1
|
Renawala HK, Chandrababu KB, Smith KJ, D'Addio SM, Topp EM. A Model Study to Assess Fibrillation and Product Stability to Support Peptide Drug Design. Mol Pharm 2024; 21:2223-2237. [PMID: 38552144 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c00996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
The fibrillation of therapeutic peptides can present significant quality concerns and poses challenges for manufacturing and storage. A fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of fibrillation is critical for the rational design of fibrillation-resistant peptide drugs and can accelerate product development by guiding the selection of solution-stable candidates and formulations. The studies reported here investigated the effects of structural modifications on the fibrillation of a 29-residue peptide (PepA) and two sequence modified variants (PepB, PepC). The C-terminus of PepA was amidated, whereas both PepB and PepC retained the carboxylate, and Ser16 in PepA and PepB was substituted with a helix-stabilizing residue, α-aminoisobutyric acid (Aib), in PepC. In thermal denaturation studies by far-UV CD spectroscopy and fibrillation kinetic studies by fluorescence and turbidity measurements, PepA and PepB showed heat-induced conformational changes and were found to form fibrils, whereas PepC did not fibrillate and showed only minor changes in the CD signal. Pulsed hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) showed a high degree of protection from HD exchange in mature PepA fibrils and its proteolytic fragments, indicating that most of the sequence had been incorporated into the fibril structure and occurred nearly simultaneously throughout the sequence. The effects of the net peptide charge and formulation pH on fibrillation kinetics were investigated. In real-time stability studies of two formulations of PepA at pH's 7.4 and 8.0, analytical methods detected significant changes in the stability of the formulations at different time points during the study, which were not observed during accelerated studies. Additionally, PepA samples were withdrawn from real-time stability and subjected to additional stress (40 °C, continuous shaking) to induce fibrillation; an approach that successfully amplified oligomers or prefibrillar species previously undetected in a thioflavin T assay. Taken together, these studies present an approach to differentiate and characterize fibrillation risk in structurally related peptides under accelerated and real-time conditions, providing a model for rapid, iterative structural design to optimize the stability of therapeutic peptides.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Harshil K Renawala
- Department of Industrial and Molecular Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Karthik B Chandrababu
- Department of Industrial and Molecular Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Katelyn J Smith
- Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Supply, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | - Suzanne M D'Addio
- Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Supply, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | - Elizabeth M Topp
- Department of Industrial and Molecular Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
- Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
- National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training, Belfield, Blackrock, Co. Dublin A94 X099, Ireland
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Li Q, Tangry V, Allen DP, Seibert KD, Qian KK, Wagner NJ. Surface-mediated spontaneous emulsification of the acylated peptide, semaglutide. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2305770121. [PMID: 38227645 PMCID: PMC10835113 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2305770121] [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: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Acylated peptides composed of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists modified with a fatty acid side chain are an important class of therapeutics for type 2 diabetes and obesity but are susceptible to an unusual physical instability in the presence of hydrophobic surfaces, i.e., spontaneous emulsification, also known as ouzo formation in practice. In this work, light scattering, small-angle X-ray scattering, and circular dichroism measurements are used to characterize the physical properties of the semaglutide colloidal phase, including size distribution, shape, secondary structure, internal structure, and internal composition, as a function of solution physico-chemical conditions. The existence and size of the colloids formed are successfully predicted by a classical Rayleigh model, which identifies the parameters controlling their size and formation. Colloid formation is found to be catalyzed by hydrophobic surfaces, and formation rates are modeled as an autocatalytic reaction, enabling the formation of a master curve for various surfaces that elucidates the mechanism. Surfaces differ due to differences in surface wettability, which can be correlated with Hansen solubility parameters. This work provides insights into this unusual colloidal phenomenon and guides the peptide synthesis process and drug product formulation in the pharmaceutical industry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qi Li
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Center for Neutron Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE19716
| | - Vasudev Tangry
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Center for Neutron Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE19716
| | | | | | - Ken K. Qian
- Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN46225
| | - Norman J. Wagner
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Center for Neutron Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE19716
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Gao Z, Wei Y, Ma G. A review of recent research and development on GLP-1 receptor agonists-sustained-release microspheres. J Mater Chem B 2023; 11:11184-11197. [PMID: 37975420 DOI: 10.1039/d3tb02207b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are increasingly used in treating type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, owing to their limited oral bioavailability, most commercially available GLP-1 RAs are administered through frequent subcutaneous injections, which may result in poor patient compliance during clinical treatment. To improve patients' compliance, sustained-release GLP-1 RA-loaded microspheres have been explored. This review is an overview of recent progress and research in GLP-1 RA-loaded microspheres. First, the fabrication methods of GLP-1 RA-loaded microspheres including the coacervation method, emulsion-solvent evaporation method based on agitation, premix membrane emulsification technology, spray drying, microfluidic droplet technology, and supercritical fluid technology are summarized. Next, the strategies for maintaining GLP-1 RAs' stability and activity in microspheres by adding additives and PEGylation are reviewed. Finally, the effect of particle size, drug distribution, the internal structure of microspheres, and the hydrogel/microsphere composite strategy on improved release behavior is summarized.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zejing Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China.
