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Wood V, Kellerman MA, Groves K, Quaglia M, Topp EM, Matejtschuk P, Dalby PA. Investigation of the Solid-State Interactions in Lyophilized Human G-CSF Using Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry. Mol Pharm 2024; 21:1965-1976. [PMID: 38516985 PMCID: PMC10988552 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c01211] [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: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) previously elucidated the interactions between excipients and proteins for liquid granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) formulations, confirming predictions made using computational structure docking. More recently, solid-state HDX mass spectrometry (ssHDX-MS) was developed for proteins in the lyophilized state. Deuterium uptake in ssHDX-MS has been shown for various proteins, including monoclonal antibodies, to be highly correlated with storage stability, as measured by protein aggregation and chemical degradation. As G-CSF is known to lose activity through aggregation upon lyophilization, we applied the ssHDX-MS method with peptide mapping to four different lyophilized formulations of G-CSF to compare the impact of three excipients on local structure and exchange dynamics. HDX at 22 °C was confirmed to correlate well with the monomer content remaining after lyophilization and storage at -20 °C, with sucrose providing the greatest protection, and then phenylalanine, mannitol, and no excipient leading to progressively less protection. Storage at 45 °C led to little difference in final monomer content among the formulations, and so there was no discernible relationship with total deuterium uptake on ssHDX. Incubation at 45 °C may have led to a structural conformation and/or aggregation mechanism no longer probed by HDX at 22 °C. Such a conformational change was observed previously at 37 °C for liquid-formulated G-CSF using NMR. Peptide mapping revealed that tolerance to lyophilization and -20 °C storage was linked to increased stability in the small helix, loop AB, helix C, and loop CD. LC-MS HDX and NMR had previously linked loop AB and loop CD to the formation of a native-like state (N*) prior to aggregation in liquid formulations, suggesting a similar structural basis for G-CSF aggregation in the liquid and solid states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria
E. Wood
- Department
of Biochemical Engineering, University College
London, London WC1E 6BT, United
Kingdom
| | - Mark-Adam Kellerman
- Department
of Biochemical Engineering, University College
London, London WC1E 6BT, United
Kingdom
| | - Kate Groves
- LGC, Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex TQ11 0LY, United Kingdom
| | - Milena Quaglia
- LGC, Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex TQ11 0LY, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth M. Topp
- Department
of Industrial and Molecular Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, and
Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Paul Matejtschuk
- Standardisation
Science, NIBSC, Medicines & Healthcare
Products Regulatory Agency, South Mimms, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG, United
Kingdom
| | - Paul A. Dalby
- Department
of Biochemical Engineering, University College
London, London WC1E 6BT, United
Kingdom
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Zhang C, Berg A, Joe CCD, Dalby PA, Douglas AD. Lyophilization to enable distribution of ChAdOx1 and ChAdOx2 adenovirus-vectored vaccines without refrigeration. NPJ Vaccines 2023; 8:85. [PMID: 37277337 PMCID: PMC10240132 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-023-00674-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Distribution of vaccines which require refrigerated or frozen storage can be challenging and expensive. The adenovirus vector platform has been widely used for COVID-19 vaccines while several further candidate vaccines using the platform are in clinical development. In current liquid formulations, adenoviruses require distribution at 2-8 °C. The development of formulations suitable for ambient temperature distribution would be advantageous. Previous peer-reviewed reports of adenovirus lyophilization are relatively limited. Here, we report the development of a formulation and process for lyophilization of simian adenovirus-vectored vaccines based on the ChAdOx1 platform. We describe the iterative selection of excipients using a design of experiments approach, and iterative cycle improvement to achieve both preservation of potency and satisfactory cake appearance. The resulting method achieved in-process infectivity titre loss of around 50%. After drying, there was negligible further loss over a month at 30 °C. Around 30% of the predrying infectivity remained after a month at 45 °C. This performance is likely to be suitable for 'last leg' distribution at ambient temperature. This work may also facilitate the development of other product presentations using dried simian adenovirus-vectored vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Zhang
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Bernard Katz Building, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Adam Berg
- Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Roosevelt Drive, OX3 7DQ, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Carina C D Joe
- Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Roosevelt Drive, OX3 7DQ, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Paul A Dalby
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Bernard Katz Building, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Alexander D Douglas
- Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Roosevelt Drive, OX3 7DQ, Oxford, United Kingdom.
