Positive cooperative effects between receptors induced by an anti-human growth hormone allosteric monoclonal antibody

Collaborative enhancement of antibody binding to distinct PECAM-1 epitopes modulates endothelial targeting

Antibodies to platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) facilitate targeted drug delivery to endothelial cells by “vascular immunotargeting.” To define the targeting quantitatively, we investigated the endothelial binding of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to extracellular epitopes of PECAM-1. Surprisingly, we have found in human and mouse cell culture models that the endothelial binding of PECAM-directed mAbs and scFv therapeutic fusion protein is increased by co-administration of a paired mAb directed to an adjacent, yet distinct PECAM-1 epitope. This results in significant enhancement of functional activity of a PECAM-1-targeted scFv-thrombomodulin fusion protein generating therapeutic activated Protein C. The “collaborative enhancement” of mAb binding is affirmed in vivo, as manifested by enhanced pulmonary accumulation of intravenously administered radiolabeled PECAM-1 mAb when co-injected with an unlabeled paired mAb in mice. This is the first demonstration of a positive modulatory effect of endothelial binding and vascular immunotargeting provided by the simultaneous binding a paired mAb to adjacent distinct epitopes. The “collaborative enhancement” phenomenon provides a novel paradigm for optimizing the endothelial-targeted delivery of therapeutic agents.

Displaying and epitope mapping of CD147 on VCSM13 phages: influence of Escherichia coli strains

The external domain of a human leukocyte surface molecule, CD147 was displayed on the surface of phage. Two Escherichia coli laboratory strains, XL-1 Blue and TG-1, were chosen to separately propagate the recombinant phages. By sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), CD147 on phage particles were individually captured by six CD147 mAbs and subsequently detected by anti-M13 conjugated HRP. All mAbs specifically bound the CD147 on phage particles derived from TG-1. On the contrary, only four of them could recognize the CD147 on phages produced by XL-1 Blue. The results indicate that the environment in the TG-1 periplasm is more appropriate than that of XL-1 Blue for promoting the suitable folding of CD147. This finding emphasizes the importance of selecting the appropriate E. coli host for display of a complex protein. The epitopes of CD147 displayed on the phage were further mapped by competitive inhibition ELISA, which is a reliable and economical method. Certain clusters of mAb recognition areas were identified and will provide valuable information for the discovery of the ligand for CD147.

Monoclonal Antibodies Inducing Conformational Changes on the Antigen Molecule

Monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) are extensively used as biological tools because of their invariable specificity. However, the interpretation of results can be misled by the behaviour of MoAb displaying allosteric effects, i.e. long-range conformational changes on the antigen (Ag). It has been shown that some MoAbs are able to modify the spatial structure of the corresponding protein Ag, affecting in this way its biological activity as well as its binding to a second MoAb. Thus, a researcher using a MoAb as a tool to investigate some features of an antigenic molecule must be aware of the possible positive or negative allosteric properties of the antibody.