- Key Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Preparation and Delivery, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Yi Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China.
- Key Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Preparation and Delivery, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
| | - Guanghui Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China.
- Key Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Preparation and Delivery, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Přáda Brichtová E, Krupová M, Bouř P, Lindo V, Gomes Dos Santos A, Jackson SE. Glucagon-like peptide 1 aggregates into low-molecular-weight oligomers off-pathway to fibrillation. Biophys J 2023; 122:2475-2488. [PMID: 37138517 PMCID: PMC10323027 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The physical stability of peptide-based drugs is of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is a 31-amino acid peptide hormone, the analogs of which are frequently used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We investigated the physical stability of GLP-1 and its C-terminal amide derivative, GLP-1-Am, both of which aggregate into amyloid fibrils. While off-pathway oligomers have been proposed to explain the unusual aggregation kinetics observed previously for GLP-1 under specific conditions, these oligomers have not been studied in any detail. Such states are important as they may represent potential sources of cytotoxicity and immunogenicity. Here, we identified and isolated stable, low-molecular-weight oligomers of GLP-1 and GLP-1-Am, using size-exclusion chromatography. Under the conditions studied, isolated oligomers were shown to be resistant to fibrillation or dissociation. These oligomers contain between two and five polypeptide chains and they have a highly disordered structure as indicated by a variety of spectroscopic techniques. They are highly stable with respect to time, temperature, or agitation despite their noncovalent character, which was established using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These results provide evidence of stable, low-molecular-weight oligomers that are formed by an off-pathway mechanism which competes with amyloid fibril formation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eva Přáda Brichtová
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Monika Krupová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences, Prague 6, Czech Republic; Hylleraas Centre for Quantum Molecular Sciences, Department of Chemistry, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Petr Bouř
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Viv Lindo
- AstraZeneca, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | - Sophie E Jackson
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Designing Formulation Strategies for Enhanced Stability of Therapeutic Peptides in Aqueous Solutions: A Review. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:pharmaceutics15030935. [PMID: 36986796 PMCID: PMC10056213 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15030935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 03/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the past few decades, there has been a tremendous increase in the utilization of therapeutic peptides. Therapeutic peptides are usually administered via the parenteral route, requiring an aqueous formulation. Unfortunately, peptides are often unstable in aqueous solutions, affecting stability and bioactivity. Although a stable and dry formulation for reconstitution might be designed, from a pharmaco-economic and practical convenience point of view, a peptide formulation in an aqueous liquid form is preferred. Designing formulation strategies that optimize peptide stability may improve bioavailability and increase therapeutic efficacy. This literature review provides an overview of various degradation pathways and formulation strategies to stabilize therapeutic peptides in aqueous solutions. First, we introduce the major peptide stability issues in liquid formulations and the degradation mechanisms. Then, we present a variety of known strategies to inhibit or slow down peptide degradation. Overall, the most practical approaches to peptide stabilization are pH optimization and selecting the appropriate type of buffer. Other practical strategies to reduce peptide degradation rates in solution are the application of co-solvency, air exclusion, viscosity enhancement, PEGylation, and using polyol excipients.
