1
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Kim DY, Kandalaft H, Lowden MJ, Yang Q, Rossotti MA, Robotham A, Kelly JF, Hussack G, Schrag JD, Henry KA, Tanha J. Sequence tolerance of immunoglobulin variable domain framework regions to noncanonical intradomain disulfide linkages. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105278. [PMID: 37742917 PMCID: PMC10641266 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105278] [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: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Most immunoglobulin (Ig) domains bear only a single highly conserved canonical intradomain, inter-β-sheet disulfide linkage formed between Cys23-Cys104, and incorporation of rare noncanonical disulfide linkages at other locations can enhance Ig domain stability. Here, we exhaustively surveyed the sequence tolerance of Ig variable (V) domain framework regions (FRs) to noncanonical disulfide linkages. Starting from a destabilized VH domain lacking a Cys23-Cys104 disulfide linkage, we generated and screened phage-displayed libraries of engineered VHs, bearing all possible pairwise combinations of Cys residues in neighboring β-strands of the Ig fold FRs. This approach identified seven novel Cys pairs in VH FRs (Cys4-Cys25, Cys4-Cys118, Cys5-Cys120, Cys6-Cys119, Cys22-Cys88, Cys24-Cys86, and Cys45-Cys100; the international ImMunoGeneTics information system numbering), whose presence rescued domain folding and stability. Introduction of a subset of these noncanonical disulfide linkages (three intra-β-sheet: Cys4-Cys25, Cys22-Cys88, and Cys24-Cys86, and one inter-β-sheet: Cys6-Cys119) into a diverse panel of VH, VL, and VHH domains enhanced their thermostability and protease resistance without significantly impacting expression, solubility, or binding to cognate antigens. None of the noncanonical disulfide linkages identified were present in the natural human VH repertoire. These data reveal an unexpected permissiveness of Ig V domains to noncanonical disulfide linkages at diverse locations in FRs, absent in the human repertoire, whose presence is compatible with antigen recognition and improves domain stability. Our work represents the most complete assessment to date of the role of engineered noncanonical disulfide bonding within FRs in Ig V domain structure and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dae Young Kim
- Life Sciences Division, Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Hiba Kandalaft
- Life Sciences Division, Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Michael J Lowden
- Life Sciences Division, Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Qingling Yang
- Life Sciences Division, Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Martin A Rossotti
- Life Sciences Division, Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Anna Robotham
- Life Sciences Division, Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - John F Kelly
- Life Sciences Division, Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Greg Hussack
- Life Sciences Division, Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joseph D Schrag
- Life Sciences Division, Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Kevin A Henry
- Life Sciences Division, Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jamshid Tanha
- Life Sciences Division, Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
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2
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Nakada-Masuta T, Takeda H, Uchida K. Novel Approach for Obtaining Variable Domain of New Antigen Receptor with Different Physicochemical Properties from Japanese Topeshark ( Hemitriakis japanica). Mar Drugs 2023; 21:550. [PMID: 37999374 PMCID: PMC10672104 DOI: 10.3390/md21110550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Diverse candidate antibodies are needed to successfully identify therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The variable domain of IgNAR (VNAR), a shark single-domain antibody, has attracted attention owing to its favorable physicochemical properties. The phage display method used to screen for optimal VNARs loses sequence diversity because of the bias caused by the differential ease of protein expression in Escherichia coli. Here, we investigated a VNAR selection method that combined panning with various selection pressures and next-generation sequencing (NGS) analyses to obtain additional candidates. Drawing inspiration from the physiological conditions of sharks and the physicochemical properties of VNARs, we examined the effects of NaCl and urea concentrations, low temperature, and preheating at the binding step of panning. VNAR phage libraries generated from Japanese topeshark (Hemitriakis japanica) were enriched under these conditions. We then performed NGS analysis and attempted to select clones that were specifically enriched under each panning condition. The identified VNARs exhibited higher reactivity than those obtained by panning without selection pressure. Additionally, they possess physicochemical properties that reflect their respective selection pressures. These results can greatly enhance our understanding of VNAR properties and offer guidance for the screening of high-quality VNAR clones that are present at low frequencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomofumi Nakada-Masuta
- Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University, 7-1-49 Minatojimaminamimachi Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan;
- Bio-Diagnostic Reagent Technology Center, Sysmex Corporation, 4-3-2 Nishi-ku Takatsukadai, Kobe 651-2271, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Takeda
- Division of Proteo-Drug-Discovery Sciences, Ehime University Proteo-Science Center, Bunkyocho 3, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan;
| | - Kazuhisa Uchida
- Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University, 7-1-49 Minatojimaminamimachi Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan;
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3
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Isolation and Production of Human Monoclonal Antibody Proteins against a Toxocara canis Excretory-Secretory Recombinant Antigen. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11111232. [PMID: 36364983 PMCID: PMC9698333 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11111232] [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: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Toxocariasis is a widespread zoonotic parasitic disease with a significant socioeconomic impact, particularly on underprivileged communities. Limitations of existing diagnostic tools and vague presenting symptoms may lead to misdiagnosis, thus underestimating the actual global impact of the disease. The present study describes the isolation and production of novel recombinant monoclonal antibodies against Toxocara canis recombinant TES-26 antigen (rTES-26) utilizing a human helminth scFv phage display library. The isolated antibody clones were characterized based on their gene sequences and binding characteristics. Three clones representing unique gene families (clone 48: IgHV3-LV1; clone 49: IgHV3-LV3; clone 50: IgHV6-LV3) were isolated, but only clones 48 and 49 showed successful insertion of the full-length scFv antibody sequence after sub-cloning. Both clones produced antibody proteins of good solubility and satisfactory yield and purity. Binding assays via Western blot and ELISA using rTES-26 and Toxocara canis native protein showed that both monoclonal antibodies were highly specific and sensitive to the target antigen. A preliminary antigen detection ELISA showed the diagnostic potential of the monoclonal antibody proteins. The proteins can also be useful in studying host−parasite interactions and therapeutic applications.
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4
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Soleimanizadeh A, Dinter H, Schindowski K. Central Nervous System Delivery of Antibodies and Their Single-Domain Antibodies and Variable Fragment Derivatives with Focus on Intranasal Nose to Brain Administration. Antibodies (Basel) 2021; 10:antib10040047. [PMID: 34939999 PMCID: PMC8699001 DOI: 10.3390/antib10040047] [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: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
IgG antibodies are some of the most important biopharmaceutical molecules with a high market volume. In spite of the fact that clinical therapies with antibodies are broadly utilized in oncology, immunology and hematology, their delivery strategies and biodistribution need improvement, their limitations being due to their size and poor ability to penetrate into tissues. In view of their small size, there is a rising interest in derivatives, such as single-domain antibodies and single-chain variable fragments, for clinical diagnostic but also therapeutic applications. Smaller antibody formats combine several benefits for clinical applications and can be manufactured at reduced production costs compared with full-length IgGs. Moreover, such formats have a relevant potential for targeted drug delivery that directs drug cargo to a specific tissue or across the blood–brain barrier. In this review, we give an overview of the challenges for antibody drug delivery in general and focus on intranasal delivery to the central nervous system with antibody formats of different sizes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arghavan Soleimanizadeh
- Institute of Applied Biotechnology, Biberach University of Applied Science, 88400 Biberach, Germany; (A.S.); (H.D.)
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Ulm, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Heiko Dinter
- Institute of Applied Biotechnology, Biberach University of Applied Science, 88400 Biberach, Germany; (A.S.); (H.D.)
- Department of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Katharina Schindowski
- Institute of Applied Biotechnology, Biberach University of Applied Science, 88400 Biberach, Germany; (A.S.); (H.D.)
