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Wang T, Huang ZA, Zhou M, Wang R, Li Y, Guo L, Cao X, Huang J. Drug deconjugation-assisted peptide mapping by LC-MS/MS to identify conjugation sites and quantify site occupancy for antibody-drug conjugates. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2024; 243:116098. [PMID: 38493753 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2024.116098] [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: 12/30/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a heterogeneous mixture of conjugated species with varied drug loadings. Depending on conjugation sites, linkers and drugs can exhibit different stability as influenced by the solvent-accessibility and local charge, resulting in different ADC efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity. Conjugation site analysis is critical for ADC structural characterization to assure product quality and consistency. It enables early conjugation studies at site-specific levels, confirms the absence of unexpected products to support conjugation process development, and aids in ensuring lot-to-lot consistency for comparability studies. Peptide mapping using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry is the industry standard method for analyzing conjugation sites. However, some concerns remain for this approach as the large and hydrophobic drug moieties often result in poor MS/MS fragmentation quality and impede the identification of conjugation sites. Additionally, the ionization discrepancy between conjugated and unconjugated peptides can lead to a relatively large bias for site occupancy calculation. In this work, we present a simple drug deconjugation-assisted peptide mapping method to identify and quantify the drug conjugation for ADCs with protease-cleavable linkers. Papain-based drug deconjugation was used to remove the highly hydrophobic drug moiety, which significantly improved the quantitation accuracy of conjugation level and the fragmentation quality. Sample preparation conditions were optimized to avoid introducing artificial modifications, allowing the tracking of initial sample status and subsequent changes of quality attributes during process development and stability assessment. This method was applied to analyze thermally-stressed ADC samples to monitor changes of site-specific conjugation levels, DAR, succinimide hydrolysis of the linker, and various PTMs. We believe this is an effective and straightforward tool for conjugation site analysis while simultaneously monitoring multiple quality attributes for ADCs with protease-cleavable linkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tongdan Wang
- Mass Spectrometry Center of Excellence, Analytical Sciences, WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China.
| | - Zi-Ao Huang
- Mass Spectrometry Center of Excellence, Analytical Sciences, WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Moyin Zhou
- Mass Spectrometry Center of Excellence, Analytical Sciences, WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Ruxin Wang
- Mass Spectrometry Center of Excellence, Analytical Sciences, WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Yufei Li
- Mass Spectrometry Center of Excellence, Analytical Sciences, WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Longyun Guo
- Mass Spectrometry Center of Excellence, Analytical Sciences, WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Xiaolin Cao
- Mass Spectrometry Center of Excellence, Analytical Sciences, WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China
| | - Jincui Huang
- Mass Spectrometry Center of Excellence, Analytical Sciences, WuXi Biologics, 288 Fute Zhong Road, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai 200131, China.
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2
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Benazza R, Koutsopetras I, Vaur V, Chaubet G, Hernandez-Alba O, Cianférani S. SEC-MS in denaturing conditions (dSEC-MS) for in-depth analysis of rebridged monoclonal antibody-based formats. Talanta 2024; 272:125727. [PMID: 38364570 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2024.125727] [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: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Disulfide rebridging methods are emerging recently as new ways to specifically modify antibody-based entities and produce future conjugates. Briefly, the solvent-accessible disulfide bonds of antibodies or antigen-binding fragments (Fab) thereof are reduced under controlled conditions and further covalently attached with a rebridging agent allowing the incorporation of one payload per disulfide bond. There are many examples of successful rebridging cases providing homogeneous conjugates due to the use of symmetrical reagents, such as dibromomaleimides. However, partial rebridging due to the use of unsymmetrical ones, containing functional groups with different reactivity, usually leads to the development of heterogeneous species that cannot be identified by a simple sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel eletrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) due to its lack of sensitivity, resolution and low mass accuracy. Mass spectrometry coupled to liquid chromatography (LC-MS) approaches have already been demonstrated as highly promising alternatives for the characterization of newly developed antibody-drug-conjugate (ADC) and monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based formats. We report here the in-depth characterization of covalently rebridged antibodies and Fab fragments in-development, using size-exclusion chromatography hyphenated to mass spectrometry in denaturing conditions (denaturing SEC-MS, dSEC-MS). DSEC-MS was used to monitor closely the rebridging reaction of a conjugated trastuzumab, in addition to conjugated Fab fragments, which allowed an unambiguous identification of the covalently rebridged products along with the unbound species. This all-in-one approach allowed a straightforward analysis of the studied samples with precise mass measurement; critical quality attributes (CQAs) assessment along with rebridging efficiency determination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rania Benazza
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse BioOrganique, IPHC UMR 7178, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 67087 Strasbourg, France; Infrastructure Nationale de Protéomique ProFI-FR2048, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Ilias Koutsopetras
- Bio-Functional Chemistry (UMR 7199), Institut du Médicament de Strasbourg, University of Strasbourg, 74 Route du Rhin, 67400 Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
| | - Valentine Vaur
- Bio-Functional Chemistry (UMR 7199), Institut du Médicament de Strasbourg, University of Strasbourg, 74 Route du Rhin, 67400 Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
| | - Guilhem Chaubet
- Bio-Functional Chemistry (UMR 7199), Institut du Médicament de Strasbourg, University of Strasbourg, 74 Route du Rhin, 67400 Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
| | - Oscar Hernandez-Alba
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse BioOrganique, IPHC UMR 7178, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 67087 Strasbourg, France; Infrastructure Nationale de Protéomique ProFI-FR2048, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Sarah Cianférani
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse BioOrganique, IPHC UMR 7178, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 67087 Strasbourg, France; Infrastructure Nationale de Protéomique ProFI-FR2048, 67087 Strasbourg, France.
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3
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Osgood AO, Roy SJS, Koo D, Gu R, Chatterjee A. A Genetically Encoded Photocaged Cysteine for Facile Site-Specific Introduction of Conjugation-Ready Thiol Residues in Antibodies. Bioconjug Chem 2024; 35:457-464. [PMID: 38548654 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2024]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have emerged as a powerful class of anticancer therapeutics that enable the selective delivery of toxic payloads into target cells. There is increasing appreciation for the importance of synthesizing such ADCs in a defined manner where the payload is attached at specific permissive sites on the antibody with a defined drug to antibody ratio. Additionally, the ability to systematically alter the site of attachment is important to fine-tune the therapeutic properties of the ADC. Engineered cysteine residues have been used to achieve such site-specific programmable attachment of drug molecules onto antibodies. However, engineered cysteine residues on antibodies often get "disulfide-capped" during secretion and require reductive regeneration prior to conjugation. This reductive step also reduces structurally important disulfide bonds in the antibody itself, which must be regenerated through oxidation. This multistep, cumbersome process reduces the efficiency of conjugation and presents logistical challenges. Additionally, certain engineered cysteine sites are resistant to reductive regeneration, limiting their utility and the overall scope of this conjugation strategy. In this work, we utilize a genetically encoded photocaged cysteine residue that can be site-specifically installed into the antibody. This photocaged amino acid can be efficiently decaged using light, revealing a free cysteine residue available for conjugation without disrupting the antibody structure. We show that this ncAA can be incorporated at several positions within full-length recombinant trastuzumab and decaged efficiently. We further used this method to generate a functional ADC site-specifically modified with monomethyl auristatin F (MMAF).
