Creation of mice expressing human antibody light chains by introduction of a yeast artificial chromosome containing the core region of the human immunoglobulin kappa locus

Development of therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of diseases

It has been more than three decades since the first monoclonal antibody was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) in 1986, and during this time, antibody engineering has dramatically evolved. Current antibody drugs have increasingly fewer adverse effects due to their high specificity. As a result, therapeutic antibodies have become the predominant class of new drugs developed in recent years. Over the past five years, antibodies have become the best-selling drugs in the pharmaceutical market, and in 2018, eight of the top ten bestselling drugs worldwide were biologics. The global therapeutic monoclonal antibody market was valued at approximately US$115.2 billion in 2018 and is expected to generate revenue of $150 billion by the end of 2019 and $300 billion by 2025. Thus, the market for therapeutic antibody drugs has experienced explosive growth as new drugs have been approved for treating various human diseases, including many cancers, autoimmune, metabolic and infectious diseases. As of December 2019, 79 therapeutic mAbs have been approved by the US FDA, but there is still significant growth potential. This review summarizes the latest market trends and outlines the preeminent antibody engineering technologies used in the development of therapeutic antibody drugs, such as humanization of monoclonal antibodies, phage display, the human antibody mouse, single B cell antibody technology, and affinity maturation. Finally, future applications and perspectives are also discussed.

Human antibody production in transgenic animals

Fully human antibodies from transgenic animals account for an increasing number of new therapeutics. After immunization, diverse human monoclonal antibodies of high affinity can be obtained from transgenic rodents, while large animals, such as transchromosomic cattle, have produced respectable amounts of specific human immunoglobulin (Ig) in serum. Several strategies to derive animals expressing human antibody repertoires have been successful. In rodents, gene loci on bacterial artificial chromosomes or yeast artificial chromosomes were integrated by oocyte microinjection or transfection of embryonic stem (ES) cells, while ruminants were derived from manipulated fibroblasts with integrated human chromosome fragments or human artificial chromosomes. In all strains, the endogenous Ig loci have been silenced by gene targeting, either in ES or fibroblast cells, or by zinc finger technology via DNA microinjection; this was essential for optimal production. However, comparisons showed that fully human antibodies were not as efficiently produced as wild-type Ig. This suboptimal performance, with respect to immune response and antibody yield, was attributed to imperfect interaction of the human constant region with endogenous signaling components such as the Igα/β in mouse, rat or cattle. Significant improvements were obtained when the human V-region genes were linked to the endogenous C_H-region, either on large constructs or, separately, by site-specific integration, which could also silence the endogenous Ig locus by gene replacement or inversion. In animals with knocked-out endogenous Ig loci and integrated large IgH loci, containing many human Vs, all D and all J segments linked to endogenous C genes, highly diverse human antibody production similar to normal animals was obtained.

High-affinity IgG antibodies develop naturally in Ig-knockout rats carrying germline human IgH/Igκ/Igλ loci bearing the rat CH region

Mice transgenic for human Ig loci are an invaluable resource for the production of human Abs. However, such mice often do not yield human mAbs as effectively as conventional mice yield mouse mAbs. Suboptimal efficacy in delivery of human Abs might reflect imperfect interaction between the human membrane IgH chains and the mouse cellular signaling machinery. To obviate this problem, in this study we generated a humanized rat strain (OmniRat) carrying a chimeric human/rat IgH locus (comprising 22 human V(H)s, all human D and J(H) segments in natural configuration linked to the rat C(H) locus) together with fully human IgL loci (12 Vκs linked to Jκ-Cκ and 16 Vλs linked to Jλ-Cλ). The endogenous Ig loci were silenced using designer zinc finger nucleases. Breeding to homozygosity resulted in a novel transgenic rat line exclusively producing chimeric Abs with human idiotypes. B cell recovery was indistinguishable from wild-type animals, and human V(D)J transcripts were highly diverse. Following immunization, the OmniRat strain performed as efficiently as did normal rats in yielding high-affinity serum IgG. mAbs, comprising fully human variable regions with subnanomolar Ag affinity and carrying extensive somatic mutations, are readily obtainable, similarly to conventional mAbs from normal rats.

