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Oh MJ, Kim U, Kim S, Cho DS, Seo JA, Seo N, An HJ. Equivalence assessment of biotherapeutics with N- and O-glycosylation sites by sequential intact glycoform mass spectrometry (IGMS). J Pharm Biomed Anal 2023; 234:115558. [PMID: 37393692 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2023.115558] [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: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Glycosylation is a crucial attribute for biotherapeutics with significant impacts on quality, stability, safety, immunogenicity, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy. Therefore, to ensure consistent glycosylation, a systematic review of biotherapeutics is absolutely required including the variable glycan structure (micro-heterogeneity) and different occupancy at individual site (macro-heterogeneity) from drug design to upstream and downstream bioprocesses. Various methods have been used for glyco-characterization of biotherapeutics at the glycan, glycopeptide, and intact protein levels. In particular, intact protein analysis is considered a facile and rapid glycoform monitoring approach used throughout the product development lifecycle to determine suitable glycosylation lead candidates and reproducible product quality. However, intact glycoform characterization of diverse and complex biotherapeutics with multiple N- and O-glycosylation sites can be very challenging. To address this, a robust analytical platform that enables rapid and accurate characterization of a biotherapeutics with highly complex multiple glycosylation using two-step intact glycoform mass spectrometry has been developed. We used darbepoetin alfa, a second-generation EPO bearing multiple N- and O-glycosylation sites, as a model biotherapeutics to obtain integrated information on glycan heterogeneity and site occupancy through step-by-step MS of intact protein and enzyme-treated protein. In addition, we performed a comparative assessment of the heterogeneity from different products, confirming that our new method can efficiently evaluate glycosylation equivalence. This new strategy provides rapid and accurate information on the degree of glycosylation of a therapeutic glycoprotein with multiple glycosylation, which can be used to assess glycosylation similarity between batches and between biosimilar and reference during development and production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myung Jin Oh
- Asia-Pacific Glycomics Reference Site, Daejeon 34134, South Korea; Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, South Korea
| | - Unyong Kim
- Biocomplete Co., Ltd., Seoul 08389, South Korea
| | - Sol Kim
- Asia-Pacific Glycomics Reference Site, Daejeon 34134, South Korea; Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, South Korea
| | - Dae Sik Cho
- Asia-Pacific Glycomics Reference Site, Daejeon 34134, South Korea; Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, South Korea
| | - Jung-A Seo
- Asia-Pacific Glycomics Reference Site, Daejeon 34134, South Korea; Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, South Korea
| | - Nari Seo
- Asia-Pacific Glycomics Reference Site, Daejeon 34134, South Korea; Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, South Korea
| | - Hyun Joo An
- Asia-Pacific Glycomics Reference Site, Daejeon 34134, South Korea; Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, South Korea.
