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Leimu L, Holm P, Gąciarz A, Haavisto O, Prince S, Pesonen U, Huovinen T, Lamminmäki U. Epitope-specific antibody fragments block aggregation of AGelD187N, an aberrant peptide in gelsolin amyloidosis. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:107507. [PMID: 38944121 PMCID: PMC11298591 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2024] [Revised: 06/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Aggregation of aberrant fragment of plasma gelsolin, AGelD187N, is a crucial event underlying the pathophysiology of Finnish gelsolin amyloidosis, an inherited form of systemic amyloidosis. The amyloidogenic gelsolin fragment AGelD187N does not play any physiological role in the body, unlike most aggregating proteins related to other protein misfolding diseases. However, no therapeutic agents that specifically and effectively target and neutralize AGelD187N exist. We used phage display technology to identify novel single-chain variable fragments that bind to different epitopes in the monomeric AGelD187N that were further maturated by variable domain shuffling and converted to antigen-binding fragment (Fab) antibodies. The generated antibody fragments had nanomolar binding affinity for full-length AGelD187N, as evaluated by biolayer interferometry. Importantly, all four Fabs selected for functional studies efficiently inhibited the amyloid formation of full-length AGelD187N as examined by thioflavin fluorescence assay and transmission electron microscopy. Two Fabs, neither of which bound to the previously proposed fibril-forming region of AGelD187N, completely blocked the amyloid formation of AGelD187N. Moreover, no small soluble aggregates, which are considered pathogenic species in protein misfolding diseases, were formed after successful inhibition of amyloid formation by the most promising aggregation inhibitor, as investigated by size-exclusion chromatography combined with multiangle light scattering. We conclude that all regions of the full-length AGelD187N are important in modulating its assembly into fibrils and that the discovered epitope-specific anti-AGelD187N antibody fragments provide a promising starting point for a disease-modifying therapy for gelsolin amyloidosis, which is currently lacking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Leimu
- R&D, Orion Pharma, Orion Corporation, Turku, Finland; Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
| | - Patrik Holm
- R&D, Orion Pharma, Orion Corporation, Turku, Finland; Department of Life Technologies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Organon R&D Finland, Turku, Finland
| | - Anna Gąciarz
- R&D, Orion Pharma, Orion Corporation, Turku, Finland; Mobidiag, A Hologic Company, Espoo, Finland
| | - Oskar Haavisto
- Department of Life Technologies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Stuart Prince
- R&D, Orion Pharma, Orion Corporation, Turku, Finland; MediCity Research Laboratory, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Ullamari Pesonen
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Tuomas Huovinen
- Department of Life Technologies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Urpo Lamminmäki
- Department of Life Technologies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
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2
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Pinzi L, Bisi N, Sorbi C, Franchini S, Tonali N, Rastelli G. Insights into the Structural Conformations of the Tau Protein in Different Aggregation Status. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28114544. [PMID: 37299020 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28114544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Tau is a protein characterized by large structural portions displaying extended conformational changes. Unfortunately, the accumulation of this protein into toxic aggregates in neuronal cells leads to a number of severe pathologies, collectively named tauopathies. In the last decade, significant research advancements were achieved, including a better understanding of Tau structures and their implication in different tauopathies. Interestingly, Tau is characterized by a high structural variability depending on the type of disease, the crystallization conditions, and the formation of pathologic aggregates obtained from in vitro versus ex vivo samples. In this review, we reported an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of Tau structures reported in the Protein Data Bank, with a special focus on discussing the connections between structural features, different tauopathies, different crystallization conditions, and the use of in vitro or ex vivo samples. The information reported in this article highlights very interesting links between all these aspects, which we believe may be of particular relevance for a more informed structure-based design of compounds able to modulate Tau aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Pinzi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giuseppe Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Nicolò Bisi
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Paris-Saclay, BioCIS, Bat. Henri Moissan, 17 Av. des Sciences, 91400 Orsay, France
| | - Claudia Sorbi
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giuseppe Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Silvia Franchini
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giuseppe Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Nicolò Tonali
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Paris-Saclay, BioCIS, Bat. Henri Moissan, 17 Av. des Sciences, 91400 Orsay, France
| | - Giulio Rastelli
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giuseppe Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy
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3
