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Rizzo D, Cerofolini L, Pérez-Ràfols A, Giuntini S, Baroni F, Ravera E, Luchinat C, Fragai M. Evaluation of the Higher Order Structure of Biotherapeutics Embedded in Hydrogels for Bioprinting and Drug Release. Anal Chem 2021; 93:11208-11214. [PMID: 34339178 PMCID: PMC8382223 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c01850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Biocompatible hydrogels for tissue regeneration/replacement and drug release with specific architectures can be obtained by three-dimensional bioprinting techniques. The preservation of the higher order structure of the proteins embedded in the hydrogels as drugs or modulators is critical for their biological activity. Solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments are currently used to investigate the higher order structure of biotherapeutics in comparability, similarity, and stability studies. However, the size of pores in the gel, protein-matrix interactions, and the size of the embedded proteins often prevent the use of this methodology. The recent advancements of solid-state NMR allow for the comparison of the higher order structure of the matrix-embedded and free isotopically enriched proteins, allowing for the evaluation of the functionality of the material in several steps of hydrogel development. Moreover, the structural information at atomic detail on the matrix-protein interactions paves the way for a structure-based design of these biomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Domenico Rizzo
- Magnetic
Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence,
and Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche di Metalloproteine
(CIRMMP), Via L. Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
- Department
of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
| | - Linda Cerofolini
- Magnetic
Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence,
and Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche di Metalloproteine
(CIRMMP), Via L. Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
| | - Anna Pérez-Ràfols
- Department
of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
- Giotto
Biotech, S.R.L, Via Madonna
del piano 6, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence 50019, Italy
| | - Stefano Giuntini
- Magnetic
Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence,
and Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche di Metalloproteine
(CIRMMP), Via L. Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
- Department
of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
| | - Fabio Baroni
- Analytical
Development Biotech Department, Merck Serono
S.p.a, Merck KGaA, Guidonia, Rome 00012, Italy
| | - Enrico Ravera
- Magnetic
Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence,
and Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche di Metalloproteine
(CIRMMP), Via L. Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
- Department
of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
| | - Claudio Luchinat
- Magnetic
Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence,
and Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche di Metalloproteine
(CIRMMP), Via L. Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
- Department
of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
| | - Marco Fragai
- Magnetic
Resonance Center (CERM), University of Florence,
and Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche di Metalloproteine
(CIRMMP), Via L. Sacconi 6, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
- Department
of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino 50019, Italy
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Transthyretin-mediated protein and peptide oligomerization for enhanced target clustering. Emerg Top Life Sci 2021; 5:665-668. [PMID: 34282847 DOI: 10.1042/etls20210028] [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: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Advances in cancer research have led to the development of new therapeutics with significant and durable responses such as immune checkpoint inhibitors. More recent therapies aim to stimulate anti-tumor immune responses by targeting the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptors, however this approach has been shown to require clustering of receptors in order to achieve a significant response. Here we present a perspective on using transthyretin, a naturally occurring serum protein, as a drug delivery platform to enable cross-linking independent clustering of targets. TTR forms a stable homo-tetramer with exposed termini that make TTR a highly versatile platform for generating multimeric antibody fusions to enable enhanced target clustering. Fusions with antibodies or Fabs targeting TRAILR2 were shown to have robust cytotoxic activity in vitro and in vivo in colorectal xenograft models demonstrating that TTR is a highly versatile, stable, therapeutic fusion platform that can be used with antibodies, Fabs and other bioactive fusion partners and has broad applications in oncology and infectious disease research.
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