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianna O Osgood
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, 2609 Beacon Street, 201 Merkert Chemistry Center, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, United States
| | - Soumya Jyoti Singha Roy
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, 2609 Beacon Street, 201 Merkert Chemistry Center, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, United States
| | - David Koo
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, 2609 Beacon Street, 201 Merkert Chemistry Center, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, United States
| | - Renpeng Gu
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, 2609 Beacon Street, 201 Merkert Chemistry Center, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, United States
| | - Abhishek Chatterjee
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, 2609 Beacon Street, 201 Merkert Chemistry Center, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, United States
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4
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Zheng Y, Xu R, Cheng H, Tai W. Mono-amino acid linkers enable highly potent small molecule-drug conjugates by conditional release. Mol Ther 2024; 32:1048-1060. [PMID: 38369752 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2024.02.020] [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: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
The endosome cleavable linkers have been widely employed by antibody-drug conjugates and small molecule-drug conjugates (SMDCs) to control the accurate release of payloads. An effective linker should provide stability in systemic circulation but efficient payload release at its targeted tumor sites. This conflicting requirement always leads to linker design with increasing structural complexity. Balance of the effectiveness and structural complexity presents a linker design challenge. Here, we explored the possibility of mono-amino acid as so far the simplest cleavable linker (X-linker) for SMDC-based auristatin delivery. Within a diverse set of X-linkers, the SMDCs differed widely in bioactivity, with one (Asn-linker) having significantly improved potency (IC50 = 0.1 nM) and fast response to endosomal cathepsin B cleavage. Notably, this SMDC, once grafted with effector protein fragment crystallizable (Fc), demonstrated a profound in vivo therapeutic effect in aspects of targetability, circulation half-life (t1/2 = 73 h), stability, and anti-tumor efficacy. On the basis of these results, we believe that this mono-amino acid linker, together with the new SMDC-Fc scaffold, has significant potential in targeted delivery application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zheng
- Department of Pharmacy, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Ruolin Xu
- Department of Pharmacy, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Hong Cheng
- Department of Pharmacy, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Wanyi Tai
- Department of Pharmacy, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China.
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5
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Delaney S, Grimaldi C, Houghton JL, Zeglis BM. MIB Guides: Measuring the Immunoreactivity of Radioimmunoconjugates. Mol Imaging Biol 2024; 26:213-221. [PMID: 38446323 PMCID: PMC10973015 DOI: 10.1007/s11307-024-01898-x] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Immunoglobulins, both full-length antibodies and smaller antibody fragments, have long been regarded as effective platforms for diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. The construction of radiolabeled immunoglobulins (i.e., radioimmunoconjugates) requires the manipulation of the biomolecule through the attachment of a radiohalogen or the bioconjugation of a chelator that is subsequently used to coordinate a radiometal. Both synthetic approaches have historically relied upon the stochastic modification of amino acids within the immunoglobulin, a process which poses a risk to the structural and functional integrity of the biomolecule itself. Not surprisingly, radioimmunoconjugates with impaired antigen binding capacity will inevitably exhibit suboptimal in vivo performance. As a result, the biological characterization of any newly synthesized radioimmunoconjugate must include an assessment of whether it has retained its ability to bind its antigen. Herein, we provide straightforward and concise protocols for three assays that can be used to determine the immunoreactivity of a radioimmunoconjugate: (1) a cell-based linear extrapolation assay; (2) a cell-based antigen saturation assay; and (3) a resin- or bead-based assay. In addition, we will provide a critical analysis of the relative merits of each assay, an examination of the inherent limitations of immunoreactivity assays in general, and a discussion of other approaches that may be used to interrogate the biological behavior of radioimmunoconjugates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Delaney
- Department of Chemistry, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
- Program in Biochemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Camilla Grimaldi
- Department of Chemistry, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
- Program in Biochemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jacob L Houghton
- Department of Radiology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 101 Nicolls Road, Health Sciences Center Level 4, Stony Brook, New York, NY, 11794, USA.
| | - Brian M Zeglis
- Department of Chemistry, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
- Program in Biochemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, 413 East 69th Street, New York, NY, 10021, USA.
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6
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Pometti MA, Di Natale G, Geremia G, Gauswami N, Garufi G, Ricciardi G, Sciortino M, Scopelliti F, Russo G, Ippolito M. A Kinetically Controlled Bioconjugation Method for the Synthesis of Radioimmunoconjugates and the Development of a Domain Mapping MS-Workflow for Its Characterization. Bioconjug Chem 2024; 35:324-332. [PMID: 38366964 PMCID: PMC10961728 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
Immunoconjugates exploit the high affinity of monoclonal antibodies for a recognized antigen to selectively deliver a cytotoxic payload, such as drugs or radioactive nuclides, at the site of disease. Despite numerous techniques have been recently developed for site-selective bioconjugations of protein structures, reaction of ε-amine group of lysine residues with electrophilic reactants, such as activated esters (NHS), is the main method reported in the literature as it maintains proteins in their native conformation. Since antibodies hold a high number of lysine residues, a heterogeneous mixture of conjugates will be generated, which can result in decreased target affinity. Here, we report an intradomain regioselective bioconjugation between the monoclonal antibody Trastuzumab and the N-hydroxysuccinimide ester of the chelator 2,2',2″,2‴-(1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetrayl)tetraacetic acid (DOTA) by a kinetically controlled reaction adding substoichiometric quantities of the activated ester to the mAb working at slightly basic pH. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analyses were carried out to assess the chelator-antibody ratio (CAR) and the number of chelating moieties linked to the mAb chains. Proteolysis experiments showed four lysine residues mainly involved in bioconjugation (K188 for the light chain and K30, K293, and K417 for the heavy chain), each of which was located in a different domain. Since the displayed intradomain regioselectivity, a domain mapping MS-workflow, based on a selective domain denaturation, was developed to quantify the percentage of chelator linked to each mAb domain. The resulting immunoconjugate mixture showed an average CAR of 0.9. About a third of the heavy chains were found as monoconjugated, whereas conjugation of the chelator in the light chain was negligible. Domain mapping showed the CH3 domain bearing 13% of conjugated DOTA, followed by CH2 and VH respectively bearing 12.5 and 11% of bonded chelator. Bioconjugation was not found in the CH1 domain, whereas for the light chain, only the CL domain was conjugated (6%). Data analysis based on LC-MS quantification of different analytical levels (intact, reduced chains, and domains) provided the immunoconjugate formulation. A mixture of immunoconjugates restricted to 15 species was obtained, and the percentage of each one within the mixture was calculated. In particular, species bearing 1 DOTA with a relative abundance ranging from 4 to 20-fold, in comparison to species bearing 2DOTA, were observed. Pairing of bioconjugation under kinetic control with the developed domain mapping MS-workflow could raise the standard of chemical quality for immunoconjugates obtained with commercially available reactants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco A. Pometti
- Nuclear
Medicine Department, Cannizzaro Hospital, Via Messina 829, 95126 Catania, Italy
- FORA
S.p.A., Via Alfred Bernhard
Nobel 11/a, 43122 Parma, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Di Natale
- CNR-Istituto
di Cristallografia, Via
Paolo Gaifami 18, 95126 Catania, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Geremia
- Nuclear
Medicine Department, Cannizzaro Hospital, Via Messina 829, 95126 Catania, Italy
- Parco
scientifico e tecnologico della Sicilia S.C.P.A., Stradale Vincenzo Lancia 57, 95121 Catania, Italy
| | - Nileshgiri Gauswami
- Nuclear
Medicine Department, Cannizzaro Hospital, Via Messina 829, 95126 Catania, Italy
- Parco
scientifico e tecnologico della Sicilia S.C.P.A., Stradale Vincenzo Lancia 57, 95121 Catania, Italy
| | - Gianni Garufi
- Nuclear
Medicine Department, Cannizzaro Hospital, Via Messina 829, 95126 Catania, Italy
- Parco
scientifico e tecnologico della Sicilia S.C.P.A., Stradale Vincenzo Lancia 57, 95121 Catania, Italy
| | - Giuseppina Ricciardi
- Nuclear
Medicine Department, Cannizzaro Hospital, Via Messina 829, 95126 Catania, Italy
- FORA
S.p.A., Via Alfred Bernhard
Nobel 11/a, 43122 Parma, Italy
| | - Marcella Sciortino
- Nuclear
Medicine Department, Cannizzaro Hospital, Via Messina 829, 95126 Catania, Italy
- FORA
S.p.A., Via Alfred Bernhard
Nobel 11/a, 43122 Parma, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Scopelliti
- Nuclear
Medicine Department, Cannizzaro Hospital, Via Messina 829, 95126 Catania, Italy
| | - Giorgio Russo
- IBFM-CNR
Institute of Molecular Bioimaging and Physiology, Contrada Pietra Pollastra, 90015 Cefalù, Italy
| | - Massimo Ippolito
- Nuclear
Medicine Department, Cannizzaro Hospital, Via Messina 829, 95126 Catania, Italy
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7
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Lu N, Wu J, Tian M, Zhang S, Li Z, Shi L. Comprehensive review on the elaboration of payloads derived from natural products for antibody-drug conjugates. Eur J Med Chem 2024; 268:116233. [PMID: 38408390 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2024.116233] [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: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have arisen as a promising class of biotherapeutics for targeted cancer treatment, combining the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the cytotoxicity of small-molecule drugs. The choice of an appropriate payload is crucial for the success development of ADCs, as it determines the therapeutic efficacy and safety profile. This review focuses on payloads derived from natural products, including cytotoxic agents, DNA-damaging agents, and immunomodulators. These offer several advantages such as diverse chemical structures, unique mechanism of actions, and potential for improved therapeutic index. Challenges and opportunities associated with their development were highlighted. This review underscores the significance of natural product payloads in the elaboration of ADCs, which serves as a valuable resource for researchers involved in developing and optimizing next-generation ADCs for cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Lu
- XDC Analytical Sciences, WuXi XDC Co., Ltd., 520 Fute North Road, Pilot Free Trade Zone, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Jiaqi Wu
- XDC Analytical Sciences, WuXi XDC Co., Ltd., 520 Fute North Road, Pilot Free Trade Zone, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Mengwei Tian
- XDC Analytical Sciences, WuXi XDC Co., Ltd., 520 Fute North Road, Pilot Free Trade Zone, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Shanshan Zhang
- XDC Analytical Sciences, WuXi XDC Co., Ltd., 520 Fute North Road, Pilot Free Trade Zone, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 200131, China.
