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Wallace RP, Refvik KC, Antane JT, Brünggel K, Tremain AC, Raczy MR, Alpar AT, Nguyen M, Solanki A, Slezak AJ, Watkins EA, Lauterbach AL, Cao S, Wilson DS, Hubbell JA. Synthetically mannosylated antigens induce antigen-specific humoral tolerance and reduce anti-drug antibody responses to immunogenic biologics. Cell Rep Med 2024; 5:101345. [PMID: 38128533 PMCID: PMC10829756 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Immunogenic biologics trigger an anti-drug antibody (ADA) response in patients that reduces efficacy and increases adverse reactions. Our laboratory has shown that targeting protein antigen to the liver microenvironment can reduce antigen-specific T cell responses; herein, we present a strategy to increase delivery of otherwise immunogenic biologics to the liver via conjugation to a synthetic mannose polymer, p(Man). This delivery leads to reduced antigen-specific T follicular helper cell and B cell responses resulting in diminished ADA production, which is maintained throughout subsequent administrations of the native biologic. We find that p(Man)-antigen treatment impairs the ADA response against recombinant uricase, a highly immunogenic biologic, without a dependence on hapten immunodominance or control by T regulatory cells. We identify increased T cell receptor signaling and increased apoptosis and exhaustion in T cells as effects of p(Man)-antigen treatment via transcriptomic analyses. This modular platform may enhance tolerance to biologics, enabling long-term solutions for an ever-increasing healthcare problem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel P Wallace
- Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Kirsten C Refvik
- Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Jennifer T Antane
- Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Kym Brünggel
- Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Andrew C Tremain
- Committee on Immunology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Michal R Raczy
- Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Aaron T Alpar
- Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Mindy Nguyen
- Animal Resources Center, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Ani Solanki
- Animal Resources Center, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Anna J Slezak
- Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Elyse A Watkins
- Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Abigail L Lauterbach
- Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Shijie Cao
- Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - D Scott Wilson
- Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Biomedical Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21211, USA.
| | - Jeffrey A Hubbell
- Pritzker School for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Committee on Immunology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Committee on Cancer Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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2
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Wallace RP, Refvik KC, Antane JT, Brünggel K, Tremain AC, Raczy MR, Alpar AT, Nguyen M, Solanki A, Slezak AJ, Watkins EA, Lauterbach AL, Cao S, Wilson DS, Hubbell JA. Synthetically mannosylated antigens induce antigen-specific humoral tolerance and reduce anti-drug antibody responses to immunogenic biologics. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.07.534593. [PMID: 37066302 PMCID: PMC10104138 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.07.534593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Immunogenic biologics trigger an anti-drug antibody (ADA) response in patients, which reduces efficacy and increases adverse reactions. Our laboratory has previously shown that targeting protein antigen to the liver microenvironment can reduce antigen-specific T cell responses; herein, we present a strategy to increase delivery of otherwise immunogenic biologics to the liver via conjugation to a synthetic mannose polymer (p(Man)). This delivery leads to reduced antigen-specific T follicular helper cell and B cell responses resulting in diminished ADA production, which is maintained throughout subsequent administrations of the native biologic. We found that p(Man)-antigen treatment impairs the ADA response against recombinant uricase, a highly immunogenic biologic, without a dependence on hapten immunodominance or control by Tregs. We identify increased TCR signaling and increased apoptosis and exhaustion in T cells as effects of p(Man)-antigen treatment via transcriptomic analyses. This modular platform may enhance tolerance to biologics, enabling long-term solutions for an ever-increasing healthcare problem.
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3
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Yin L, Thaker H. Cancer Drug Delivery Systems Using Bacterial Toxin Translocation Mechanisms. Bioengineering (Basel) 2023; 10:813. [PMID: 37508840 PMCID: PMC10376142 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10070813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in targeted cancer therapy hold great promise for both research and clinical applications and push the boundaries in finding new treatments for various currently incurable cancers. However, these therapies require specific cell-targeting mechanisms for the efficient delivery of drug cargo across the cell membrane to reach intracellular targets and avoid diffusion to unwanted tissues. Traditional drug delivery systems suffer from a limited ability to travel across the barriers posed by cell membranes and, therefore, there is a need for high doses, which are associated with adverse reactions and safety concerns. Bacterial toxins have evolved naturally to specifically target cell subtypes via their receptor binding module, penetrating the cell membrane efficiently through the membrane translocation process and then successfully delivering the toxic cargo into the host cytosol. They have, thus, been harnessed for the delivery of various drugs. In this review, we focus on bacterial toxin translocation mechanisms and recent progress in the targeted delivery systems of cancer therapy drugs that have been inspired by the receptor binding and membrane translocation processes of the anthrax toxin protective antigen, diphtheria toxin, and Pseudomonas exotoxin A. We also discuss the challenges and limitations of these studies that should be addressed before bacterial toxin-based drug delivery systems can become a viable new generation of drug delivery approaches in clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linxiang Yin
- Department of Urology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Hatim Thaker
- Department of Urology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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4
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A novel shiga based immunotoxin against Fn-14 receptor on colorectal and lung cancer. Int Immunopharmacol 2022; 110:109076. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2022.109076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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5
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Parvathaneni V, Chilamakuri R, Kulkarni NS, Wang X, Agarwal S, Gupta V. Repurposing clofazimine for malignant pleural mesothelioma treatment - In-vitro assessment of efficacy and mechanism of action. Life Sci 2022; 306:120843. [PMID: 35908620 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2022.120843] [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: 06/12/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
AIMS Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare cancer of lungs' pleural cavity, with minimally effective therapies available. Thus, there exists a necessity for drug repurposing which is an attractive strategy for drug development in MPM. Repurposing of an old FDA-approved anti-leprotic drug, Clofazimine (CFZ), presents an outstanding opportunity to explore its efficacy in treating MPM. MAIN METHODS Cytotoxicity, scratch assay, and clonogenic assays were employed to determine CFZ's ability to inhibit cell viability, cell migration, and colony growth. 3D Spheroid cell culture studies were performed to identify tumor growth inhibition potential of CFZ in MSTO-211H cell line. Gene expression analysis was performed using RT-qPCR assays to determine the CFZ's effect of key genes. Western blot studies were performed to determine CFZ's ability to induce apoptosis its effect to induce autophagy marker. KEY FINDINGS CFZ showed significant cytotoxicity against both immortalized and primary patient-derived cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 3.4 μM (MSTO-211H) to 7.1 μM (HAY). CFZ significantly impaired MPM cell cloning efficiency, migration, and tumor spheroid formation. 3D Spheroid model showed that CFZ resulted in reduction in spheroid volume. RT-qPCR data showed downregulation of genes β-catenin, BCL-9, and PRDX1; and upregulation of apoptosis markers such as PARP, Cleaved caspase 3, and AXIN2. Additionally, immunoblot analysis showed that CFZ down-regulates the expression of β-catenin (apoptosis induction) and up-regulates p62, LC3B protein II (autophagy inhibition). SIGNIFICANCE It can be concluded that CFZ could be a promising molecule to repurpose for MPM treatment which needs numerous efforts from further studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vineela Parvathaneni
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John's University, Queens, NY 11439, USA
| | - Rameswari Chilamakuri
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John's University, Queens, NY 11439, USA
| | - Nishant S Kulkarni
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John's University, Queens, NY 11439, USA
| | - Xuechun Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John's University, Queens, NY 11439, USA
| | - Saurabh Agarwal
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John's University, Queens, NY 11439, USA
| | - Vivek Gupta
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John's University, Queens, NY 11439, USA.