- Correspondence:
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5
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Berner C, Menzen T, Winter G, Svilenov HL. Combining Unfolding Reversibility Studies and Molecular Dynamics Simulations to Select Aggregation-Resistant Antibodies. Mol Pharm 2021; 18:2242-2253. [PMID: 33928776 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.1c00017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The efficient development of new therapeutic antibodies relies on developability assessment with biophysical and computational methods to find molecules with drug-like properties such as resistance to aggregation. Despite the many novel approaches to select well-behaved proteins, antibody aggregation during storage is still challenging to predict. For this reason, there is a high demand for methods that can identify aggregation-resistant antibodies. Here, we show that three straightforward techniques can select the aggregation-resistant antibodies from a dataset with 13 molecules. The ReFOLD assay provided information about the ability of the antibodies to refold to monomers after unfolding with chemical denaturants. Modulated scanning fluorimetry (MSF) yielded the temperatures that start causing irreversible unfolding of the proteins. Aggregation was the main reason for poor unfolding reversibility in both ReFOLD and MSF experiments. We therefore performed temperature ramps in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to obtain partially unfolded antibody domains in silico and used CamSol to assess their aggregation potential. We compared the information from ReFOLD, MSF, and MD to size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) data that shows whether the antibodies aggregated during storage at 4, 25, and 40 °C. Contrary to the aggregation-prone molecules, the antibodies that were resistant to aggregation during storage at 40 °C shared three common features: (i) higher tendency to refold to monomers after unfolding with chemical denaturants, (ii) higher onset temperature of nonreversible unfolding, and (iii) unfolding of regions containing aggregation-prone sequences at higher temperatures in MD simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Berner
- Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Butenandtstr. 5, 81377 Munich, Germany
| | - Tim Menzen
- Coriolis Pharma Research GmbH, Fraunhoferstr. 18 b, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Gerhard Winter
- Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Butenandtstr. 5, 81377 Munich, Germany
| | - Hristo L Svilenov
- Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Butenandtstr. 5, 81377 Munich, Germany
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6
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Broad specificity of immune helminth scFv library to identify monoclonal antibodies targeting Strongyloides. Sci Rep 2021; 11:2502. [PMID: 33510342 PMCID: PMC7843650 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82125-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibodies have different chemical properties capable of targeting a diverse nature of antigens. Traditionally, immune antibody libraries are perceived to be disease-specific with a skewed repertoire. The complexity during the generation of a combinatorial antibody library allows for a skewed but diverse repertoire to be generated. Strongyloides stercoralis is a parasite that causes strongyloidiasis, a potentially life-threatening disease with a complex diagnosis that impedes effective control and treatment of the disease. This study describes the isolation of monoclonal antibodies against S. stercoralis NIE recombinant protein using an immune antibody phage display library derived from lymphatic filaria-infected individuals. The isolated antibody clones showed both lambda and kappa light chains gene usage, with diverse amino acid distributions. Structural analysis showed that electropositivity and the interface area could determine the binding affinity of the clones with NIE. The successful identification of S. stercoralis antibodies from the filarial immune library highlights the breadth of antibody gene diversification in an immune antibody library that can be applied for closely related infections.
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7
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Kaleli NE, Karadag M, Kalyoncu S. Phage display derived therapeutic antibodies have enriched aliphatic content: Insights for developability issues. Proteins 2019; 87:607-618. [DOI: 10.1002/prot.25685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Revised: 03/07/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Nazlı Eda Kaleli
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center Izmir Turkey
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University Izmir Turkey
| | - Murat Karadag
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center Izmir Turkey
- Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University Izmir Turkey
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8
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Kim DY, Kandalaft H, Hussack G, Raphael S, Ding W, Kelly JF, Henry KA, Tanha J. Evaluation of a noncanonical Cys40-Cys55 disulfide linkage for stabilization of single-domain antibodies. Protein Sci 2019; 28:881-888. [PMID: 30803088 DOI: 10.1002/pro.3595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2018] [Revised: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Incorporation of noncanonical disulfide linkages into single-domain antibodies (sdAbs) has been shown to enhance thermostability and other properties. Here, we evaluated the effects of introducing a novel disulfide linkage formed between Cys residues at IMGT positions 40 and 55 on the melting temperatures (T m s), reversibility of thermal unfolding, solubility, and antigen-binding affinities of three types of sdAbs (VH H, VH , and VL domains). The Cys40-Cys55 disulfide linkage was tolerated by 9/9 VH Hs, 12/12 VH s, and 2/11 VL s tested and its formation was confirmed by mass spectrometry. Using circular dichroism, we found that the Cys40-Cys55 disulfide linkage increased sdAb T m by an average of 10.0°C (range: 0-21.8°C). However, enhanced thermostability came at the cost of a partial loss of refolding ability upon thermal denaturation as well as, for some sdAbs, significantly decreased solubility and antigen-binding affinity. Thus, Cys40/Cys55 can be added to the panel of known locations for introducing stabilizing noncanonical disulfide linkages into antibody variable domains, although its effects should be tested empirically for individual sdAbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dae Young Kim