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Wood VE, Groves K, Wong LM, Kong L, Bird C, Wadhwa M, Quaglia M, Matejtschuk P, Dalby PA. Protein Engineering and HDX Identify Structural Regions of G-CSF Critical to Its Stability and Aggregation. Mol Pharm 2021; 19:616-629. [PMID: 34965730 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.1c00754] [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: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The protein engineering and formulation of therapeutic proteins for prolonged shelf-life remain a major challenge in the biopharmaceutical industry. Understanding the influence of mutations and formulations on the protein structure and dynamics could lead to more predictive approaches to their improvement. Previous intrinsic fluorescence analysis of the chemically denatured granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) suggested that loop AB could subtly reorganize to form an aggregation-prone intermediate state. Hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) has also revealed that excipient binding increased the thermal unfolding transition midpoint (Tm) by stabilizing loop AB. Here, we have combined protein engineering with biophysical analyses and HDX-MS to reveal that increased exchange in a core region of the G-CSF comprising loop AB (ABI, a small helix, ABII) and loop CD packed onto helix B and the beginning of loop BC leads to a decrease in Tm and higher aggregation rates. Furthermore, some mutations can increase the population of the aggregation-prone conformation within the native ensemble, as measured by the greater local exchange within this core region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria E Wood
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, U.K
| | - Kate Groves
- National Measurement Laboratory at LGC Ltd, Queens Road, Teddington TW11 0LY, U.K
| | - Lok Man Wong
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, U.K
| | - Luyan Kong
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, U.K
| | - Christopher Bird
- National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), Blanche Lane, South Mimms, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG, U.K
| | - Meenu Wadhwa
- National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), Blanche Lane, South Mimms, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG, U.K
| | - Milena Quaglia
- National Measurement Laboratory at LGC Ltd, Queens Road, Teddington TW11 0LY, U.K
| | - Paul Matejtschuk
- National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), Blanche Lane, South Mimms, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG, U.K
| | - Paul A Dalby
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, U.K
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Wood VE, Groves K, Cryar A, Quaglia M, Matejtschuk P, Dalby PA. HDX and In Silico Docking Reveal that Excipients Stabilize G-CSF via a Combination of Preferential Exclusion and Specific Hotspot Interactions. Mol Pharm 2020; 17:4637-4651. [PMID: 33112626 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.0c00877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Assuring the stability of therapeutic proteins is a major challenge in the biopharmaceutical industry, and a better molecular understanding of the mechanisms through which formulations influence their stability is an ongoing priority. While the preferential exclusion effects of excipients are well known, the additional presence and impact of specific protein-excipient interactions have proven to be more elusive to identify and characterize. We have taken a combined approach of in silico molecular docking and hydrogen deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to characterize the interactions between granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and some common excipients. These interactions were related to their influence on the thermal-melting temperatures (Tm) for the nonreversible unfolding of G-CSF in liquid formulations. The residue-level interaction sites predicted in silico correlated well with those identified experimentally and highlighted the potential impact of specific excipient interactions on the Tm of G-CSF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria E Wood
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Kate Groves
- National Measurement Laboratory at LGC Ltd., Queens Road, Teddington TW11 0LY, United Kingdom
| | - Adam Cryar
- National Measurement Laboratory at LGC Ltd., Queens Road, Teddington TW11 0LY, United Kingdom
| | - Milena Quaglia
- National Measurement Laboratory at LGC Ltd., Queens Road, Teddington TW11 0LY, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Matejtschuk
- National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, Blanche Lane, South Mimms, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG, United Kingdom
| | - Paul A Dalby
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
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Commentary: New perspectives on protein aggregation during Biopharmaceutical development. Int J Pharm 2018; 552:1-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2018.09.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2018] [Revised: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Robinson MJ, Matejtschuk P, Bristow AF, Dalby PA. Tm-Values and Unfolded Fraction Can Predict Aggregation Rates for Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor Variant Formulations but Not under Predominantly Native Conditions. Mol Pharm 2017; 15:256-267. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.7b00876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mathew J. Robinson
- Department
of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 7JE, U.K
| | - Paul Matejtschuk
- National Institute
of Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), South Mimms, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG, U.K
| | - Adrian F. Bristow
- National Institute
of Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), South Mimms, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG, U.K