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Sanz L, Ibáñez-Pérez R, Guerrero-Ochoa P, Lacadena J, Anel A. Antibody-Based Immunotoxins for Colorectal Cancer Therapy. Biomedicines 2021; 9:1729. [PMID: 34829955 PMCID: PMC8615520 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9111729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are included among the treatment options for advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). However, while these mAbs effectively target cancer cells, they may have limited clinical activity. A strategy to improve their therapeutic potential is arming them with a toxic payload. Immunotoxins (ITX) combining the cell-killing ability of a toxin with the specificity of a mAb constitute a promising strategy for CRC therapy. However, several important challenges in optimizing ITX remain, including suboptimal pharmacokinetics and especially the immunogenicity of the toxin moiety. Nonetheless, ongoing research is working to solve these limitations and expand CRC patients' therapeutic armory. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of targets and toxins employed in the design of ITX for CRC and highlight a wide selection of ITX tested in CRC patients as well as preclinical candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Sanz
- Molecular Immunology Unit, Biomedical Research Institute, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, 28222 Madrid, Spain
| | - Raquel Ibáñez-Pérez
- Apoptosis, Immunity and Cancer Group, Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS-Aragón), University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; (R.I.-P.); (P.G.-O.)
| | - Patricia Guerrero-Ochoa
- Apoptosis, Immunity and Cancer Group, Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS-Aragón), University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; (R.I.-P.); (P.G.-O.)
| | - Javier Lacadena
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Alberto Anel
- Apoptosis, Immunity and Cancer Group, Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS-Aragón), University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; (R.I.-P.); (P.G.-O.)
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7
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Immunotoxin IHP25-BT with low immunogenicity and off-target toxicity inhibits the growth and metastasis of trastuzumab-resistant tumor cells. Int J Pharm 2021; 608:121081. [PMID: 34506924 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.121081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 08/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is overexpressed in some breast and gastric cancer patients. As the first HER2-targeteed therpeutic antibody, trastuzumab could significantly improve the prognosis of HER2-positive cancer patients. However, even responding patients inevitably get worse due to acquired resistance to trastuzumab after a period of treatment. Many HER2-targeted antibody drugs used wild-type tumor cells to conduct their corresponding preclinical experiments in vitro and in vivo. However, it is impossible to determine whether these newly developed drugs have antitumor effective to trastuzumab-resistant tumor cells. In the study, two trastuzumab-resistant HER2-positive tumor cell populations NCI-N87-TR and BT474-TR were generated. Then, we examined the anti-tumor effects of newly constructed immunotoxins with low immunogenicity and off-target toxicity based on the trastuzumab-resistant tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo. Results demonstrated that the immunotoxin IHP25-BT could not only effectively inhibit tumor growth but also inhibit liver metastasis of tumor cells in a mouse xenograft model. Furthermore, tumor tissue transcriptome sequencing was performed to clarify the potential mechanisms of inhibiting tumor cell distant metastasis by immunotoxin. In conclusion, this work describes a series of attractive therapeutic immunotoxins, the low immunogenicity and off-target toxicity making them promising for trastuzumab-resistant cancer therapy.
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Khirehgesh MR, Sharifi J, Safari F, Akbari B. Immunotoxins and nanobody-based immunotoxins: review and update. J Drug Target 2021; 29:848-862. [PMID: 33615933 DOI: 10.1080/1061186x.2021.1894435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Immunotoxins (ITs) are protein-based drugs that compose of targeting and cytotoxic moieties. After binding the IT to the specific cell-surface antigen, the IT internalises into the target cell and kills it. Targeting and cytotoxic moieties usually include monoclonal antibodies and protein toxins with bacterial or plant origin, respectively. ITs have been successful in haematologic malignancies treatment. However, ITs penetrate poorly into solid tumours because of their large size. Use of camelid antibody fragments known as nanobodies (Nbs) as a targeting moiety may overcome this problem. Nbs are the smallest fragment of antibodies with excellent tumour tissue penetration. The ability to recognise cryptic (immuno-evasive) target antigens, low immunogenicity, and high-affinity are other fundamental characteristics of Nbs that make them suitable candidates in targeted therapy. Here, we reviewed and discussed the structure and function of ITs, Nbs, and nanobody-based ITs. To gain sound insight into the issue at hand, we focussed on nanobody-based ITs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Reza Khirehgesh
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Jafar Sharifi
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Safari
- Diagnostic Laboratory Sciences and Technology Research Center, School of Paramedical Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Bahman Akbari
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
- Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
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9
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Wolf P. Targeted Toxins for the Treatment of Prostate Cancer. Biomedicines 2021; 9:biomedicines9080986. [PMID: 34440190 PMCID: PMC8391386 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9080986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Despite improvements in diagnosis and treatment, new treatment options are urgently needed for advanced stages of the disease. Targeted toxins are chemical conjugates or fully recombinant proteins consisting of a binding domain directed against a target antigen on the surface of cancer cells and a toxin domain, which is transported into the cell for the induction of apoptosis. In the last decades, targeted toxins against prostate cancer have been developed. Several challenges, however, became apparent that prevented their direct clinical use. They comprise immunogenicity, low target antigen binding, endosomal entrapment, and lysosomal/proteasomal degradation of the targeted toxins. Moreover, their efficacy is impaired by prostate tumors, which are marked by a dense microenvironment, low target antigen expression, and apoptosis resistance. In this review, current findings in the development of targeted toxins against prostate cancer in view of effective targeting, reduction of immunogenicity, improvement of intracellular trafficking, and overcoming apoptosis resistance are discussed. There are promising approaches that should lead to the clinical use of targeted toxins as therapeutic alternatives for advanced prostate cancer in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Wolf
- Department of Urology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany; ; Tel.: +49-761-270-28921
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
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10
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Park S, Nguyen MQ, Ta HKK, Nguyen MT, Lee G, Kim CJ, Jang YJ, Choe H. Soluble Cytoplasmic Expression and Purification of Immunotoxin HER2(scFv)-PE24B as a Maltose Binding Protein Fusion. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:6483. [PMID: 34204265 PMCID: PMC8234717 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22126483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) is overexpressed in many malignant tumors. The anti-HER2 antibody trastuzumab has been approved for treating HER2-positive early and metastatic breast cancers. Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE), a bacterial toxin of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, consists of an A-domain with enzymatic activity and a B-domain with cell binding activity. Recombinant immunotoxins comprising the HER2(scFv) single-chain Fv from trastuzumab and the PE24B catalytic fragment of PE display promising cytotoxic effects, but immunotoxins are typically insoluble when expressed in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli, and thus they require solubilization and refolding. Herein, a recombinant immunotoxin gene was fused with maltose binding protein (MBP) and overexpressed in a soluble form in E. coli. Removal of the MBP yielded stable HER2(scFv)-PE24B at 91% purity; 0.25 mg of pure HER2(scFv)-PE24B was obtained from a 500 mL flask culture. Purified HER2(scFv)-PE24B was tested against four breast cancer cell lines differing in their surface HER2 level. The immunotoxin showed stronger cytotoxicity than HER2(scFv) or PE24B alone. The IC50 values for HER2(scFv)-PE24B were 28.1 ± 2.5 pM (n = 9) and 19 ± 1.4 pM (n = 9) for high HER2-positive cell lines SKBR3 and BT-474, respectively, but its cytotoxicity was lower against MDA-MB-231 and MCF7. Thus, fusion with MBP can facilitate the soluble expression and purification of scFv immunotoxins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sangsu Park
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea; (S.P.); (M.Q.N.); (H.K.K.T.); (M.T.N.); (Y.J.J.)
| | - Minh Quan Nguyen
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea; (S.P.); (M.Q.N.); (H.K.K.T.); (M.T.N.); (Y.J.J.)
| | - Huynh Kim Khanh Ta
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea; (S.P.); (M.Q.N.); (H.K.K.T.); (M.T.N.); (Y.J.J.)
| | - Minh Tan Nguyen
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea; (S.P.); (M.Q.N.); (H.K.K.T.); (M.T.N.); (Y.J.J.)