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
| | - Hiba Kandalaft
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
| | - Greg Hussack
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
| | - Shalini Raphael
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
| | - Wen Ding
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
| | - John F Kelly
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
| | - Kevin A Henry
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
| | - Jamshid Tanha
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6.,Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1H 8M5
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9
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Henry KA, Kim DY, Kandalaft H, Lowden MJ, Yang Q, Schrag JD, Hussack G, MacKenzie CR, Tanha J. Stability-Diversity Tradeoffs Impose Fundamental Constraints on Selection of Synthetic Human V H/V L Single-Domain Antibodies from In Vitro Display Libraries. Front Immunol 2017; 8:1759. [PMID: 29375542 PMCID: PMC5763143 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2017] [Accepted: 11/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Human autonomous VH/VL single-domain antibodies (sdAbs) are attractive therapeutic molecules, but often suffer from suboptimal stability, solubility and affinity for cognate antigens. Most commonly, human sdAbs have been isolated from in vitro display libraries constructed via synthetic randomization of rearranged VH/VL domains. Here, we describe the design and characterization of three novel human VH/VL sdAb libraries through a process of: (i) exhaustive biophysical characterization of 20 potential VH/VL sdAb library scaffolds, including assessment of expression yield, aggregation resistance, thermostability and tolerance to complementarity-determining region (CDR) substitutions; (ii) in vitro randomization of the CDRs of three VH/VL sdAb scaffolds, with tailored amino acid representation designed to promote solubility and expressibility; and (iii) systematic benchmarking of the three VH/VL libraries by panning against five model antigens. We isolated ≥1 antigen-specific human sdAb against four of five targets (13 VHs and 7 VLs in total); these were predominantly monomeric, had antigen-binding affinities ranging from 5 nM to 12 µM (average: 2–3 µM), but had highly variable expression yields (range: 0.1–19 mg/L). Despite our efforts to identify the most stable VH/VL scaffolds, selection of antigen-specific binders from these libraries was unpredictable (overall success rate for all library-target screens: ~53%) with a high attrition rate of sdAbs exhibiting false positive binding by ELISA. By analyzing VH/VL sdAb library sequence composition following selection for monomeric antibody expression (binding to protein A/L followed by amplification in bacterial cells), we found that some VH/VL sdAbs had marked growth advantages over others, and that the amino acid composition of the CDRs of this set of sdAbs was dramatically restricted (bias toward Asp and His and away from aromatic and hydrophobic residues). Thus, CDR sequence clearly dramatically impacts the stability of human autonomous VH/VL immunoglobulin domain folds, and sequence-stability tradeoffs must be taken into account during the design of such libraries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin A Henry
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Dae Young Kim
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Hiba Kandalaft
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Michael J Lowden
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Qingling Yang
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Joseph D Schrag
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Greg Hussack
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - C Roger MacKenzie
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Jamshid Tanha
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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10
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Hamidon NH, Suraiya S, Sarmiento ME, Acosta A, Norazmi MN, Lim TS. Immune TB Antibody Phage Display Library as a Tool To Study B Cell Immunity in TB Infections. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2017; 184:852-868. [DOI: 10.1007/s12010-017-2582-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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11
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Henry KA, Kandalaft H, Lowden MJ, Rossotti MA, van Faassen H, Hussack G, Durocher Y, Kim DY, Tanha J. A disulfide-stabilized human V L single-domain antibody library is a source of soluble and highly thermostable binders. Mol Immunol 2017; 90:190-196. [PMID: 28820969 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2017.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2017] [Revised: 07/04/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
We have previously shown that incorporation of a second intradomain disulfide linkage into camelid VHH and human VH/VL single-domain antibodies confers increased thermostability. Here, we explored the effects of introducing an additional disulfide linkage, formed between Cys48 and Cys64 (Kabat numbering), into a phage-displayed synthetic human VL library. In comparison to an identical library bearing only the highly conserved Cys23-Cys88 disulfide linkage, the disulfide-stabilized VL library tolerated a similar degree of randomization but retained a higher level of functional diversity after selection with protein L. Both libraries yielded soluble, antigen-specific VLs that recognized a model antigen (maltose-binding protein) with similar affinities, in the micromolar range; however, the disulfide-stabilized antigen-specific VLs were much more thermostable (average ΔTm ∼10°C) than non-disulfide-stabilized VLs. This work provides proof-of-concept for building synthetic antibody libraries using disulfide-constrained immunoglobulin domains, thus avoiding pitfalls of post-hoc disulfide linkage engineering such as impaired antigen binding and reduced expression yield.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin A Henry
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada
| | - Hiba Kandalaft
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada
| | - Michael J Lowden
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada
| | - Martin A Rossotti