| | - Paul A. Dalby
- Department
of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 7JE, U.K
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Effects of cooling rate in microscale and pilot scale freeze-drying – Variations in excipient polymorphs and protein secondary structure. Eur J Pharm Sci 2016; 95:72-81. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejps.2016.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2016] [Revised: 05/04/2016] [Accepted: 05/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Smith G, Arshad MS, Polygalov E, Ermolina I, McCoy TR, Matejtschuk P. Process Understanding in Freeze-Drying Cycle Development: Applications for Through-Vial Impedance Spectroscopy (TVIS) in Mini-pilot Studies. J Pharm Innov 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s12247-016-9266-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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10
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Peters BH, Leskinen JT, Molnár F, Ketolainen J. Impact of Microscale and Pilot-Scale Freeze-Drying on Protein Secondary Structures: Sucrose Formulations of Lysozyme and Catalase. J Pharm Sci 2015; 104:3710-3721. [DOI: 10.1002/jps.24615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2015] [Revised: 07/28/2015] [Accepted: 08/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Roessl U, Leitgeb S, Nidetzky B. Protein freeze concentration and micro-segregation analysed in a temperature-controlled freeze container. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [PMID: 28626703 PMCID: PMC5466265 DOI: 10.1016/j.btre.2015.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Freeze concentration of bovine serum albumin studied in a laboratory freeze container. Protein micro-segregation visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Freezing protocol affected protein freeze concentration. Spatial heterogeneities created by freeze concentration. Micro-segregation was affected by freezing parameters.
To examine effects of varied freezing conditions on the development of spatial heterogeneity in the frozen protein solution, macroscopic freeze concentration and micro-segregation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) were investigated in a temperature-controlled 200-ml freeze container. Freezing to −40 °C promoted formation of protein concentration gradients (69–114 μg ml−1) in frozen samples taken from 12 different freezer positions, whereby slow freezing in 4 h or longer facilitated the evolution of strong spatial heterogeneities and caused local concentration increases by 1.15-fold relative to the initial protein concentration (100 μg ml−1). To visualize protein micro-segregation during phase separation, BSA was conjugated with fluorescein isothiocyanate and confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy was used to localize and size the freeze-concentrated protein regions. Slow freezing resulted in distinctly fewer and larger protein domains in the frozen bulk than fast freezing. Surface stress on the protein during freezing would therefore be minimized at low cooling rates; microscopic freeze concentration would however be highest under these conditions, potentially favoring protein aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrich Roessl
- Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering GmbH, Inffeldgasse 13, A-8010 Graz, Austria
- Institute of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12, A-8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Stefan Leitgeb
- Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering GmbH, Inffeldgasse 13, A-8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Bernd Nidetzky
- Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering GmbH, Inffeldgasse 13, A-8010 Graz, Austria
- Institute of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12, A-8010 Graz, Austria
- Corresponding author at: Institute of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12, A-8010 Graz, Austria. Tel.: +43 316 873 8400; fax: +43 316 873 8434
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12
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Structural attributes of model protein formulations prepared by rapid freeze-drying cycles in a microscale heating stage. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 2014; 87:347-56. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2014.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2013] [Revised: 02/24/2014] [Accepted: 02/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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13
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Hamrang Z, Rattray NJW, Pluen A. Proteins behaving badly: emerging technologies in profiling biopharmaceutical aggregation. Trends Biotechnol 2013; 31:448-58. [PMID: 23769716 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2013.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2013] [Revised: 05/07/2013] [Accepted: 05/09/2013] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Over recent decades biotechnology has made significant advances owing to the emergence of powerful biochemical and biophysical instrumentation. The development of such technologies has enabled high-throughput assessment of compounds, the implementation of recombinant DNA technology, and large-scale manufacture of monoclonal antibodies. Such innovations have ultimately resulted in the current experienced biopharmaceutical stronghold in the therapeutic market. Yet aggregate prediction and profiling remains a challenge in the formulation of biopharmaceuticals due to artifacts associated with each analytical method. We review some emerging trends and novel technologies that offer a promising potential for accurately predicting and profiling protein aggregation at various stages of biopharmaceutical product design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Hamrang
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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