| | - Zhiguo Li
- XDC Analytical Sciences, WuXi XDC Co., Ltd., 520 Fute North Road, Pilot Free Trade Zone, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 200131, China.
| | - Liming Shi
- XDC Analytical Sciences, WuXi XDC Co., Ltd., 520 Fute North Road, Pilot Free Trade Zone, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 200131, China.
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8
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Anderson TS, McCormick AL, Smith SL, Lowe DB. Modeling antibody drug conjugate potential using a granzyme B antibody fusion protein. BMC Biol 2024; 22:66. [PMID: 38486229 PMCID: PMC10941411 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-024-01860-x] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) constitute a promising class of targeted anti-tumor therapeutics that harness the selectivity of monoclonal antibodies with the potency of cytotoxic drugs. ADC development is best suited to initially screening antibody candidates for desired properties that potentiate target cell cytotoxicity. However, validating and producing an optimally designed ADC requires expertise and resources not readily available to certain laboratories. RESULTS In this study, we propose a novel approach to help streamline the identification of potential ADC candidates by utilizing a granzyme B (GrB)-based antibody fusion protein (AFP) for preliminary screening. GrB is a non-immunogenic serine protease expressed by immune effector cells such as CD8 + T cells that induces apoptotic activity and can be leveraged for targeted cell killing. CONCLUSIONS Our innovative model allows critical antibody parameters (including target cell binding, internalization, and cytotoxic potential) to be more reliably evaluated in vitro through the creation of an ADC surrogate. Successful incorporation of this AFP could also significantly expand and enhance ADC development pre-clinically, ultimately leading to the accelerated translation of ADC therapies for patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trevor S Anderson
- Department of Immunotherapeutics and Biotechnology, Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 1718 Pine Street, Office 1306, Abilene, TX, 79601, USA
| | - Amanda L McCormick
- Department of Immunotherapeutics and Biotechnology, Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 1718 Pine Street, Office 1306, Abilene, TX, 79601, USA
| | - Savanna L Smith
- Department of Immunotherapeutics and Biotechnology, Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 1718 Pine Street, Office 1306, Abilene, TX, 79601, USA
| | - Devin B Lowe
- Department of Immunotherapeutics and Biotechnology, Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 1718 Pine Street, Office 1306, Abilene, TX, 79601, USA.
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9
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Wang T, Li M, Wei R, Wang X, Lin Z, Chen J, Wu X. Small Molecule-Drug Conjugates Emerge as a New Promising Approach for Cancer Treatment. Mol Pharm 2024; 21:1038-1055. [PMID: 38344996 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c01049] [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] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) have emerged as a new promising class of anti- cancer agents. However, limitations such as higher costs and unavoidable immunogenicity due to their relatively large structures cannot be ignored. Therefore, the development of lightweight drugs such as small molecule-drug conjugates (SMDCs) based on the ADC design idea has become a new option for targeted therapy. SMDCs are derived from the coupling of small-molecule targeting ligands with cytotoxic drugs. They are composed of three parts: small-molecule targeting ligands, cytotoxic molecules, and linkers. Compared with ADCs, SMDCs can be more rapidly and evenly dispersed into tumor tissues, with low cost and no immunogenicity. In this article, we will give a comprehensive review of different types of SMDCs currently under clinical trials to provide ideas and inspirations for the development of clinically applicable SMDCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiansi Wang
- Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 1, Qiuyang Road, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, China
- Shanghai Wei Er Lab, Shanghai 201799, China
| | - Meichai Li
- Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 1, Qiuyang Road, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, China
- Shanghai Wei Er Lab, Shanghai 201799, China
| | - Ruting Wei
- Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 1, Qiuyang Road, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, China
- Shanghai Wei Er Lab, Shanghai 201799, China
| | - Xinyu Wang
- Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 1, Qiuyang Road, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, China
- Shanghai Wei Er Lab, Shanghai 201799, China
| | - Zhizhe Lin
- Shanghai Wei Er Lab, Shanghai 201799, China
- Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No.4655, University Road, Jinan, Shandong 250355, China
| | - Jianming Chen
- Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 1, Qiuyang Road, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, China
- Shanghai Wei Er Lab, Shanghai 201799, China
| | - Xin Wu
- Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 1, Qiuyang Road, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, China
- Shanghai Wei Er Lab, Shanghai 201799, China
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10
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Bocci M, Zana A, Principi L, Lucaroni L, Prati L, Gilardoni E, Neri D, Cazzamalli S, Galbiati A. In vivo activation of FAP-cleavable small molecule-drug conjugates for the targeted delivery of camptothecins and tubulin poisons to the tumor microenvironment. J Control Release 2024; 367:779-790. [PMID: 38346501 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.02.014] [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: 12/08/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Small molecule-drug conjugates (SMDCs) are increasingly considered as a therapeutic alternative to antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for cancer therapy. OncoFAP is an ultra-high affinity ligand of Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP), a stromal tumor-associated antigen overexpressed in a wide variety of solid human malignancies. We have recently reported the development of non-internalizing OncoFAP-based SMDCs, which are activated by FAP thanks to selective proteolytic cleavage of the -GlyPro- linker with consequent release of monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) in the tumor microenvironment. In this article, we describe the generation and the in vivo characterization of FAP-cleavable OncoFAP-drug conjugates based on potent topoisomerase I inhibitors (DXd, SN-38, and exatecan) and an anti-tubulin payload (MMAE), which are already exploited in clinical-stage and approved ADCs. The Glycine-Proline FAP-cleavable technology was directly benchmarked against linkers found in Adcetris™, Enhertu™, and Trodelvy™ structures by means of in vivo therapeutic experiments in mice bearing tumors with cellular or stromal FAP expression. OncoFAP-GlyPro-Exatecan and OncoFAP-GlyPro-MMAE emerged as the most efficacious anti-cancer therapeutics against FAP-positive cellular models. OncoFAP-GlyPro-MMAE exhibited a potent antitumor activity also against stromal models, and was therefore selected for clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matilde Bocci
- Philochem AG, R&D Department, CH-8112 Otelfingen, Switzerland.
| | - Aureliano Zana
- Philochem AG, R&D Department, CH-8112 Otelfingen, Switzerland
| | | | - Laura Lucaroni
- Philochem AG, R&D Department, CH-8112 Otelfingen, Switzerland
| | - Luca Prati
- Philochem AG, R&D Department, CH-8112 Otelfingen, Switzerland
| | | | - Dario Neri
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Zurich CH-8093, Switzerland; Philogen S.p.A., Siena 53100, Italy
| | | | - Andrea Galbiati
- Philochem AG, R&D Department, CH-8112 Otelfingen, Switzerland.
