aims to summarize advances in targeting lymphoma, leukemia, and myeloma through both cutting-edge and well established platforms. Current standard of treatment will be reviewed for these malignancies and emphasis will be made on new therapy development in the areas of antibody engineering, epigenetic small molecule inhibiting drugs, vaccine development, and chimeric antigen receptor cell engineering. In addition, platforms for the delivery of these and other drugs will be reviewed including antibody-drug conjugates, micro- and nanoparticles, and multimodal hydrogels. Lastly, we propose that tissue engineered constructs for hematological malignancies are the missing link in targeted drug discovery alongside mouse and patient-derived xenograft models.
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Mazor R, Kaplan G, Park D, Jang Y, Lee F, Kreitman R, Pastan I. Rational design of low immunogenic anti CD25 recombinant immunotoxin for T cell malignancies by elimination of T cell epitopes in PE38. Cell Immunol 2017; 313:59-66. [PMID: 28087047 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2017.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2016] [Revised: 01/04/2017] [Accepted: 01/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
LMB-2, is a potent recombinant immunotoxin (RIT) that is composed of scFv antibody that targets CD25 (Tac) and a toxin fragment (PE38). It is used to treat T cell leukemias and lymphomas. To make LMB-2 less immunogenic, we introduced a large deletion in domain II and six point mutations in domain III that were previously shown to reduce T cell activation in other RITs. We found that unlike other RITs, deletion of domain II from LMB-2 severely compromised its activity. Rather than deletion, we identified T cell epitopes in domain II and used alanine substitutions to identify point mutations that diminished those epitopes. The novel RIT, LMB-142 contains a 38kDa toxin and nine point mutations that diminished T cell response to the corresponding peptides by an average of 75%. LMB-142 has good cytotoxic activity and has lower nonspecific toxicity in mice. LMB-142 should be more efficient in cancer therapy because more treatment cycles can be given.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronit Mazor
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4264, USA.
| | - Gilad Kaplan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4264, USA.
| | - Dong Park
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4264, USA.
| | - Youjin Jang
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4264, USA.
| | - Fred Lee
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4264, USA.
| | - Robert Kreitman
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4264, USA.
| | - Ira Pastan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4264, USA.
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Bautista F, Van der Lugt J, Kearns PR, Mussai FJ, Zwaan CM, Moreno L. The development of targeted new agents to improve the outcome for children with leukemia. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2016; 11:1111-1122. [PMID: 27670965 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2016.1237939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Survival rates in pediatric leukemia have greatly improved in the last decades but still a substantial number of patients will relapse and die. New agents are necessary to overcome the limitations of conventional chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and to reduce their undesirable long-term toxicities. The identification of driving molecular alterations of leukemogenesis in subsets of patients will allow the incorporation of new-targeted therapies. Areas covered: In this article the authors present a detailed review of the most recent advances in targeted therapies for pediatric leukemias. A comprehensive description of the biological background, adult data and early clinical trials in pediatrics is provided. Expert opinion: Clinical trials are the way to evaluate new agents in pediatric cancer. The development of new drugs in pediatric leukemia must be preceded by a solid biological rationale. Agents in development exploit all possible vulnerabilities of leukemic cells. Drugs targeting cell surface antigens, intracellular signaling pathways and cell cycle inhibitors or epigenetic regulators are most prominent. Major advances have occurred thanks to new developments in engineering leading to optimized molecules such as anti-CD19 bi-specific T-cell engagers (e.g. blinatumomab) and antibody-drug conjugates. The integration of new-targeted therapies in pediatric chemotherapy-based regimens will lead to improved outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Bautista
- a Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation , Hospital Niño Jesús , Madrid , Spain
| | - Jasper Van der Lugt
- b Department of Pediatric Oncology/Hematology , Erasmus-MC Sophia Children's Hospital , Rotterdam , The Netherlands
| | - Pamela R Kearns
- c Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, School of Cancer Sciences , University of Birmingham , Birmingham , UK
| | - Francis J Mussai
- c Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, School of Cancer Sciences , University of Birmingham , Birmingham , UK
| | - C Michel Zwaan
- b Department of Pediatric Oncology/Hematology , Erasmus-MC Sophia Children's Hospital , Rotterdam , The Netherlands
| | - Lucas Moreno
- a Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation , Hospital Niño Jesús , Madrid , Spain
