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Douez E, Allard-Vannier E, Amar IAM, Jolivet L, Boursin F, Maisonial-Besset A, Witkowski T, Chezal JM, Colas C, Letast S, Auvert E, Denevault-Sabourin C, Aubrey N, Joubert N. Branched pegylated linker-auristatin to control hydrophobicity for the production of homogeneous minibody-drug conjugate against HER2-positive breast cancer. J Control Release 2024; 366:567-584. [PMID: 38215985 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
Trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla®) was the first antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2013 against a solid tumor, and the first ADC to treat human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+) breast cancer. However, this second generation ADC is burden by several limitations included heterogeneity, limited activity against heterogeneous tumor (regarding antigen expression) and suboptimal tumor penetration. To address this, different development strategies are oriented towards homogeneous conjugation, new drugs, optimized linkers and/or smaller antibody formats. To reach better developed next generation ADCs, a key parameter to consider is the management of the hydrophobicity associated with the linker-drug, increasing with and limiting the drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR) of the ADC. Here, an innovative branched pegylated linker was developed, to control the hydrophobicity of the monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) and its cathepsin B-sensitive trigger. This branched pegylated linker-MMAE was then used for the efficient generation of internalizing homogeneous ADC of DAR 8 and minibody-drug conjugate of DAR 4, targeting HER2. Both immunoconjugates were then evaluated in vitro and in vivo on breast cancer models. Interestingly, this study highlighted that the minibody-MMAE conjugate of DAR 4 was the best immunoconjugate regarding in vitro cellular internalization and cytotoxicity, gamma imaging, ex vivo biodistribution profile in mice and efficient reduction of tumor size in vivo. These results are very promising and encourage us to explore further fragment-drug conjugate development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Douez
- UPR 4301 CBM, CNRS, University of Tours, University of Orléans, F-45071 Orléans, France; Pharmacy Department, Tours University Hospital, F-37200 Tours, France
| | - Emilie Allard-Vannier
- UPR 4301 CBM, CNRS, University of Tours, University of Orléans, F-45071 Orléans, France.
| | | | - Louis Jolivet
- UMR 1282 ISP, INRAE, University of Tours, Team BioMAP, F-37200 Tours, France
| | - Fanny Boursin
- UMR 1282 ISP, INRAE, University of Tours, Team BioMAP, F-37200 Tours, France
| | - Aurélie Maisonial-Besset
- Université Clermont Auvergne, Inserm, Imagerie Moléculaire et Stratégies Théranostiques, UMR 1240, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Tiffany Witkowski
- Université Clermont Auvergne, Inserm, Imagerie Moléculaire et Stratégies Théranostiques, UMR 1240, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Jean-Michel Chezal
- Université Clermont Auvergne, Inserm, Imagerie Moléculaire et Stratégies Théranostiques, UMR 1240, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Cyril Colas
- UPR 4301 CBM, CNRS, University of Tours, University of Orléans, F-45071 Orléans, France; UMR 7311 ICOA, CNRS, University of Orléans, F-45067 Orléans, France
| | - Stéphanie Letast
- UMR 1100 CEPR, INSERM, University of Tours, F-37200 Tours, France
| | - Etienne Auvert
- UMR 1100 CEPR, INSERM, University of Tours, F-37200 Tours, France
| | | | - Nicolas Aubrey
- UMR 1282 ISP, INRAE, University of Tours, Team BioMAP, F-37200 Tours, France
| | - Nicolas Joubert
- UMR 1100 CEPR, INSERM, University of Tours, F-37200 Tours, France.
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