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8M5, Canada
| | - Henk van Faassen
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada
| | - Greg Hussack
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada
| | - Yves Durocher
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount Avenue, Montréal, Québec, H4P 2R2, Canada
| | - Dae Young Kim
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada
| | - Jamshid Tanha
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8M5, Canada; School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
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12
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Tiller KE, Li L, Kumar S, Julian MC, Garde S, Tessier PM. Arginine mutations in antibody complementarity-determining regions display context-dependent affinity/specificity trade-offs. J Biol Chem 2017; 292:16638-16652. [PMID: 28778924 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m117.783837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2017] [Revised: 07/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibodies commonly accumulate charged mutations in their complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) during affinity maturation to enhance electrostatic interactions. However, charged mutations can mediate non-specific interactions, and it is unclear to what extent CDRs can accumulate charged residues to increase antibody affinity without compromising specificity. This is especially concerning for positively charged CDR mutations that are linked to antibody polyspecificity. To better understand antibody affinity/specificity trade-offs, we have selected single-chain antibody fragments specific for the negatively charged and hydrophobic Alzheimer's amyloid β peptide using weak and stringent selections for antibody specificity. Antibody variants isolated using weak selections for specificity were enriched in arginine CDR mutations and displayed low specificity. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis revealed that the affinities of these antibodies were strongly dependent on their arginine mutations. Antibody variants isolated using stringent selections for specificity were also enriched in arginine CDR mutations, but these antibodies possessed significant improvements in specificity. Importantly, the affinities of the most specific antibodies were much less dependent on their arginine mutations, suggesting that over-reliance on arginine for affinity leads to reduced specificity. Structural modeling and molecular simulations reveal unique hydrophobic environments near the arginine CDR mutations. The more specific antibodies contained arginine mutations in the most hydrophobic portions of the CDRs, whereas the less specific antibodies contained arginine mutations in more hydrophilic regions. These findings demonstrate that arginine mutations in antibody CDRs display context-dependent impacts on specificity and that affinity/specificity trade-offs are governed by the relative contribution of arginine CDR residues to the overall antibody affinity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn E Tiller
- From the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180 and
| | - Lijuan Li
- From the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180 and
| | - Sandeep Kumar
- Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Biotherapeutics Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pfizer Inc., Chesterfield, Missouri 63017
| | - Mark C Julian
- From the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180 and
| | - Shekhar Garde
- From the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180 and
| | - Peter M Tessier
- From the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180 and
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13
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Li W, Prabakaran P, Chen W, Zhu Z, Feng Y, Dimitrov DS. Antibody Aggregation: Insights from Sequence and Structure. Antibodies (Basel) 2016; 5:antib5030019. [PMID: 31558000 PMCID: PMC6698864 DOI: 10.3390/antib5030019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2016] [Revised: 08/03/2016] [Accepted: 08/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are the fastest-growing biological therapeutics with important applications ranging from cancers, autoimmunity diseases and metabolic disorders to emerging infectious diseases. Aggregation of mAbs continues to be a major problem in their developability. Antibody aggregation could be triggered by partial unfolding of its domains, leading to monomer-monomer association followed by nucleation and growth. Although the aggregation propensities of antibodies and antibody-based proteins can be affected by the external experimental conditions, they are strongly dependent on the intrinsic antibody properties as determined by their sequences and structures. In this review, we describe how the unfolding and aggregation susceptibilities of IgG could be related to their cognate sequences and structures. The impact of antibody domain structures on thermostability and aggregation propensities, and effective strategies to reduce aggregation are discussed. Finally, the aggregation of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) as related to their sequence/structure, linker payload, conjugation chemistry and drug-antibody ratio (DAR) is reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Li
- Protein Interactions Section, Cancer and Inflammation Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
| | | | - Weizao Chen
- Protein Interactions Section, Cancer and Inflammation Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
| | - Zhongyu Zhu
- Protein Interactions Section, Cancer and Inflammation Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
| | - Yang Feng
- Protein Interactions Section, Cancer and Inflammation Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
| | - Dimiter S Dimitrov
- Protein Interactions Section, Cancer and Inflammation Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
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Abstract