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24
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Müller F, Cunningham T, Liu XF, Wayne AS, Pastan I. Wide Variability in the Time Required for Immunotoxins to Kill B Lineage Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells: Implications for Trial Design. Clin Cancer Res 2016; 22:4913-4922. [PMID: 27114443 PMCID: PMC5050065 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-15-2500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2015] [Accepted: 04/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Recombinant immunotoxins (rITs) targeting CD22 are highly active in hairy cell leukemia, but less so in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This study aims to understand the variable activity of an rIT against ALL toward improving responses in clinical application. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We determined in vitro activity of rITs by WST-8 assays and the time needed to kill ALL cell lines and patient-derived ALL blasts by flow cytometry. The findings were translated into two systemic ALL xenograft models. Differences in time needed to kill KOPN-8 cells for distinct rITs were addressed biochemically. RESULTS In vitro activity (IC50) of anti-CD22 rIT varied 210-fold from 0.02 to 4.6 ng/mL. Activity also varied greatly depending on the time ALL cells were exposed to immunotoxin from < 30 minutes to > 4 days. For KOPN-8, the difference in exposure time was related to intracellular rIT processing. We showed in newly developed ALL xenograft models, where immunotoxins have a short half-life, that the needed exposure time in vitro predicted the responses in vivo By replacing bolus dose with small doses at frequent intervals or with continuous infusion, responses were substantially improved. We confirmed exposure time variability on patient-derived ALL samples and showed a correlation between exposure time needed to reach maximal cytotoxicity in vitro and their clinical response. CONCLUSIONS The exposure time needed for rITs targeting CD22 to kill ALL cells varies widely. Our results suggest that ALL patients would have a better response rate to anti-CD22 immunotoxins if treated by continuous infusion rather than by bolus injections. Clin Cancer Res; 22(19); 4913-22. ©2016 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Müller
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Tyler Cunningham
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Xiu Fen Liu
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Alan S Wayne
- Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Ira Pastan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
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Kaplan G, Lee F, Onda M, Kolyvas E, Bhardwaj G, Baker D, Pastan I. Protection of the Furin Cleavage Site in Low-Toxicity Immunotoxins Based on Pseudomonas Exotoxin A. Toxins (Basel) 2016; 8:E217. [PMID: 27463727 PMCID: PMC4999843 DOI: 10.3390/toxins8080217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2016] [Revised: 06/13/2016] [Accepted: 06/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recombinant immunotoxins (RITs) are fusions of an Fv-based targeting moiety and a toxin. Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE) has been used to make several immunotoxins that have been evaluated in clinical trials. Immunogenicity of the bacterial toxin and off-target toxicity have limited the efficacy of these immunotoxins. To address these issues, we have previously made RITs in which the Fv is connected to domain III (PE24) by a furin cleavage site (FCS), thereby removing unneeded sequences of domain II. However, the PE24 containing RITs do not contain the naturally occurring disulfide bond around the furin cleavage sequence, because it was removed when domain II was deleted. This could potentially allow PE24 containing immunotoxins to be cleaved and inactivated before internalization by cell surface furin or other proteases in the blood stream or tumor microenvironment. Here, we describe five new RITs in which a disulfide bond is engineered to protect the FCS. The most active of these, SS1-Fab-DS3-PE24, shows a longer serum half-life than an RIT without the disulfide bond and has the same anti-tumor activity, despite being less cytotoxic in vitro. These results have significance for the production of de-immunized, low toxicity, PE24-based immunotoxins with a longer serum half-life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilad Kaplan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
| | - Fred Lee
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
| | - Masanori Onda
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
| | - Emily Kolyvas
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
| | - Gaurav Bhardwaj
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
| | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
| | - Ira Pastan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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Liu X, Müller F, Wayne AS, Pastan I. Protein Kinase Inhibitor H89 Enhances the Activity of Pseudomonas Exotoxin A-Based Immunotoxins. Mol Cancer Ther 2016; 15:1053-62. [PMID: 26939705 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-15-0828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2015] [Accepted: 02/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
