Inducing rigid local structure around the zinc-binding region by hydrophobic interactions enhances the homotrimerization and apoptotic activity of zinc-free TRAIL

A simplified method for the efficient purification and refolding of recombinant human TRAIL

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) belongs to the TNF cytokine superfamily that specifically induces apoptosis in a broad spectrum of human cancer cell lines but not in most healthy cells. The antitumor potential of recombinant human TRAIL (rhTRAIL) has attracted great attention among biologists and oncologists. However, attempts to express rhTRAIL in Escherichia coli often results in limited yield of bioactive protein due to the formation of inclusion bodies (IBs), which are dense insoluble particulate protein aggregates inside cells. We describe herein a highly simplified method to produce pure bioactive rhTRAIL using E. coli. The method is straightforward and requires only basic laboratory equipment, with highly efficient purification and high yield of renaturation, and may also be applied to produce other proteins that form IBs in E. coli.

Improved cytotoxicity of novel TRAIL variants produced as recombinant fusion proteins

The TNF-Related Apoptosis Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) cytokine triggers apoptosis specifically in cancer cells. Susceptibility of a given cell to TRAIL depends on the activity of regulatory proteins, one of the most important of which is BID. The aim of this study was to increase the cytotoxic potential of TRAIL against cancer cells. TRAIL was fused to the BH3 domain of BID. Hence, TRAIL acted not only as an anticancer agent, but also as a specific carrier for the BID fragment. Two fusion protein variants were obtained by genetic engineering, harboring two different linker sequences. The short linker allowed both parts of the fusion protein to fold into their native structures. The long linker influenced the structure of the fused proteins but nonetheless resulted in their highest cytotoxic activity. Optimal buffer formulation was determined for all the analyzed TRAIL variants. Fusing the BH3 domain of BID to TRAIL improved the cytotoxic potential of TRAIL. Further, these findings may be useful for the optimization of other anticancer drugs based on TRAIL, since the appropriate formulation would secure their native structures during prolonged storage.

In situ facile-forming PEG cross-linked albumin hydrogels loaded with an apoptotic TRAIL protein

The key to making a practicable hydrogel for pharmaceutical or medical purposes is to endow it with relevant properties, i.e., facile fabrication, gelation time-controllability, and in situ injectability given a firm basis for safety/biocompatibility. Here, the authors describe an in situ gelling, injectable, albumin-cross-linked polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel that was produced using a thiol-maleimide reaction. This hydrogel consists of two biocompatible components, namely, thiolated human serum albumin and 4-arm PEG20k-maleimide, and can be easily fabricated and gelled in situ within 60s by simply mixing its two components. In addition, the gelation time of this system is controllable in the range 15s to 5min. This hydrogel hardly interacted with an apoptotic TRAIL protein, ensuring suitable release profiles that maximize therapeutic efficacy. Specifically, tumors (volume: 278.8mm(3)) in Mia Paca-2 cell-xenografted BALB/c nu/nu mice treated with the TRAIL-loaded HSA-PEG hydrogel were markedly smaller than mice treated with the hydrogel prepared via an amine-N-hydroxysuccinimide reaction or non-treated mice (1275.5mm(3) and 1816.5mm(3), respectively). We believe that this hydrogel would be a new prototype of locally injectable sustained-release type anti-cancer agents, and furthermore offers practical convenience for a doctor and universal applicability for a variety of therapeutic proteins.

Combinatorial libraries against libraries for selecting neoepitope activation-specific antibodies

A systematic approach to the discovery of conformation-specific antibodies or those that recognize activation-induced neoepitopes in signaling molecules and enzymes will be a powerful tool in developing antibodies for basic science and therapy. Here, we report the isolation of antibody antagonists that preferentially bind activated integrin Mac-1 (alpha(M)beta(2)) and are potent in blocking neutrophil adhesion and migration. A novel strategy was developed for this task, consisting of yeast surface display of Mac-1 inserted (I) domain library, directed evolution to isolate active mutants of the I domain, and screening of phage display of human antibody library against the active I domain in yeast. Enriched antibody library was then introduced into yeast surface two-hybrid system for final quantitative selection of antibodies from monomeric antigen-antibody interaction. This led to highly efficient isolation of intermediate to high affinity antibodies, which preferentially reacted with the active I domain, antagonized the I domain binding to intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, complement C3 fragment iC3b, and fibronectin, and potently inhibited neutrophil migration on fibrinogen. The strategy demonstrated herein can be broadly applicable to developing antibodies against modular domains that switch between inactive and active conformations, particularly toward the discovery of antibody antagonists in therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

Humanization of an agonistic anti-death receptor 4 single chain variable fragment antibody and avidity-mediated enhancement of its cell death-inducing activity

Development of agonistic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the pro-apoptotic molecule death receptor 4 (DR4) [or tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) receptor 1] is an attractive anti-cancer strategy because of their potential for inducing tumor-specific cell death. In this study, we humanized an agonistic anti-DR4 AY4 scFv raised in mice (mAY4) by grafting the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) onto a fixed human framework, while preserving the so-called Vernier zone residues, a group of framework (FR) residues directly underneath the CDRs, with the murine residues in the humanized antibody, hAY4. The humanized hAY4 scFv maintained the antigen binding affinity and epitope specificity of mAY4. To investigate how the valence of hAY4 scFv affects DR4-mediated cell death, bivalent and trivalent forms of hAY4 scFv were generated by linking a hinge region to the coiled-coil domain of a dimerizing leucine zipper and trimerizing isoleucine zipper, respectively. Compared to the monovalent and bivalent forms, the trivalent hAY4 scFv induced more potent caspase-dependent apoptotic cell death as evidenced by increased activation of caspase-8 and downstream pro-apoptotic molecules. Our results suggest that like other TNF family receptors, avidity-mediated oligomerization of DR4 augments the receptor-mediated apoptotic cell death by promoting intracellular cell death signaling.