Human monoclonal antibodies from transgenic mice

Since the 1986 regulatory approval of muromonomab-CD3, a mouse monoclonal antibody (MAb) directed against the T cell CD3epsilon antigen, MAbs have become an increasingly important class of therapeutic compounds in a variety of disease areas ranging from cancer and autoimmune indications to infectious and cardiac diseases. However, the pathway to the present acceptance of therapeutic MAbs within the pharmaceutical industry has not been smooth. A major hurdle for antibody therapeutics has been the inherent immunogenicity of the most readily available MAbs, those derived from rodents. A variety of technologies have been successfully employed to engineer MAbs with reduced immunogenicity. Implementation of these antibody engineering technologies involves in vitro optimization of lead molecules to generate a clinical candidate. An alternative technology, involving the engineering of strains of mice to produce human instead of mouse antibodies, has been emerging and evolving for the past two decades. Now, with the 2006 US regulatory approval of panitumumab, a fully human antibody directed against the epidermal growth factor receptor, transgenic mice expressing human antibody repertoires join chimerization, CDR grafting, and phage display technologies, as a commercially validated antibody drug discovery platform. With dozens of additional transgenic mouse-derived human MAbs now in clinical development, this new drug discovery platform appears to be firmly established within the pharmaceutical industry.

The two-domain hypothesis in Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome: autonomous imprinting of the telomeric domain of the distal chromosome 7 cluster

A large cluster of imprinted genes is located on the mouse distal chromosome 7. This cluster is well conserved in humans and its dysregulation results in the overgrowth- and tumour-associated Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. Two imprinting centres (IC1 and IC2) controlling different sets of genes have been identified in the cluster, raising the hypothesis that the cluster is divided into two functionally independent domains. However, the mechanisms by which imprinting of genes in the IC2 domain (e.g. Cdkn1c and Kcnq1) is regulated have not been well defined, and recent evidence indicates that distantly located cis-acting elements are required for IC2 imprinting. We show that the maternal germ-line methylation at IC2 and the imprinted expression of five genes of the IC2 domain are correctly reproduced on an 800 kb YAC transgene when transferred outside of their normal chromosomal context. These results, together with previous transgenic studies, locate key imprinting control elements within a 400 kb region centromeric of IC2 and demonstrate that each of the two domains of the cluster contains the cis-acting elements required for the imprinting control of its own genes. Finally, maternal, but not paternal, transmission of the transgene results in fetal growth restriction, suggesting that during evolution the acquisition of imprinting may have been facilitated by the opposite effects of the two domains on embryo growth.

Size matters: use of YACs, BACs and PACs in transgenic animals

In 1993, several groups, working independently, reported the successful generation of transgenic mice with yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) using standard techniques. The transfer of these large fragments of cloned genomic DNA correlated with optimal expression levels of the transgenes, irrespective of their location in the host genome. Thereafter, other groups confirmed the advantages of YAC transgenesis and position-independent and copy number-dependent transgene expression were demonstrated in most cases. The transfer of YACs to the germ line of mice has become popular in many transgenic facilities to guarantee faithful expression of transgenes. This technique was rapidly exported to livestock and soon transgenic rabbits, pigs and other mammals were produced with YACs. Transgenic animals were also produced with bacterial or P1-derived artificial chromosomes (BACs/PACs) with similar success. The use of YACs, BACs and PACs in transgenesis has allowed the discovery of new genes by complementation of mutations, the identification of key regulatory sequences within genomic loci that are crucial for the proper expression of genes and the design of improved animal models of human genetic diseases. Transgenesis with artificial chromosomes has proven useful in a variety of biological, medical and biotechnological applications and is considered a major breakthrough in the generation of transgenic animals. In this report, we will review the recent history of YAC/BAC/PAC-transgenic animals indicating their benefits and the potential problems associated with them. In this new era of genomics, the generation and analysis of transgenic animals carrying artificial chromosome-type transgenes will be fundamental to functionally identify and understand the role of new genes, included within large pieces of genomes, by direct complementation of mutations or by observation of their phenotypic consequences.

Transgenic farm animals: applications in agriculture and biomedicine

During the last decade, tremendous progress has been made in the area of transgenic farm animals. While there are many important transgenic farm animal applications in agriculture, funding has been very limited and progress has been rather slow in this area. Encouragingly, the potential applications of transgenic farm animals as bioreactors for producing human therapeutic proteins and as organ donors for transplantations in humans have attracted vast funding from the private sectors. Several transgenic animal products are already in various phases of clinical trials. Estimates are, that in the near future, the worlds demands on human pharmaceutical proteins may largely be met by transgenic farm animals. While there are still major challenges ahead in the area of xenotransplantation using transgenic animal organs, transgenic tissues or cells have demonstrated promising results as a potential tool for gene therapy. Recent development on cloning, embryonic stem cells and alternative transgenic methods may further expand the transgenic applications in both agriculture and biomedicine.

