PEGylation of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GRF) analogues

An antibody-free, ultrafiltration-based assay for the detection of growth hormone-releasing hormones in urine at low pg/mL concentrations using nanoLC-HRMS/MS

This work presents an ultrafiltration-based, validated method for the screening and confirmation of prohibited growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) analogues (sermorelin/CJC-1293, sermorelin metabolite, CJC-1295 and tesamorelin) in urine by nanoLC-HRMS/MS. Sample preparation avoids the use of laborious antibody-based extraction approaches and consists solely of preconcentration by ultrafiltration. Even in the absence of immuno-affinity purification steps, high sensitivity was still ensured as limits of detection between 5 and 25 pg/mL and limits of identification between 25 and 50 pg/mL were established. The robustness of the miniaturized chromatographic setup was evaluated through the injection of 200 + preconcentrated urinary extracts. In a comparison with immuno-affinity purification, enhanced recoveries (59 - 115%) and similar sensitivity were achieved, yet at lower operational costs. Stability experiments showed the importance of the proper handling of urine samples to avoid degradation of these peptide hormones, especially for sermorelin and its metabolite which were found to rapidly degrade at temperatures > 4 °C and pH values < 7 in accordance with earlier studies. Without the need for specific antibodies, this method may be expanded to cover emerging peptide drugs (≥ ~3 kDa), as well as their metabolites in the future to facilitate coverage for this class of prohibited substances.

The Effect of Length and Structure of Attached Polyethylene Glycol Chain on Hydrodynamic Radius, and Separation of PEGylated Human Serum Albumin by Chromatography

Purpose: This study focuses on the effect of length and structure of attached polyethylene glycol (PEG) chain on hydrodynamic radius (R_h ) and chromatographic retention of PEGylated protein. To this aim human serum albumin (HSA) as a standard protein was PEGylated site specifically with mPEG-maleimide. Methods: Separated PEG_HSA fractions were analyzed by size exclusion and anion exchange chromatography (AExC). The purity of fractions and the relative mobility of PEGylated and native proteins were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Hydrodynamic radius was determined based on the retention time of fractions on size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and also according to the previously reported equations. Results: A linear relation was shown between the molecular weight of attached PEG and R_h of PEGylated HSA. No significant difference between R_h of proteins modified with linear and branched PEG was shown. In SDS-PAGE, the delaying effect of branched PEG on movement of PEGylated protein was higher than that of linear PEG. Conclusion: As PEGylated HSA and dimer HSA have almost the same size and in SEC they elute at very close retention times, so in this case ion exchange chromatography (IExC) is more effective than SEC in separation of PEGylated HSA. Branched PEG- HSA showed earlier elution on anion exchange chromatography compared to linear PEG-HSA, that this can explain the different shielding effect of various structures of attached PEGs. The smaller size of PEGylated HSA in compare to the sum of the hydrodynamic radiuses of native HSA and attached PEG could be as a result of shielded attachment of polymer around protein.

Synthesis of Radiolabeled Technetium- and Rhenium-Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone (99mTc/Re-Acdien-LHRH) Conjugates for Targeted Detection of Breast Cancer Cells Overexpressing the LHRH Receptor

Currently, ^186/188Re and ^99mTc are widely used radionuclides for cancer detection and diagnosis. New advancements in modalities and targeting strategies of radiopharmaceuticals will provide an opportunity to enhance imagery and detection of smaller colonies of cancer cells while lowering false-positive diagnoses. To understand the chemistry of agents derived from fac-[^99mTc(CO)₃(H₂O)₃]⁺ species, the nonradioactive [Re(CO)₃(H₂O)₃]⁺ analogue was used. We have designed and synthesized Re-Acdien-LHRH, Re-Acdien-peg-LHRH, and a radiolabeled ^99mTc-Acdien-LHRH (rhenium- and technetium-luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone) conjugates using a tridentate linker to detect cancers overexpressing the LHRH receptor. Re-Acdien-LHRH and Re-Acdien-peg-LHRH were synthesized from non-PEGylated and PEGylated LHRH-Acdien, respectively. Cellular uptake of the compounds ^99mTc-Acdien-LHRH, Re-Acdien-LHRH, and Re-Acdien-peg-LHRH was found to be significantly enhanced compared to that of untargeted ^99mTc alone and unlabeled [Re(CO)₃(H₂O)₃]⁺. In addition, the conjugate compounds showed no difference in cellular toxicity compared to untargeted ^99mTc alone or unlabeled [Re(CO)₃(H₂O)₃]⁺. Further, a competition assay using LHRH indicated selective targeting of Re-Acdien-peg-LHRH toward the LHRH receptor (p < 0.05) compared to that of [Re(CO)₃(H₂O)₃]⁺ alone. Together, our data show the design paradigm and synthesis of targeting radionuclides using the LHRH peptide. Our data suggests that utilizing the LHRH peptide can lead to selective targeting and diagnosis of breast cancers expressing the LHRH receptor.