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Bajracharya R, Cruz E, Götz J, Nisbet RM. Ultrasound-mediated delivery of novel tau-specific monoclonal antibody enhances brain uptake but not therapeutic efficacy. J Control Release 2022; 349:634-648. [PMID: 35901857 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2022.07.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 07/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Tau-specific immunotherapy is an attractive strategy for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies. However, effectively targeting tau in the brain remains a considerable challenge due to the restrictive nature of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which excludes an estimated >99% of peripherally administered antibodies. However, their transport across the BBB can be facilitated by a novel modality, low-intensity scanning ultrasound used in combination with intravenously injected microbubbles (SUS+MB). We have previously shown that SUS+MB-mediated delivery of a tau-specific antibody in a single-chain (scFv) format to tau transgenic mice enhanced brain and neuronal uptake and subsequently, reduced tau pathology and improved behavioural outcomes to a larger extent than either scFv or SUS+MB on its own. Here we generated a novel tau-specific monoclonal antibody, RNF5, and validated it in its IgG format in the presence or absence of SUS+MB by treating K369I tau transgenic K3 mice once weekly for 12 weeks. We found that both RNF5 and SUS+MB treatments on their own significantly reduced tau pathology. In the combination group (RNF5 + SUS+MB), however, despite increased antibody localization in the brain, there were no further reductions in tau pathology when compared to RNF5 treatment alone. Furthermore, following SUS+MB, RNF5 accumulated heavily within cells across the pyramidal cell layer of the hippocampus, that were negative for MAP2 and p-tau, suggesting that SUS+MB may not facilitate enhanced RNF5 engagement of intraneuronal tau. Overall, our new findings reveal the complexities of combining tau immunotherapy with SUS+MB and challenge the view that this is a straight-forward approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rinie Bajracharya
- Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research, Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Esteban Cruz
- Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research, Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jürgen Götz
- Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research, Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia.
| | - Rebecca M Nisbet
- Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research, Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia; Melbourne Dementia Research Centre, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia.
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4
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Quint WH, Matečko-Burmann I, Schilcher I, Löffler T, Schöll M, Burmann BM, Vogels T. Bispecific Tau Antibodies with Additional Binding to C1q or Alpha-Synuclein. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 80:813-829. [PMID: 33579845 DOI: 10.3233/jad-201334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies are neurodegenerative disorders characterized by cellular accumulation of aggregated tau protein. Tau pathology within these disorders is accompanied by chronic neuroinflammation, such as activation of the classical complement pathway by complement initiation factor C1q. Additionally, about half of the AD cases present with inclusions composed of aggregated alpha-synuclein called Lewy bodies. Lewy bodies in disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia also frequently occur together with tau pathology. OBJECTIVE Immunotherapy is currently the most promising treatment strategy for tauopathies. However, the presence of multiple pathological processes within tauopathies makes it desirable to simultaneously target more than one disease pathway. METHODS Herein, we have developed three bispecific antibodies based on published antibody binding region sequences. One bispecific antibody binds to tau plus alpha-synuclein and two bispecific antibodies bind to tau plus C1q. RESULTS Affinity of the bispecific antibodies to their targets compared to their monospecific counterparts ranged from nearly identical to one order of magnitude lower. All bispecific antibodies retained binding to aggregated protein in patient-derived brain sections. The bispecific antibodies also retained their ability to inhibit aggregation of recombinant tau, regardless of whether the tau binding sites were in IgG or scFv format. Mono- and bispecific antibodies inhibited cellular seeding induced by AD-derived pathological tau with similar efficacy. Finally, both Tau-C1q bispecific antibodies completely inhibited the classical complement pathway. CONCLUSION Bispecific antibodies that bind to multiple pathological targets may therefore present a promising approach to treat tauopathies and other neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Irena Matečko-Burmann
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | | | - Tina Löffler
- QPS Austria GmbH, Neuropharmacology, Grambach, Austria
| | - Michael Schöll
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Björn Marcus Burmann
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Thomas Vogels
- Maptimmune BV, The Hague, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
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Kasho K, Krasauskas L, Smirnovas V, Stojkovič G, Morozova-Roche LA, Wanrooij S. Human Polymerase δ-Interacting Protein 2 (PolDIP2) Inhibits the Formation of Human Tau Oligomers and Fibrils. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22115768. [PMID: 34071254 PMCID: PMC8199196 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22115768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A central characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other tauopathies is the accumulation of aggregated and misfolded Tau deposits in the brain. Tau-targeting therapies for AD have been unsuccessful in patients to date. Here we show that human polymerase δ-interacting protein 2 (PolDIP2) interacts with Tau. With a set of complementary methods, including thioflavin-T-based aggregation kinetic assays, Tau oligomer-specific dot-blot analysis, and single oligomer/fibril analysis by atomic force microscopy, we demonstrate that PolDIP2 inhibits Tau aggregation and amyloid fibril growth in vitro. The identification of PolDIP2 as a potential regulator of cellular Tau aggregation should be considered for future Tau-targeting therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazutoshi Kasho