Production and selection of antigen-specific fully human monoclonal antibodies from mice engineered with human Ig loci

The ability to produce highly specific fully human monoclonal antibodies to human antigens has potential significant applications to human therapy. This review describes the creation of novel mouse strains engineered to produce a diverse repertoire of fully human antibodies in the absence of mouse antibodies. These mouse strains have been generated by introducing megabase-sized human immunoglobulin loci, containing the majority of the human antibody gene repertoire, in nearly germline configuration, into mice deficient in mouse antibody production. The mice produce high levels of human IgMkappa and IgGkappa antibodies with a diverse adult-like repertoire. Upon immunization with multiple human antigens the mice generate high affinity, antigen-specific fully human monoclonal antibodies with neutralization activity. Comparison of these mice to other strains containing limited human antibody gene repertoire underscores the importance of the large number of variable genes for faithful reproduction of functional and diverse human antibody response in mice.

Exploring gene function: use of yeast artificial chromosome transgenesis

Transgenesis is a very powerful tool in functional analysis of proteins and control of gene expression. One of the main drawbacks has been the low levels of expression, lack of tissue specificity, and inappropriate expression frequently observed for transgenes made with small plasmid-based constructs. The use of much larger DNA fragments cloned in yeast artificial clones (YACs), bacterial artificial clones, or P1-based artificial clones has been found to give much better levels of expression, generally very close to that of an endogenous gene, and tissue-specific expression matching that of the endogenous gene. In addition, the large DNA can easily be subtly modified by homologous recombination. This article describes the background and methods of YAC transgenesis.

Production of human antibody repertoires in transgenic mice

Transgenic mice have been created that carry human immunoglobulin heavy and light chain genes in germline configuration and that have the corresponding endogenous genes silenced. The transgenes are either minigene constructs or large, almost authentic, transloci on yeast artificial chromosomes and undergo B-cell-specific DNA rearrangement and hypermutation in the mouse lymphoid tissue. Monoclonal antibodies with good affinities for human antigens have been obtained after immunisation. These mice may be a future source of human antibodies for therapy.

The human immunoglobulin kappa locus on yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs)

The human immunoglobulin kappa locus is a duplicated structure. Contigs of 600 kb with 40 Vkappa genes and 440 kb with 36 Vkappa genes had been established for the Ckappa proximal (p) and distal (d) copies, respectively. In addition the human genome contains more than 24 dispersed Vkappa genes, called orphons. In the present study, 22 kappa-locus derived YACs were analyzed in detail, while 30 orphon-derived YACs were characterized only with respect to some parameters. The kappa-locus derived YACs allowed three gaps to be closed which previously could not be bridged by cosmid and phage lambda cloning. At the 5' side, the p contig was extended in the YACs by 50 kb and the d contig by 16 kb. At the 3'side, the d contig was extended by 11.5 kb. Beyond the 3' end of the d contig a new Vkappa gene was found, which is located, according to pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) experiments, at a distance of at least 140 kb from the last Vkappa gene of the contig. This Vkappa gene, which was termed Z0, occurred on three YACs, albeit at distances smaller than 140 kb; this was probably due to deletions in the YACs caused by abundant repetitive sequences at the borders of the locus. According to its sequence and to the restriction map of its surroundings, Z0 is an orphon gene of the so-called Z family, of which several members are known to be dispersed throughout the genome. The possibility that Z0 has been the parent of the other Z orphons is discussed.

Production of transgenic mice with yeast artificial chromosomes

Techniques are now available that allow the transfer of intact yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) DNA into transgenic mice. Coupled with the ability to perform mutagenesis on YAC sequences by homologous recombination in yeast, they enable the analysis of large genes or multigenic loci in vivo. This system has been used to study the developmental regulation of the human beta-globin locus.

Strategies for expressing human antibody repertoires in transgenic mice

Repertoires of human antibodies can be created in transgenic mice carrying human immunoglobulin-gene loci in germline configuration. These 'transloci', introduced either as miniloci or as almost locus-sized regions, undergo rearrangement and hypermutation in mouse lymphoid tissue. Here, Marianne Brüggemann and Michael Neuberger review the use of such mice for raising antigen-specific human monoclonal antibodies, as well as their exploitation for studying regulatory aspects of antibody repertoire formation.

YAC transgenics and the study of genetics and human disease

Advances in yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) technologies over the past decade have enabled the precise identification and manipulation of large genomic regions (>100 kb) of DNA. Introduction of YACs into the mouse germline has now been accomplished through transfection of mouse embryonic stem cells as well as through pronuclear microinjection, allowing the efficient transfer defined genomic loci into mice. YAC transgenics will have a profound impact on the development of transgenic mice as bioreactors and as models of human disease, and on the functional analysis of higher order genomic structure.