HA22 (Moxetumomab pasudotox) is a recombinant immunotoxin (RIT), composed of an anti-CD22 Fv fused to a truncated portion of Pseudomonas exotoxin A. HA22 is in clinical trials to treat patients with hairy cell leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). LMB-11 is an improved variant of HA22 with reduced immunogenicity, has a longer half-life in the blood and high activity in vitro and in a Burkitt lymphoma model in vivo Searching for RIT enhancing combination therapies, we found the protein kinase A inhibitor H89 to enhance LMB-11 and HA22 activity 5- to 10-fold on ALL cell lines and on patient-derived ALL samples. In addition, H89 increased the activity of mesothelin-targeting RITs SS1P (38-fold) and RG7787 (7-fold) against the cervical cancer cell line KB31. Unexpectedly we found that the enhancement by H89 was not because of inhibition of protein kinase A; it was partially recapitulated by inhibition of S6K1, which led to inactivation of its downstream targets rpS6 and GSK3β, resulting in a fall in MCL1 levels. H89 increased the rate of ADP-ribosylation of eukaryotic elongation factor 2, enhancing the arrest of protein synthesis and the reduction of MCL1 in synergy with the RIT. In summary, H89 increased RIT activity by enhancing the two key events: ADP-ribosylation of eEF2 and reduction of MCL1 levels. Significant enhancement was seen with both CD22- and mesothelin-targeting RITs, indicating that H89 might be a potent addition to RIT treatment of CD22-positive ALL and mesothelin-expressing solid tumors. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(5); 1053-62. ©2016 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiufen Liu
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Fabian Müller
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Alan S Wayne
- Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Ira Pastan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
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27
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Abstract
Recombinant immunotoxins (RITs) are chimeric proteins designed to treat cancer. They are made up of an Fv or Fab that targets an antigen on a cancer cell fused to a 38-kDa portion of Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE38). Because PE38 is a bacterial protein, it is highly immunogenic in patients with solid tumors that have normal immune systems, but much less immunogenic in patients with hematologic malignancies where the immune system is suppressed. RITs have shown efficacy in refractory hairy cell leukemia and in some children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but have been much less effective in solid tumors, because neutralizing antibodies develop and prevent additional treatment cycles. In this paper we will (i) review data from clinical trials describing the immunogenicity of PE38 in different patient populations; (ii) review results from clinical trials using different immunosuppressive drugs; and (iii) describe our efforts to make new less-immunogenic RITs by identifying and removing T- and B-cell epitopes to hide the RIT from the immune system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronit Mazor
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Masanori Onda
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Ira Pastan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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Tu Z, Xiao R, Xiong J, Tembo KM, Deng X, Xiong M, Liu P, Wang M, Zhang Q. CCR9 in cancer: oncogenic role and therapeutic targeting. J Hematol Oncol 2016; 9:10. [PMID: 26879872 PMCID: PMC4754913 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-016-0236-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2015] [Accepted: 01/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer is currently one of the leading causes of death worldwide and is one of the most challenging major public health problems. The main challenges faced by clinicians in the management and treatment of cancer mainly arise from difficulties in early diagnosis and the emergence of tumor chemoresistance and metastasis. The structures of chemokine receptor 9 (CCR9) and its specific ligand chemokine ligand 25 (CCL25) have been elucidated, and, interestingly, a number of studies have demonstrated that CCR9 is a potential tumor biomarker in diagnosis and therapy, as it has been found to be highly expressed in a wide range of cancers. This expression pattern suggests that CCR9 may participate in many important biological activities involved in cancer progression. Researchers have shown that CCR9 that has been activated by its specific ligand CCL25 can interact with many signaling pathways, especially those involved in tumor chemoresistance and metastasis. This review, therefore, focuses on CCR9 induction activity and summarizes what is currently known regarding its role in cancers and its potential application in tumor-targeted therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenbo Tu
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
| | - Ruijing Xiao
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
| | - Jie Xiong
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
| | - Kingsley M Tembo
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
| | - Xinzhou Deng
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
| | - Meng Xiong
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
| | - Pan Liu
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
| | - Meng Wang
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
| | - Qiuping Zhang
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China.
