1
|
Berg AF, Ettich J, Weitz HT, Krusche M, Floss DM, Scheller J, Moll JM. Exclusive inhibition of IL-6 trans-signaling by soluble gp130 FlyRFc. Cytokine X 2021; 3:100058. [PMID: 34927050 PMCID: PMC8649222 DOI: 10.1016/j.cytox.2021.100058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
A variety of sgp130Fc muteins was generated. Introduction of a gp130 SNP (R281Q) into sgp130Fc increases IL-6 specificity. The sgp130Fc variant sgp130FlyR exclusively affects IL-6 trans-signaling.
gp130 is the signal-transducing receptor for the Interleukin (IL)-6 type cytokines IL-6 and IL-11. To induce signaling, IL-6 forms a complex with IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) and IL-11 with IL-11 receptor (IL-11R). Membrane-bound IL-6R and IL-11R in complex with gp130 and the cytokine mediate classic-signaling, whereas trans-signaling needs soluble IL-6R and IL-11R variants. Interleukin (IL)-6 trans-signaling is of particular importance because it drives the development of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, whereas a role for IL-11 trans-signaling remains elusive. Soluble gp130 selectively inhibits trans-signaling of IL-6 whereas both, classic- and trans-signaling are abrogated by IL-6- and IL-6R-antibodies. Recently, we described an optimized sgp130 variant, which carries three amino acid substitutions T102Y/Q113F/N114L (sgp130FlyFc) resulting in reduced inhibition of IL-11 trans-signaling by increasing the affinity of sgp130 for the site I of IL-6. Moreover, we described that the patient mutation R281Q in gp130 results in reduced IL-11 signaling. Here, we show that the combination of T102Y/Q113F/N114L and R281Q in the new variant sgp130FlyRFc results in complete preservation of IL-11 mediated trans-signaling, whereas inhibition of IL-6 trans-signaling is maintained. Since sgp130Fc (olamkicept) has successfully completed a phase IIa trial in Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis, sgp130FlyRFc might serve as second-generation therapeutic to diminish IL-11 trans-signaling cross-reactivity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna F Berg
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Julia Ettich
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Hendrik T Weitz
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Matthias Krusche
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Doreen M Floss
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Jürgen Scheller
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Jens M Moll
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Cox JR, Blazeck J. Protein engineering: a driving force toward synthetic immunology. Trends Biotechnol 2021; 40:509-521. [PMID: 34627648 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2021.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The full application of the diverse toolkit of protein engineering has made it easier to control the immune system. In particular, synthetic cytokine variants and engineered immune receptor platforms have shown promise for the treatment of various indications with dysregulated immune function, particularly cancer. Here, we review recent advances in the control of immune cell signaling and therapeutic potency that have employed protein engineering strategies. We further discuss how safety concerns are driving the design of immunotherapeutics toward 'user-defined' control or requiring multiple distinct inputs before a functional response, highlighting emergent control strategies employed for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engineering.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John R Cox
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - John Blazeck
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Heise D, Derrac Soria A, Hansen S, Dambietz C, Akbarzadeh M, Berg AF, Waetzig GH, Jones SA, Dvorsky R, Ahmadian MR, Scheller J, Moll JM. Selective inhibition of IL-6 trans-signaling by a miniaturized, optimized chimeric soluble gp130 inhibits T H17 cell expansion. Sci Signal 2021; 14:eabc3480. [PMID: 34404751 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.abc3480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) signals through three mechanisms called classic signaling, trans-signaling, and trans-presentation. IL-6 trans-signaling is distinctly mediated through a soluble form of its transmembrane receptor IL-6R (sIL-6R) and the coreceptor gp130 and is implicated in multiple autoimmune diseases. Although a soluble form of gp130 (sgp130) inhibits only IL-6 trans-signaling, it also blocks an analogous trans-signaling mechanism of IL-11 and its soluble receptor sIL-11R. Here, we report miniaturized chimeric soluble gp130 variants that efficiently trap IL-6:sIL-6R but not IL-11:sIL-11R complexes. We designed a novel IL-6 trans-signaling trap by fusing a miniaturized sgp130 variant to an IL-6:sIL-6R complex-binding nanobody and the Fc portion of immunoglobulin G (IgG). This trap, called cs-130Fc, exhibited improved inhibition of as well as increased selectivity for IL-6 trans-signaling compared to the conventional fusion protein sgp130Fc. We introduced affinity-enhancing mutations in cs-130Fc and sgp130Fc that further improved selectivity toward IL-6 trans-signaling. Moreover, cs-130Fc efficiently inhibited the expansion of T helper 17 (TH17) cells in cultures of mouse CD4+ T cells treated with IL-6:sIL-6R. Thus, these variants may provide or lead to the development of more precisely targeted therapeutics for inflammatory disorders associated with IL-6 trans-signaling.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Denise Heise
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Alicia Derrac Soria
- Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Systems Immunity University Research Institute, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK
| | - Selina Hansen
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Christine Dambietz
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Mohammad Akbarzadeh
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Anna F Berg
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Georg H Waetzig
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University and University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel 24105, Germany
- CONARIS Research Institute AG, Kiel 24118, Germany
| | - Simon A Jones
- Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Systems Immunity University Research Institute, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK
| | - Radovan Dvorsky
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Mohammad R Ahmadian
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Jürgen Scheller
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany.