- NTT Hi-Tech Institute, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City 70000, Vietnam
| | - Gunsup Lee
- R&D Center, Fatiabgen Co., Ltd., Seoul 05855, Korea;
| | - Chong Jai Kim
- Department of Pathology, Asan-Minnesota Institute for Innovating Transplantation, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea;
| | - Yeon Jin Jang
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea; (S.P.); (M.Q.N.); (H.K.K.T.); (M.T.N.); (Y.J.J.)
| | - Han Choe
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea; (S.P.); (M.Q.N.); (H.K.K.T.); (M.T.N.); (Y.J.J.)
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11
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Wu T, Zhu J. Recent development and optimization of pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin immunotoxins in cancer therapeutic applications. Int Immunopharmacol 2021; 96:107759. [PMID: 34162138 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2021.107759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Recombinant immunotoxins are fusion proteins composed of a peptide toxin and a specific targeting domain through genetic recombination. They are engineered to recognize disease-specific target receptors and kill the cell upon internalization. Full-sized monoclonal antibodies, smaller antibody fragments and ligands, such as a cytokine or a growth factor, have been commonly used as the targeting domain, while bacterial Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin (PE) is the usual toxin fusion partner, due to its natural cytotoxicity and other unique advantages. PE-based recombinant immunotoxins have shown remarkable efficacy in the treatment of tumors and autoimmune diseases. At the same time, efforts are underway to address major challenges, including immunogenicity, nonspecific cytotoxicity and poor penetration, which limit their clinical applications. Recent strategies for structural optimization of PE-based immunotoxins, combined with mutagenesis approaches, have reduced the immunogenicity and non-specific cytotoxicity, thus increasing both their safety and efficacy. This review highlights novel insights and design concepts that were used to advance immunotoxins for the treatment of hematological and solid tumors and also presents future development prospect of PE-based recombinant immunotoxins that are expected to play an important role in cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Wu
- Engineering Research Center of Cell and Therapeutic Antibody, MOE, China; School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
| | - Jianwei Zhu
- Engineering Research Center of Cell and Therapeutic Antibody, MOE, China; School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Jecho Laboratories, Inc., Frederick, MD 21704, USA.
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12
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Mett V, Kurnasov OV, Bespalov IA, Molodtsov I, Brackett CM, Burdelya LG, Purmal AA, Gleiberman AS, Toshkov IA, Burkhart CA, Kogan YN, Andrianova EL, Gudkov AV, Osterman AL. A deimmunized and pharmacologically optimized Toll-like receptor 5 agonist for therapeutic applications. Commun Biol 2021; 4:466. [PMID: 33846531 PMCID: PMC8041767 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-01978-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) agonist entolimod, a derivative of Salmonella flagellin, has therapeutic potential for several indications including radioprotection and cancer immunotherapy. However, in Phase 1 human studies, entolimod induced a rapid neutralizing immune response, presumably due to immune memory from prior exposure to flagellated enterobacteria. To enable multi-dose applications, we used structure-guided reengineering to develop a next-generation, substantially deimmunized entolimod variant, GP532. GP532 induces TLR5-dependent NF-κB activation like entolimod but is smaller and has mutations eliminating an inflammasome-activating domain and key B- and T-cell epitopes. GP532 is resistant to human entolimod-neutralizing antibodies and shows reduced de novo immunogenicity. GP532 also has improved bioavailability, a stronger effect on key cytokine biomarkers, and a longer-lasting effect on NF-κB. Like entolimod, GP532 demonstrated potent prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy in mouse models of radiation-induced death and tissue damage. These results establish GP532 as an optimized TLR5 agonist suitable for multi-dose therapies and for patients with high titers of preexisting flagellin-neutralizing antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Oleg V Kurnasov
- Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - Ivan Molodtsov
- Gamaleya Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Moscow, Russia
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Andrei V Gudkov
- Genome Protection, Inc., Buffalo, NY, USA. .,Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA.
| | - Andrei L Osterman
- Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
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13
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Biteghe FAN, Mungra N, Chalomie NET, Ndong JDLC, Engohang-Ndong J, Vignaux G, Padayachee E, Naran K, Barth S. Advances in epidermal growth factor receptor specific immunotherapy: lessons to be learned from armed antibodies. Oncotarget 2020; 11:3531-3557. [PMID: 33014289 PMCID: PMC7517958 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.27730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been recognized as an important therapeutic target in oncology. It is commonly overexpressed in a variety of solid tumors and is critically involved in cell survival, proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis. This multi-dimensional role of EGFR in the progression and aggressiveness of cancer, has evolved from conventional to more targeted therapeutic approaches. With the advent of hybridoma technology and phage display techniques, the first anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) (Cetuximab and Panitumumab) were developed. Due to major limitations including host immune reactions and poor tumor penetration, these antibodies were modified and used as guiding mechanisms for the specific delivery of readily available chemotherapeutic agents or plants/bacterial toxins, giving rise to antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and immunotoxins (ITs), respectively. Continued refinement of ITs led to deimmunization strategies based on depletion of B and T-cell epitopes or substitution of non-human toxins leading to a growing repertoire of human enzymes capable of inducing cell death. Similarly, the modification of classical ADCs has resulted in the first, fully recombinant versions. In this review, we discuss significant advancements in EGFR-targeting immunoconjugates, including ITs and recombinant photoactivable ADCs, which serve as a blueprint for further developments in the evolving domain of cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fleury Augustin Nsole Biteghe
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Neelakshi Mungra
- Medical Biotechnology & Immunotherapy Research Unit, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | | | - Jean De La Croix Ndong
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jean Engohang-Ndong
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University at Tuscarawas, New Philadelphia, OH, USA
| | | | - Eden Padayachee
- Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Krupa Naran
- Medical Biotechnology & Immunotherapy Research Unit, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Stefan Barth
- Medical Biotechnology & Immunotherapy Research Unit, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- South African Research Chair in Cancer Biotechnology, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- These authors contributed equally to this work
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14
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Repurposing Quinacrine for Treatment of Malignant Mesothelioma: In-Vitro Therapeutic and Mechanistic Evaluation. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21176306. [PMID: 32878257 PMCID: PMC7503636 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21176306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Revised: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a rare type of cancer primarily affecting mesothelial cells lining the pleural cavity. In this study, we propose to repurpose quinacrine (QA), a widely approved anti-malarial drug, for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) treatment. QA demonstrates high degree of cytotoxicity against both immortalized and primary patient-derived cell lines with sub-micromolar 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values ranging from 1.2 µM (H2452) to 5.03 µM (H28). Further, QA also inhibited cellular migration and colony formation in MPM cells, demonstrated using scratch and clonogenic assays, respectively. A 3D-spheroid cell culture experiment was performed to mimic in-vivo tumor conditions, and QA was reported to be highly effective in this simulated cellular model. Anti-angiogenic properties were also discovered for QA. Autophagy inhibition assay was performed, and results revealed that QA successfully inhibited autophagy process in MPM cells, which has been cited to be one of the survival pathways for MPM. Annexin V real-time apoptosis study revealed significant apoptotic induction in MPM cells following QA treatment. Western blots confirmed inhibition of autophagy and induction of apoptosis. These studies highlight anti-mesothelioma efficacy of QA at low doses, which can be instrumental in developing it as a stand-alone treatment strategy for MPM.