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University, 90 187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Lukas Krasauskas
- Life Sciences Center, Institute of Biotechnology, Vilnius University, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Vytautas Smirnovas
- Life Sciences Center, Institute of Biotechnology, Vilnius University, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Gorazd Stojkovič
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University, 90 187 Umeå, Sweden
| | | | - Sjoerd Wanrooij
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University, 90 187 Umeå, Sweden
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6
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Zilkova M, Nolle A, Kovacech B, Kontsekova E, Weisova P, Filipcik P, Skrabana R, Prcina M, Hromadka T, Cehlar O, Rolkova GP, Maderova D, Novak M, Zilka N, Hoozemans JJM. Humanized tau antibodies promote tau uptake by human microglia without any increase of inflammation. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2020; 8:74. [PMID: 32471486 PMCID: PMC7257136 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-020-00948-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapies targeting pathological tau have recently emerged as a promising approach for treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. We have previously showed that the mouse antibody DC8E8 discriminates between healthy and pathological tau, reduces tau pathology in murine tauopathy models and inhibits neuronal internalization of AD tau species in vitro. Here we show, that DC8E8 and antibodies elicited against the first-in-man tau vaccine, AADvac1, which is based on the DC8E8 epitope peptide, both promote uptake of pathological tau by mouse primary microglia. IgG1 and IgG4 isotypes of AX004, the humanized versions of DC8E8, accelerate tau uptake by human primary microglia isolated from post-mortem aged and diseased brains. This promoting activity requires the presence of the Fc-domain of the antibodies. The IgG1 isotype of AX004 showed greater ability to promote tau uptake compared to the IgG4 isotype, while none of the antibody-tau complexes provoked increased pro-inflammatory activity of microglia. Our data suggest that IgG1 has better suitability for therapeutic development.
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7
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Verelst J, Geukens N, Eddarkaoui S, Vliegen D, De Smidt E, Rosseels J, Franssens V, Molenberghs S, Francois C, Stoops E, Bjerke M, Engelborghs S, Laghmouchi M, Carmans S, Buée L, Vanmechelen E, Winderickx J, Thomas D. A Novel Tau Antibody Detecting the First Amino-Terminal Insert Reveals Conformational Differences Among Tau Isoforms. Front Mol Biosci 2020; 7:48. [PMID: 32296712 PMCID: PMC7136581 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2020.00048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
As human Tau undergoes pathologically relevant post-translational modifications when expressed in yeast, the use of humanized yeast models for the generation of novel Tau monoclonal antibodies has previously been proven to be successful. In this study, human Tau2N4R-ΔK280 purified from yeast was used for the immunization of mice and subsequent selection of high affinity Tau-specific monoclonal antibodies. The characterization of four novel antibodies in different Tau model systems yielded a phosphorylation-dependent antibody (15A10), an antibody directed to the first microtubule-binding repeat domain (16B12), a carboxy-terminal antibody (20G10) and an antibody targeting an epitope on the hinge of the first and second amino-terminal insert (18F12). The latter was found to be conformation-dependent, suggesting structural differences between the Tau splicing isoforms and allowing insight in the roles played by the amino-terminal inserts. As this monoclonal antibody also has the capacity to detect tangle-like structures in different transgenic Tau mice and neurofibrillary tangles in brain sections of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, we also tested the diagnostic potential of 18F12 in a pilot study and found this monoclonal antibody to have the ability to discriminate Alzheimer's disease patients from control individuals based on increased Tau levels in the cerebrospinal fluid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joke Verelst
- Functional Biology, KU Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium
| | | | - Sabiha Eddarkaoui
- Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU-Lille, UMRS1172, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, LabEx DISTALZ, Alzheimer & Tauopathies, Lille, France
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Maria Bjerke
- Reference Center for Biological Markers of Dementia (BIODEM), Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.,Department of Neurology and Center for Neurosciences, UZ Brussel and Vrije Universtieit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sebastiaan Engelborghs
- Reference Center for Biological Markers of Dementia (BIODEM), Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.,Department of Neurology and Center for Neurosciences, UZ Brussel and Vrije Universtieit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | | | | | - Luc Buée
- Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU-Lille, UMRS1172, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, LabEx DISTALZ, Alzheimer & Tauopathies, Lille, France
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8