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Madhumathi J, Devilakshmi S, Sridevi S, Verma RS. Immunotoxin therapy for hematologic malignancies: where are we heading? Drug Discov Today 2016; 21:325-32. [DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2015.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2014] [Revised: 03/04/2015] [Accepted: 05/01/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Kreitman RJ, Pastan I. Immunoconjugates in the management of hairy cell leukemia. Best Pract Res Clin Haematol 2015; 28:236-45. [PMID: 26614902 PMCID: PMC4663015 DOI: 10.1016/j.beha.2015.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2015] [Revised: 09/17/2015] [Accepted: 09/28/2015] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is an indolent B-cell malignancy effectively treated but not often cured by purine analog therapy; after multiple courses of purine analogs, patients can become purine analog resistant and in need of alternative therapies. Complete remission to single-agent purine analog is often accompanied by minimal residual disease (MRD), residual HCL cells detectable by immunologic methods, considered a risk factor for eventual relapse. Several different non-chemotherapy approaches are being used to target relapsed and refractory HCL, including inhibitors of BRAF, but so far only monoclonal antibody (MAb)-based approaches have been reported to eliminate MRD in a high percentage of patients. One of the MAb-based options for HCL currently under clinical investigation involves recombinant immunotoxins, containing a fragment of a MAb and a bacterial toxin. The bacterial toxin, a highly potent fragment from Pseudomonas exotoxin, catalytically ADP-ribosylates elongation factor 2 (EF2), resulting in protein synthesis inhibition and apoptotic cell death. Recombinant immunotoxins tested in HCL patients include LMB-2, targeting CD25, and BL22, targeting CD22. An affinity matured version of BL22, termed moxetumomab pasudotox (formerly HA22 or CAT-8015) achieved high CR rates in phase I, and is currently undergoing multicenter Phase 3 testing. Phase I testing was without dose-limiting toxicity, although 2 patients had grade 2 hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) with transient grade 1 abnormalities in platelets and creatinine. Preclinical work is underway to identify residues on moxetumomab pasudotox leading to immunogenicity. Moxetumomab pasudotox is undergoing pivotal testing for relapsed and refractory HCL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Kreitman
- The Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 37/5124b, 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20892-4255, USA.
| | - Ira Pastan
- The Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 37/5124b, 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20892-4255, USA
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Weldon JE, Skarzynski M, Therres JA, Ostovitz JR, Zhou H, Kreitman RJ, Pastan I. Designing the furin-cleavable linker in recombinant immunotoxins based on Pseudomonas exotoxin A. Bioconjug Chem 2015; 26:1120-8. [PMID: 25997032 PMCID: PMC7724502 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.5b00190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Recombinant immunotoxins (RITs) are fusion proteins that join antibodies to protein toxins for targeted cell killing. RITs armed with Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE) are undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of cancer. The current design of PE-based RITs joins an antibody fragment to the catalytic domain of PE using a polypeptide linker that is cleaved by the protease furin. Intracellular cleavage of native PE by furin is required for cytotoxicity, yet the PE cleavage site has been shown to be a poor furin substrate. Here we describe the rational design of more efficiently cleaved furin linkers in PE-based RITs, and experiments evaluating their effects on cleavage and cytotoxicity. We found that changes to the furin site could greatly influence both cleavage and cytotoxicity, but the two parameters were not directly correlated. Furthermore, the effects of alterations to the furin linker were not universal. Identical mutations in the anti-CD22 RIT HA22-LR often displayed different cytotoxicity from mutations in the anti-mesothelin RIT SS1-LR/GGS, underscoring the prominent role of the target site in their intoxication pathways. Combining several beneficial mutations in HA22-LR resulted in a variant (HA22-LR/FUR) with a remarkably enhanced cleavage rate and improved cytotoxicity against five B cell lines and similar or enhanced cytotoxicity in five out of six hairy cell leukemia patient samples. This result informs the design of protease-sensitive linkers and suggests that HA22-LR/FUR may be a candidate for further preclinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- John E. Weldon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics, Towson University, Towson, Maryland 21252, United States
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Martin Skarzynski