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15
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Mesothelin-Targeted Recombinant Immunotoxins for Solid Tumors. Biomolecules 2020; 10:biom10070973. [PMID: 32605175 PMCID: PMC7408136 DOI: 10.3390/biom10070973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Revised: 06/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Mesothelin (MSLN) is a cell surface glycoprotein normally expressed only on serosal surfaces, and not found in the parenchyma of vital organs. Many solid tumors also express MSLN, including mesothelioma and pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Due to this favorable expression profile, MSLN represents a viable target for directed anti-neoplastic therapies, such as recombinant immunotoxins (iToxs). Pre-clinical testing of MSLN-targeted iTox’s has yielded a strong body of evidence for activity against a number of solid tumors. This has led to multiple clinical trials, testing the safety and efficacy of the clinical leads SS1P and LMB-100. While promising clinical results have been observed, neutralizing anti-drug antibody (ADA) formation presents a major challenge to overcome in the therapeutic development process. Additionally, on-target, off-tumor toxicity from serositis and non-specific capillary leak syndrome (CLS) also limits the dose, and therefore, impact anti-tumor activity. This review summarizes existing pre-clinical and clinical data on MSLN-targeted iTox’s. In addition, we address the potential future directions of research to enhance the activity of these anti-tumor agents.
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16
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Mazor R, Pastan I. Immunogenicity of Immunotoxins Containing Pseudomonas Exotoxin A: Causes, Consequences, and Mitigation. Front Immunol 2020; 11:1261. [PMID: 32695104 PMCID: PMC7333791 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotoxins are cytolytic fusion proteins developed for cancer therapy, composed of an antibody fragment that binds to a cancer cell and a protein toxin fragment that kills the cell. Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE) is a potent toxin that is used for the killing moiety in many immunotoxins. Moxetumomab Pasudotox (Lumoxiti) contains an anti-CD22 Fv and a 38 kDa portion of PE. Lumoxiti was discovered in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the U.S. National Cancer Institute and co-developed with Medimmune/AstraZeneca to treat hairy cell leukemia. In 2018 Lumoxiti was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of drug-resistant Hairy Cell Leukemia. Due to the bacterial origin of the killing moiety, immunotoxins containing PE are highly immunogenic in patients with normal immune systems, but less immunogenic in patients with hematologic malignancies, whose immune systems are often compromised. LMB-100 is a de-immunized variant of the toxin with a humanized antibody that targets mesothelin and a PE toxin that was rationally designed for diminished reactivity with antibodies and B cell receptors. It is now being evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of mesothelioma and pancreatic cancer and is showing somewhat diminished immunogenicity compared to its un modified parental counterpart. Here we review the immunogenicity of the original and de-immunized PE immunotoxins in mice and patients, the development of anti-drug antibodies (ADAs), their impact on drug availability and their effect on clinical efficacy. Efforts to mitigate the immunogenicity of immunotoxins and its impact on immunogenicity will be described including rational design to identify, remove, or suppress B cell or T cell epitopes, and combination of immunotoxins with immune modulating drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronit Mazor
- Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, United States
| | - Ira Pastan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
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17
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Development of Glypican-3 Targeting Immunotoxins for the Treatment of Liver Cancer: An Update. Biomolecules 2020; 10:biom10060934. [PMID: 32575752 PMCID: PMC7356171 DOI: 10.3390/biom10060934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for most liver cancers and represents one of the deadliest cancers in the world. Despite the global demand for liver cancer treatments, there remain few options available. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Lumoxiti, a CD22-targeting immunotoxin, as a treatment for patients with hairy cell leukemia. This approval helps to demonstrate the potential role that immunotoxins can play in the cancer therapeutics pipeline. However, concerns have been raised about the use of immunotoxins, including their high immunogenicity and short half-life, in particular for treating solid tumors such as liver cancer. This review provides an overview of recent efforts to develop a glypican-3 (GPC3) targeting immunotoxin for treating HCC, including strategies to deimmunize immunotoxins by removing B- or T-cell epitopes on the bacterial toxin and to improve the serum half-life of immunotoxins by incorporating an albumin binding domain.
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18
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Bioinformatics Predictions, Expression, Purification and Structural Analysis of the PE38KDEL-scfv Immunotoxin Against EPHA2 Receptor. Int J Pept Res Ther 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10989-019-09901-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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19
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Metformin-loaded chitosomes for treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma - A rare thoracic cancer. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 160:128-141. [PMID: 32445818 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.05.146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate chitosan dispersed lipid vesicles (chitosomes) as potential delivery carriers for repurposing metformin (Met) against malignant pleural mesothelioma. Chitosomes were prepared by directly hydrating the thin lipid film using chitosan solution as hydration medium, instead of using it as a coating agent. Developed chitosomes demonstrated spherical morphology, positive surface charge (~30 mV) and ~60% encapsulation efficiency. The calorimetric studies and X-ray diffraction pattern of Met-loaded chitosomes confirmed the successful encapsulation of Met inside the chitosome vesicles. Optimized chitosome formulation showed ~70% drug release in 72 h, displaying prolonged and controlled release of drug. Results demonstrated that Met encapsulated chitosomes possessed enhanced cellular internalization and improved cytotoxic potential. Our findings also supported inhibitory activity of chitosomes against metastatic property of pleural mesothelioma cells. The in-vitro tumor simulation studies further established anti-tumor activity of Met encapsulated chitosomes as supported by reduction in tumor volume and presence of minimal viable cells in tumor mass. The obtained results establish the effectiveness of chitosomes as delivery carrier for Met as treatment alternative for malignant pleural mesothelioma.
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20
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HER2-Specific Pseudomonas Exotoxin A PE25 Based Fusions: Influence of Targeting Domain on Target Binding, Toxicity, and In Vivo Biodistribution. Pharmaceutics 2020; 12:pharmaceutics12040391. [PMID: 32344762 PMCID: PMC7238247 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12040391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a clinically validated target for cancer therapy, and targeted therapies are often used in regimens for patients with a high HER2 expression level. Despite the success of current drugs, a number of patients succumb to their disease, which motivates development of novel drugs with other modes of action. We have previously shown that an albumin binding domain-derived affinity protein with specific affinity for HER2, ADAPT6, can be used to deliver the highly cytotoxic protein domain PE25, a derivative of Pseudomonas exotoxin A, to HER2 overexpressing malignant cells, leading to potent and specific cell killing. In this study we expanded the investigation for an optimal targeting domain and constructed two fusion toxins where a HER2-binding affibody molecule, ZHER2:2891, or the dual-HER2-binding hybrid ZHER2:2891-ADAPT6 were used for cancer cell targeting. We found that both targeting domains conferred strong binding to HER2; both to the purified extracellular domain and to the HER2 overexpressing cell line SKOV3. This resulted in fusion toxins with high cytotoxic potency toward cell lines with high expression levels of HER2, with EC50 values between 10 and 100 pM. For extension of the plasma half-life, an albumin binding domain was also included. Intravenous injection of the fusion toxins into mice showed a profound influence of the targeting domain on biodistribution. Compared to previous results, with ADAPT6 as targeting domain, ZHER2:2891 gave rise to further extension of the plasma half-life and also shifted the clearance route of the fusion toxin from the liver to the kidneys. Collectively, the results show that the targeting domain has a major impact on uptake of PE25-based fusion toxins in different organs. The results also show that PE25-based fusion toxins with high affinity to HER2 do not necessarily increase the cytotoxicity beyond a certain point in affinity. In conclusion, ZHER2:2891 has the most favorable characteristics as targeting domain for PE25.