Clostridium difficile continues to be one of the most prevalent hospital-acquired bacterial infections in the developed world, despite the recent introduction of a novel and effective antibiotic agent (fidaxomicin). Alternative approaches under investigation to combat the anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria include fecal transplantation therapy, vaccines, and antibody-based immunotherapies. In this review, we catalog the recent advances in antibody-based approaches under development and in the clinic for the treatment of C. difficile infection. By and large, inhibitory antibodies that recognize the primary C. difficile virulence factors, toxin A and toxin B, are the most popular passive immunotherapies under investigation. We provide a detailed summary of the toxin epitopes recognized by various antitoxin antibodies and discuss general trends on toxin inhibition efficacy. In addition, antibodies to other C. difficile targets, such as surface-layer proteins, binary toxin, motility factors, and adherence and colonization factors, are introduced in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greg Hussack
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa
| | - Jamshid Tanha
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa; School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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15
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE To develop a novel and potent fusion inhibitor of HIV infection based on a rational strategy for synthetic antibody library construction. DESIGN The reduced molecular weight of single-domain antibodies (sdAbs) allows targeting of cryptic epitopes, the most conserved and critical ones in the context of HIV entry. Heavy-chain sdAbs from camelids are particularly suited for this type of epitope recognition because of the presence of long and flexible antigen-binding regions [complementary-determining regions (CDRs)]. METHODS We translated camelid CDR features to a rabbit light-chain variable domain (VL) and constructed a library of minimal antibody fragments with elongated CDRs. Additionally to elongation, CDRs' variability was restricted to binding favorable amino acids to potentiate the selection of high-affinity sdAbs. The synthetic library was screened against a conserved, hidden, and crucial-to-fusion sequence on the heptad-repeat 1 (HR1) region of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. RESULTS Two anti-HR1 VLs, named F63 and D104, strongly inhibited laboratory-adapted HIV-1 infectivity. F63 also inhibited infectivity of HIV-1 and HIV-2 primary isolates similarly to the Food and Drug Administration-approved fusion inhibitor T-20 and HIV-1 strains resistant to T-20. Moreover, epitope mapping of F63 revealed a novel target sequence within the highly conserved hydrophobic pocket of HR1. F63 was also capable of interacting with viral and cell lipid membrane models, a property previously associated with T-20's inhibitory mechanism. CONCLUSION In summary, to our best knowledge, we developed the first potent and broad VL sdAb fusion inhibitor of HIV infection. Our study also gives insights into engineering strategies that could be explored to enhance the development of antiviral drugs.
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16
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Camacho F, Sarmiento ME, Reyes F, Kim L, Huggett J, Lepore M, Otero O, Gilleron M, Puzo G, Norazmi MN, Rook G, Mori L, De Libero G, Acosta A. Selection of phage-displayed human antibody fragments specific for CD1b presenting the Mycobacterium tuberculosis glycolipid Ac2SGL. Int J Mycobacteriol 2016; 5:120-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmyco.2015.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2015] [Accepted: 12/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
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17
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Krah S, Schröter C, Zielonka S, Empting M, Valldorf B, Kolmar H. Single-domain antibodies for biomedical applications. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol 2015; 38:21-8. [DOI: 10.3109/08923973.2015.1102934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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18
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Ossysek K, Uchański T, Kulesza M, Bzowska M, Klaus T, Woś K, Madej M, Bereta J. A new expression vector facilitating production and functional analysis of scFv antibody fragments selected from Tomlinson I + J phagemid libraries. Immunol Lett 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.imlet.2015.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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19
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Julian MC, Lee CC, Tiller KE, Rabia LA, Day EK, Schick AJ, Tessier PM. Co-evolution of affinity and stability of grafted amyloid-motif domain antibodies. Protein Eng Des Sel 2015; 28:339-50. [PMID: 26386257 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzv050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2015] [Accepted: 08/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
An attractive approach for designing lead antibody candidates is to mimic natural protein interactions by grafting peptide recognition motifs into the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs). We are using this approach to generate single-domain (VH) antibodies specific for amyloid-forming proteins such as the Alzheimer's Aβ peptide. Here, we use random mutagenesis and yeast surface display to improve the binding affinity of a lead VH domain grafted with Aβ residues 33-42 in CDR3. Interestingly, co-selection for improved Aβ binding and VH display on the surface of yeast yields antibody domains with improved affinity and reduced stability. The highest affinity VH domains were strongly destabilized on the surface of yeast as well as unfolded when isolated as autonomous domains. In contrast, stable VH domains with improved affinity were reliably identified using yeast surface display by replacing the display antibody that recognizes a linear epitope tag at the terminus of both folded and unfolded VH domains with a conformational ligand (Protein A) that recognizes a discontinuous epitope on the framework of folded VH domains. Importantly, we find that selection for improved stability using Protein A without simultaneous co-selection for improved Aβ binding leads to strong enrichment for stabilizing mutations that reduce antigen binding. Our findings highlight the importance of simultaneously optimizing affinity and stability to improve the rapid isolation of well-folded and specific antibody fragments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark C Julian
- Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Isermann Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | - Christine C Lee
- Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Isermann Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | - Kathryn E Tiller
- Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Isermann Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | - Lilia A Rabia
- Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Isermann Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | - Evan K Day
- Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Isermann Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | - Arthur J Schick
- Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Isermann Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | - Peter M Tessier
- Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Isermann Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
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20
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Marschall ALJ, Dübel S, Böldicke T. Specific in vivo knockdown of protein function by intrabodies. MAbs 2015; 7:1010-35. [PMID: 26252565 PMCID: PMC4966517 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2015.1076601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2015] [Revised: 07/19/2015] [Accepted: 07/20/2015] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Intracellular antibodies (intrabodies) are recombinant antibody fragments that bind to target proteins expressed inside of the same living cell producing the antibodies. The molecules are commonly used to study the function of the target proteins (i.e., their antigens). The intrabody technology is an attractive alternative to the generation of gene-targeted knockout animals, and complements knockdown techniques such as RNAi, miRNA and small molecule inhibitors, by-passing various limitations and disadvantages of these methods. The advantages of intrabodies include very high specificity for the target, the possibility to knock down several protein isoforms by one intrabody and targeting of specific splice variants or even post-translational modifications. Different types of intrabodies must be designed to target proteins at different locations, typically either in the cytoplasm, in the nucleus or in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Most straightforward is the use of intrabodies retained in the ER (ER intrabodies) to knock down the function of proteins passing the ER, which disturbs the function of members of the membrane or plasma proteomes. More effort is needed to functionally knock down cytoplasmic or nuclear proteins because in this case antibodies need to provide an inhibitory effect and must be able to fold in the reducing milieu of the cytoplasm. In this review, we present a broad overview of intrabody technology, as well as applications both of ER and cytoplasmic intrabodies, which have yielded valuable insights in the biology of many targets relevant for drug development, including α-synuclein, TAU, BCR-ABL, ErbB-2, EGFR, HIV gp120, CCR5, IL-2, IL-6, β-amyloid protein and p75NTR. Strategies for the generation of intrabodies and various designs of their applications are also reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea LJ Marschall
- Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute of Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics; Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Stefan Dübel
- Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute of Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics; Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Thomas Böldicke
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Recombinant Protein Expression/Intrabody Unit, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research; Braunschweig, Germany
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21
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Spooner J, Keen J, Nayyar K, Birkett N, Bond N, Bannister D, Tigue N, Higazi D, Kemp B, Vaughan T, Kippen A, Buchanan A. Evaluation of strategies to control Fab light chain dimer during mammalian expression and purification: A universal one-step process for purification of correctly assembled Fab. Biotechnol Bioeng 2015; 112:1472-7. [PMID: 25619171 DOI: 10.1002/bit.25550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2014] [Revised: 01/06/2015] [Accepted: 01/13/2015] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Fabs are an important class of antibody fragment as both research reagents and therapeutic agents. There are a plethora of methods described for their recombinant expression and purification. However, these do not address the issue of excessive light chain production that forms light chain dimers nor do they describe a universal purification strategy. Light chain dimer impurities and the absence of a universal Fab purification strategy present persistent challenges for biotechnology applications using Fabs, particularly around the need for bespoke purification strategies. This study describes methods to address light chain dimer formation during Fab expression and identifies a novel CH 1 affinity resin as a simple and efficient one-step purification for correctly assembled Fab.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jenny Keen
- MedImmune, Granta Park, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | - Neil Birkett
- MedImmune, Granta Park, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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22
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Kim DY, Hussack G, Kandalaft H, Tanha J. Mutational approaches to improve the biophysical properties of human single-domain antibodies. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2014; 1844:1983-2001. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2014.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2014] [Revised: 07/05/2014] [Accepted: 07/11/2014] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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23
