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Barron N, Dickgiesser S, Fleischer M, Bachmann AN, Klewinghaus D, Hannewald J, Ciesielski E, Kusters I, Hammann T, Krause V, Fuchs SW, Siegmund V, Gross AW, Mueller-Pompalla D, Krah S, Zielonka S, Doerner A. A Generic Approach for Miniaturized Unbiased High-Throughput Screens of Bispecific Antibodies and Biparatopic Antibody-Drug Conjugates. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2097. [PMID: 38396776 PMCID: PMC10889805 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25042097] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The toolbox of modern antibody engineering allows the design of versatile novel functionalities exceeding nature's repertoire. Many bispecific antibodies comprise heterodimeric Fc portions recently validated through the approval of several bispecific biotherapeutics. While heterodimerization methodologies have been established for low-throughput large-scale production, few approaches exist to overcome the bottleneck of large combinatorial screening efforts that are essential for the identification of the best possible bispecific antibody. This report presents a novel, robust and miniaturized heterodimerization process based on controlled Fab-arm exchange (cFAE), which is applicable to a variety of heterodimeric formats and compatible with automated high-throughput screens. Proof of applicability was shown for two therapeutic molecule classes and two relevant functional screening read-outs. First, the miniaturized production of biparatopic anti-c-MET antibody-drug conjugates served as a proof of concept for their applicability in cytotoxic screenings on tumor cells with different target expression levels. Second, the automated workflow enabled a large unbiased combinatorial screening of biparatopic antibodies and the identification of hits mediating potent c-MET degradation. The presented workflow utilizes standard equipment and may serve as a facile, efficient and robust method for the discovery of innovative therapeutic agents in many laboratories worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Barron
- Protein and Cell Sciences, EMD Serono, 45A Middlesex Turnpike, Billerica, MA 01821, USA
| | - Stephan Dickgiesser
- NBE Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Markus Fleischer
- NBE Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | | | - Daniel Klewinghaus
- NBE Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Jens Hannewald
- NBE Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Elke Ciesielski
- NBE Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Ilja Kusters
- Protein Engineering and Antibody Technologies, EMD Serono, 45A Middlesex Turnpike, Billerica, MA 01821, USA
| | - Til Hammann
- Discovery Pharmacology, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Volker Krause
- Discovery Pharmacology, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | | | - Vanessa Siegmund
- NBE Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Alec W. Gross
- Protein Engineering and Antibody Technologies, EMD Serono, 45A Middlesex Turnpike, Billerica, MA 01821, USA
| | - Dirk Mueller-Pompalla
- NBE Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Simon Krah
- NBE Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Stefan Zielonka
- NBE Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Achim Doerner
- NBE Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
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Coutandin D, Osterburg C, Srivastav RK, Sumyk M, Kehrloesser S, Gebel J, Tuppi M, Hannewald J, Schäfer B, Salah E, Mathea S, Müller-Kuller U, Doutch J, Grez M, Knapp S, Dötsch V. Quality control in oocytes by p63 is based on a spring-loaded activation mechanism on the molecular and cellular level. eLife 2016; 5. [PMID: 27021569 PMCID: PMC4876613 DOI: 10.7554/elife.13909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [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: 12/18/2015] [Accepted: 03/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian oocytes are arrested in the dictyate stage of meiotic prophase I for long
periods of time, during which the high concentration of the p53 family member TAp63α
sensitizes them to DNA damage-induced apoptosis. TAp63α is kept in an inactive and
exclusively dimeric state but undergoes rapid phosphorylation-induced tetramerization
and concomitant activation upon detection of DNA damage. Here we show that the TAp63α
dimer is a kinetically trapped state. Activation follows a spring-loaded mechanism
not requiring further translation of other cellular factors in oocytes and is
associated with unfolding of the inhibitory structure that blocks the tetramerization
interface. Using a combination of biophysical methods as well as cell and ovary
culture experiments we explain how TAp63α is kept inactive in the absence of DNA
damage but causes rapid oocyte elimination in response to a few DNA double strand
breaks thereby acting as the key quality control factor in maternal reproduction. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.13909.001 The irradiation and chemotherapy drugs that are used to destroy cancer cells also
damage healthy cells. Germ cells – from which egg cells and sperm cells develop – are
particularly vulnerable as they contain sensitive quality control mechanisms that
kill any cell that contain damaged DNA. Consequently, after surviving cancer many
patients are confronted with infertility. A protein called p63, which is closely related to another protein that suppresses the
formation of tumors, plays an essential role in detecting and responding to DNA
damage. In immature egg cells (also known as oocytes), p63 mostly exists in an
inactive form. The protein then switches to an active form when DNA damage is
detected to trigger the process of cell self-destruction. Now, Coutandin, Osterburg et al. have performed a range of biochemical, biophysical
and cell culture experiments to study how p63 is kept in its inactive form in the