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Jamy A. Therres
- Department of Biological Sciences, Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics, Towson University, Towson, Maryland 21252, United States
| | - Joshua R. Ostovitz
- Department of Biological Sciences, Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics, Towson University, Towson, Maryland 21252, United States
| | - Hong Zhou
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Robert J. Kreitman
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | - Ira Pastan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
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Della Cristina P, Castagna M, Lombardi A, Barison E, Tagliabue G, Ceriotti A, Koutris I, Di Leandro L, Giansanti F, Vago R, Ippoliti R, Flavell SU, Flavell DJ, Colombatti M, Fabbrini MS. Systematic comparison of single-chain Fv antibody-fusion toxin constructs containing Pseudomonas Exotoxin A or saporin produced in different microbial expression systems. Microb Cell Fact 2015; 14:19. [PMID: 25889802 PMCID: PMC4338634 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-015-0202-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2014] [Accepted: 01/27/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antibodies raised against selected antigens over-expressed at the cell surface of malignant cells have been chemically conjugated to protein toxin domains to obtain immunotoxins (ITs) able to selectively kill cancer cells. Since latest generation immunotoxins are composed of a toxic domain genetically fused to antibody fragment(s) which confer on the IT target selective specificity, we rescued from the hydridoma 4KB128, a recombinant single-chain variable fragment (scFv) targeting CD22, a marker antigen expressed by B-lineage leukaemias and lymphomas. We constructed several ITs using two enzymatic toxins both able to block protein translation, one of bacterial origin (a truncated version of Pseudomonas exotoxin A, PE40) endowed with EF-2 ADP-ribosylation activity, the other being the plant ribosome-inactivating protein saporin, able to specifically depurinate 23/26/28S ribosomal RNA. PE40 was selected because it has been widely used for the construction of recombinant ITs that have already undergone evaluation in clinical trials. Saporin has also been evaluated clinically and has recently been expressed successfully at high levels in a Pichia pastoris expression system. The aim of the present study was to evaluate optimal microbial expression of various IT formats. RESULTS An anti-CD22 scFv termed 4KB was obtained which showed the expected binding activity which was also internalized by CD22+ target cells and was also competed for by the parental monoclonal CD22 antibody. Several fusion constructs were designed and expressed either in E. coli or in Pichia pastoris and the resulting fusion proteins affinity-purified. Protein synthesis inhibition assays were performed on CD22+ human Daudi cells and showed that the selected ITs were active, having IC50 values (concentration inhibiting protein synthesis by 50% relative to controls) in the nanomolar range. CONCLUSIONS We undertook a systematic comparison between the performance of the different fusion constructs, with respect to yields in E. coli or P. pastoris expression systems and also with regard to each constructs specific killing efficacy. Our results confirm that E. coli is the system of choice for the expression of recombinant fusion toxins of bacterial origin whereas we further demonstrate that saporin-based ITs are best expressed and recovered from P. pastoris cultures after yeast codon-usage optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Monica Castagna
- Department of Pathology and Diagnostics, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
| | | | - Erika Barison
- Department of Pathology and Diagnostics, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
| | | | - Aldo Ceriotti
- Istituto Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria, CNR, Milan, Italy.
| | - Ilias Koutris
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - Luana Di Leandro
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - Francesco Giansanti
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - Riccardo Vago
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - Rodolfo Ippoliti
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - Sopsamorn U Flavell
- The Simon Flavell Leukaemia Research Laboratory, (Leukaemia Busters), Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.
| | - David J Flavell
- The Simon Flavell Leukaemia Research Laboratory, (Leukaemia Busters), Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.
| | - Marco Colombatti
- Department of Pathology and Diagnostics, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
| | - Maria Serena Fabbrini
- Istituto Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria, CNR, Milan, Italy.
- Istituto Nazionale di Genetica Molecolare-INGM, Milan, Italy.
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