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21
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Kovalova N, Boyles J, Wen Y, Witcher DR, Brown-Augsburger PL, Wroblewski VJ, Chlewicki LK. Validation of a de-immunization strategy for monoclonal antibodies using cynomolgus macaque as a surrogate for human. Biopharm Drug Dispos 2020; 41:111-125. [PMID: 32080869 DOI: 10.1002/bdd.2222] [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: 09/06/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The immunogenicity of biotherapeutics presents a major challenge during the clinical development of new protein drugs including monoclonal antibodies. To address this, multiple humanization and de-immunization techniques that employ in silico algorithms and in vitro test systems have been proposed and implemented. However, the success of these approaches has been variable and to date, the ability of these techniques to predict immunogenicity has not been systematically tested in humans or other primates. This study tested whether antibody humanization and de-immunization strategies reduce the risk of anti-drug antibody (ADA) development using cynomolgus macaque as a surrogate for human. First human-cyno chimeric antibodies were constructed by grafting the variable domains of the adalimumab and golimumab monoclonal antibodies onto cynomolgus macaque IgG1 and Igκ constant domains followed by framework germlining to cyno to reduce the xenogenic content. Next, B and T cell epitopes and aggregation-prone regions were identified using common in silico methods to select domains with an ADA risk for additional modification. The resultant engineered antibodies had a comparable affinity for TNFα, demonstrated similar biophysical properties, and exhibited significantly reduced ADA levels in cynomolgus macaque compared with the parental antibodies, with a corresponding improvement in the pharmacokinetic profile. Notably, plasma concentrations of the engineered antibodies were quantifiable through 504 hours (chimeric) and 840 hours (germlined/de-immunized), compared with only 336 hours (adalimumab) or 336-672 hours (golimumab). The results point to the significant value in the investment in these engineering strategies as an important guide for monoclonal antibody optimization that can contribute to improved clinical outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Kovalova
- Department of Drug Disposition, Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Jeffrey Boyles
- Biotechnology Discovery Research, Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Technology Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Yi Wen
- Lilly Biotechnology Center, Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Derrick R Witcher
- Biotechnology Discovery Research, Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Technology Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Patricia L Brown-Augsburger
- Department of Drug Disposition, Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | | | - Lukasz K Chlewicki
- Department of Drug Disposition, Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA
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22
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Lee S, Park S, Nguyen MT, Lee E, Kim J, Baek S, Kim CJ, Jang YJ, Choe H. A chemical conjugate between HER2-targeting antibody fragment and Pseudomonas exotoxin A fragment demonstrates cytotoxic effects on HER2-expressing breast cancer cells. BMB Rep 2020. [PMID: 30670149 PMCID: PMC6726212 DOI: 10.5483/bmbrep.2019.52.8.250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Conventionally, immunotoxins have been produced as a single polypeptide from fused genes of an antibody fragment and a toxin. In this study, we adopted a unique approach of chemical conjugation of a toxin protein and an antibody fragment. The two genes were separately expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to high levels of purity. The two purified proteins were conjugated using a chemical linker. The advantage of this approach is its ability to overcome the problem of low recombinant immunotoxin production observed in some immunotoxins. Another advantage is that various combinations of immunotoxins can be prepared with fewer efforts, because the chemical conjugation of components is relatively simpler than the processes involved in cloning, expression, and purification of multiple immunotoxins. As a proof of concept, the scFv of trastuzumab and the PE24 fragment of Pseudomonas exotoxin A were separately produced using E. coli and then chemically crosslinked. The new immunotoxin was tested on four breast cancer cell lines variably expressing HER2. The chemically crosslinked immunotoxin exhibited cytotoxicity in proportion to the expression level of HER2. In conclusion, the present study revealed an alternative method of generating an immunotoxin that could effectively reduce the viability of HER2-expressing breast cancer cells. These results suggest the effectiveness of this method of immunotoxin crosslinking as a suitable alternative for producing immunotoxins. [BMB
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunju Lee
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
| | - Sangsu Park
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
| | - Minh Tan Nguyen
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea; Department of Biotechnology, NTT Hi-Tech Institute, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City 70000, Vietnam
| | - Eunyoung Lee
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
| | - Julee Kim
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
| | - Sangki Baek
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
| | - Chong Jai Kim
- Department of Pathology, Asan-Minnesota Institute for Innovating Transplantation, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
| | - Yeon Jin Jang
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
| | - Han Choe
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505, Korea
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23
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Critical Issues in the Development of Immunotoxins for Anticancer Therapy. J Pharm Sci 2019; 109:104-115. [PMID: 31669121 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2019.10.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Revised: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Immunotoxins (ITs) are attractive anticancer modalities aimed at cancer-specific delivery of highly potent cytotoxic protein toxins. An IT consists of a targeting domain (an antibody, cytokine, or another cell-binding protein) chemically conjugated or recombinantly fused to a highly cytotoxic payload (a bacterial and plant toxin or human cytotoxic protein). The mode of action of ITs is killing designated cancer cells through the effector function of toxins in the cytosol after cellular internalization via the targeted cell-specific receptor-mediated endocytosis. Although numerous ITs of diverse structures have been tested in the past decades, only 3 ITs-denileukin diftitox, tagraxofusp, and moxetumomab pasudotox-have been clinically approved for treating hematological cancers. No ITs against solid tumors have been approved for clinical use. In this review, we discuss critical research and development issues associated with ITs that limit their clinical success as well as strategies to overcome these obstacles. The issues include off-target and on-target toxicities, immunogenicity, human cytotoxic proteins, antigen target selection, cytosolic delivery efficacy, solid-tumor targeting, and developability. To realize the therapeutic promise of ITs, novel strategies for safe and effective cytosolic delivery into designated tumors, including solid tumors, are urgently needed.
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24
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Abstract
CAR-T cell therapy targeting CD19 has achieved remarkable success in the treatment of B cell malignancies, while various solid malignancies are still refractory for lack of suitable target. In recent years, a large number of studies have sought to find suitable targets with low “on target, off tumor” concern for the treatment of solid tumors. Mesothelin (MSLN), a tumor-associated antigen broadly overexpressed on various malignant tumor cells, while its expression is generally limited to normal mesothelial cells, is an attractive candidate for targeted therapy. Strategies targeting MSLN, including antibody-based drugs, vaccines and CAR-T therapies, have been assessed in a large number of preclinical investigations and clinical trials. In particular, the development of CAR-T therapy has shown great promise as a treatment for various types of cancers. The safety, efficacy, doses, and pharmacokinetics of relevant strategies have been evaluated in many clinical trials. This review is intended to provide a brief overview of the characteristics of mesothelin and the development of strategies targeting MSLN for solid tumors. Further, we discussed the challenges and proposed potential strategies to improve the efficacy of MSLN targeted immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiang Lv
- 1Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.,2Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.,3University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijingshan District, Beijing, China
| | - Peng Li
- 1Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.,2Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, South China Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
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25
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Lee S, Park S, Nguyen MT, Lee E, Kim J, Baek S, Kim CJ, Jang YJ, Choe H. A chemical conjugate between HER2-targeting antibody fragment and Pseudomonas exotoxin A fragment demonstrates cytotoxic effects on HER2-expressing breast cancer cells. BMB Rep 2019; 52:496-501. [PMID: 30670149 PMCID: PMC6726212] [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: 11/05/2018] [Revised: 11/11/2018] [Accepted: 11/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Conventionally, immunotoxins have been produced as a single polypeptide from fused genes of an antibody fragment and a toxin. In this study, we adopted a unique approach of chemical conjugation of a toxin protein and an antibody fragment. The two genes were separately expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to high levels of purity. The two purified proteins were conjugated using a chemical linker. The advantage of this approach is its ability to overcome the problem of low recombinant immunotoxin production observed in some immunotoxins. Another advantage is that various combinations of immunotoxins can be prepared with fewer efforts, because the chemical conjugation of components is relatively simpler than the processes involved in cloning, expression, and purification of multiple immunotoxins. As a proof of concept, the scFv of trastuzumab and the PE24 fragment of Pseudomonas exotoxin A were separately produced using E. coli and then chemically crosslinked. The new immunotoxin was tested on four breast cancer cell lines variably expressing HER2. The chemically crosslinked immunotoxin exhibited cytotoxicity in proportion to the expression level of HER2. In conclusion, the present study revealed an alternative method of generating an immunotoxin that could effectively reduce the viability of HER2-expressing breast cancer cells. These results suggest the effectiveness of this method of immunotoxin crosslinking as a suitable alternative for producing immunotoxins. [BMB Reports 2019; 52(8): 496-501].