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11
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Tsuchikama K, Anami Y, Ha SYY, Yamazaki CM. Exploring the next generation of antibody-drug conjugates. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2024; 21:203-223. [PMID: 38191923 DOI: 10.1038/s41571-023-00850-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a promising cancer treatment modality that enables the selective delivery of highly cytotoxic payloads to tumours. However, realizing the full potential of this platform necessitates innovative molecular designs to tackle several clinical challenges such as drug resistance, tumour heterogeneity and treatment-related adverse effects. Several emerging ADC formats exist, including bispecific ADCs, conditionally active ADCs (also known as probody-drug conjugates), immune-stimulating ADCs, protein-degrader ADCs and dual-drug ADCs, and each offers unique capabilities for tackling these various challenges. For example, probody-drug conjugates can enhance tumour specificity, whereas bispecific ADCs and dual-drug ADCs can address resistance and heterogeneity with enhanced activity. The incorporation of immune-stimulating and protein-degrader ADCs, which have distinct mechanisms of action, into existing treatment strategies could enable multimodal cancer treatment. Despite the promising outlook, the importance of patient stratification and biomarker identification cannot be overstated for these emerging ADCs, as these factors are crucial to identify patients who are most likely to derive benefit. As we continue to deepen our understanding of tumour biology and refine ADC design, we will edge closer to developing truly effective and safe ADCs for patients with treatment-refractory cancers. In this Review, we highlight advances in each ADC component (the monoclonal antibody, payload, linker and conjugation chemistry) and provide more-detailed discussions on selected examples of emerging novel ADCs of each format, enabled by engineering of one or more of these components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyoji Tsuchikama
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Yasuaki Anami
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Summer Y Y Ha
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Chisato M Yamazaki
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
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12
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Liubomirski Y, Tiram G, Scomparin A, Gnaim S, Das S, Gholap S, Ge L, Yeini E, Shelef O, Zauberman A, Berger N, Kalimi D, Toister-Achituv M, Schröter C, Dickgiesser S, Tonillo J, Shan M, Deutsch C, Sweeney-Lasch S, Shabat D, Satchi-Fainaro R. Potent antitumor activity of anti-HER2 antibody-topoisomerase I inhibitor conjugate based on self-immolative dendritic dimeric-linker. J Control Release 2024; 367:148-157. [PMID: 38228272 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.01.025] [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: 07/09/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a rapidly expanding class of anticancer therapeutics, with 14 ADCs already approved worldwide. We developed unique linker technologies for the bioconjugation of drug molecules with controlled-release applications. We synthesized cathepsin-cleavable ADCs using a dimeric prodrug system based on a self-immolative dendritic scaffold, resulting in a high drug-antibody ratio (DAR) with the potential to reach 16 payloads due to its dendritic structure, increased stability in the circulation and efficient release profile of a highly cytotoxic payload at the targeted site. Using our novel cleavable linker technologies, we conjugated the anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (anti-HER2) antibody, trastuzumab, with topoisomerase I inhibitors, exatecan or belotecan. The newly synthesized ADCs were tested in vitro on mammary carcinoma cells overexpressing human HER2, demonstrating a substantial inhibitory effect on the proliferation of HER2-positive cells. Importantly, a single dose of our trastuzumab-based ADCs administered in vivo to mice bearing HER2-positive tumors, showed a dose-dependent inhibition of tumor growth and survival benefit, with the most potent antitumor effects observed at 10 mg/kg, which resulted in complete tumor regression and survival of 100% of the mice. Overall, our novel dendritic technologies using the protease-cleavable Val-Cit linker present an opportunity for the development of highly selective and potent controlled-released therapeutic payloads. This strategy could potentially lead to the development of novel and effective ADC technologies for patients diagnosed with HER2-positive cancers. Moreover, our proposed ADC linker technology can be implemented in additional medical conditions such as other malignancies as well as autoimmune diseases that overexpress targets, other than HER2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulia Liubomirski
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Galia Tiram
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Anna Scomparin
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; Department of Drug Science and Technology, University of Turin, Turin 10125, Italy
| | - Samer Gnaim
- School of Chemistry, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Sayantan Das
- School of Chemistry, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Sachin Gholap
- School of Chemistry, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Liang Ge
- School of Chemistry, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Eilam Yeini
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Omri Shelef
- School of Chemistry, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Arie Zauberman
- Inter-Lab, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, South Industrial Area, Yavne 8122004, Israel
| | - Nir Berger
- Inter-Lab, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, South Industrial Area, Yavne 8122004, Israel
| | - Doron Kalimi
- Inter-Lab, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, South Industrial Area, Yavne 8122004, Israel
| | - Mira Toister-Achituv
- Inter-Lab, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, South Industrial Area, Yavne 8122004, Israel
| | | | | | | | - Min Shan
- Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, 64293, Germany
| | | | | | - Doron Shabat
- School of Chemistry, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel.
| | - Ronit Satchi-Fainaro
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel.
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13
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Li M, Zhao X, Yu C, Wang L. Antibody-Drug Conjugate Overview: a State-of-the-art Manufacturing Process and Control Strategy. Pharm Res 2024; 41:419-440. [PMID: 38366236 DOI: 10.1007/s11095-023-03649-z] [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: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) comprise an antibody, linker, and drug, which direct their highly potent small molecule drugs to target tumor cells via specific binding between the antibody and surface antigens. The antibody, linker, and drug should be properly designed or selected to achieve the desired efficacy while minimizing off-target toxicity. With a unique and complex structure, there is inherent heterogeneity introduced by product-related variations and the manufacturing process. Here this review primarily covers recent key advances in ADC history, clinical development status, molecule design, manufacturing processes, and quality control. The manufacturing process, especially the conjugation process, should be carefully developed, characterized, validated, and controlled throughout its lifecycle. Quality control is another key element to ensure product quality and patient safety. A patient-centric strategy has been well recognized and adopted by the pharmaceutical industry for therapeutic proteins, and has been successfully implemented for ADCs as well, to ensure that ADC products maintain their quality until the end of their shelf life. Deep product understanding and process knowledge defines attribute testing strategies (ATS). Quality by design (QbD) is a powerful approach for process and product development, and for defining an overall control strategy. Finally, we summarize the current challenges on ADC development and provide some perspectives that may help to give related directions and trigger more cross-functional research to surmount those challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Li
- NHC Key Laboratory of Research on Quality and Standardization of Biotech Products, NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Research and Evaluation of Biological Products, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Xueyu Zhao
- The Engineering Research Center of Synthetic Polypeptide Drug Discovery and Evaluation of Jiangsu Province, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Chuanfei Yu
- NHC Key Laboratory of Research on Quality and Standardization of Biotech Products, NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Research and Evaluation of Biological Products, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Lan Wang
- NHC Key Laboratory of Research on Quality and Standardization of Biotech Products, NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Research and Evaluation of Biological Products, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
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14
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Ziaei V, Ghassempour A, Davami F, Azarian B, Behdani M, Dabiri H, Habibi-Anbouhi M. Production and characterization of a camelid single domain anti-CD22 antibody conjugated to DM1. Mol Cell Biochem 2024; 479:579-590. [PMID: 37129769 DOI: 10.1007/s11010-023-04741-z] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) with twelve FDA approved drugs, known as a novel category of anti-neoplastic treatment created to merge the monoclonal antibody specificity with cytotoxicity effect of chemotherapy. However, despite many undeniable advantages, ADCs face certain problems, including insufficient internalization after binding, complex structures and large size of full antibodies especially in targeting of solid tumors. Camelid single domain antibody fragments (Nanobody®) offer solutions to this challenge by providing nanoscale size, high solubility and excellent stability, recombinant expression in bacteria, in vivo enhanced tissue penetration, and conjugation advantages. Here, an anti-human CD22 Nanobody was expressed in E.coli cells and conjugated to Mertansine (DM1) as a cytotoxic payload. The anti-CD22 Nanobody was expressed and purified by Ni-NTA resin. DM1 conjugated anti-CD22 Nanobody was generated by conjugation of SMCC-DM1 to Nanobody lysine groups. The conjugates were characterized using SDS-PAGE and Capillary electrophoresis (CE-SDS), RP-HPLC, and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Additionally, flow cytometry analysis and a competition ELISA were carried out for binding evaluation. Finally, cytotoxicity of conjugates on Raji and Jurkat cell lines was assessed. The drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR) of conjugates was calculated 2.04 using UV spectrometry. SDS-PAGE, CE-SDS, HPLC, and mass spectrometry confirmed conjugation of DM1 to the Nanobody. The obtained results showed the anti-CD22 Nanobody cytotoxicity was enhanced almost 80% by conjugation with DM1. The binding of conjugates was similar to the non-conjugated anti-CD22 Nanobody in flow cytometry experiments. Concludingly, this study successfully suggest that the DM1 conjugated anti-CD22 Nanobody can be used as a novel tumor specific drug delivery system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vahab Ziaei
- National Cell Bank of Iran, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Alireza Ghassempour
- Medicinal Plants and Drugs Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Davami
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Bahareh Azarian
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mahdi Behdani
- Biotechnology Research Center, Venom and Bio Therapeutics Molecules Laboratory, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamed Dabiri
- Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
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15