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Seo N, Ko J, Lee D, Jeong H, Oh MJ, Kim U, Lee DH, Kim J, Choi YJ, An HJ. In-depth characterization of non-human sialic acid (Neu5Gc) in human serum using label-free ZIC-HILIC/MRM-MS. Anal Bioanal Chem 2021; 413:5227-5237. [PMID: 34235565 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-021-03495-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Sialic acid Neu5Gc, a non-human glycan, is recognized as a new harmful substance that can cause vascular disease and cancer. Humans are unable to synthesize Neu5Gc due to a genetic defect that converts Neu5Ac to Neu5Gc, but Neu5Gc is often observed in human biological samples. Therefore, the demand for accurately measuring the amount of Neu5Gc present in human blood or tissues is rapidly increasing, but there is still no method to reliably quantify trace amounts of a non-human sugar. In particular, selective isolation and detection of Neu5Gc from human serum is analytically challenging due to the presence of excess sialic acid Neu5Ac, which has physicochemical properties very similar to Neu5Gc. Herein, we developed the label-free approach based on ZIC-HILIC/MRM-MS that can enrich sialic acids released from human serum and simultaneously monitor Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc. The combination of complete separation of Neu5Gc from abundant Neu5Ac by hydrophilic and electrostatic interactions with selective monitoring of structure-specific cross-ring cleavage ions generated by negative CID-MS/MS was remarkably effective for quantification of Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc at the femtomole level. Indeed, we were able to successfully determine the absolute quantitation of Neu5Gc from 30 healthy donors in the range of 3.336 ± 1.252 pg/μL (mean ± SD), 10,000 times lower than Neu5Ac. In particular, analysis of sialic acids in protein-free serum revealed that both Neu5Ac and Neu5G are mostly bound to proteins and/or lipids, but not in free form. In addition, the correlation between expression level of Neu5Gc and biological factors such as BMI, age, and sex was investigated. This method can be widely used in studies requiring sialic acid-related measurements such as disease diagnosis or prediction of immunogenicity in biopharmaceuticals as it is both fast and highly sensitive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nari Seo
- Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.,Asia Glycomics Reference Site, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaekyoung Ko
- Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.,Asia Glycomics Reference Site, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Daum Lee
- Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.,Asia Glycomics Reference Site, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Heejin Jeong
- Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.,Asia Glycomics Reference Site, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Myung Jin Oh
- Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.,Asia Glycomics Reference Site, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Unyong Kim
- Biocomplete Co., Ltd., Seoul, 08389, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Ho Lee
- Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Budang Hospital, Seongnam, 13620, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaehan Kim
- Department of Food and Nutrition, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoon Jin Choi
- Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Budang Hospital, Seongnam, 13620, Republic of Korea. .,Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea.
| | - Hyun Joo An
- Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea. .,Asia Glycomics Reference Site, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.
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Oh MJ, Seo Y, Kim U, An HJ. In-Depth Glycan Characterization of Therapeutic Glycoproteins by Stepwise PGC SPE and LC-MS/MS. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2271:121-131. [PMID: 33908004 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1241-5_9] [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] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Glycosylation of biologics, an important factor in pharmacological functions such as efficacy, safety, and biological activity, is easily affected by subtle changes in the cellular environment. Therefore, comprehensive and in-depth glycan characterization of therapeutic glycoproteins should be performed to ensure product quality and process consistency, but it is analytically challenging due to glycan microheterogeneity occurring in the glycan biosynthesis pathway. LC-based chromatographic separation combined with mass spectrometry (MS) has been widely used as a prominent tool for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of glycosylation of therapeutic glycoproteins. However, prior to LC/MS analysis, glycans are selectively captured and fractionated by solid-phase extraction (SPE) utilizing physicochemical characteristics for comprehensive characterization of a wide range of glycan heterogeneity on glycoengineered therapeutic proteins. In particular, porous graphitized carbon (PGC) SPE has been employed as a useful technique for the fractionation of native glycans having different sizes and polarities. Here, we describe a systematic method for comprehensive glycan characterization of therapeutic proteins using stepwise PGC SPE and LC/MS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myung Jin Oh
- Asia-Pacific Glycomics Reference Site, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea.,Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Youngsuk Seo
- Asia-Pacific Glycomics Reference Site, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea.,Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea
| | | | - Hyun Joo An
- Asia-Pacific Glycomics Reference Site, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea. .,Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea.