A self-assembled polymer therapeutic for simultaneously enhancing solubility and antimicrobial activity and lowering serum albumin binding of fusidic acid

The global antimicrobial resistance crisis has prompted worldwide efforts to develop new and more efficient antimicrobial compounds, as well as to develop new drug delivery strategies and targeting mechanisms. This study aimed to synthesize a novel polyethylene glycol-fusidic acid (PEG-FA) conjugate for self-assembly into nano-sized structures and explore its potential for simultaneously enhancing aqueous solubility and antibacterial activity of FA. In addition, the ability of PEG-FA to bind to HSA with lower affinity than FA is also investigated. Haemolysis and in vitro cytotoxicity studies confirmed superior biosafety of the novel PEG-FA compared to FA. The water solubility of FA after PEG conjugation was increased by 25-fold compared to the bare drug. PEG-FA nanoparticles displayed particle size, polydispersity index and zeta potential of 149.3 ± 0.21 nm, 0.267 ± 0.01 and 5.97 ± 1.03 mV, respectively. Morphology studies using high-resolution transmission electron microscope revealed a homogenous spherical shape of the PEG-FA nanoparticles. In silico studies showed that Van der Waals forces facilitated PEG-FA self-assembly. HSA binding studies showed that PEG-FA had very weak or no interaction with HSA using in silico molecular docking (-2.93 kcal/mol) and microscale thermophoresis (K_d=14999 ± 1.36 µM), which may prevent bilirubin displacement. Conjugation with PEG did not inhibit the antibacterial activity of FA but rather enhanced it by 2.5-fold against Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, compared to the bare FA. These results show that PEG-FA can simultaneously enhance solubility and antibacterial activity of FA, whilst also reducing binding of HSA to decrease its side effects.

Influence Factors of the Pharmacokinetics of Herbal Resourced Compounds in Clinical Practice

Herbal medicines have been used to prevent and cure diseases in eastern countries for thousands of years. In recent decades, these phytotherapies are becoming more and more popular in the West. As being nature-derived is the essential attribute of herbal medicines, people believe that taking them for diseases treatment is safe enough and has no side-effects. However, the efficacy of herbal resourced compounds (HRC) depends on the multiple constituents absorbed in the body and their pharmacokinetics. Thus, many factors will influence the clinical practice of HRC, i.e., their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME). Among these factors, herb-drug interaction has been widely discussed, as these compounds may share the same drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters. Meanwhile there are many other potential factors that can also change the ADME of HRC, including herb pretreatment, herb-herb interactions, pathological status, gender, age of patient, and chemical and physical modification of certain ingredients. With the aim of ensuring the efficacy of HRC and minimizing their clinical risks, this review provides and discusses the influence factors and artificial improvement of the pharmacokinetics of HRC.

Synthesis of Mono-PEGylated Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide-2 and Investigation of its Biological Activity

The purpose of this study was to investigate an efficient synthetic route to the mono-PEGylated growth hormone releasing peptide-2 (GHRP-2) and its biological activity in vivo. The commercially available key PEGylating reagent, mPEG-NHS ester, was successfully utilized to the synthesis of mono-PEGylated GHRP-2, during which the PEGylation profiles of GHRP-2 were monitored by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The product was purified by cation exchange chromatography, and its biological activity was conducted in rats. The desired mono-PEGylated GHRP-2 as the major product was readily obtained in anhydrous aprotic solvent, such as dimethyl formamide (DMF) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), when the molar ratio of mPEG-NHS ester to GHRP-2 was fixed to be 0.8:1. The products were characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. The evaluation of the biological activity for the products showed that the mono-PEGylated GHRP-2 gave a more stable activity than GHRP-2, suggesting that PEGylation led to the increase in the half-life of GHRP-2 in plasma without greatly impairing the biological activity. PEGylation of the GHRP-2 is a good choice for the development of the GHRP-2 applications.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel structure-related hGHRH agonistic analogs

Activity and half-life play key roles in the application of GHRH analogues. The GHRH monomers produced in a solid synthesizer were incubated, respectively, in NH4OH solution and lyophilized to obtain their dimers. The activities, specificities, and receptor affinities of the GHRH dimers were evaluated in rGH release/inhibition, rACTH/LH/PRL release, pituitary homogenate binding, and fluorescent staining. Compared to hGHRH(1-44)NH2 (S), PP-hGHRH(1-44)-GGC-CGG-hGHRH(44-1)-PP (2D), P-hGHRH(1-44)-GGC-CGG-hGHRH(44-1)-P (2E), (1)P-hGHRH(2-44)-GGC-CGG-hGHRH(44-2)-(1)P (2F), or hGHRH(1-44)-GGC-CGG-hGHRH(44-1) (2Y) had potency of 104 ± 16.7%, 94 ± 32.6%, 114 ± 16.6%, or 122 ± 14.5% and similar specificities. The inhibition effect of GHIH on rGH stimulated by GHRH dimer was in dose-/time-dependent manner. The staining of FITC-labeled dimer showed cytomembrane distribution and the binding ranking was 2F>2D>2Y>2E>S. 2F presents the strongest activity and the highest affinity to pituitary cells. The dimer with (1)Pro-GHRH stimulates stronger rGH release than that with (1)Tyr-GHRH and the N-terminal single cyclic amino acid is required for the stimulation.