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Yang Y, Rao R, Valliere-Douglass J, Tremintin G. Automated high-throughput buffer exchange platform enhances rapid flow analysis of antibody drug conjugates by high resolution mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 2024; 1235:124007. [PMID: 38387340 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2024.124007] [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: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 12/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) are an increasingly important therapeutic class of molecules for the treatment of cancer. Average drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR) and drug-load distribution are critical quality attributes of ADCs with the potential to impact efficacy and toxicity of the molecule and need to be analytically characterized and understood. Several platform methods including hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) and native size-exclusion chromatography-mass spectrometry (nSEC-MS) have been developed for that purpose; however, each presents some limitations. In this work, we assessed a new sample preparation and buffer exchange platform coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry for characterizing the drug-load and distribution of several cysteine-linked ADCs conjugated with a variety of chemotypes. Several criteria were evaluated during the optimization of the buffer exchange-mass spectrometry system performance and the data generated with the system were compared with results from nSEC-MS and HIC. The results indicated that the platform enables automated and high throughput quantitative DAR characterization for antibody-drug conjugates with high reproducibility and offers several key advantages over existing approaches that are used for chemotype-agnostic ADC characterization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Yang
- Bruker Scientific, LLC., 101 Daggett Drive, San Jose, CA, USA.
| | - Romesh Rao
- Analytical Sciences, Seagen Inc., 21823 30th Drive S.E., Bothell, WA, USA.
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16
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Yao J, Lv Y, Zhang Y, Zhang Z, Xu T. [Antibody druggability screening process and evaluation strategy]. Sheng Wu Gong Cheng Xue Bao 2024; 40:507-516. [PMID: 38369837 DOI: 10.13345/j.cjb.230548] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Since the approval of OKT3 as the first therapeutic monoclonal antibody in 1986, there has been rapid development in antibody technology and antibody drugs. Monoclonal antibodies, antibody fragments, bi (multi) specific antibodies, fusion proteins, nanobodies, and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have been introduced and play a significant role in the treatment of oncology, hematology, immunology, respiratory, metabolic and other related diseases. The process of antibody drug discovery involves multiple rounds of biological function and druggability assessments to identify the best candidate sequences that are safe, effective, stable, and scalable. This lays the foundation for the efficiency and success of drug development and clinical studies. In the phase of antibody drug discovery, "druggability screening and evaluation" has received increasing attention. It involves drug discovery and design, screening and optimization of lead molecules as well as the validation of candidate molecules, with the aim of detecting potential physicochemical risk factors and evaluating controllability to ensure the quality stability of the subsequent drug development process. This paper classifies and defines the process of druggability screening and evaluation in the antibody discovery phase, covering monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies, nanobodies, ADCs and other related technologies and drug forms. It also summarizes the quality attributes and high-throughput detection technology that should be emphasized in the druggability screening and evaluation. The systematic elaboration of the druggability development process and strategy provides a reference for the druggability screening and evaluation of emerging innovative drugs, significantly improving the efficiency and success rate of antibody drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiangning Yao
- CHIA TAI TIANQING Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211100, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yingtong Lv
- CHIA TAI TIANQING Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211100, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yingjun Zhang
- CHIA TAI TIANQING Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211100, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhengping Zhang
- CHIA TAI TIANQING Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211100, Jiangsu, China
| | - Tongjie Xu
- CHIA TAI TIANQING Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211100, Jiangsu, China
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17
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Zhang A, Seiss K, Laborde L, Palacio-Ramirez S, Guthy D, Lanter M, Lorber J, Vulpetti A, Arista L, Zoller T, Radimerski T, Thoma C, Hebach C, Tschantz WR, Karpov A, Hollingworth GJ, D'Alessio JA, Ferretti S, Burger MT. Design, Synthesis, and In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Cereblon Binding Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) Degrader CD79b Targeted Antibody-Drug Conjugates. Bioconjug Chem 2024; 35:140-146. [PMID: 38265691 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are an established modality that allow for targeted delivery of a potent molecule, or payload, to a desired site of action. ADCs, wherein the payload is a targeted protein degrader, are an emerging area in the field. Herein we describe our efforts of delivering a Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) bifunctional degrader 1 via a CD79b mAb (monoclonal antibody) where the degrader is linked at the ligase binding portion of the payload via a cleavable linker to the mAb. The resulting CD79b ADCs, 3 and 4, exhibit in vitro degradation and cytotoxicity comparable with that of 1, and ADC 3 can achieve more sustained in vivo degradation than intravenously administered 1 with markedly reduced systemic exposure of the payload.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan Zhang
- Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 United States
| | - Katherine Seiss
- Oncology Biotherapeutics, Novartis Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 United States
| | - Laurent Laborde
- Oncology, Novartis Biomedical Research, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Palacio-Ramirez
- Novartis Biologics Center, Novartis Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 United States
| | - Daniel Guthy
- Oncology, Novartis Biomedical Research, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Mylene Lanter
- Oncology, Novartis Biomedical Research, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Julien Lorber
- Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis Biomedical Research, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Anna Vulpetti
- Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis Biomedical Research, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Luca Arista
- Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis Biomedical Research, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Zoller
- Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis Biomedical Research, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Claudio Thoma
- Oncology, Novartis Biomedical Research, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Christina Hebach
- Oncology, Novartis Biomedical Research, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | - William R Tschantz
- Novartis Biologics Center, Novartis Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 United States
| | - Alexei Karpov
- Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis Biomedical Research, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Joseph A D'Alessio
- Oncology Biotherapeutics, Novartis Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 United States
| | | | - Matthew T Burger
- Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 United States
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Wei B, Lantz C, Loo RRO, Campuzano IDG, Loo JA. Internal Fragments Enhance Middle-Down Mass Spectrometry Structural Characterization of Monoclonal Antibodies and Antibody-Drug Conjugates. Anal Chem 2024; 96:2491-2499. [PMID: 38294207 PMCID: PMC11001303 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c04526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are important large biotherapeutics (∼150 kDa) and high structural complexity that require extensive sequence and structure characterization. Middle-down mass spectrometry (MD-MS) is an emerging technique that sequences and maps subunits larger than those released by trypsinolysis. It avoids potentially introducing artifactual modifications that may occur in bottom-up MS while achieving higher sequence coverage compared to top-down MS. However, returning complete sequence information by MD-MS is still challenging. Here, we show that assigning internal fragments in direct infusion MD-MS of a mAb and an ADC substantially improves their structural characterization. For MD-MS of the reduced NIST mAb, including internal fragments recovers nearly 100% of the sequence by accessing the middle sequence region that is inaccessible by terminal fragments. The identification of important glycosylations can also be improved after the inclusion of internal fragments. For the reduced lysine-linked IgG1-DM1 ADC, we show that considering internal fragments increases the DM1 conjugation sites coverage to 80%, comparable to the reported 83% coverage achieved by peptide mapping on the same ADC (Luo et al. Anal. Chem. 2016, 88, 695-702). This study expands our work on the application of internal fragment assignments in top-down MS of mAbs and ADCs and can be extended to other heterogeneous therapeutic molecules such as multispecifics and fusion proteins for more widespread applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benqian Wei
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles-Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Carter Lantz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles-Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Rachel R. Ogorzalek Loo
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles-Los Angeles, CA, USA
- UCLA-DOE Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Iain D. G. Campuzano
- Center for Research Acceleration by Digital Innovation, Molecular Analytics, Amgen Research, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA
| | - Joseph A. Loo
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles-Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- UCLA-DOE Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Molecular Biology Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Dean TT, Jelú-Reyes J, Allen AC, Moore TW. Peptide-Drug Conjugates: An Emerging Direction for the Next Generation of Peptide Therapeutics. J Med Chem 2024; 67:1641-1661. [PMID: 38277480 PMCID: PMC10922862 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c01835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
Building on recent advances in peptide science, medicinal chemists have developed a hybrid class of bioconjugates, called peptide-drug conjugates, that demonstrate improved efficacy compared to peptides and small molecules independently. In this Perspective, we discuss how the conjugation of synergistic peptides and small molecules can be used to overcome complex disease states and resistance mechanisms that have eluded contemporary therapies because of their multi-component activity. We highlight how peptide-drug conjugates display a multi-factor therapeutic mechanism similar to that of antibody-drug conjugates but also demonstrate improved therapeutic properties such as less-severe off-target effects and conjugation strategies with greater site-specificity. The many considerations that go into peptide-drug conjugate design and optimization, such as peptide/small-molecule pairing and chemo-selective chemistries, are discussed. We also examine several peptide-drug conjugate series that demonstrate notable activity toward complex disease states such as neurodegenerative disorders and inflammation, as well as viral and bacterial targets with established resistance mechanisms.