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Vogels T, Murgoci AN, Hromádka T. Intersection of pathological tau and microglia at the synapse. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2019; 7:109. [PMID: 31277708 PMCID: PMC6612163 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-019-0754-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Tauopathies are a heterogenous class of diseases characterized by cellular accumulation of aggregated tau and include diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), progressive supranuclear palsy and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Tau pathology is strongly linked to neurodegeneration and clinical symptoms in tauopathy patients. Furthermore, synapse loss is an early pathological event in tauopathies and is the strongest correlate of cognitive decline. Tau pathology is additionally associated with chronic neuroinflammatory processes, such as reactive microglia, astrocytes, and increased levels of pro-inflammatory molecules (e.g. complement proteins, cytokines). Recent studies show that as the principal immune cells of the brain, microglia play a particularly important role in the initiation and progression of tau pathology and associated neurodegeneration. Furthermore, AD risk genes such as Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) and Apolipoprotein E (APOE) are enriched in the innate immune system and modulate the neuroinflammatory response of microglia to tau pathology. Microglia can play an active role in synaptic dysfunction by abnormally phagocytosing synaptic compartments of neurons with tau pathology. Furthermore, microglia are involved in synaptic spreading of tau – a process which is thought to underlie the progressive nature of tau pathology propagation through the brain. Spreading of pathological tau is also the predominant target for tau-based immunotherapy. Active tau vaccines, therapeutic tau antibodies and other approaches targeting the immune system are actively explored as treatment options for AD and other tauopathies. This review describes the role of microglia in the pathobiology of tauopathies and the mechanism of action of potential therapeutics targeting the immune system in tauopathies.
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9
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Li X, Koudstaal W, Fletcher L, Costa M, van Winsen M, Siregar B, Inganäs H, Kim J, Keogh E, Macedo J, Holland T, Perry S, Bard F, Hoozemans JJ, Goudsmit J, Apetri A, Pascual G. Naturally occurring antibodies isolated from PD patients inhibit synuclein seeding in vitro and recognize Lewy pathology. Acta Neuropathol 2019; 137:825-836. [PMID: 30805666 PMCID: PMC6482120 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-019-01974-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2019] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Deposition of α-synuclein into Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites is the hallmark of Parkinson’s disease (PD). It is hypothesized that α-synuclein pathology spreads by a “prion-like” mechanism (i.e., by seeded aggregation or templated misfolding). Therefore, various extracellular α-synuclein conformers and/or posttranslational modifications may serve as biomarkers of disease or potential targets for novel interventions. To explore whether the antibody repertoires of PD patients contain anti-α-synuclein antibodies that can potentially be used as markers or immunotherapy, we interrogated peripheral IgG+ memory B cells from PD patients for reactivity to α-synuclein. In total, ten somatically mutated antibodies were recovered, suggesting the presence of an ongoing antigen-driven immune response. The three antibodies that had the highest affinity to recombinant full-length α-synuclein, aSyn-323.1, aSyn-336.1 and aSyn-338.1, were characterized further and shown to recognize epitopes in the C terminus of α-synuclein with binding affinities between 0.3 and 2.8 μM. Furthermore, all three antibodies were able to neutralize the “seeding” of intracellular synuclein aggregates in an in vitro α-synuclein seeding assay. Finally, differential reactivities were observed for all three human anti-α-synuclein antibodies across tissue treatment conditions by immunohistochemistry. Our results suggest that the memory B-cell repertoire of PD patients might represent a potential source of biomarkers and therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyi Li
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121 USA
| | - Wouter Koudstaal
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Archimedesweg 6, 2333 CN Leiden, The Netherlands
- Present Address: Lucidity Biomedical Consulting, Calle Emir 11, 18006 Granada, Spain
| | - Lauren Fletcher
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121 USA
| | - Martha Costa
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121 USA
| | - Margot van Winsen
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Archimedesweg 6, 2333 CN Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Berdien Siregar
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Archimedesweg 6, 2333 CN Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Hanna Inganäs
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Archimedesweg 6, 2333 CN Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Julie Kim
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121 USA
| | - Elissa Keogh
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121 USA
| | - Jeremy Macedo
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121 USA
| | - Trevin Holland
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121 USA
| | - Stuart Perry
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121 USA
| | - Frederique Bard
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121 USA
| | - Jeroen J. Hoozemans
- Department of Pathology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jaap Goudsmit
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Archimedesweg 6, 2333 CN Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 USA