A PEGylated analog of the gut hormone oxyntomodulin with long-lasting antihyperglycemic, insulinotropic and anorexigenic activity

Peptide agonists of the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor (GLP1R) are rapidly gaining favor as antidiabetic agents, since in addition to increasing glucose-dependent insulin secretion, they also cause weight loss. Oxyntomodulin (OXM), a natural peptide with sequence homology to both glucagon and GLP-1, has glucose-lowering activity in rodents and anorectic activity in rodents and humans, but its clinical utility is limited by a short circulatory half-life due to rapid renal clearance and degradation by dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV). Here, we describe the development of a novel DPP-IV-resistant, long-acting GLP1R agonist, based on derivatization of a suitably chosen OXM analog with high molecular weight polyethylene glycol (PEG) ('PEGylation'). PEG-OXM exerts an anti-hyperglycemic effect in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice in a glucose-dependent manner, with a maximally efficacious dose of 0.1mg/kg, and reduces food intake and body weight with a minimally efficacious dose of 1mg/kg. If this pharmacology is recapitulated in patients with type 2 diabetes, these results indicate PEG-OXM as a potential novel once-weekly GLP-1 mimetic with both glucose-lowering activity and weight loss efficacy.

Bioactive hydrogels with enhanced initial and sustained cell interactions

The highly tunable properties of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based hydrogel systems permit their use in a wide array of regenerative medicine and drug delivery applications. One of the most valuable properties of PEG hydrogels is their intrinsic resistance to protein adsorption and cell adhesion, as it allows for a controlled introduction of desired bioactive factors including proteins, peptides, and drugs. Acrylate-PEG-N-hydroxysuccinimide (Acr-PEG-NHS) is widely utilized as a PEG linker to functionalize bioactive factors with photo-cross-linkable groups. This enables their facile incorporation into PEG hydrogel networks or the use of PEGylation strategies for drug delivery. However, PEG linkers can sterically block integrin binding sites on functionalized proteins and reduce cell-material interactions. In this study we demonstrate that reducing the density of PEG linkers on protein backbones during functionalization results in significantly improved cell adhesion and spreading to bioactive hydrogels. However, this reduction in functionalization density also increases protein loss from the matrix over time due to ester hydrolysis of the Acr-PEG-NHS linkers. To address this, a novel PEG linker, acrylamide-PEG-isocyanate (Aam-PEG-I), with enhanced hydrolytic stability was synthesized. It was found that decreasing functionalization density with Aam-PEG-I resulted in comparable increases in cell adhesion and spreading to Acr-PEG-NHS systems while maintaining protein and bioactivity levels within the hydrogel network over a significantly longer time frame. Thus, Aam-PEG-I provides a new option for protein functionalization for use in a wide range of applications that improves initial and sustained cell-material interactions to enhance control of bioactivity.

Injectable extracellular matrix hydrogel developed using porcine articular cartilage

This work was first development of a delivery system capable of maintaining a sustained release of protein drugs at specific sites by using potentially biocompatible porcine articular cartilage. The prepared porcine articular cartilage powder (PCP) was easily soluble in phosphate-buffered saline. The PCP suspension easily entrapped bovine serum albumin-fluorescein isothiocyanate (BSA-FITC) in pharmaceutical formulations at room temperature. The aggregation of PCP and BSA-FITC was confirmed by dynamic light scattering. When the BSA-FITC-loaded PCP suspension was subcutaneously injected into rats, it gelled and formed an interconnecting three-dimensional PCP structure that allowed BSA to penetrate through it. The amount of BSA-FITC released from the PCP hydrogel was determined in rat plasma and monitored by real-time in vivo molecular imaging. The data indicated sustained release of BSA-FITC for 20 days in vivo. In addition, the PCP hydrogel induced a slight inflammatory response. In conclusion, we showed that the PCP hydrogel could serve as a minimally invasive therapeutics depot.

Covalent conjugation of poly(ethylene glycol) to proteins and peptides: strategies and methods

PEGylation, the covalent linking of PEG chains, has become the leading drug delivery approach for proteins. This technique initiated its first steps almost 40 years ago, and since then, a variety of methods and strategies for protein-polymer coupling have been devised. PEGylation can give a number of relevant advantages to the conjugated protein, such as an important in vivo half-life prolongation, a reduction or an abolishment of immunogenicity, and a reduction of aggregation. Furthermore, the technique has demonstrated a great degree of versatility and efficacy--not only PEG-protein conjugates have reached the commercial marketplace (with nine types of derivatives), but a PEG-aptamer and PEGylated liposomes are now also available. Most of this success is due to the development of several PEGylation strategies and to the large selection of PEGylating agents presently at hand for researchers. Nevertheless, this technique still requires a certain level of familiarity and knowledge in order to achieve a positive outcome for a PEGylation project. To draw general guidelines for conducting PEGylation studies is not always easy or even possible because such experiments often require case-by-case optimization. On the other hand, several common methods can be used as starting examples for the development of tailor-made coupling conditions. Therefore, this chapter aims to provide a basic introduction to a wide range of PEGylation procedures for those researchers who may not be familiar with this field.

