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Bujotzek A, Tiefenthaler G, Lariviere L, D'Andrea L, Marquez EA, Rudloff I, Cho SX, Deen NS, Richter W, Regenass-Lechner F, Poehler A, Whisstock JC, Sydow-Andersen J, Reiser X, Schuster S, Neubauer J, Hoepfl S, Richter K, Nold MF, Nold-Petry CA, Schumacher F, Ellisdon AM. Protein engineering of a stable and potent anti-inflammatory IL-37-Fc fusion with enhanced therapeutic potential. Cell Chem Biol 2021; 29:586-596.e4. [PMID: 34699747 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2021.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Harnessing the immunomodulatory activity of cytokines is a focus of therapies targeting inflammatory disease. The interleukin (IL)-1 superfamily contains pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory members that help orchestrate the immune response in adaptive and innate immunity. Of these molecules, IL-37 has robust anti-inflammatory activity across a range of disease models through inhibition of pro-inflammatory signaling cascades downstream of tumor necrosis factor, IL-1, and toll-like receptor pathways. We find that IL-37 is unstable with a poor pharmacokinetic and manufacturing profile. Here, we present the engineering of IL-37 from an unstable cytokine into an anti-inflammatory molecule with an excellent therapeutic likeness. We overcame these shortcomings through site-directed mutagenesis, the addition of a non-native disulfide bond, and the engineering of IL-37 as an Fc-fusion protein. Our results provide a platform for preclinical testing of IL-37 Fc-fusion proteins. The engineering approaches undertaken herein will apply to the conversion of similar potent yet short-acting cytokines into therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Bujotzek
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Munich, 82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Georg Tiefenthaler
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Munich, 82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Laurent Lariviere
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Munich, 82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Laura D'Andrea
- Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Elsa A Marquez
- Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Ina Rudloff
- Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia; Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia
| | - Steven X Cho
- Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia; Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia
| | - Nadia S Deen
- Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia; Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia
| | - Wolfgang Richter
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Alexander Poehler
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Munich, 82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - James C Whisstock
- Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Jasmin Sydow-Andersen
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Munich, 82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Xaver Reiser
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Munich, 82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Sabine Schuster
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Munich, 82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Jeannette Neubauer
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Munich, 82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Hoepfl
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Munich, 82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Kirsten Richter
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Marcel F Nold
- Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia; Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia; Monash Newborn, Monash Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia
| | - Claudia A Nold-Petry
- Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia; Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia.
| | - Felix Schumacher
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, 4070 Basel, Switzerland.
| | - Andrew M Ellisdon
- Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia.
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Shah V, Kim JR. Transposon for protein engineering. Mob Genet Elements 2016; 6:e1239601. [PMID: 28090378 DOI: 10.1080/2159256x.2016.1239601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2016] [Accepted: 09/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein insertional fusion and circular permutation are 2 promising protein engineering techniques for creating integrated functionalities and sequence diversity of a protein, respectively. Finding insertion locations for protein insertional fusion and new termini for circular permutation through a rational approach is not always straightforward, especially, for proteins without detailed structural knowledge. On the contrary, a combinatorial approach facilitates a comprehensive search to evaluate all potential insertion sites and new termini locations. Conventional methods used to create random insertional fusion libraries generate sub-optimal inter-domain linker length and composition between fused proteins. There are also methods available for construction of random circular permutation libraries. However, these methods too, impose many drawbacks, such as significant sequence modification at the new termini of circular permutants and additionally, require re-design of transposons for tailored expression of circular permutants. Furthermore, these conventional methods employ relatively inefficient blunt-end ligation during library construction. In this commentary, we present a concise overview and key findings of engineered Mu transposons, which have recently been developed in our group as a facile and efficient tool to alleviate limitations realized from conventional methods and to construct high quality libraries for random insertional fusion and random circular permutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vandan Shah
- Othmer-Jacobs Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University , Brooklyn, NY, USA
| | - Jin Ryoun Kim
- Othmer-Jacobs Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University , Brooklyn, NY, USA
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Structure and function of chicken interleukin-1 beta mutants: uncoupling of receptor binding and in vivo biological activity. Sci Rep 2016; 6:27729. [PMID: 27278931 PMCID: PMC4899739 DOI: 10.1038/srep27729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2016] [Accepted: 05/24/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Receptor-binding and subsequent signal-activation of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) are essential to immune and proinflammatory responses. We mutated 12 residues to identify sites important for biological activity and/or receptor binding. Four of these mutants with mutations in loop 9 (T117A, E118K, E118A, E118R) displayed significantly reduced biological activity. Neither T117A nor E118K mutants substantially affected receptor binding, whereas both mutants lack the IL-1β signaling in vitro but can antagonize wild-type (WT) IL-1β. Crystal structures of T117A, E118A, and E118K revealed that the secondary structure or surface charge of loop 9 is dramatically altered compared with that of wild-type chicken IL-1β. Molecular dynamics simulations of IL-1β bound to its receptor (IL-1RI) and receptor accessory protein (IL-1RAcP) revealed that loop 9 lies in a pocket that is formed at the IL-1RI/IL-1RAcP interface. This pocket is also observed in the human ternary structure. The conformations of above mutants in loop 9 may disrupt structural packing and therefore the stability in a chicken IL-1β/IL-1RI/IL-1RAcP signaling complex. We identify the hot spots in IL-1β that are essential to immune responses and elucidate a mechanism by which IL-1β activity can be inhibited. These findings should aid in the development of new therapeutics that neutralize IL-1 activity.
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