oocytes of mice. The experiments showed that in the inactive form, the two ends of
the protein form a sheet that closes a key site on the protein and prevents it from
changing into its active form. However, this closed form can be thought of as being
like a spring-loaded trap – it doesn’t take much energy to spring the trap and open
the protein into its active form. Once this change has occurred, it is
irreversible. Coutandin, Osterburg et al. also found that the oocytes of mice already contain all
the proteins necessary to activate p63. This means that once the switch to the active
form is triggered there is no delay waiting for other proteins to be made, which
makes oocytes extremely sensitive to DNA damage. Further work is now needed to
investigate the exact molecular mechanisms behind the activation of p63. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.13909.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Coutandin
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Christian Osterburg
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Ratnesh Kumar Srivastav
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Manuela Sumyk
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Sebastian Kehrloesser
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Jakob Gebel
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Marcel Tuppi
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Jens Hannewald
- MS-DTB-C Protein Purification, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Birgit Schäfer
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Eidarus Salah
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Sebastian Mathea
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - James Doutch
- ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, United Kingdom
| | | | - Stefan Knapp
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.,Institute for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Science, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Volker Dötsch
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
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Alvarenga ML, Kikhney J, Hannewald J, Metzger AU, Steffens KJ, Bomke J, Krah A, Wegener A. In-depth biophysical analysis of interactions between therapeutic antibodies and the extracellular domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor. Anal Biochem 2011; 421:138-51. [PMID: 22085444 DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2011.10.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2011] [Revised: 10/21/2011] [Accepted: 10/22/2011] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Targeting of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) with monoclonal antibodies has become an established antitumor strategy in clinical use or in late stages of drug development. The mAbs effector mechanisms have been widely analyzed based on in vivo or cell studies. Hereby we intend to complement these functional studies by investigating the mAb-EGFR interactions on a molecular level. Surface plasmon resonance, isothermal titration calorimetry, and static light scattering were employed to characterize the interactions of matuzumab, cetuximab, and panitumumab with the extracellular soluble form ecEGFR. The kinetic and thermodynamic determinants dissected the differences in mAbs binding mechanism toward ecEGFR. The quantitative stoichiometric data clearly demonstrated the bivalent binding of the mAbs to two ecEGFR molecules. Our results complement earlier studies on simultaneous binding of cetuximab and matuzumab. The antibodies retain their bivalent binding mode achieving a 1:2:1 complex formation. Interestingly the binding parameters remain nearly constant for the individual antibodies in this ternary assembly. In contrast the binding of panitumumab is almost exclusive either by directly blocking the accessibility for the second antibody or by negative allosteric modulation. Overall we provide a comprehensive biophysical dataset on binding parameters, the complex assembly, and relative epitope accessibility for therapeutic anti-EGFR antibodies.
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Deutsch GB, Zielonka EM, Coutandin D, Weber TA, Schäfer B, Hannewald J, Luh LM, Durst FG, Ibrahim M, Hoffmann J, Niesen FH, Sentürk A, Kunkel H, Brutschy B, Schleiff E, Knapp S, Acker-Palmer A, Grez M, McKeon F, Dötsch V. DNA damage in oocytes induces a switch of the quality control factor TAp63α from dimer to tetramer. Cell 2011; 144:566-76. [PMID: 21335238 PMCID: PMC3087504 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2011.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2010] [Revised: 11/05/2010] [Accepted: 12/17/2010] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
TAp63α, a homolog of the p53 tumor suppressor, is a quality control factor in the female germline. Remarkably, already undamaged oocytes express high levels of the protein, suggesting that TAp63α's activity is under tight control of an inhibitory mechanism. Biochemical studies have proposed that inhibition requires the C-terminal transactivation inhibitory domain. However, the structural mechanism of TAp63α inhibition remains unknown. Here, we show that TAp63α is kept in an inactive dimeric state. We reveal that relief of inhibition leads to tetramer formation with ∼20-fold higher DNA affinity. In vivo, phosphorylation-triggered tetramerization of TAp63α is not reversible by dephosphorylation. Furthermore, we show that a helix in the oligomerization domain of p63 is crucial for tetramer stabilization and competes with the transactivation domain for the same binding site. Our results demonstrate how TAp63α is inhibited by complex domain-domain interactions that provide the basis for regulating quality control in oocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregor B Deutsch
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry and Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
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