A new direction for anticoagulants: inhibiting fibrin assembly with PEGylated fibrin knob mimics

Current anticoagulants target coagulation factors upstream from fibrin assembly and polymerization (i.e., formation of fibrin clot). While effective, this approach requires constant patient monitoring since pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics vary from patient to patient. To address these limitations, we developed an alternative anticoagulant that effectively inhibits fibrin polymerization. Specifically, we investigated PEGylated fibrin knob "A" peptides, evaluating the effect of both polyethylene glycol (PEG) chain length (0, 2, 5, and 10-30 kDa) and knob peptide sequence (GPRPAAC, GPRPFPAC, and GPRPPERC) on inhibiting fibrin polymerization (i.e., clot formation). Thrombin-initiated clotting assays with purified fibrinogen were performed to compare clot formation with each peptide-PEG conjugate. Results indicated a biphasic effect of PEG chain length, whereby, active-PEG conjugates demonstrated increasingly enhanced inhibition of fibrin polymerization from 0 to 5 kDa PEG. However, the anticoagulant activity diminished to control levels for PEG chains above 5 kDa. Ultimately, we observed a 10-fold enhancement of anticoagulant activity with active peptides PEGylated with 5 kDa PEG compared to non-PEGylated knob peptides. The sequence of the active peptide significantly influenced the anticoagulant properties only at the highest 1:100 molar ratio where GPRPFPAC-5 kDa PEG and GPRPPERC-5 kDa PEG demonstrated significantly lower percent clottable protein than GPRPAAC-5 kDa PEG. Moreover, human plasma treated with the active 5 kDa PEG conjugate exhibited delayed prothrombin time to within the therapeutic range specified for oral anticoagulants. Collectively, this study demonstrated the utility of PEGylated fibrin knob peptides as potential anticoagulant therapeutics. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011;108: 2424-2433. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Synthesis and characterization of PEGylated toll like receptor 7 ligands

Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) is located in the endosomal compartment of immune cells. Signaling through TLR7, mediated by the adaptor protein MyD88, stimulates the innate immune system and shapes adaptive immune responses. Previously, we characterized TLR7 ligands conjugated to protein, lipid, or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). Among the TLR7 ligand conjugates, the addition of PEG chains reduced the agonistic potency. PEGs are safe in humans and widely used for improvement of pharmacokinetics in existing biologics and some low molecular weight compounds. PEGylation could be a feasible method to alter the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of TLR7 ligands. In this study, we systematically studied the influence of PEG chain length on the in vitro and in vivo properties of potent TLR7 ligands. PEGylation increased solubility of the TLR7 ligands and modulated protein binding. Adding a 6-10 length PEG to the TLR7 ligand reduced its potency toward induction of interleukin (IL)-6 by murine macrophages in vitro and IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in vivo. However, PEGylation with 18 or longer chain restored, and even enhanced, the agonistic activity of the drug. In human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, similar effects of PEGylation were observed for secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, IL-6, IL-12, TNF-α, IL-1β, and type 1 interferon, as well as for B cell proliferation. In summary, these studies demonstrate that conjugation of PEG chains to a synthetic TLR ligand can impact its potency for cytokine induction depending on the size of the PEG moiety. Thus, PEGylation may be a feasible approach to regulate the pharmacological properties of TLR7 ligands.

Polymer-conjugated albumin and fibrinogen composite hydrogels as cell scaffolds designed for affinity-based drug delivery

Serum albumin was conjugated to poly-(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and cross-linked to form mono-PEGylated albumin hydrogels. These hydrogels were used as a basis for drug carrying tissue engineering scaffold materials, based on the natural affinity of various drugs and compounds for the tethered albumin in the polymer network. The results of the drug release validation experiments showed that the release kinetics of the drugs from the mono-PEGylated albumin hydrogels were controlled by the molecular weight (MW) of PEG conjugated to the albumin protein, the drug MW and its inherent affinity for albumin. Composite hydrogels containing both mono-PEGylated albumin and PEGylated fibrinogen were used specifically for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture scaffolds, with inherent bioactivity, proteolytic biodegradability and controlled drug release properties. The specific characteristics of these complex hydrogels were governed by the ratio between the concentrations of each protein, the addition of free PEG diacrylate (PEG DA) molecules to the hydrogel matrix and the MW of the PEG conjugated to each protein. Comprehensive characterization of the drug release and degradation properties, as well as 3D cell culture experiments using these composite materials, demonstrated the effectiveness of this combined approach in creating a tissue engineering scaffold material with controlled drug release features.

Materials for pharmaceutical dosage forms: molecular pharmaceutics and controlled release drug delivery aspects

Controlled release delivery is available for many routes of administration and offers many advantages (as microparticles and nanoparticles) over immediate release delivery. These advantages include reduced dosing frequency, better therapeutic control, fewer side effects, and, consequently, these dosage forms are well accepted by patients. Advances in polymer material science, particle engineering design, manufacture, and nanotechnology have led the way to the introduction of several marketed controlled release products and several more are in pre-clinical and clinical development.

PEGylation of interleukin-10 for the mitigation of enhanced pain states

The anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) shows promise for the treatment of neuropathic pain, but for IL-10 to be clinically useful as a short-term therapeutic its duration needs to be improved. In this study, IL-10 was covalently modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) with the goal of stabilizing and increasing protein levels in the CSF to improve the efficacy of IL-10 for treating neuropathic pain. Two different PEGylation methods were explored in vitro to identify suitable PEGylated IL-10 products for subsequent in vivo testing. PEGylation of IL-10 by acylation yielded a highly PEGylated product with a 35-fold in vitro biological activity reduction. PEGylation of IL-10 by reductive amination yielded products with a minimal number of PEG molecules attached and in vitro biological activity reductions of approximately 3-fold. In vivo collections of cerebrospinal fluid after intrathecal administration demonstrated that 20 kDa PEG attachment to IL-10 increased the concentration of IL-10 in the cerebrospinal fluid over time. Relative to unmodified IL-10, the 20 kDa PEG-IL-10 product exhibited an increased therapeutic duration and magnitude in an animal model of neuropathic pain. This suggests that PEGylation is a viable strategy for the short-term treatment or, in conjunction with other approaches, the long-term treatment of enhanced pain states.