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Wang M, Liu J, Xia M, Yin L, Zhang L, Liu X, Cheng Y. Peptide-drug conjugates: A new paradigm for targeted cancer therapy. Eur J Med Chem 2024; 265:116119. [PMID: 38194773 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.116119] [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: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/31/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) are the new hope for targeted therapy after antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Compared with ADCs, the core advantages of PDCs are enhanced tissue penetration, easier chemical synthesis, and lower production costs. Two PDCs have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of cancer. The therapeutic effects of PDCs are remarkable, but PDCs also encounter problems when used as targeted therapeutics, such as poor stability, a short blood circulation time, a long research and development time frame, and a slow clinical development process. Therefore, it is very urgent and important to understand the latest research progress of cancer cells targeting PDC, the solution to its stability problem, the scheme of computer technology to assist its research and development, and the direction of its future development. In this manuscript, based on the structure and function of PDCs, the latest research progress on PDCs from the aspects of cancer cell-targeting peptide (CTP) selection, pharmacokinetic characteristics, stability regulation and so on were systematically reviewed, hoping to highlight the current problems and future development directions of PDCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mo Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Hebei Anti-Tumor Molecular Target Technology Innovation Center; Hebei Research Center of the Basic Discipline of Cell Biology; College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, PR China
| | - Jiawei Liu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Hebei Anti-Tumor Molecular Target Technology Innovation Center; Hebei Research Center of the Basic Discipline of Cell Biology; College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, PR China
| | - Mingjing Xia
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Hebei Anti-Tumor Molecular Target Technology Innovation Center; Hebei Research Center of the Basic Discipline of Cell Biology; College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, PR China
| | - Libinghan Yin
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Hebei Anti-Tumor Molecular Target Technology Innovation Center; Hebei Research Center of the Basic Discipline of Cell Biology; College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, PR China
| | - Ling Zhang
- School of Chemical Technology, Shijiazhuang University, Shijiazhuang, 050035, PR China.
| | - Xifu Liu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Hebei Anti-Tumor Molecular Target Technology Innovation Center; Hebei Research Center of the Basic Discipline of Cell Biology; College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, PR China.
| | - Yu Cheng
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Hebei Anti-Tumor Molecular Target Technology Innovation Center; Hebei Research Center of the Basic Discipline of Cell Biology; College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, PR China.
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21
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Schmitt S, Machui P, Mai I, Herterich S, Wunder S, Cyprys P, Gerlach M, Ochtrop P, Hackenberger CP, Schumacher D, Helma J, Vogl AM, Kasper MA. Design and Evaluation of Phosphonamidate-Linked Exatecan Constructs for Highly Loaded, Stable, and Efficacious Antibody-Drug Conjugates. Mol Cancer Ther 2024; 23:199-211. [PMID: 37828728 PMCID: PMC10831470 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-23-0359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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] [Received: 06/10/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Topoisomerase I (TOP1) Inhibitors constitute an emerging payload class to engineer antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) as next-generation biopharmaceutical for cancer treatment. Existing ADCs are using camptothecin payloads with lower potency and suffer from limited stability in circulation. With this study, we introduce a novel camptothecin-based linker-payload platform based on the highly potent camptothecin derivative exatecan. First, we describe general challenges that arise from the hydrophobic combination of exatecan and established dipeptidyl p-aminobenzyl-carbamate (PAB) cleavage sites such as reduced antibody conjugation yields and ADC aggregation. After evaluating several linker-payload structures, we identified ethynyl-phosphonamidates in combination with a discrete PEG24 chain to compensate for the hydrophobic PAB-exatecan moiety. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the identified linker-payload structure enables the construction of highly loaded DAR8 ADCs with excellent solubility properties. Head-to-head comparison with Enhertu, an approved camptothecin-based ADC, revealed improved target-mediated killing of tumor cells, excellent bystander killing, drastically improved linker stability in vitro and in vivo and superior in vivo efficacy over four tested dose levels in a xenograft model. Moreover, we show that ADCs based on the novel exatecan linker-payload platform exhibit antibody-like pharmacokinetic properties, even when the ADCs are highly loaded with eight drug molecules per antibody. This ADC platform constitutes a new and general solution to deliver TOP1 inhibitors with highest efficiency to the site of the tumor, independent of the antibody and its target, and is thereby broadly applicable to various cancer indications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Christian P.R. Hackenberger
- Chemical Biology Department, Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Berlin, Germany
- Department of Chemistry, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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22
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Thomas R, Song D, Pourmohamad T, Kurita K, Chin S, Dai L, Goyon A, Medley CD, Gruenhagen JA, Chen T. Automated online deconjugation of antibody-drug conjugate for small molecule drug profiling. J Chromatogr A 2024; 1715:464575. [PMID: 38150875 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464575] [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: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are designed by chemically linking highly potent cytotoxic small molecule drugs to monoclonal antibodies of unique specificity for targeted destruction of cancer cells. This innovative class of molecules incurs unique developmental challenges due to its structural complexity of having both small molecule and protein components. The stability of the small molecule payload on the ADC is a critical attribute as it directly relates to product efficacy and patient safety. This study describes the use of an end-to-end automated workflow for effective and robust characterization of the small molecule drug while it is conjugated to the antibody. In this approach, online deconjugation was accomplished by an autosampler user defined program and 1D size exclusion chromatography was utilized to provide separation between small molecule and protein species. The small molecule portion was then trapped and sent to the 2D for separation and quantification by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with identification of impurities and degradants by mass spectrometry. The feasibility of this system was demonstrated on an ADC with a disulfide-based linker. This fully automated approach avoids tedious sample preparation that may lead to sample loss and large assay variability. Under optimized conditions, the method was shown to have excellent specificity, sensitivity (LOD of 0.036 µg/mL and LOQ of 0.144 µg/mL), linearity (0.04-72.1 µg/mL), precision (system precision %RSD of 1.7 and method precision %RSD of 3.4), accuracy (97.4 % recovery), stability-indicating nature, and was successfully exploited to analyze the small molecule drug on a panel of stressed ADC samples. Overall, the workflow established here offers a powerful analytical tool for profiling the in-situ properties of small molecule drugs conjugated to antibodies and the obtained information could be of great significance for guiding process/formulation development and understanding pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic behavior of ADCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rekha Thomas
- Synthetic Molecule Analytical Chemistry, Synthetic Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Dong Song
- Synthetic Molecule Analytical Chemistry, Synthetic Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Tony Pourmohamad
- Nonclinical Biostatistics, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Kenji Kurita
- Synthetic Molecule Analytical Chemistry, Synthetic Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Steven Chin
- Synthetic Molecule Analytical Chemistry, Synthetic Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Lu Dai
- Protein Analytical Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Alexandre Goyon
- Synthetic Molecule Analytical Chemistry, Synthetic Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Colin D Medley
- Synthetic Molecule Analytical Chemistry, Synthetic Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Jason A Gruenhagen
- Synthetic Molecule Analytical Chemistry, Synthetic Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Tao Chen
- Synthetic Molecule Analytical Chemistry, Synthetic Molecule Pharmaceutical Sciences, Genentech, Inc., 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA.