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Capdeville P, Martin L, Cholet S, Damont A, Audran M, Ericsson M, Fenaille F, Marchand A. Evaluation of erythropoietin biosimilars Epotin™, Hemax® and Jimaixin™ by electrophoretic methods used for doping control analysis and specific N-glycan analysis revealed structural differences from original epoetin alfa drug Eprex®. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2020; 194:113750. [PMID: 33234415 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2020.113750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Recombinant human erythropoietin (rEPO) biosimilars are copies of epoetin drugs developed after the first patents ended. However differences in the process of production can result in small structural differences when compared to the reference product. Differences in N-glycosylation profiles are of particular importance for rEPOs, because they can drastically impact the half-life in circulation and activity. Changes of structure can also impact electrophoretic profiles that are used to reveal the presence of a rEPO in a doping control sample. In this study three not well characterized biosimilars were evaluated (Jimaixin™ authorized in China, and Hemax® and Epotin™ authorized in Algeria). As these products could be used for doping, first their EPO profiles were determined using the antidoping methods (electrophoretic separation by the charge (isolectric focusing, IEF-PAGE) or the molecular weight (SDS-PAGE) and specific EPO immunodetection). Compared to the original epoetin alfa Eprex®, it revealed more basic isoforms for Epotin™ and Jimaixin™ after IEF-PAGE and a slightly lower molecular weight after SDS-PAGE in particular for Hemax®. To better understand the reason for these differences, EPO specific N-glycans were evaluated using two complementary approaches: MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) with fluorescence detection. All three biosimilars presented a significant decrease in the major glycan forms of Eprex® along with an increase in less complex forms. Jimaixin™ and Epotin™ presented also a lower amount of fully sialylated forms. HILIC method also showed that O-acetylation level of sialic acid residues might vary from one rEPO to the other.
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Affiliation(s)
- Perrine Capdeville
- Analyses Department, Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage (AFLD), Châtenay-Malabry, France
| | - Laurent Martin
- Analyses Department, Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage (AFLD), Châtenay-Malabry, France
| | - Sophie Cholet
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), MetaboHUB, F-91191, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Annelaure Damont
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), MetaboHUB, F-91191, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Michel Audran
- Analyses Department, Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage (AFLD), Châtenay-Malabry, France
| | - Magnus Ericsson
- Analyses Department, Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage (AFLD), Châtenay-Malabry, France
| | - François Fenaille
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), MetaboHUB, F-91191, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Alexandre Marchand
- Analyses Department, Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage (AFLD), Châtenay-Malabry, France.
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Chi B, Veyssier C, Kasali T, Uddin F, Sellick CA. At-line high throughput site-specific glycan profiling using targeted mass spectrometry. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 25:e00424. [PMID: 32071892 PMCID: PMC7016254 DOI: 10.1016/j.btre.2020.e00424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2019] [Revised: 12/24/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
High throughput, site-specific glycan profiling using targeted mass spectrometry. Rapid analysis of glycan profiles directly from culture media. Methodology is fully compatible with automation. Methodology can be integrated into cell line selection and process development. Strategy can be used for multi-attribute product quality screening/monitoring.
Protein post-translational modification (PTM) plays an important role in many biological processes; of which glycosylation is arguably one of the most complex and diverse modifications and is crucial for the safety and efficacy of biotherapeutic proteins. Mass spectrometric characterization of protein glycosylation is well established with clear advantages and disadvantages; on one hand it is precise and information-rich, as well as being relative inexpensive in terms of the reagents and consumables despite the instrumentation cost and, depending on the method, can give site specific information; on the other hand it generally suffers from low throughput, restriction to largely purified samples and is less quantitative, especially for sialylated glycan species. Here, we describe a high throughput, site-specific, targeted mass spectrometric peptide mapping approach to quickly screen/rank candidate production cell lines and culture conditions that give favourable glycosylation profiles directly from conditioned culture media for an Fc-fusion protein. The methodology is fully compatible with automation and combines the speed of ‘top-down’ mass spectrometry with the site-specific information of ‘bottom-up’ mass spectrometry. In addition, this strategy can be used for multi-attribute product quality screening/monitoring as an integral part of cell line selection and process development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bertie Chi