Long acting hyaluronate--exendin 4 conjugate for the treatment of type 2 diabetes

Despite clinical exploitation of exendin 4 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, the significantly short half-life requiring twice a day injection has limited the wide applications. In this work, a protocol for the synthesis of long acting hyaluronate (HA) - exendin 4 conjugate was successfully developed using Michael addition chemistry between vinyl sulfone modified HA (HA-VS) and thiolated exendin 4. The exendin 4 content could be controlled in the range of 5-30 molecules per single HA chain with a bioconjugation efficiency higher than 90%. The conjugation of exendin 4 with HA resulted in about 20 times improved in vitro serum stability maintaining the hypoglycemic and gluco-regulatory bioactivities of exendin 4. HA - exendin 4 conjugates showed excellent glucose-lowering capabilities in type 2 db/db mice demonstrating protracted hypoglycemic effect up to 3 days after a single subcutaneous injection. Furthermore, insulin immunohistochemical analysis of islets in db/db mice confirmed the improved insulinotropic activity of HA - exendin 4 conjugates. The HA - exendin 4 conjugates will be investigated further as a twice a week injection dosage form for clinical applications.

Peptide targeting of platinum anti-cancer drugs

Besides various side effects caused by platinum anticancer drugs, they are not efficiently absorbed by the tumor cells. Two Pt-peptide conjugates; cyclic mPeg-CNGRC-Pt (7) and cyclic mPeg-CNGRC-Pten (8) bearing the Asn-Gly-Arg (NGR) targeting sequence, a malonoyl linker, and low molecular weight miniPEG groups have been synthesized. The platinum ligand was attached to the peptide via the carboxylic end of the malonate group at the end of the peptide. The pegylated peptide is nontoxic and highly soluble in water. Platinum conjugates synthesized using the pegylated peptides are also water-soluble with reduced or eliminated peptide immunogenicity. The choice of carboplatin as our untargeted platinum complex was due to the fact that the malonate linker chelates platinum in a manner similar to that of carboplatin. Cell toxicity assay and competition assay on the PC-3 cells (CD13 positive receptors) revealed selective delivery and destruction of PC-3 cells using targeted Pt-peptide conjugates 7 and 8 significantly more than untargeted carboplatin. Platinum uptake on PC-3 cells was 12-fold more for conjugate 7 and 3-fold more for conjugate 8 compared to that of the untargeted carboplatin, indicating selective activation of the CD13 receptors and delivery of the conjugates to CD13 positive cells. Further analysis on effects of conjugates 7 and 8 on PC-3 cells using caspase-3/7, fluorescence microscopy, and DNA fragmentation confirmed that the cells were dying by apoptosis.

Emerging PEGylated drugs

PEGylation is a pharmaceutical technology that involves the covalent attachment of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to a drug to improve its pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and immunological profiles, and thus, enhance its therapeutic effect. Currently, PEGylation is used to modify proteins, peptides, oligonucleotides, antibody fragments, and small organic molecules. Research groups are striving to improve the consistencies of PEGylated drugs and to PEGylate commercialized proteins and small organic molecules. Furthermore, the PEGylations of novel medications, like oligonucleotides and antibody fragments, are being pursued to improve their bioavailabilities. This active research in the PEGylation field and the continued growth of the biopharmaceutical market predicts that PEGylated drugs have a bright future.

Toward top-down determination of PEGylation site using MALDI in-source decay MS analysis

A novel matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-based mass spectrometric approach has been evaluated to rapidly analyze a custom designed PEGylated peptide that is 31 residues long and conjugated with 20 kDa linear polyethylene glycol (PEG) at the side chain of Lys. MALDI-TOF MS provided sufficiently high resolution to allow observation of each of the oligomers of the heterogeneous PEGylated peptide (m/Deltam of ca. 500), while a typical ESI-MS spectrum of this molecule was extremely complex and unresolved. Reflector in-source decay (reISD) analysis using MALDI-TOF MS was attempted to identify the PEGylation site at intact molecular level without any sample treatment. An reISD spectrum of the free peptide was observed with abundant c-, y-, and [z + 2]-fragment ion series, whereas, in the fragmented PEGylated peptide, the fragment ion series were truncated at the residue where PEG was attached. Therefore, a direct comparison of these top-down reISD spectra suggested the location of the PEGylation site. Results from this study demonstrate a clear analytical utility of the ISD technique to characterize structural aspects of heterogeneous biomolecules.