| | - Jens M Moll
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Bhagawati M, Terhorst TME, Füsser F, Hoffmann S, Pasch T, Pietrokovski S, Mootz HD. A mesophilic cysteine-less split intein for protein trans-splicing applications under oxidizing conditions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:22164-72. [PMID: 31611397 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1909825116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Split intein-mediated protein trans-splicing has found extensive applications in chemical biology, protein chemistry, and biotechnology. However, an enduring limitation of all well-established split inteins has been the requirement to carry out the reaction in a reducing environment due to the presence of 1 or 2 catalytic cysteines that need to be in a reduced state for splicing to occur. The concomitant exposure of the fused proteins to reducing agents severely limits the scope of protein trans-splicing by excluding proteins sensitive to reducing conditions, such as those containing critical disulfide bonds. Here we report the discovery, characterization, and engineering of a completely cysteine-less split intein (CL intein) that is capable of efficient trans-splicing at ambient temperatures, without a denaturation step, and in the absence of reducing agents. We demonstrate its utility for the site-specific chemical modification of nanobodies and an antibody Fc fragment by N- and C-terminal trans-splicing with short peptide tags (CysTag) that consist of only a few amino acids and have been prelabeled on a single cysteine using classical cysteine bioconjugation. We also synthesized the short N-terminal fragment of the atypically split CL intein by solid-phase peptide synthesis. Furthermore, using the CL intein in combination with a nanobody-epitope pair as a high-affinity mediator, we showed chemical labeling of the extracellular domain of a cell surface receptor on living mammalian cells with a short CysTag containing a synthetic fluorophore. The CL intein thus greatly expands the scope of applications for protein trans-splicing.
Collapse
|
5
|
Lamertz L, Rummel F, Polz R, Baran P, Hansen S, Waetzig GH, Moll JM, Floss DM, Scheller J. Soluble gp130 prevents interleukin-6 and interleukin-11 cluster signaling but not intracellular autocrine responses. Sci Signal 2018; 11:11/550/eaar7388. [DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.aar7388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a proinflammatory cytokine of the IL-6 family, members of which signal through a complex of a cytokine-specific receptor and the signal-transducing subunit gp130. The interaction of IL-6 with the membrane-bound IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) and gp130 stimulates “classic signaling,” whereas the binding of IL-6 and a soluble version of the IL-6R to gp130 stimulates “trans-signaling.” Alternatively, “cluster signaling” occurs when membrane-bound IL-6:IL-6R complexes on transmitter cells activate gp130 receptors on neighboring receiver cells. The soluble form of gp130 (sgp130) is a selective trans-signaling inhibitor, but it does not affect classic signaling. We demonstrated that the interaction of soluble gp130 with natural and synthetic membrane-bound IL-6:IL-6R complexes inhibited IL-6 cluster signaling. Similarly, IL-11 cluster signaling through the IL-11R to gp130 was also inhibited by soluble gp130. However, autocrine classic and trans-signaling was not inhibited by extracellular inhibitors such as sgp130 or gp130 antibodies. Together, our results suggest that autocrine IL-6 signaling may occur intracellularly.
Collapse
|