Cloning, sequencing and expression of immunoglobulin variable regions of murine monoclonal antibodies specific for the P1.7 and P1.16 PorA protein loops of Neisseria meningitidis

A simplified workflow for monoclonal antibody sequencing

The diversity of antibody variable regions makes cDNA sequencing challenging, and conventional monoclonal antibody cDNA amplification requires the use of degenerate primers. Here, we describe a simplified workflow for amplification of IgG antibody variable regions from hybridoma RNA by a specialized RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. We perform three separate reactions for each hybridoma: one each for kappa, lambda, and heavy chain transcripts. We prime reverse transcription with a primer specific to the respective constant region and use a template-switch oligonucleotide, which creates a custom sequence at the 5’ end of the antibody cDNA. This template-switching circumvents the issue of low sequence homology and the need for degenerate primers. Instead, subsequent PCR amplification of the antibody cDNA molecules requires only two primers: one primer specific for the template-switch oligonucleotide sequence and a nested primer to the respective constant region. We successfully sequenced the variable regions of five mouse monoclonal IgG antibodies using this method, which enabled us to design chimeric mouse/human antibody expression plasmids for recombinant antibody production in mammalian cell culture expression systems. All five recombinant antibodies bind their respective antigens with high affinity, confirming that the amino acid sequences determined by our method are correct and demonstrating the high success rate of our method. Furthermore, we also designed RT-PCR primers and amplified the variable regions from RNA of cells transfected with chimeric mouse/human antibody expression plasmids, showing that our approach is also applicable to IgG antibodies of human origin. Our monoclonal antibody sequencing method is highly accurate, user-friendly, and very cost-effective.

Human IgG1, IgG3, and IgG3 Hinge-Truncated Mutants Show Different Protection Capabilities against Meningococci Depending on the Target Antigen and Epitope Specificity

We compared the bactericidal activity of recombinant sets of chimeric IgG monoclonal antibodies against two important outer membrane meningococcal vaccine antigens: PorA and factor H binding protein (FHbp). The sets contained human Fc portions from IgG1, IgG3, and two IgG3 mutants (IgG3m15 and IgGm17) with hinge regions of 15 and 17 amino acids encoded by hinge exons h2 and h1, respectively (human IgG3 has a hinge region of 62 amino acids encoded by hinge exons h1, h2, h3, and h4, while human IgG1 has a hinge region of only 15 amino acids encoded by one hinge exon) and mouse V regions. IgG1 showed higher bactericidal activity than IgG3 when directed against PorA (an abundant antigen), while IgG3 was more bactericidal than IgG1 when directed against FHbp (a sparsely and variably distributed antigen). On the other hand, the IgG3 hinge-truncated antibodies IgG3m15 and IgGm17 showed higher bactericidal activity than both IgG1 and IgG3 regardless of the target antigen. Thus, the Fc region of IgG3 antibodies appears to have an enhanced complement-activating function, independent of their long hinge region, compared to IgG1 antibodies. The greater activity of the truncated IgG3 hinge mutants indicates that the long hinge of IgG3 seems to downregulate through an unknown mechanism the inherent increased complement-activating capability of IgG3 Fc when the antibody binds to a sparse antigen.

The human IgE-encoding transcriptome to assess antibody repertoires and repertoire evolution

Upon encounter with antigen, the B lymphocyte population responds by producing a diverse set of antigen-specific antibodies of various isotypes. The vast size of the responding populations makes it very difficult to study clonal evolution and repertoire composition occurring during these processes in humans. Here, we have explored an approach utilizing the H-EPSILON-encoding transcriptome to investigate aspects of repertoire diversity during the season of antigen exposure. We show through sequencing of randomly picked transcripts that the sizes of patients' repertoires are relatively small. This specific aspect of the transcriptome allows us to construct evolutionary trees pinpointing features of somatic hypermutation as it occurs in humans. Despite the small size of the repertoires, they are highly diverse with respect to VDJ gene usage, suggesting that the H-EPSILON-encoding transcriptome is a faithful mimic of other class-switched isotypes. Importantly, it is possible to use antibody library and selection technologies to define the specificity of clonotypes identified by random sequencing. The small size of the H-EPSILON-encoding transcriptome of peripheral blood B cells, the simple identification of clonally related sets of genes in this population, and the power of library and selection technologies ensure that this approach will allow us to investigate antibody evolution in human B lymphocytes of known specificity. As H-EPSILON repertoires show many of the hallmarks of repertoires encoding other isotypes, we suggest that studies of this type will have an impact on our understanding of human antibody evolution even beyond that occurring in the IgE-producing B cell population.

Direct isolation of recombinant human antibodies against group B Neisseria meningitidis from scFv expression libraries

The successful generation of human antibodies from large nai;ve antibody libraries requires iterative selection steps. Here, we describe a new and fast method for the isolation of high affinity antibodies directly from human single chain Fv antibody (scFv) expression libraries. Escherichia coli scFv expression libraries were made from peripheral blood lymphocytes from four individuals vaccinated with group B Neisseria meningitidis outer membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccine. Forty thousand clones were directly screened for antibodies binding N. meningitidis strain 44/76 (B:15:P1.7,16). Of 430 specific clones detected, 225 candidates were isolated and re-screened against the N. meningitidis strains NZ-98/254 (B:4:P1.7b,4) giving 4% cross-reactive clones. Antibodies were further characterized by DNA sequencing, ELISA and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis, showing broad V-gene diversity and nanomolar scFv affinities. Antibodies derived by this method may assist in the discovery and development of new vaccine antigens as well as therapeutic antibody agents for the treatment of meningococcal diseases.

Construction and functional activities of chimeric mouse-human immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M antibodies against the Neisseria meningitidis PorA P1.7 and P1.16 epitopes

We studied the in vitro protective activities of human immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1), IgG3, and IgM antibodies against group B meningococci by constructing sets of chimeric mouse-human antibodies (chIgG1, chIgG3, and chIgM, respectively) with identical binding regions against the P1.7 and P1.16 epitopes on PorA. This was done by cloning the V genes of three mouse hybridoma antibodies and subsequently transfecting vectors containing the homologous heavy- and light-chain genes into NSO cells. Cell clones secreting intact human chIgG1, chIgG3, or chIgM antibodies originating from three parent mouse antibodies were isolated. The functional affinities appeared to be similar for all human isotypes and surprisingly also for the pentameric chIgM antibody. chIgG1 exhibited greater serum bactericidal activity (SBA) than chIgG3, while chIgG3 was more efficient in inducing a respiratory burst (RB) associated with opsonophagocytosis than chIgG1 was. On the other hand, chIgM exhibited SBA similar to that of chIgG1, but it exhibited much higher RB activity than chIgG3 and chIgG1 exhibited. The antibodies against the P1.16 epitope were more efficient in terms of SBA than the antibodies against the P1.7 epitope were; thus, 10- to 40-fold-lower concentrations of antibodies against P1.16 than of antibodies against P1.7 were needed to induce SBA. On the other hand, antibodies against these epitopes were equally effective in inducing RB. Our results revealed differences in the functional activities of human chIgG1, chIgG3, and chIgM antibodies against meningococci, which might influence their protective effects against meningococcal disease.