No effect of covalently linked poly(ethylene glycol) chains on protein internal dynamics

Poly(ethylene glycol) or PEG is a hydrophilic polymer that covalently linked to therapeutical proteins may significantly increase their pharmacological properties. Despite the extensive production of PEG-conjugated proteins the effects of the polymer on the protein structure and dynamics is poorly understood, making the production of active biomaterials a largely unpredictable process. The present investigation examines the effects of 5 k and 20 k PEG on the internal flexibility of Ribonuclease T1, the mutant C112S of azurin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, alcohol dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase, native and Zn-depleted. These systems encompass structural domains that range from rather superficial, flexible sites to deeply buried, rigid cores. The approach is based on three sensitive parameters related to the phosphorescence emission of internal Trp residues, namely, the intrinsic room-temperature phosphorescence lifetime (tau(0)) that reports on the local flexibility of the protein matrix around the chromophore and the bimolecular rate constant (k(q)) for the quenching of phosphorescence by O(2) and by acrylamide in solution, which are related to the diffusion of these solutes through the protein fold. The results obtained by these three independent, intrinsic probes of protein structure-dynamics concur that mono-PEGylation does not detectably perturb the conformation and dynamics of the protein native fold, over a wide temperature range. The implication is that protein motions are essentially not coupled to the polymer and that adverse effects of chemical modification on biological function are presumably owed to steric hindrance by PEG units blocking the access to sites critical for molecular recognition.

Modification of antimicrobial peptide with low molar mass poly(ethylene glycol)

PEGylation of peptide drugs prolongs their circulating lifetimes in plasma. However, PEGylation can produce a decrease in the in vitro bioactivity. Longer poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains are favourable for circulating lifetimes but unfavourable for in vitro bioactivities. In order to circumvent the conflicting effects of PEG length, a hydrophobic peptide, using an antimicrobial peptide as a model, was PEGylated with short PEG chains. The PEGylated peptides self-assembled in aqueous solution into micelles with PEG shell and peptide core. In these micelles, the core peptides were protected by the shell, thus reducing proteolytic degradation. Meanwhile, most of the in vitro antimicrobial activities still remained due to the short PEG chain attached. The stabilities of the PEGylated peptides were much higher than that of the unPEGylated peptides in the presence of chymotrypsin and serum. The antimicrobial activities of the PEGylated peptides in the presence of serum, an ex vivo assay, were much higher than that of the unPEGylated peptide.

Effect of Molecular Size of PEGylated Recombinant Human Epidermal Growth Factor on the Biological Activity and Stability in Rat Wound Tissue

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of size of polyethylene glycol (PEG) conjugated to recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) on its stability in skin wound tissue and in vitro biological activity to find the desirable conjugate as topical therapeutic agent for wound healing. Site-specific PEGylation at N-terminus of rhEGF was performed with monomethoxy PEG-Butyraldehyde derivatives (MW 2, 5, and 20 kDa). Mono-PEG-rhEGFs retained 60-70% of biological activity of native rhEGF, and the effect of PEG size was not significant. The improvement of stability in the rat skin wound tissue was dependent on the increase of the PEG size attached. The degradation half-lives of native rhEGF, mono-PEG-2K-, -5K-, and -20K-rhEGFs were 1.1, 3.1, 5.2, and 41.5 hr, respectively. Therefore, mono-PEG-20K-rhEGF was considered to be the most desirable in terms of the increase of stability and the preservation of biological activity. This study suggests that the high molecular weight PEG at N-terminus of rhEGF would give a satisfactory stabilizing effect and thus may improve therapeutic efficacy in clinical use.

Improved intrapulmonary delivery of site-specific PEGylated salmon calcitonin: optimization by PEG size selection

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the biological potentials of PEGylated salmon calcitonin (PEG-sCT) derivatives administered intratracheally and their dependences on PEG Mw (1, 2, 5 kDa). Initially, three different PEG-sCT derivatives were site-specifically synthesized by attaching PEG to the Lys(18)-amine. In an attempt to examine the pulmonary feasibilities of these derivatives, the following evaluations were undertaken to determine their; (i) proteolytic resistances to pulmonary enzymes, (ii) bioactivities, and (iii) pulmonary pharmacokinetic and pharmacologic profiles. The results obtained showed that the pulmonary stabilities and pharmacokinetic properties of these derivatives were greatly improved by increasing PEG Mw. PEG-sCTs had 10.5-, 40.1-, and 1066.0-fold greater stabilities than that of sCT in rat lung homogenates. Moreover, all pharmacokinetic parameters (AUC(inf), C(max), t(1/2), and others) of these derivatives in endotracheally cannulated rats were significantly improved by PEGylation. Specifically, C(max) values increased on increasing PEG Mw, i.e., 78.1+/-21.1, 102.9+/-9.1, and 115.2+/-5.7 for 1, 2, 5 kDa, respectively, vs. 54.8+/-3.9 ng/mL for sCT. Their circulating t(1/2) values also increased to 53.9+/-6.0, 100.7+/-21.7, and 119.4+/-13.7 min, respectively, vs. 34.6+/-7.6 min for sCT. Despite having the best properties, Lys(18)-PEG(5k)-sCT was found to have significantly lower hypocalcemic efficacy than other PEG-sCTs, probably due to its reduced intrinsic bioactivity ( approximately 30% vs. sCT). Rather, Lys(18)-PEG(2k)-sCT showed the most promising pulmonary potential because of its well-preserved bioactivity (>80% of sCT). Taken together, our findings suggest that the site-specific substitution to peptides like sCT with a PEG of an appropriate size offers optimized therapeutic potential by dual advantages, i.e., (i) increased proteolytic stability and (ii) extended circulating half-life in terms of intrapulmonary delivery.