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23
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Rao M, Murali S, Amores D, Yu F, Tsourkas A. Exploring the Sensitivity of Antibody-Drug Conjugate Efficacy to the Selection of Payload, Antibody, and Cell line. Bioconjug Chem 2024; 35:115-124. [PMID: 38173338 PMCID: PMC10872414 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00537] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) make up a growing class of targeted therapeutics with important applications in cancer treatment. ADCs are highly modular in nature and thus can be engineered to target any cancer type, but their efficacy is strongly influenced by the specific choice of payload, antibody, and target cell. Considering the number of possible antibody-payload combinations, ADC development would benefit from an efficient method to narrow the number of ADC compositions to those with the highest and most universal potency prior to assessing pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in animal models. To facilitate the identification of optimal ADC compositions, we describe the use of photoreactive antibody-binding domain-drug conjugates (known commercially as oYo-Link) to enable the site-specific labeling of off-the-shelf antibodies. This approach allows for the rapid generation of ADCs with a drug-to-antibody ratio of ∼2 with no subsequent purification required. As a demonstration of this approach, ADCs were generated with different combinations of tubulin-inhibitor drugs (DM1, DM4, VcMMAE, and VcMMAF) and anti-EGFR antibodies (cetuximab, panitumumab, anti-EGFR clone 425, and anti-EGFR clone 528) and were delivered to three EGFR-expressing cell lines (A431, A549, and MDA-MB-231). Real-time cytolysis assays indicated that the most effective antibody varied based on the choice of cell line: cetuximab was most potent against A431 cells, while 425 and 528 led to the greatest cytotoxicity against A549 and MDA-MB-231 cells. These results did not correlate with differences in measured anti-EGFR binding affinity as cetuximab had the highest affinity across all three cell lines, while 425 and 528 had the lowest affinities for all three cell lines. Panitumumab, which had the second-highest anti-EGFR affinity, exhibited the least effective cytolysis across A431, A549, and MDA-MB-231 cells. By demonstrating that ADC potency toward a given target is dependent on both the antibody and drug chosen, these findings can guide the selection of ADCs for further in vivo analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mara Rao
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104 USA
| | - Shruthi Murali
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104 USA
| | | | - Feifan Yu
- AlphaThera, Inc, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19146 USA
| | - Andrew Tsourkas
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104 USA
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24
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Quinchia J, Blázquez-García M, Torrente-Rodríguez RM, Ruiz-Valdepeñas Montiel V, Serafín V, Rejas-González R, Montero-Calle A, Orozco J, Pingarrón JM, Barderas R, Campuzano S. Disposable electrochemical immunoplatform to shed light on the role of the multifunctional glycoprotein TIM-1 in cancer cells invasion. Talanta 2024; 267:125155. [PMID: 37696234 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.125155] [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: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Abstract
Detecting overexpression of cancer biomarkers is an excellent tool for diagnostic/prognostic and follow-up of patients with cancer or their response to treatment. This work illustrates the relevance of interrogating the levels of T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 1 (TIM-1) protein as a diagnostic/prognostic biomarker of high-prevalence breast and lung cancers by using an amperometric disposable magnetic microparticles-assisted immunoplatform. The developed method integrates the inherent advantages of carboxylic acid-functionalized magnetic beads (HOOC-MBs) as pre-concentrator support and the amperometric transduction at screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs). The immunoplatform involves a sandwich-type immunoassay assembled on HOOC-MBs through the specific capture/labeling of TIM-1 using capture antibodies and horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated biotinylated detection antibodies as biorecognition elements. The magnetic immunoconjugates were confined onto the working electrode (WE) surface of the SPCEs for amperometric detection using the hydroquinone/hydrogen peroxide/HRP (HQ/H2O2/HRP) redox system. The method allows the selective detection of TIM-1 protein over the 87-7500 pg mL-1 concentration range in only 45 min, with a limit of detection of 26 pg mL-1. The developed bioplatform was successfully applied to the analysis of breast and lung cancer cell extracts, providing the first quantitative results of the target glycoprotein in these types of samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Quinchia
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Pza. de Las Ciencias 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain; Max Planck Tandem Group in Nanobioengineering, Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Exact Sciences, University of Antioquia. Complejo Ruta N, Calle 67 No. 52-20, Medellín, 050010, Colombia
| | - Marina Blázquez-García
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Pza. de Las Ciencias 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rebeca M Torrente-Rodríguez
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Pza. de Las Ciencias 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Víctor Ruiz-Valdepeñas Montiel
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Pza. de Las Ciencias 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Verónica Serafín
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Pza. de Las Ciencias 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Ana Montero-Calle
- UFIEC, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28220, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jahir Orozco
- Max Planck Tandem Group in Nanobioengineering, Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Exact Sciences, University of Antioquia. Complejo Ruta N, Calle 67 No. 52-20, Medellín, 050010, Colombia
| | - José M Pingarrón
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Pza. de Las Ciencias 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rodrigo Barderas
- UFIEC, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28220, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Susana Campuzano
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Pza. de Las Ciencias 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
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25
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Ladror D, Gu C, Tong V, Schammel A, Gavrilyuk J, Haight A, Sarvaiya H. Preclinical Characterization of Catabolic Pathways and Metabolism of ABBV-011, a Novel Calicheamicin-Based SEZ6-Targeting Antibody-Drug Conjugate. Drug Metab Dispos 2024; 52:135-142. [PMID: 38050039 DOI: 10.1124/dmd.123.001516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) have gained momentum for treatment of cancers, with 14 ADCs currently approved for commercial use worldwide. Calicheamicin is one of the payloads contributing to this trend, being used for both gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO; trade name: Mylotarg) and inotuzumab ozogamicin (IO; trade name: Besponsa). Here we discuss the catabolic pathway and metabolism of ABBV-011, a novel SEZ6-targeted, calicheamicin-based ADC being investigated for the treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Specifically, our investigation has found that disulfide bond cleavage in N-acetyl-γ-calicheamicin payload is a key liability that potentially impacts overall stability of the ADC. To our knowledge, there have been no reported observations of disulfide bond cleavage of calicheamicin ADCs. ABBV-011 utilizes a novel linker structure, leading to a distinct metabolic profile when compared with GO and IO. Despite this difference in linker structures, we propose that this liability may also be relevant for other calicheamicin ADCs. Multiple data sets supporting our investigation were acquired as part of the preclinical development of ABBV-011 and demonstrate the utility of in vitro experiments to characterize potential ADC candidates prior to clinical trials. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Several in vitro and in vivo stability studies of ABBV-011, a calicheamicin-based antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), identified circulating metabolites and catabolites and suggested that disulfide cleavage may be a key liability for the conjugated linker-payload. These observations may be relevant to other disulfide-linked ADCs such as gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg) and inotuzumab ozogamicin (Besponsa), both of which have reported similar half-lives that possibly indicate instability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Ladror
- AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois (D.L., A.H.) and AbbVie Inc., South San Francisco, California (C.G., V.T., J.G., A.S., H.S.)
| | - Christine Gu
- AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois (D.L., A.H.) and AbbVie Inc., South San Francisco, California (C.G., V.T., J.G., A.S., H.S.)
| | - Vince Tong
- AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois (D.L., A.H.) and AbbVie Inc., South San Francisco, California (C.G., V.T., J.G., A.S., H.S.)
| | - Alexander Schammel
- AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois (D.L., A.H.) and AbbVie Inc., South San Francisco, California (C.G., V.T., J.G., A.S., H.S.)
| | - Julia Gavrilyuk
- AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois (D.L., A.H.) and AbbVie Inc., South San Francisco, California (C.G., V.T., J.G., A.S., H.S.)
| | - Anthony Haight
- AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois (D.L., A.H.) and AbbVie Inc., South San Francisco, California (C.G., V.T., J.G., A.S., H.S.)
| | - Hetal Sarvaiya
- AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois (D.L., A.H.) and AbbVie Inc., South San Francisco, California (C.G., V.T., J.G., A.S., H.S.)