Collapse
|
6
|
Li M, Falk BT, Lu X, Schroder R, Mccoy M, Xu W, Yin DH, Gindy ME, D'Addio SM, Su Y. Molecular Mechanism of Antimicrobial Excipient-Induced Aggregation in Parenteral Formulations of Peptide Therapeutics. Mol Pharm 2022; 19:3267-3278. [PMID: 35917158 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c00449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Antimicrobial preservatives are used as functional excipients in multidose formulations of biological therapeutics to destroy or inhibit the growth of microbial contaminants, which may be introduced by repeatedly administering doses. Antimicrobial agents can also induce the biophysical instability of proteins and peptides, which presents a challenge in optimizing the drug product formulation. Elucidating the structural basis for aggregation aids in understanding the underlying mechanism and can offer valuable knowledge and rationale for designing drug substances and drug products; however, this remains largely unexplored due to the lack of high-resolution characterization. In this work, we utilize solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) as an advanced biophysical tool to study an acylated 31-residue peptide, acyl-peptide A, and its interaction with commonly used antimicrobial agents, benzyl alcohol and m-cresol. Our results suggest that acyl-peptide A forms soluble octamers in the aqueous solution, which tumble slowly due to an increased molecular weight as measured by diffusion ordered spectroscopy and 1H relaxation measurement. The addition of benzyl alcohol does not induce aggregation of acyl-peptide A and has no chemical shift perturbation in 1H-1H NOESY spectra, suggesting no detectable interaction with the peptide. In contrast, the addition of 1% (w/v) m-cresol results in insoluble aggregates composed of 25% (w/w) peptides after a 24-hour incubation at room temperature as quantified by 1H NMR. Interestingly, 1H-13C heteronuclear single-quantum coherence and 1H-1H total correlation experiment spectroscopy have identified m-cresol and peptide interactions at specific residues, including Met, Lys, Glu, and Gln, suggesting that there may be a combination of hydrophobic, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic interactions with m-cresol driving this phenomenon. These site-specific interactions have promoted the formation of higher-order oligomerization such as dimers and trimers of octamers, eventually resulting in insoluble aggregates. Our study has elucidated a structural basis of m-cresol-induced self-association that can inform the optimized design of drug substances and products. Moreover, it has demonstrated solution NMR as a high-resolution tool to investigate the structure and dynamics of biological drug products and provide an understanding of excipient-induced peptide and protein aggregation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mingyue Li
- Analytical Research & Development, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | - Bradley T Falk
- Computational and Structural Chemistry, Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey 07033, United States
| | - Xingyu Lu
- Analytical Research & Development, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | - Ryan Schroder
- Analytical Research & Development, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | - Mark Mccoy
- Computational and Structural Chemistry, Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey 07033, United States
| | - Wei Xu
- Analytical Research & Development, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | - Daniel H Yin
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Marian E Gindy
- Small Molecule Science and Technology, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| | - Suzanne M D'Addio
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania 19486, United States
| | - Yongchao Su
- Analytical Research & Development, Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey 07065, United States
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Amyloidogenicity of peptides targeting diabetes and obesity. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2021; 209:112157. [PMID: 34715595 DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.112157] [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: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Since the discovery of insulin, a century ago, the repertoire of therapeutic polypeptides targeting diabetes - and now also obesity - have increased substantially. The focus on quality has shifted from impure and unstable preparations of animal insulin to highly pure, homologous recombinant insulin, along with other peptide-based hormones and analogs such as amylin analogs (pramlintide, davalintide, cagrilintide), glucagon and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1, liraglutide, exenatide, semaglutide). Proper formulation, storage, manipulation and usage by professionals and patients are required in order to avoid agglomeration into high molecular weight products (HMWP), either amorphous or amyloid, which could result in potential loss of biological activity and short- or long-term immune reaction and silent inactivation. In this narrative review, we present perspective of the aggregation of therapeutic polypeptides used in diabetes and other metabolic diseases, covering the nature and mechanisms, analytical techniques, physical and chemical stability, strategies aimed to hamper the formation of HMWP, and perspectives on future biopharmaceutical developments.
