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Intracellular Antibodies for Drug Discovery and as Drugs of the Future. Antibodies (Basel) 2023; 12:antib12010024. [PMID: 36975371 PMCID: PMC10044824 DOI: 10.3390/antib12010024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The application of antibodies in cells was first shown in the early 1990s, and subsequently, the field of intracellular antibodies has expanded to encompass antibody fragments and their use in target validation and as engineered molecules that can be fused to moieties (referred to as warheads) to replace the Fc effector region of a whole immunoglobulin to elicit intracellular responses, such as cell death pathways or protein degradation. These various forms of intracellular antibodies have largely been used as research tools to investigate function within cells by perturbing protein activity. New applications of such molecules are on the horizon, namely their use as drugs per se and as templates for small-molecule drug discovery. The former is a potential new pharmacology that could harness the power and flexibility of molecular biology to generate new classes of drugs (herein referred to as macrodrugs when used in the context of disease control). Delivery of engineered intracellular antibodies, and other antigen-binding macromolecules formats, into cells to produce a therapeutic effect could be applied to any therapeutic area where regulation, degradation or other kinds of manipulation of target proteins can produce a therapeutic effect. Further, employing single-domain antibody fragments as competitors in small-molecule screening has been shown to enable identification of drug hits from diverse chemical libraries. Compounds selected in this way can mimic the effects of the intracellular antibodies that have been used for target validation. The capability of intracellular antibodies to discriminate between closely related proteins lends a new dimension to drug screening and drug development.
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Yin M, Izadi M, Tenglin K, Viennet T, Zhai L, Zheng G, Arthanari H, Dassama LMK, Orkin SH. Evolution of nanobodies specific for BCL11A. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2218959120. [PMID: 36626555 PMCID: PMC9933118 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218959120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) control numerous genes that are directly relevant to many human disorders. However, developing specific reagents targeting TFs within intact cells is challenging due to the presence of highly disordered regions within these proteins. Intracellular antibodies offer opportunities to probe protein function and validate therapeutic targets. Here, we describe the optimization of nanobodies specific for BCL11A, a validated target for the treatment of hemoglobin disorders. We obtained first-generation nanobodies directed to a region of BCL11A comprising zinc fingers 4 to 6 (ZF456) from a synthetic yeast surface display library, and employed error-prone mutagenesis, structural determination, and molecular modeling to enhance binding affinity. Engineered nanobodies recognized ZF6 and mediated targeted protein degradation (TPD) of BCL11A protein in erythroid cells, leading to the anticipated reactivation of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) expression. Evolved nanobodies distinguished BCL11A from its close paralog BCL11B, which shares an identical DNA-binding specificity. Given the ease of manipulation of nanobodies and their exquisite specificity, nanobody-mediated TPD of TFs should be suitable for dissecting regulatory relationships of TFs and gene targets and validating therapeutic potential of proteins of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maolu Yin
- Dana Farber Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- HHMI, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
| | - Manizheh Izadi
- Dana Farber Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- HHMI, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
| | - Karin Tenglin
- Dana Farber Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- HHMI, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
| | - Thibault Viennet
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, MA02115
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, MA02215
| | - Liting Zhai
- Department of Chemistry and Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Ge Zheng
- Dana Farber Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- HHMI, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
| | - Haribabu Arthanari
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, MA02115
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, MA02215
| | - Laura M. K. Dassama
- Department of Chemistry and Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Stuart H. Orkin
- Dana Farber Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- HHMI, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
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Zhang Q, Miyamoto A, Watanabe S, Arimori T, Sakai M, Tomisaki M, Kiuchi T, Takagi J, Watanabe N. Engineered fast-dissociating antibody fragments for multiplexed super-resolution microscopy. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2022; 2:100301. [PMID: 36313806 PMCID: PMC9606137 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2022.100301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Image reconstruction by integrating exchangeable single-molecule localization (IRIS) achieves multiplexed super-resolution imaging by high-density labeling with fast exchangeable fluorescent probes. However, previous methods to develop probes for individual targets required a great amount of time and effort. Here, we introduce a method for generating recombinant IRIS probes with a new mutagenesis strategy that can be widely applied to existing antibody sequences. Several conserved tyrosine residues at the base of complementarity-determining regions were identified as candidate sites for site-directed mutagenesis. With a high probability, mutations at candidate sites accelerated the off rate of recombinant antibody-based probes without compromising specific binding. We were able to develop IRIS probes from five monoclonal antibodies and three single-domain antibodies. We demonstrate multiplexed localization of endogenous proteins in primary neurons that visualizes small synaptic connections with high binding density. It is now practically feasible to generate fast-dissociating fluorescent probes for multitarget super-resolution imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianli Zhang
- Laboratory of Single-Molecule Cell Biology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Akitoshi Miyamoto
- Laboratory of Single-Molecule Cell Biology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Shin Watanabe
- Laboratory of Single-Molecule Cell Biology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Takao Arimori
- Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Masanori Sakai
- Kyoto University Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto 606-8317, Japan
| | - Madoka Tomisaki
- Laboratory of Single-Molecule Cell Biology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Tai Kiuchi
- Department of Pharmacology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Junichi Takagi
- Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Naoki Watanabe
- Laboratory of Single-Molecule Cell Biology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
- Department of Pharmacology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
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Bery N, Rabbitts T. A Cell-based Screening Method Using an Intracellular Antibody for Discovering Small Molecules Targeting Hard-to-drug Proteins. Bio Protoc 2022; 12:e4324. [DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.4324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
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Bery N, Bataille CJR, Russell A, Hayes A, Raynaud F, Milhas S, Anand S, Tulmin H, Miller A, Rabbitts TH. A cell-based screening method using an intracellular antibody for discovering small molecules targeting the translocation protein LMO2. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabg1950. [PMID: 33837087 PMCID: PMC8034850 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg1950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Intracellular antibodies are tools that can be used directly for target validation by interfering with properties like protein-protein interactions. An alternative use of intracellular antibodies in drug discovery is developing small-molecule surrogates using antibody-derived (Abd) technology. We previously used this strategy with an in vitro competitive surface plasmon resonance method that relied on high-affinity antibody fragments to obtain RAS-binding compounds. We now describe a novel implementation of the Abd method with a cell-based intracellular antibody-guided screening method that we have applied to the chromosomal translocation protein LMO2. We have identified a chemical series of anti-LMO2 Abd compounds that bind at the same LMO2 location as the inhibitory anti-LMO2 intracellular antibody combining site. Intracellular antibodies could therefore be used in cell-based screens to identify chemical surrogates of their binding sites and potentially be applied to any challenging proteins, such as transcription factors that have been considered undruggable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Bery
- Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, University of Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Carole J R Bataille
- University of Oxford Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3TA, UK
| | - Angela Russell
- University of Oxford Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3TA, UK
| | - Angela Hayes
- Institute of Cancer Research, 15 Cotswold Road, Sutton, London SM2 5NG, UK
| | - Florence Raynaud
- Institute of Cancer Research, 15 Cotswold Road, Sutton, London SM2 5NG, UK
| | - Sabine Milhas
- Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, University of Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Sneha Anand
- Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, University of Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Hanna Tulmin
- Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, University of Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Ami Miller
- Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, University of Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Terence H Rabbitts
- Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, University of Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK.
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