Analysis of the structural integrity of YACs comprising human immunoglobulin genes in yeast and in embryonic stem cells

With the goal of creating a strain of mice capable of producing human antibodies, we are cloning and reconstructing the human immunoglobulin germline repertoire in yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs). We describe the identification of YACs containing variable and constant region sequences from the human heavy chain (IgH) and kappa light chain (IgK) loci and the characterization of their integrity in yeast and in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. The IgH locus-derived YAC contains five variable (VH) genes, the major diversity (D) gene cluster, the joining (JH) genes, the intronic enhancer (EH), and the constant region genes, mu (C mu) and delta (C delta). Two IgK locus-derived YACs each contain three variable (V kappa) genes, the joining (J kappa) region, the intronic enhancer (E kappa), the constant gene (C kappa), and the kappa deleting element (kde). The IgH YAC was unstable in yeast, generating a variety of deletion derivatives, whereas both IgK YACs were stable. YACs encoding heavy chain and kappa light chain, retrofitted with the mammalian selectable marker, hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT), were each introduced into HPRT-deficient mouse ES cells. Analysis of YAC integrity in ES cell lines revealed that the majority of DNA inserts were integrated in substantially intact form.

Human antibodies from transgenic mice

We have used homologous recombination in ES cells to engineer B cell-deficient mice that are incapable of expressing endogenous immunoglobulin heavy and kappa light chain genes. We find that B cell development in these mutant mice can be rescued by the introduction of human germline-configuration heavy- and kappa light-chain minilocus transgenes. The transgenes rearrange during B cell differentiation, and subsequently undergo class switching and somatic mutation in response to antigen stimulation; thus recapitulating both stages of the humoral immune response using human, rather than mouse, sequences. The mice can be immunized; and human sequence, antigen specific, monoclonal antibodies can be obtained using conventional rodent hybridoma technology. These animals are also of interest for studying the normal processes of immunoglobulin gene expression. We discuss the example of heavy chain class switching, which has not been previously observed within an autonomous transgene.

YAC vectors. Humanizing the mouse genome

The ability to replace mouse genes with their human equivalents using "yeast artificial chromosome" technology provides a powerful new technique for studying the regulation and function of human genes.

Production of pharmaceutical proteins from transgenic animals

Different systems are being studied and used to prepare recombinant proteins for pharmaceutical use. The blood, and still more the milk, from transgenic animals appear a very attractive source of pharmaceuticals. The cells from these animals are expected to produce well-matured proteins in potentially huge amounts. Several problems remain before this process becomes used in a large scale. Gene transfer remains a difficult and costly task for farm animals. The vectors carrying the genes coding for the proteins of interest are of unpredictable efficiency. Improvement of these vectors includes the choice of efficient promoters, introns and transcription terminators, the addition of matrix attached regions (MAR) and specialized chromatin sequences (SCS) to enhance the expression of the transgenes and to insulate them from the chromatin environment. Mice are routinely used to evaluate the gene constructs to be transferred into larger animals. Mice can also be utilized to prepare amounts as high as a few hundred mg of recombinant proteins from their milk. Rabbit appears adequate for amounts not higher than 1 kg per year. For larger quantities, goat, sheep, pig and cow are required. No recombinant proteins extracted from the blood or milk of transgenic animals are yet on the market. The relatively slow but real progress to improving the efficiency of this process inclines to be reasonably optimistic. Predictive reports suggest that 10% of the recombinant proteins, corresponding to a 100 million dollars annual market, will be prepared from the milk of transgenic animals by the end of the century.

Antibodies generated from human immunoglobulin miniloci in transgenic mice

One approach to the production of human monoclonal antibodies focusses on the creation of transgenic mice bearing human immunoglobulin gene miniloci. Whilst such loci undergo lymphoid-specific gene rearrangement, only a small proportion of mouse B cells express the human immunoglobulin chains; the miniloci thus contribute poorly to serum immunoglobulin. Attributing this poor performance to competition between the transgenic and endogenous immunoglobulin loci, we crossed mice bearing a human immunoglobulin heavy-chain (HulgH) minilocus with animals that had been rendered B cell-deficient by disruption of their endogenous heavy-chain locus. The results were dramatic: the human minilocus rescued B cell differentiation such that effectively all B cells now expressed human mu chains. The concentration of antibody in the mouse serum recognised by anti-human mu increased to a concentration about one sixth that in human serum. The HulgH antibodies are heterogenous with diversity being generated by both combinatorial and junctional processes. Following antigen challenge, specific antibody is elicited but at low titre.