Radiotherapy of CD45-Expressing Daudi Tumors in Nude Mice with Yttrium-90-Labeled, PEGylated Anti-CD45 Antibody

Studies were performed to determine the suitability of using the polyethylene glycol (PEG)-labeled AHN-12 anti-CD45 monoclonal antibody to deliver the high-energy beta-particle-emitting isotope 90Y to a CD45+ B-cell Daudi lymphoma grown as flank tumors in athymic nude mice. The PEGylated radiolabeled antibody displayed a significantly better antitumor effect in the mouse tumor flank model (p<0.03) and significantly better blood pharmacokinetics in normal rats (p<0.05) than the non-PEGylated radiolabeled antibody. Studies of two different sizes of PEG showed that rats given 43 kDa of PEGylated AHN-12, but not 5 kDa of PEGylated AHN-12, had significantly higher radiolabeled antibody blood levels and, therefore, improved pharmacokinetics, as compared to rodents given non-PEGylated radiolabeled AHN-12 (p<0.05). Surviving mice revealed no signs of kidney, liver, or gastrointestinal damage by histology study. Notably, in vitro studies indicated that PEGylation did not have a major effect on labeling efficiency and the binding of labeled antibody. These findings indicate that PEGylation of radiolabeled anti-CD45 antibody may be a useful and desirable means of extending blood half-life and enhancing efficacy. Also, the final outcome may be impacted by the size of the PEG molecule used for the modification of the blood half-life.

Tumor cell targeting of transferrin-PEG-TNF-alpha conjugate via a receptor-mediated delivery system: design, synthesis, and biological evaluation

PEGylation is a procedure of growing interest for enhancing the therapeutic and biotechnological potential of peptides and proteins. Transferrin (Tf) has been proposed to be useful for targeting cancer cells. The aim of this study was to modify PEGylated recombinant human tumor necrosis factor alpha (PEG-TNF-alpha) with Tf to form Tf-PEG-TNF-alpha conjugates, which would maintain the advantages of PEGylation and also achieve the function of active targeting to tumor cells. In PEGylation reactions with 5-, 20-, 40-, and 60-fold molar excess of 3.4 kDa N-hydroxysuccinimide-PEG-maleimide (PT1, PT2, PT3, and PT4, respectively), PEG-TNF-alpha conjugates with different PEG chains were synthesized. A perfusion chromatography technique using a cation-exchange column was introduced to purify PEG-TNF-alpha conjugates. PT4 with about five PEG chains was selected as a lead candidate due to highest extent of PEGylation and maximum reaction yield. Thiolated Tf was conjugated to the maleimide group at the distal end of the PEG chains on the PEG-TNF-alpha conjugates, with the resulting Tf-PEG-TNF-alpha conjugates after purification containing approximately one Tf ligand on one TNF-alpha molecule. The conjugate of Tf and PT4 (TPT4) was selected to assess the specificity and affinity to transferrin receptor (TfR) on two kinds of tumor cells, K562 and KB. Both the receptor binding assays and the competition experiments were performed using radioligand binding analysis. The results demonstrated that TPT4 as well as Tf bound specifically to the TfR on the tumor cell surface and the affinity of the conjugate to TfR was similar to that of native Tf. In contrast, PEG-TNF-alpha demonstrated no specificity. The biodistribution and antitumor effects were investigated in S-180 tumor-bearing mice. It was found that TPT4 could markedly alter in vivo behavioral characteristics of TNF-alpha. Compared with TNF-alpha and PT4, extravasated TPT4 in tumor tissues exhibited a significantly delayed blood clearance and the highest intratumoral TNF-alpha levels. Furthermore, the inhibitory rate of tumor of TPT4 enhanced 5.3- and 1.8-fold over that of TNF-alpha and PT4, indicating that TPT4 exhibited the highest antitumor activity. These results suggested that Tf-PEG-TNF-alpha was a useful long circulating conjugate with the capabilities of specific receptor binding resulting in enhanced antitumor activity of TNF-alpha.

Site-Specific PEGylation for High-Yield Preparation of Lys21-Amine PEGylated Growth Hormone-Releasing Factor (GRF) (1−29) using a GRF(1−29) Derivative FMOC-Protected at Tyr1 and Lys12