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunju Lee
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505,
Korea
| | - Sangsu Park
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505,
Korea
| | - Minh Tan Nguyen
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505,
Korea
- Department of Biotechnology, NTT Hi-Tech Institute, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City 70000,
Vietnam
| | - Eunyoung Lee
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505,
Korea
| | - Julee Kim
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505,
Korea
| | - Sangki Baek
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505,
Korea
| | - Chong Jai Kim
- Department of Pathology, Asan-Minnesota Institute for Innovating Transplantation, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505,
Korea
| | - Yeon Jin Jang
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505,
Korea
| | - Han Choe
- Department of Physiology, Bio-Medical Institute of Technology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul 05505,
Korea
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26
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Liu H, Lindbo S, Ding H, Altai M, Garousi J, Orlova A, Tolmachev V, Hober S, Gräslund T. Potent and specific fusion toxins consisting of a HER2‑binding, ABD‑derived affinity protein, fused to truncated versions of Pseudomonas exotoxin A. Int J Oncol 2019; 55:309-319. [PMID: 31180549 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2019.4814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Fusion toxins consisting of an affinity protein fused to toxic polypeptides derived from Pseudomonas exotoxin A (ETA) are promising agents for targeted cancer therapy. In this study, we examined whether fusion toxins consisting of an albumin binding domain‑derived affinity protein (ADAPT) interacting with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), coupled to the ETA‑derived polypeptides PE38X8 or PE25, with or without an albumin binding domain (ABD) for half‑life extension, can be used for specific killing of HER2‑expressing cells. The fusion toxins could easily be expressed in a soluble form in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. All constructs had strong affinity for HER2 (KD 10 to 26 nM) and no tendency for aggregation could be detected. The fusion toxins including the ABD showed strong interaction with human and mouse serum albumin [equilibrium dissociation constant (KD) 1 to 3 nM and 2 to 10 nM, respectively]. The in vitro investigation of the cytotoxic potential revealed IC50‑values in the picomolar range for cells expressing high levels of HER2. The specificity was also demonstrated, by showing that free HER2 receptors on the target cells are required for fusion toxin activity. In mice, the fusion toxins containing the ABD exhibited an appreciably longer time in circulation. The uptake was highest in liver and kidney. Fusion with PE25 was associated with the highest hepatic uptake. Collectively, the results suggest that fusion toxins consisting of ADAPTs and ETA‑derivatives are promising agents for targeted cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Liu
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sarah Lindbo
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Haozhong Ding
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mohamed Altai
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Javad Garousi
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sophia Hober
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden
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27
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Ng TJ, Teo MYM, Liew DS, Effiong PE, Hwang JS, Lim CSY, In LLA. Cytotoxic and apoptosis-inducing effects of wildtype and mutated Hydra actinoporin-like toxin 1 (HALT-1) on various cancer cell lines. PeerJ 2019; 7:e6639. [PMID: 31106043 PMCID: PMC6500716 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Hydra actinoporin like toxin -1 (HALT-1), is a small 18.5 kDa pore forming toxin derived from Hydra magnipapillata which has been shown to elicit strong haemolytic and cytolytic activity when in contact with cell membranes. Due to its cytotoxic potency, HALT-1 was further investigated for its potential as a toxin moiety candidate in immunotoxin developmental efforts, ideally as a form of targeted therapy against cancer. Methods In this study, wtHALT-1 (wild type) and its Y110A mutated binding domain counterpart (mHALT-1) were produced and evaluated for their cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on various cancer cell lines. A total of seven different tumour and non-tumour cell lines including HeLa, HepG2, SW-620, MCF-7, CCD841CoN, NHDF and HCT116 were used. Immunofluorescence assays were used to observe membrane binding and localization changes between both HALT-1 recombinant proteins based on 6xHis-tag detection. Result Based on MTT data, mHALT-1 demonstrated a significant reduction of 82% ± 12.21% in cytotoxic activity across all cell lines after the membrane recognition domain had been mutated in comparison to the wtHALT-1. Annexin V FITC/PI assay data also indicated that HeLa, HepG2 and MCF-7 demonstrated an apoptosis-mediated cell death after being treated with wtHALT-1. Additionally, a notable difference between wtHALT-1 and mHALT-1 binding affinity was clearly observed where emission of green fluorescence along the cell membrane was observed only in wtHALT-1 treated cells. Discussion These results suggest that mHALT-1 (Y110A) can be potentially developed as a toxin-moiety candidate for the development of future immunotoxins against various human cell-based diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teng Jia Ng
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI university, Cheras, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Michelle Yee Mun Teo
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI university, Cheras, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Dek Shen Liew
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI university, Cheras, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Paul Etim Effiong
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI university, Cheras, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Jung Shan Hwang
- Department of Medical Sciences, School of Healthcare and Medical Sciences, Sunway University, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Crystale Siew Ying Lim
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI university, Cheras, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Lionel L A In
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI university, Cheras, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Belén LH, Lissabet JB, de Oliveira Rangel-Yagui C, Effer B, Monteiro G, Pessoa A, Farías Avendaño JG. A structural in silico analysis of the immunogenicity of l-asparaginase from Escherichia coli and Erwinia carotovora. Biologicals 2019; 59:47-55. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biologicals.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Revised: 03/03/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
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Yap WY, Hwang JS. Response of Cellular Innate Immunity to Cnidarian Pore-Forming Toxins. Molecules 2018; 23:E2537. [PMID: 30287801 PMCID: PMC6222686 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23102537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Revised: 09/24/2018] [Accepted: 09/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
A group of stable, water-soluble and membrane-bound proteins constitute the pore forming toxins (PFTs) in cnidarians. They interact with membranes to physically alter the membrane structure and permeability, resulting in the formation of pores. These lesions on the plasma membrane causes an imbalance of cellular ionic gradients, resulting in swelling of the cell and eventually its rupture. Of all cnidarian PFTs, actinoporins are by far the best studied subgroup with established knowledge of their molecular structure and their mode of pore-forming action. However, the current view of necrotic action by actinoporins may not be the only mechanism that induces cell death since there is increasing evidence showing that pore-forming toxins can induce either necrosis or apoptosis in a cell-type, receptor and dose-dependent manner. In this review, we focus on the response of the cellular immune system to the cnidarian pore-forming toxins and the signaling pathways that might be involved in these cellular responses. Since PFTs represent potential candidates for targeted toxin therapy for the treatment of numerous cancers, we also address the challenge to overcoming the immunogenicity of these toxins when used as therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Yuen Yap
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Science and Technology, Sunway University, No. 5 Jalan Universiti, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan 47500, Malaysia.
| | - Jung Shan Hwang
- Department of Medical Sciences, School of Healthcare and Medical Sciences, Sunway University, No. 5 Jalan Universiti, Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan 47500, Malaysia.