- MedImmune, Milstein Building, Granta Park, Cambridge, CB21 6GH, UK
| | | | - Toyin Kasali
- MedImmune, Milstein Building, Granta Park, Cambridge, CB21 6GH, UK
| | - Faisal Uddin
- MedImmune, Milstein Building, Granta Park, Cambridge, CB21 6GH, UK
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Ji ES, Lee HK, Park GW, Kim KH, Kim JY, Yoo JS. Isomer separation of sialylated O- and N-linked glycopeptides using reversed-phase LC-MS/MS at high temperature. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 2019; 1110-1111:101-107. [PMID: 30798070 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2019.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2018] [Revised: 02/08/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Analyses of intact glycopeptides using mass spectrometry is challenging due to the numerous types of isomers of glycan moieties attached to the peptide backbone. Here, we demonstrate that high-temperature reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) can be used to separate isomeric O- and N-linked glycopeptides. In general, high column temperatures enhanced the resolution for separation of sialylated O- and N-linked glycopeptide isomers with decreased retention times. Using the high-temperature RPLC method, α2-6-linked sialylated N-glycopeptides were eluted first, followed by α2-3-linked isomers. However, highly sialylated N-glycopeptides containing hydrophobic amino acids exhibited increased retention times at high temperature. The separation of sialylated O- and N-glycopeptides with different glycan isoforms using a high-temperature RPLC method was demonstrated. This study indicates that reversed-phase chromatographic separation at high column temperatures is suitable for the separation of glycopeptide structural isomers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun Sun Ji
- Biomedical Omics Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun Kyoung Lee
- Biomedical Omics Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongju, Republic of Korea; Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Gun Wook Park
- Biomedical Omics Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Kwang Hoe Kim
- Biomedical Omics Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongju, Republic of Korea; Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Jin Young Kim
- Biomedical Omics Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongju, Republic of Korea.
| | - Jong Shin Yoo
- Biomedical Omics Group, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongju, Republic of Korea; Graduate School of Analytical Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
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O'Flaherty R, Trbojević-Akmačić I, Greville G, Rudd PM, Lauc G. The sweet spot for biologics: recent advances in characterization of biotherapeutic glycoproteins. Expert Rev Proteomics 2017; 15:13-29. [PMID: 29130774 DOI: 10.1080/14789450.2018.1404907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Glycosylation is recognized as a Critical Quality Attribute for therapeutic glycoproteins such as monoclonal antibodies, fusion proteins and therapeutic replacement enzymes. Hence, efficient and quantitative glycan analysis techniques have been increasingly important for their discovery, development and quality control. The aim of this review is to highlight relevant and recent advances in analytical technologies for characterization of biotherapeutic glycoproteins. Areas covered: The review gives an overview of the glycosylation trends of biotherapeutics approved in 2016 and 2017 by FDA. It describes current and novel analytical technologies for characterization of therapeutic glycoproteins and is explored in the context of released glycan, glycopeptide or intact glycoprotein analysis. Ultra performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and capillary electrophoresis technologies are explored in this context. Expert commentary: There is a need for the biopharmaceutical industry to incorporate novel state of the art analytical technologies into existing and new therapeutic glycoprotein workflows for safer and more efficient biotherapeutics and for the improvement of future biotherapeutic design. Additionally, at present, there is no 'gold-standard' approach to address all the regulatory requirements and as such this will involve the use of orthogonal glycoanalytical technologies with a view to gain diagnostic information about the therapeutic glycoprotein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Róisín O'Flaherty
- a NIBRT GlycoScience Group , National Institute for Bioprocessing, Research and Training , Blackrock, Co. Dublin , Ireland
| | | | - Gordon Greville
- a NIBRT GlycoScience Group , National Institute for Bioprocessing, Research and Training , Blackrock, Co. Dublin , Ireland
| | - Pauline M Rudd
- a NIBRT GlycoScience Group , National Institute for Bioprocessing, Research and Training , Blackrock, Co. Dublin , Ireland
| | - Gordan Lauc
- b Genos Glycoscience Research Laboratory , 10000 , Zagreb , Croatia.,c Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry , University of Zagreb , Zagreb , Croatia
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