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Stanimirovic D, Kemmerich K, Haqqani AS, Farrington GK. Engineering and pharmacology of blood-brain barrier-permeable bispecific antibodies. ADVANCES IN PHARMACOLOGY (SAN DIEGO, CALIF.) 2014; 71:301-35. [PMID: 25307221 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apha.2014.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The development and approval of antibody-based therapeutics have progressed rapidly over the past decade. However, poor blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability hinders the progress of antibody therapies for conditions in which the target is located in the central nervous system (CNS). Increased brain penetration of therapeutic antibodies can be achieved by engineering bispecific antibodies in which one antibody binding specificity recognizes a BBB receptor that undergoes receptor-mediated transcytosis (RMT) from the circulatory compartment into brain parenchyma, and the second binding specificity recognizes a therapeutic target within the CNS. These bispecific antibodies can be built using various antibody fragments as "building blocks," including monomeric single-domain antibodies, the smallest antigen-binding fragments of immunoglobulins. The development of BBB-crossing bispecific antibodies requires targeted antibody engineering to optimize multiple characteristics of "BBB carrier" and therapeutic arms, as well as other antibody properties impacting pharmacokinetics and effector function. Whereas several BBB-crossing bispecific antibodies have been developed using transferrin receptor antibodies as BBB carriers, the principal obstacle for capitalizing on the future promise of CNS-active antibodies remains the scarcity of known, characterized RMT receptors which could be exploited for the development of BBB carriers. This chapter reviews the recent advances and guiding principles for designing, engineering, and evaluating BBB-crossing bispecific antibodies and discusses approaches to identify and characterize novel BBB-crossing antibodies and RMT receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danica Stanimirovic
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Kristin Kemmerich
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Arsalan S Haqqani
- Human Health Therapeutics Portfolio, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Hagihara Y, Saerens D. Engineering disulfide bonds within an antibody. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2014; 1844:2016-2023. [PMID: 25038323 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2014.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2014] [Revised: 05/23/2014] [Accepted: 07/09/2014] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Antibodies have evolved to function in oxidative, extracellular environments. A pair of cysteines in close proximity will oxidatively react to form a disulfide bond that fixes and stabilizes the tertiary structure of a protein. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) includes several disulfide bonds, and the patterns of inter-chain disulfide bonds characterize different IgG sub-classes. Moreover, the Ig-fold domains are characterized by a buried intra-domain disulfide bond, which is important for its structural stability. However, the intra-domain disulfide bond can be replaced without crucial effects on the structure and function, if the domain structure is intrinsically stable or has been stabilized by protein engineering. In previous studies, disulfide bonds were removed by amino-acid substitution indicating that Val and/or Ala (i.e. Ala-Ala, Ala-Val, Val-Ala, and Val-Ala) pairs were preferred for cysteine replacement in the Ig-fold domain. As such, these mutations may be useful for the intracellular use of antibodies. Recently, additional intra-domain disulfide bonds have been shown to stabilize Ig-fold domains and whole IgGs. In heavy chain variable or light chain variable domains, the introduction of additional disulfide bonds into the framework region did not reduce antigen-binding affinity, suggesting that generating disulfide bonds may be a method for stabilizing IgG and antibody fragments, such as the antigen-binding fragment, and single-chain and single-domain antibodies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Recent advances in molecular engineering of antibody.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshihisa Hagihara
- National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-8-31 Midorigaoka Ikeda, Osaka 563-8577, Japan.
| | - Dirk Saerens
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Research Group Cellular & Molecular Immunology, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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25
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Feige MJ, Buchner J. Principles and engineering of antibody folding and assembly. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2014; 1844:2024-2031. [PMID: 24931831 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2014.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2014] [Revised: 06/04/2014] [Accepted: 06/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Antibodies are uniquely suited to serve essential roles in the human immune defense as they combine several specific functions in one hetero-oligomeric protein. Their constant regions activate effector functions and their variable domains provide a stable framework that allows incorporation of highly diverse loop sequences. The combination of non-germline DNA recombination and mutation together with heavy and light chain assembly allows developing variable regions that specifically recognize essentially any antigen they may encounter. However, this diversity also requires tailor-made mechanisms to guarantee that folding and association of antibodies is carefully this diversity also requires tailor-made mechanisms to guarantee that folding and association of antibodies is carefully controlled before the protein is secreted from a plasma cell. Accordingly, the generic immunoglobulin fold β-barrel structure of antibody domains has been fine-tuned during evolution to fit the different requirements. Work over the past decades has identified important aspects of the folding and assembly of antibody domains and chains revealing domain specific variations of a general scheme. The most striking is the folding of an intrinsically disordered antibody domain in the context of its partner domain as the basis for antibody assembly and its control on the molecular level in the cell. These insights have not only allowed a better understanding of the antibody folding process but also provide a wealth of opportunities for rational optimization of antibody molecules. In this review, we summarize current concepts of antibody folding and assembly and discuss how they can be utilized to engineer antibodies with improved performance for different applications. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Recent advances in the molecular engineering of antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias J Feige
- Department of Tumor Cell Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis 38105, TN, USA.
| | - Johannes Buchner
- CIPSM at the Department of Chemistry, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching, Germany.
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