Collapse
|
8
|
Alavi SE, Cabot PJ, Raza A, Moyle PM. Developing GLP-1 Conjugated Self-Assembling Nanofibers Using Copper-Catalyzed Alkyne-Azide Cycloaddition and Evaluation of Their Biological Activity. Bioconjug Chem 2021; 32:810-820. [PMID: 33843208 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.1c00091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Glucagon-like peptide-1 GLP-1 is a gut-derived peptide secreted from pancreatic β-cells that reduces blood glucose levels and body weight; however, native GLP-1 (GLP-1(7-36)-NH2 and GLP-1(7-37)) have short in vivo circulation half-lives (∼2 min) due to proteolytic degradation and rapid renal clearance due to its low molecular weight (MW; 3297.7 Da). This study aimed to improve the proteolytic stability and delivery properties of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) through modifications that form nanostructures. For this purpose, N- (NtG) and C-terminal (CtG), and Lys26 side chain (K26G) alkyne-modified GLP-1 analogues were conjugated to an azide-modified lipidic peptide (L) to give N-L, C-L, and K-26-L, respectively; or CtG was conjugated with a fibrilizing self-assembling peptide (SAP) (AEAEAKAK)3 to yield C-S, using copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). N-L demonstrated the best serum stability (t1/2 > 48 h) compared to K-26-L (44 h), C-L (20 h), C-S (27 h), and the parental GLP-1(7-36;A8G)-NH2 (A8G) (19 h) peptides. Each conjugate demonstrated subnanomolar hGLP-1RA potency, and none demonstrated toxicity toward PC-3 cells at concentrations up to 1 μM. Each analogue was observed by transmission electron microscopy to form fibrils in solution. K-26-L demonstrated among the best human serum stability (t1/2 = 44 h) and similar hGLP-1RA potency (EC50 48 pM) to C-S. In conclusion, this study provided an alternative to lipid modification, i.e., fibrillizing peptides, that could improve pharmacokinetic parameters of GLP-1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seyed Ebrahim Alavi
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba 4102, Australia
| | - Peter J Cabot
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba 4102, Australia
| | - Aun Raza
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba 4102, Australia
| | - Peter M Moyle
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba 4102, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Antimicrobial Excipient-Induced Reversible Association of Therapeutic Peptides in Parenteral Formulations. J Pharm Sci 2020; 110:850-859. [PMID: 32980392 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2020.09.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2019] [Revised: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
New classes of therapeutic peptides are being developed to prosecute biological targets which have been inaccessible to other modalities. Higher potency and longer half-life peptides have given rise to multiuse injectable formulations that enable convenient, low volume, and self-administered dosing; however, inclusion of antimicrobial preservatives to meet bactericidal requirements can impact other attributes of peptide formulations. Peptide-preservative interactions influencing solution-phase self-association of a non-insulin, linear, palmitoylated 31 amino acid peptide and two structurally similar peptides were assessed via turbidity, intrinsic fluorescence shifts and quenching, isothermal titration calorimetry, and 1H NMR. Meta-cresol and phenol specifically interact with the peptide, result in increased hydrophobicity near the tryptophan residue, and induce conformational changes, while benzyl alcohol does not impact tryptophan fluorescence, demonstrate any interaction enthalpy, or induce conformational changes. These same trends did not hold true for the other palmitoylated peptides evaluated, reinforcing the impacts of unique peptide sequences. Importantly, the presence of benzyl alcohol does increase the physical stability and solubility of the linear, 31 amino acid peptide under salt stress. We report new insights into the physical interactions of peptides with antimicrobial excipients, demonstrating a reversible association phenomenon and highlighting practical implications for formulation design and excipient selection.
Collapse
|
10
|
Staby A, Steensgaard DB, Haselmann KF, Marino JS, Bartholdy C, Videbæk N, Schelde O, Bosch-Traberg H, Spang LT, Asgreen DJ. Influence of Production Process and Scale on Quality of Polypeptide Drugs: a Case Study on GLP-1 Analogs. Pharm Res 2020; 37:120. [DOI: 10.1007/s11095-020-02817-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|