PEGylation has been viewed as an effective means of overcoming the therapeutic restriction of growth hormone-releasing factor (1-29) (GRF(1-29)) due to its short biological lifetime caused by severe proteolysis and rapid glomerular filtration. Of three isomers according to the PEGylation sites (Tyr1, Lys12, or Lys21), PEGylated GRF(1-29) at Lys21-amine (Lys21-PEG-GRF(1-29)) was shown to have the highest bioactivity. In this report, we propose a unique two-step site-specific PEGylation method capable of producing only Lys21-PEG-GRF(1-29) with a single composition in high yield using a GRF(1-29) derivative protected at Tyr1 and Lys12 and remained available at Lys21 (FMOC1,12-GRF(1-29)). The first step of this reaction involved the PEG attachment to FMOC1,12-GRF(1-29), and the second step involved the removal of FMOC moieties. This PEGylation process was optimized at the following conditions: 0.2-0.3% (v/v) triethylamine concentration, 5.0-6.0-fold molar amount of PEG, reaction temperature of 25-45 degrees C, and reaction time of 30 min. Under these conditions, the maximum yield of Lys21-PEG-GRF(1-29) produced was ca. approximately 95%, 6.3-fold higher than that by nonspecific PEGylation at pH 8.5. Significantly, this site-specific Lys21-PEG-GRF(1-29) was found to have greatly increased resistance to rat plasma, liver, and kidney homogenates, with 7.0-, 25.4-, and 16.4-fold longer half-lives vs GRF(1-29), respectively. Furthermore, 125I-Lys21-PEG-GRF(1-29) displayed significantly reduced liver and kidney distributions and extended blood presence vs 125I-GRF(1-29) in rats. Due to these benefits, Lys21-PEG-GRF(1-29) displayed an enhanced initial growth hormone release in vivo despite having 15% remaining activity in vitro. This devised PEGylation method using an FMOC-protection/deprotection strategy would provide great usefulness for PEGylating bioactive peptides in terms of improved biological potency, elevated production yield, and a uniform composition.

Proprietary Rel-Ease drug delivery technology: opportunity for sustained delivery of peptides, proteins and small molecules

Proprietary Rel-Ease (Praecis Pharmaceuticals) drug delivery technology uses biocompatible polymers as carriers to incorporate a drug into a polymer matrix through opposite charge interaction or complexation. The resulting low solubility complexes can be used to prepare sustained release depot injections or potentially sustained release formulations for oral administration. As a regulatory approved and commercialised drug delivery technology, Rel-Ease is used in abarelix for injectable suspension, a monthly depot injection for the treatment of patients with advanced prostate cancer. The technology offers high drug loading and minimal-to-no initial burst effect in vivo. It uses aqueous processes and is compatible for complexation with many peptide and protein therapeutics; its mechanism can also be applied to many small-molecule therapeutics and offers conventional and alternative methods for sustained release delivery via an oral route.

Evaluation of therapeutic potentials of site-specific PEGylated glucagon-like peptide-1 isomers as a type 2 anti-diabetic treatment: Insulinotropic activity, glucose-stabilizing capability, and proteolytic stability

PEGylation has been considered to be a good biotechnique for improving the therapeutic value of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Despite the attractive anti-diabetic potentials, GLP-1 does not exert its full biological action because of its extremely short life-time in vivo due to rapid proteolytic degradation. Here, the enzyme-resistant mono-PEGylated GLP-1 isomers substituted at Lys(26)- or Lys(34)-amine were prepared through a newly devised site-specific PEGylation process using a maleic anhydride-protection/deprotection method. The therapeutic potentials of these site-specific PEGylated GLP-1 isomers (Lys(26)- or Lys(34)-PEG-GLP-1) along with His(7)-(N-terminus) PEG-GLP-1 were evaluated by examining their insulinotropic activity, glucose-stabilizing capability, and proteolytic stability. Lys(34)-PEG-GLP-1 was found to have the well-preserved insulinotropic activity (93% efficacy versus GLP-1) in isolated rat pancreatic islets. Furthermore, Lys(34)-PEG-GLP-1 showed the most prominent glucose-stabilizing capability, evaluated via an oral glucose tolerance test in db/db mice by considering the following three crucial factors: (i) maximum blood glucose level (BGL), (ii) required time to lower the BGL below 100mg/dl, and (iii) total hypoglycemic degree. Additionally, Lys(34)-PEG-GLP-1 had longer half-lives than the other PEGylated GLP-1s in the dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV) inhibitor-treated liver or kidney homogenate, and its stability against DPP IV was also comparable to that of Lys(26)-PEG-GLP-1. Taken together, Lys(34)-PEG-GLP-1 displayed the promising characteristics in all evaluations versus His(7)- or Lys(26)-PEG-GLP-1. This site-specific PEGylated GLP-1 analog would have therapeutic usefulness for treating type 2 diabetes on account of the well-preserved insulinotropic activity, the increased proteolytic stability, and thereby the improved glucose-stabilizing capability.

Fractionation of follicle stimulating hormone charge isoforms in their native form by preparative electrophoresis technology

Complex glycoprotein biopharmaceuticals, such as follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), erythropoietin and tissue plasminogen activator consist of a range of charge isoforms due to the extent of sialic acid capping of the glycoprotein glycans. Sialic acid occupies the terminal position on the oligosaccharide chain, masking the penultimate sugar residue, galactose from recognition and uptake by the hepatocyte asialoglycoprotein receptor. It is therefore well established that the more acidic charge isoforms of glycoprotein biopharmaceuticals have higher in vivo potencies than those of less acidic isoforms due to their longer serum half-life. Current strategies for manipulating glycoprotein charge isoform profile involve cell engineering or altering bioprocesss parameters to optimise expression of more acidic or basic isoforms, rather than downstream separation of isoforms. A method for the purification of a discrete range of bioactive recombinant human FSH (rhFSH) charge isoforms based on Gradiflowtrade mark preparative electrophoresis technology is described. Gradiflowtrade mark electrophoresis is scaleable, and incorporation into glycoprotein biopharmaceutical production bioprocesses as a potential final step facilitates the production of biopharmaceutical preparations of improved in vivo potency.