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Camacaro JF, Dunckley CP, Harman SE, Fitzgerald HA, Lakes AL, Liao Z, Ludwig RC, McBride KM, Yalcintas Bethune E, Younes A, Chatterjee S, Lilley LM. Development of 225Ac Production from Low Isotopic Dilution 229Th. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:38822-38827. [PMID: 37901510 PMCID: PMC10601055 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c01769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023]
Abstract
The promise of 225Ac targeted alpha therapies has been on the horizon for the last two decades. TerraPower Isotopes are uniquely suited to produce clinically relevant quantities of 225Ac through the decay of 229Th. Herein, a rapid processing scheme to isolate radionuclidic and radioisotopically pure 225Ac in good yield (98%) produced from 229Th that contains significant quantities of 228Th activity is described. The characterization of each step of the process is presented along with the detailed characterization of the resulting 225Ac isotopic starting material that will support the cancer research and development efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose F. Camacaro
- TerraPower LLC, 15800 Northup Way, Bellevue, Washington 98008, United States
| | | | - S. Elizabeth Harman
- TerraPower LLC, 15800 Northup Way, Bellevue, Washington 98008, United States
| | | | - Andrew L. Lakes
- TerraPower LLC, 15800 Northup Way, Bellevue, Washington 98008, United States
| | - Zuolei Liao
- TerraPower LLC, 15800 Northup Way, Bellevue, Washington 98008, United States
| | - Russell C. Ludwig
- TerraPower LLC, 15800 Northup Way, Bellevue, Washington 98008, United States
| | - Katie M. McBride
- TerraPower LLC, 15800 Northup Way, Bellevue, Washington 98008, United States
| | | | - Ali Younes
- TerraPower LLC, 15800 Northup Way, Bellevue, Washington 98008, United States
| | - Sayandev Chatterjee
- TerraPower LLC, 15800 Northup Way, Bellevue, Washington 98008, United States
| | - Laura M. Lilley
- TerraPower LLC, 15800 Northup Way, Bellevue, Washington 98008, United States
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Velappan N, Ferrara F, D’Angelo S, Close D, Naranjo L, Bolding MR, Mozden SC, Troup CB, McCullough DK, Gomez A, Kedge M, Bradbury ARM. Direct selection of functional fluorescent-protein antibody fusions by yeast display. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0280930. [PMID: 36827414 PMCID: PMC9956592 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibodies are important reagents for research, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Many examples of chimeric proteins combining the specific target recognition of antibodies with complementing functionalities such as fluorescence, toxicity or enzymatic activity have been described. However, antibodies selected solely on the basis of their binding specificities are not necessarily ideal candidates for the construction of chimeras. Here, we describe a high throughput method based on yeast display to directly select antibodies most suitable for conversion to fluorescent chimera. A library of scFv binders was converted to a fluorescent chimeric form, by cloning thermal green protein into the linker between VH and VL, and directly selecting for both binding and fluorescent functionality. This allowed us to directly identify antibodies functional in the single chain TGP format, that manifest higher protein expression, easier protein purification, and one-step binding assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nileena Velappan
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States of America
| | | | - Sara D’Angelo
- Specifica Inc., Santa Fe, NM, United States of America
| | - Devin Close
- Arup Laboratories, Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America
| | | | - Madeline R. Bolding
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States of America
| | - Sarah C. Mozden
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States of America
| | | | - Donna K. McCullough
- Microbiology Department, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States of America
| | - Analyssa Gomez
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States of America
| | - Marijo Kedge
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States of America
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Velappan N, Nguyen HB, Micheva-Viteva S, Bedinger D, Ye C, Mangadu B, Watts AJ, Meagher R, Bradfute S, Hu B, Waldo GS, Lillo AM. Healthy humans can be a source of antibodies countering COVID-19. Bioengineered 2022; 13:12598-12624. [PMID: 35599623 PMCID: PMC9275966 DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2022.2076390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Here, we describe the isolation of 18 unique anti SARS-CoV-2 human single-chain antibodies from an antibody library derived from healthy donors. The selection used a combination of phage and yeast display technologies and included counter-selection strategies meant to direct the selection of the receptor-binding motif (RBM) of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein's receptor binding domain (RBD2). Selected antibodies were characterized in various formats including IgG, using flow cytometry, ELISA, high throughput SPR, and fluorescence microscopy. We report antibodies' RBD2 recognition specificity, binding affinity, and epitope diversity, as well as ability to block RBD2 binding to the human receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and to neutralize authentic SARS-CoV-2 virus infection in vitro. We present evidence supporting that: 1) most of our antibodies (16 out of 18) selectively recognize RBD2; 2) the best performing 8 antibodies target eight different epitopes of RBD2; 3) one of the pairs tested in sandwich assays detects RBD2 with sub-picomolar sensitivity; and 4) two antibody pairs inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection at low nanomolar half neutralization titers. Based on these results, we conclude that our antibodies have high potential for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Importantly, our results indicate that readily available non immune (naïve) antibody libraries obtained from healthy donors can be used to select high-quality monoclonal antibodies, bypassing the need for blood of infected patients, and offering a widely accessible and low-cost alternative to more sophisticated and expensive antibody selection approaches (e.g. single B cell analysis and natural evolution in humanized mice).