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Sauna ZE, Lagassé D, Pedras-Vasconcelos J, Golding B, Rosenberg AS. Evaluating and Mitigating the Immunogenicity of Therapeutic Proteins. Trends Biotechnol 2018; 36:1068-1084. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2018.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2018] [Revised: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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31
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Mazor R, King EM, Pastan I. Strategies to Reduce the Immunogenicity of Recombinant Immunotoxins. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY 2018; 188:1736-1743. [PMID: 29870741 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2018.04.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2018] [Revised: 03/19/2018] [Accepted: 04/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Recombinant immunotoxins (RITs) are genetically engineered proteins being developed to treat cancer. They are composed of an Fv that targets a cancer antigen and a fragment of a bacterial toxin that kills tumor cells. Because the toxin is a foreign protein, it is immunogenic. The clinical success of RITs in patients with a normal immune system is limited by their immunogenicity. In this review, we discuss our progress in therapeutic protein deimmunization and the balancing act between immunogenicity and therapeutic potency. One approach is to prevent the activation of B cells by mapping and elimination of B-cell epitopes. A second approach is to prevent helper T-cell activation by interfering with major histocompatibility complex II presentation or T-cell recognition. Immunizing mice with RITs that were deimmunized by elimination of the murine B- or T-cell epitopes showed that both approaches are effective. Another approach to control immunogenicity is to modify the host immune system. Nanoparticles containing synthetic vaccine particles encapsulating rapamycin can induce immune tolerance and prevent anti-drug antibody formation. This treatment restores RIT anti-tumor activity that is otherwise neutralized because of immunogenicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronit Mazor
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Emily M King
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Ira Pastan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
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Anti-Drug Antibodies: Emerging Approaches to Predict, Reduce or Reverse Biotherapeutic Immunogenicity. Antibodies (Basel) 2018; 7:antib7020019. [PMID: 31544871 PMCID: PMC6698869 DOI: 10.3390/antib7020019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2018] [Revised: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) following administration of biotherapeutics to patients is a vexing problem that is attracting increasing attention from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. This serious clinical problem is also spawning creative research into novel approaches to predict, avoid, and in some cases even reverse such deleterious immune responses. CD4+ T cells are essential players in the development of most ADAs, while memory B-cell and long-lived plasma cells amplify and maintain these responses. This review summarizes methods to predict and experimentally identify T-cell and B-cell epitopes in therapeutic proteins, with a particular focus on blood coagulation factor VIII (FVIII), whose immunogenicity is clinically significant and is the subject of intensive current research. Methods to phenotype ADA responses in humans are described, including T-cell stimulation assays, and both established and novel approaches to determine the titers, epitopes and isotypes of the ADAs themselves. Although rational protein engineering can reduce the immunogenicity of many biotherapeutics, complementary, novel approaches to induce specific tolerance, especially during initial exposures, are expected to play significant roles in future efforts to reduce or reverse these unwanted immune responses.
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Ettinger RA, Liberman JA, Gunasekera D, Puranik K, James EA, Thompson AR, Pratt KP. FVIII proteins with a modified immunodominant T-cell epitope exhibit reduced immunogenicity and normal FVIII activity. Blood Adv 2018; 2:309-322. [PMID: 29444872 PMCID: PMC5858479 DOI: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2017013482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2017] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Factor VIII (FVIII)-neutralizing antibodies (inhibitors) are a serious complication in hemophilia A (HA). The peptide FVIII2194-2213 contains an immunodominant HLA-DRA*01-DRB1*01:01 (DRB1*01:01)-restricted epitope recognized by CD4+ T-effector cells from HA subjects. The aim of this study was to identify amino acid substitutions to deimmunize this epitope while retaining procoagulant function and expression levels comparable to those of wild-type (WT) FVIII proteins. The shortest DRB1*01:01-binding peptide was FVIII2194-2205, and residues important for affinity were identified as F2196, M2199, A2201, and S2204. T-cell proliferation experiments with Ala-substituted FVIII2194-2205 peptides identified F2196A as a substitution that abrogated proliferation of clones specific for the WT sequence. T-cell clones that were stimulated by recombinant WT-FVIII-C2 (rWT-FVIII-C2) protein did not proliferate when cultured with rFVIII-C2-F2196A, indicating the immunogenic peptide includes a naturally processed T-cell epitope. Additional amino acid substitutions at F2196 and M2199 were evaluated by peptide-MHC class II (MHCII)-binding assays, T-cell proliferation assays, epitope prediction algorithms, and sequence homologies. Six B-domain-deleted (BDD)-FVIII proteins with substitutions F2196A, F2196L, F2196K, M2199A, M2199W, or M2199R were produced. Proliferation of T-cell clones and polyclonal lines in response to rBDD-FVIII-F2196K and rBDD-FVIII-M2199A was reduced compared with responses to WT-BDD-FVIII. The BDD-FVIII-F2196K sequence modification appears to be the most promising sequence variant tested here, due to its effectiveness at eliminating DRB1*01:01-restricted immunogenicity, low potential immunogenicity in the context of other MHCII alleles, expression level comparable to WT-BDD-FVIII, and retained procoagulant activity. These results provide proof of principle for the design of less immunogenic FVIII proteins targeted to specific subsets of HA patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth A Ettinger
- Bloodworks Northwest Research Institute, Seattle, WA
- Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle, WA
| | | | - Devi Gunasekera
- Bloodworks Northwest Research Institute, Seattle, WA
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD; and
| | - Komal Puranik
- Bloodworks Northwest Research Institute, Seattle, WA
| | | | - Arthur R Thompson
- Bloodworks Northwest Research Institute, Seattle, WA
- Division of Hematology, Department Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Kathleen P Pratt
- Bloodworks Northwest Research Institute, Seattle, WA
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD; and
- Division of Hematology, Department Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
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Dhanda SK, Grifoni A, Pham J, Vaughan K, Sidney J, Peters B, Sette A. Development of a strategy and computational application to select candidate protein analogues with reduced HLA binding and immunogenicity. Immunology 2017; 153:118-132. [PMID: 28833085 DOI: 10.1111/imm.12816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2017] [Revised: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 08/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Unwanted immune responses against protein therapeutics can reduce efficacy or lead to adverse reactions. T-cell responses are key in the development of such responses, and are directed against immunodominant regions within the protein sequence, often associated with binding to several allelic variants of HLA class II molecules (promiscuous binders). Herein, we report a novel computational strategy to predict 'de-immunized' peptides, based on previous studies of erythropoietin protein immunogenicity. This algorithm (or method) first predicts promiscuous binding regions within the target protein sequence and then identifies residue substitutions predicted to reduce HLA binding. Further, this method anticipates the effect of any given substitution on flanking peptides, thereby circumventing the creation of nascent HLA-binding regions. As a proof-of-principle, the algorithm was applied to Vatreptacog α, an engineered Factor VII molecule associated with unintended immunogenicity. The algorithm correctly predicted the two immunogenic peptides containing the engineered residues. As a further validation, we selected and evaluated the immunogenicity of seven substitutions predicted to simultaneously reduce HLA binding for both peptides, five control substitutions with no predicted reduction in HLA-binding capacity, and additional flanking region controls. In vitro immunogenicity was detected in 21·4% of the cultures of peptides predicted to have reduced HLA binding and 11·4% of the flanking regions, compared with 46% for the cultures of the peptides predicted to be immunogenic. This method has been implemented as an interactive application, freely available online at http://tools.iedb.org/deimmunization/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandeep Kumar Dhanda
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Alba Grifoni
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - John Pham
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Kerrie Vaughan
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - John Sidney
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Bjoern Peters
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Alessandro Sette
- Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA
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Keshtvarz M, Salimian J, Yaseri M, Bathaie SZ, Rezaie E, Aliramezani A, Norouzbabaei Z, Amani J, Douraghi M. Bioinformatic prediction and experimental validation of a PE38-based recombinant immunotoxin targeting the Fn14 receptor in cancer cells. Immunotherapy 2017; 9:387-400. [PMID: 28357912 DOI: 10.2217/imt-2017-0008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
AIM AFn14R can serve as an ideal target for cancer immunotherapy. Here, a combined bioinformatic and experimental approach was applied to characterize an immunotoxin consisting of single-chain variable fragment antibody that targets Fn14 and a toxin fragment (PE38). METHODS & RESULTS Flow cytometry results showed that the rate of PE38-P4A8 binding to Fn14 was approximately 60 and 40% in HT-29 and A549 cells, respectively. Moreover, 1 ng/µl of immunotoxin was able to lyse approximately 53 and 41% of HT-29 and A549, respectively. PE38-P4A8 showed stability in mouse serum (∼90%) after 3-h incubation. Most importantly, using bioinformatics for determining the structure and function of fusion proteins can be very helpful in designing of experiments. CONCLUSION Coupled with bioinformatics, experimental approaches revealed that PE38-P4A8 could be used as a promising therapeutic agent for cancer cells expressing Fn14.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Keshtvarz
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Jafar Salimian
- Chemical Injuries Research Center, Baqiyatallah, University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mehdi Yaseri
- Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Ehsan Rezaie
- Applied Microbiology Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Vanak Sq. Molasadra St, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amir Aliramezani
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zahra Norouzbabaei
- Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Jafar Amani
- Applied Microbiology Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Vanak Sq. Molasadra St, Tehran, Iran
| | - Masoumeh Douraghi
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Food Microbiology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Xie LY, Piao HL, Fan M, Zhang Z, Wang C, Bigner DD, Bao XH. Immunotoxin Therapy for Lung Cancer. Chin Med J (Engl) 2017; 130:607-612. [PMID: 28229994 PMCID: PMC5339936 DOI: 10.4103/0366-6999.200540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Li-Yi Xie
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Hai-Lan Piao
- Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Min Fan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Zhen Zhang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Chen Wang
- Department of Medicine, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Darell D Bigner
- Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Xu-Hui Bao
- Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
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Enzyme-Based Strategies to Generate Site-Specifically Conjugated Antibody Drug Conjugates. NEXT GENERATION ANTIBODY DRUG CONJUGATES (ADCS) AND IMMUNOTOXINS 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-46877-8_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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38
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Bauss F, Lechmann M, Krippendorff BF, Staack R, Herting F, Festag M, Imhof-Jung S, Hesse F, Pompiati M, Kollmorgen G, da Silva Mateus Seidl R, Bossenmaier B, Lau W, Schantz C, Stracke JO, Brinkmann U, Onda M, Pastan I, Bosslet K, Niederfellner G. Characterization of a re-engineered, mesothelin-targeted Pseudomonas exotoxin fusion protein for lung cancer therapy. Mol Oncol 2016; 10:1317-29. [PMID: 27507537 PMCID: PMC5423209 DOI: 10.1016/j.molonc.2016.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Revised: 06/27/2016] [Accepted: 07/06/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Mesothelin overexpression in lung adenocarcinomas correlates with the presence of activating KRAS mutations and poor prognosis. Hence SS1P, a mesothelin-targeted immunotoxin, could offer valuable treatment options for these patients, but its use in solid tumor therapy is hampered by high immunogenicity and non-specific toxicity. To overcome both obstacles we developed RG7787, a de-immunized cytotoxic fusion protein comprising a humanized SS1 Fab fragment and a truncated, B-cell epitope silenced, 24 kD fragment of Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE24). Reactivity of RG7787 with sera from immunotoxin-treated patients was >1000 fold reduced. In vitro RG7787 inhibited cell viability of lung cancer cell lines with picomolar potency. The pharmacokinetic properties of RG7787 in rodents were comparable to SS1P, yet it was tolerated up to 10 fold better without causing severe vascular leak syndrome or hepatotoxicity. A pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model developed based on NCI-H596 xenograft studies showed that for RG7787 and SS1P, their in vitro and in vivo potencies closely correlate. At optimal doses of 2-3 mg/kg RG7787 is more efficacious than SS1P. Even large, well established tumors (600 mm(3)) underwent remission during three treatment cycles with RG7787. Also in two patient-derived lung cancer xenograft models, Lu7336 and Lu7187, RG7787 showed anti-tumor efficacy. In monotherapy two treatment cycles were moderately efficacious in the Lu7336 model but showed good anti-tumor activity in the KRAS mutant Lu7187 model (26% and 80% tumor growth inhibition, respectively). Combination of RG7787 with standard chemotherapies further enhanced efficacy in both models achieving near complete eradication of Lu7187 tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frieder Bauss
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Discovery Oncology, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Martin Lechmann
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Pharmaceutical Sciences, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Ben-Fillippo Krippendorff
- Roche pRED Innovation Center Basel, Pharmaceutical Sciences, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Grenzacherstrasse 124, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Roland Staack
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Pharmaceutical Sciences, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Frank Herting
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Discovery Oncology, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Matthias Festag
- Roche pRED Innovation Center Basel, Pharmaceutical Sciences, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Grenzacherstrasse 124, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sabine Imhof-Jung
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Large Molecule Research, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Friederike Hesse
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Large Molecule Research, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Marc Pompiati
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Large Molecule Research, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Gwendlyn Kollmorgen
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Discovery Oncology, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Rita da Silva Mateus Seidl
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Discovery Oncology, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Birgit Bossenmaier
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Discovery Oncology, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Wilma Lau
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Large Molecule Research, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Christian Schantz
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Large Molecule Research, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Jan O Stracke
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Large Molecule Research, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany; Pharmaceutical Development & Supplies, Pharma Technical Development Biologics Europe, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ulrich Brinkmann
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Large Molecule Research, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Masanori Onda
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Ira Pastan
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Klaus Bosslet
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Discovery Oncology, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | - Gerhard Niederfellner
- Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED), Discovery Oncology, Innovation Center Munich, Roche Diagnostics GmbH Penzberg, Nonnenwald 2, D-82377 Penzberg, Germany.
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Griswold KE, Bailey-Kellogg C. Design and engineering of deimmunized biotherapeutics. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2016; 39:79-88. [PMID: 27322891 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2016.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2016] [Revised: 06/03/2016] [Accepted: 06/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Therapeutic proteins are powerful next-generation drugs able to effectively treat diverse and devastating diseases, but the development and use of biotherapeutics entails unique challenges and risks. In particular, protein drugs are subject to immune surveillance in the human body, and ensuing antidrug immune responses can cause a wide range of problems including altered pharmacokinetics, loss of efficacy, and even life-threating complications. Here we review recent progress in technologies for engineering deimmunized biotherapeutics, placing particular emphasis on deletion of immunogenic antibody and T cell epitopes via experimentally or computationally guided mutagenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl E Griswold
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, United States; Stealth Biologics LLC, Lyme, NH, United States.
| | - Chris Bailey-Kellogg
- Stealth Biologics LLC, Lyme, NH, United States; Department of Computer Science, Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, United States.
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