- Department of Neurology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Academic Medical Center, Meidreefberg 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Adrian Apetri
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Archimedesweg 6, 2333 CN Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Gabriel Pascual
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121 USA
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10
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Zhang H, Zhu X, Pascual G, Wadia JS, Keogh E, Hoozemans JJ, Siregar B, Inganäs H, Stoop EJM, Goudsmit J, Apetri A, Koudstaal W, Wilson IA. Structural Basis for Recognition of a Unique Epitope by a Human Anti-tau Antibody. Structure 2018; 26:1626-1634.e4. [PMID: 30318466 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2018.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2018] [Revised: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Aggregation of the hyperphosphorylated protein tau into neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads is a hallmark of Alzheimer disease (AD). Identification and characterization of the epitopes recognized by anti-tau antibodies might shed light on the molecular mechanisms of AD pathogenesis. Here we report on the biochemical and structural characterization of a tau-specific monoclonal antibody CBTAU-24.1, which was isolated from the human memory B cell repertoire. Immunohistochemical staining with CBTAU-24.1 specifically detects pathological tau structures in AD brain samples. The crystal structure of CBTAU-24.1 Fab with a phosphorylated tau peptide revealed recognition of a unique epitope (Ser235-Leu243) in the tau proline-rich domain. Interestingly, the antibody can bind tau regardless of phosphorylation state of its epitope region and also recognizes both monomeric and paired helical filament tau irrespective of phosphorylation status. This human anti-tau antibody and its unique epitope may aid in development of diagnostics and/or therapeutic AD strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heng Zhang
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Xueyong Zhu
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Gabriel Pascual
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | - Jehangir S Wadia
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | - Elissa Keogh
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121, USA
| | - Jeroen J Hoozemans
- Department of Pathology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, VU University Medical Center, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Berdien Siregar
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Archimedesweg 6, 2333 CN Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Hanna Inganäs
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Archimedesweg 6, 2333 CN Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Esther J M Stoop
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Archimedesweg 6, 2333 CN Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Jaap Goudsmit
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Archimedesweg 6, 2333 CN Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Neurology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Academic Medical Center, Meidreefberg 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Adrian Apetri
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Archimedesweg 6, 2333 CN Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Wouter Koudstaal
- Janssen Prevention Center, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Archimedesweg 6, 2333 CN Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Ian A Wilson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
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van Ameijde J, Crespo R, Janson R, Juraszek J, Siregar B, Verveen H, Sprengers I, Nahar T, Hoozemans JJ, Steinbacher S, Willems R, Delbroek L, Borgers M, Dockx K, Van Kolen K, Mercken M, Pascual G, Koudstaal W, Apetri A. Enhancement of therapeutic potential of a naturally occurring human antibody targeting a phosphorylated Ser 422 containing epitope on pathological tau. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2018; 6:59. [PMID: 30001207 PMCID: PMC6042391 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-018-0562-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Aggregation of tau protein and spreading of tau aggregates are pivotal pathological processes in a range of neurological disorders. Accumulating evidence suggests that immunotherapy targeting tau may be a viable therapeutic strategy. We have previously described the isolation of antibody CBTAU-22.1 from the memory B-cell repertoire of healthy human donors. CBTAU-22.1 was shown to specifically bind a disease-associated phosphorylated epitope in the C-terminus of tau (Ser422) and to be able to inhibit the spreading of pathological tau aggregates from P301S spinal cord lysates in vitro, albeit with limited potency. Using a combination of rational design and random mutagenesis we have derived a variant antibody with improved affinity while maintaining the specificity of the parental antibody. This affinity improved antibody showed greatly enhanced potency in a cell-based immunodepletion assay using paired helical filaments (PHFs) derived from human Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain tissue. Moreover, the affinity improved antibody limits the in vitro aggregation propensity of full length tau species specifically phosphorylated at position 422 produced by employing a native chemical ligation approach. Together, these results indicate that in addition to being able to inhibit the spreading of pathological tau aggregates, the matured antibody can potentially also interfere with the nucleation of tau which is believed to be the first step of the pathogenic process. Finally, the functionality in a P301L transgenic mice co-injection model highlights the therapeutic potential of human antibody dmCBTAU-22.1.
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