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Affiliation(s)
- Nileena Velappan
- Biosciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM87547, USA
| | - Hau B. Nguyen
- Biosciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM87547, USA
| | | | - Daniel Bedinger
- Experimental division, Carterra Inc, Walnut Creek, CA, 94568, USA
| | - Chunyan Ye
- Center for Global Health and Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Betty Mangadu
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA, 94551, USA
| | - Austin J. Watts
- Biosciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM87547, USA
- Experimental division, Carterra Inc, Walnut Creek, CA, 94568, USA
- Center for Global Health and Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA, 94551, USA
| | - Robert Meagher
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA, 94551, USA
| | - Steven Bradfute
- Center for Global Health and Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Bin Hu
- Biosciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM87547, USA
| | - Geoffrey S. Waldo
- Biosciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM87547, USA
| | - Antonietta M. Lillo
- Biosciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM87547, USA
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Rosario-Acevedo R, Biryukov SS, Bozue JA, Cote CK. Plague Prevention and Therapy: Perspectives on Current and Future Strategies. Biomedicines 2021; 9:biomedicines9101421. [PMID: 34680537 PMCID: PMC8533540 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9101421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Plague, caused by the bacterial pathogen Yersinia pestis, is a vector-borne disease that has caused millions of human deaths over several centuries. Presently, human plague infections continue throughout the world. Transmission from one host to another relies mainly on infected flea bites, which can cause enlarged lymph nodes called buboes, followed by septicemic dissemination of the pathogen. Additionally, droplet inhalation after close contact with infected mammals can result in primary pneumonic plague. Here, we review research advances in the areas of vaccines and therapeutics for plague in context of Y. pestis virulence factors and disease pathogenesis. Plague continues to be both a public health threat and a biodefense concern and we highlight research that is important for infection mitigation and disease treatment.
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Optimised Heterologous Expression and Functional Analysis of the Yersinia pestis F1-Capsular Antigen Regulator Caf1R. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22189805. [PMID: 34575967 PMCID: PMC8470410 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22189805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The bacterial pathogen, Yersinia pestis, has caused three historic pandemics and continues to cause small outbreaks worldwide. During infection, Y. pestis assembles a capsule-like protective coat of thin fibres of Caf1 subunits. This F1 capsular antigen has attracted much attention due to its clinical value in plague diagnostics and anti-plague vaccine development. Expression of F1 is tightly regulated by a transcriptional activator, Caf1R, of the AraC/XylS family, proteins notoriously prone to aggregation. Here, we have optimised the recombinant expression of soluble Caf1R. Expression from the native and synthetic codon-optimised caf1R cloned in three different expression plasmids was examined in a library of E. coli host strains. The functionality of His-tagged Caf1R was demonstrated in vivo, but insolubility was a problem with overproduction. High levels of soluble MBP-Caf1R were produced from codon optimised caf1R. Transcriptional-lacZ reporter fusions defined the PM promoter and Caf1R binding site responsible for transcription of the cafMA1 operon. Use of the identified Caf1R binding caf DNA sequence in an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) confirmed correct folding and functionality of the Caf1R DNA-binding domain in recombinant MBP-Caf1R. Availability of functional recombinant Caf1R will be a valuable tool to elucidate control of expression of F1 and Caf1R-regulated pathophysiology of Y. pestis.
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Velappan N, Close D, Hung LW, Naranjo L, Hemez C, DeVore N, McCullough DK, Lillo AM, Waldo GS, Bradbury ARM. Construction, characterization and crystal structure of a fluorescent single-chain Fv chimera. Protein Eng Des Sel 2021; 34:gzaa029. [PMID: 33586761 PMCID: PMC7901706 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzaa029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In vitro display technologies based on phage and yeast have a successful history of selecting single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibodies against various targets. However, single-chain antibodies are often unstable and poorly expressed in Escherichia coli. Here, we explore the feasibility of converting scFv antibodies to an intrinsically fluorescent format by inserting the monomeric, stable fluorescent protein named thermal green, between the light- and heavy-chain variable regions. Our results show that the scTGP format maintains the affinity and specificity of the antibodies, improves expression levels, allows one-step fluorescent assay for detection of binding and is a suitable reagent for epitope binning. We also report the crystal structure of an scTGP construct that recognizes phosphorylated tyrosine on FcεR1 receptor of the allergy pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nileena Velappan
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
- Microbiology Department, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Devin Close
- ARUP Laboratories, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
- Microbiology Department, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Li-Wei Hung
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
- Microbiology Department, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Leslie Naranjo
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
- Specifica Inc., Santa Fe, NM 87505, USA
| | - Colin Hemez
- Graduate Program in Biophysics, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Natasha DeVore
- Chemistry Department, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO 65897, USA
| | - Donna K McCullough
- Microbiology Department, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Antonietta M Lillo
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
| | - Geoffrey S Waldo
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
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