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26
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Clardy SM, Uttard A, Du B, Catcott KC, Lancaster KL, Ditty E, Sadowsky J, Zurita J, Malli N, Qin L, Bradley SP, Avocetien K, Carter T, Kim D, Nazzaro M, Xu L, Pillow TH, Zacharias NT, Lewis GD, Rowntree RK, Iyengar R, Lee DH, Damelin M, Toader D, Lowinger TB. Site-Specific Dolasynthen Antibody-Drug Conjugates Exhibit Consistent Pharmacokinetic Profiles across a Wide Range of Drug-to-Antibody Ratios. Mol Cancer Ther 2024; 23:84-91. [PMID: 37774393 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-23-0262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Key defining attributes of an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) include the choice of the targeting antibody, linker, payload, and the drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR). Historically, most ADC platforms have used the same DAR for all targets, regardless of target characteristics. However, recent studies and modeling suggest that the optimal DAR can depend on target expression level and intratumoral heterogeneity, target internalization and trafficking, and characteristics of the linker and payload. An ADC platform that enables DAR optimization could improve the success rate of clinical candidates. Here we report a systematic exploration of DAR across a wide range, by combining THIOMAB protein engineering technology with Dolasynthen, an auristatin-based platform with monomeric and trimeric variants. This approach enabled the generation of homogeneous, site-specific ADCs spanning a discrete range of DARs 2, 4, 6, 12, and 18 by conjugation of trastuzumab IgG1 THIOMAB constructs with 1, 2, or 3 engineered cysteines to monomeric or trimeric Dolasynthen. All ADCs had physicochemical properties that translated to excellent in vivo pharmacology. Following a single dose of ADCs in a HER2 xenograft model with moderate antigen expression, our data demonstrated comparable pharmacokinetics for the conjugates across all DARs and dose-dependent efficacy of all test articles. These results demonstrate that the Dolasynthen platform enables the generation of ADCs with a broad range of DAR values and with comparable physiochemical, pharmacologic, and pharmacokinetics profiles; thus, the Dolasynthen platform enables the empirical determination of the optimal DAR for a clinical candidate for a given target.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alex Uttard
- Mersana Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Bingfan Du
- Mersana Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Dokyong Kim
- Mersana Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | | | - Ling Xu
- Mersana Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | | | | | | | | | | | - David H Lee
- Mersana Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts
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27
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Chauhan P, V R, Kumar M, Molla R, Mishra SD, Basa S, Rai V. Chemical technology principles for selective bioconjugation of proteins and antibodies. Chem Soc Rev 2024; 53:380-449. [PMID: 38095227 DOI: 10.1039/d3cs00715d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Proteins are multifunctional large organic compounds that constitute an essential component of a living system. Hence, control over their bioconjugation impacts science at the chemistry-biology-medicine interface. A chemical toolbox for their precision engineering can boost healthcare and open a gateway for directed or precision therapeutics. Such a chemical toolbox remained elusive for a long time due to the complexity presented by the large pool of functional groups. The precise single-site modification of a protein requires a method to address a combination of selectivity attributes. This review focuses on guiding principles that can segregate them to simplify the task for a chemical method. Such a disintegration systematically employs a multi-step chemical transformation to deconvolute the selectivity challenges. It constitutes a disintegrate (DIN) theory that offers additional control parameters for tuning precision in protein bioconjugation. This review outlines the selectivity hurdles faced by chemical methods. It elaborates on the developments in the perspective of DIN theory to demonstrate simultaneous regulation of reactivity, chemoselectivity, site-selectivity, modularity, residue specificity, and protein specificity. It discusses the progress of such methods to construct protein and antibody conjugates for biologics, including antibody-fluorophore and antibody-drug conjugates (AFCs and ADCs). It also briefs how this knowledge can assist in developing small molecule-based covalent inhibitors. In the process, it highlights an opportunity for hypothesis-driven routes to accelerate discoveries of selective methods and establish new targetome in the precision engineering of proteins and antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Preeti Chauhan
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, 462 066, India.
| | - Ragendu V
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, 462 066, India.
| | - Mohan Kumar
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, 462 066, India.
| | - Rajib Molla
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, 462 066, India.
| | - Surya Dev Mishra
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, 462 066, India.
| | - Sneha Basa
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, 462 066, India.
| | - Vishal Rai
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, 462 066, India.
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28
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Ruan D, Wu H, Meng Q, Xu R. Development of antibody-drug conjugates in cancer: Overview and prospects. Cancer Commun (Lond) 2024; 44:3-22. [PMID: 38159059 PMCID: PMC10794012 DOI: 10.1002/cac2.12517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
In recent years, remarkable breakthroughs have been reported on antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), with 15 ADCs successfully entering the market over the past decade. This substantial development has positioned ADCs as one of the fastest-growing domains in the realm of anticancer drugs, demonstrating their efficacy in treating a wide array of malignancies. Nonetheless, there is still an unmet clinical need for wider application, better efficacy, and fewer side effects of ADCs. An ADC generally comprises an antibody, a linker and a payload, and the combination has profound effects on drug structure, pharmacokinetic profile and efficacy. Hence, optimization of the key components provides an opportunity to develop ADCs with higher potency and fewer side effects. In this review, we comprehensively reviewed the current development and the prospects of ADC, provided an analysis of marketed ADCs and the ongoing pipelines globally as well as in China, highlighted several ADC platforms and technologies specific to different pharmaceutical enterprises and biotech companies, and also discussed the new related technologies, possibility of next-generation ADCs and the directions of clinical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan‐Yun Ruan
- Department of Clinical ResearchSun Yat‐sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for CancerSun Yat‐sen UniversityGuangzhouGuangdongP. R. China
- Research Unit of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Gastrointestinal CancerChinese Academy of Medical SciencesGuangzhouGuangdongP. R. China
| | - Hao‐Xiang Wu
- Department of Clinical ResearchSun Yat‐sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for CancerSun Yat‐sen UniversityGuangzhouGuangdongP. R. China
- Research Unit of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Gastrointestinal CancerChinese Academy of Medical SciencesGuangzhouGuangdongP. R. China
| | - Qi Meng
- Department of Clinical ResearchSun Yat‐sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for CancerSun Yat‐sen UniversityGuangzhouGuangdongP. R. China
- Research Unit of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Gastrointestinal CancerChinese Academy of Medical SciencesGuangzhouGuangdongP. R. China
| | - Rui‐Hua Xu
- Research Unit of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Gastrointestinal CancerChinese Academy of Medical SciencesGuangzhouGuangdongP. R. China
- Department of Medical OncologySun Yat‐sen University Cancer CenterState Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for CancerSun Yat‐sen UniversityGuangzhouGuangdongP. R. China
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29
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Evers A, Krah S, Demir D, Gaa R, Elter D, Schroeter C, Zielonka S, Rasche N, Dotterweich J, Knuehl C, Doerner A. Engineering hydrophobicity and manufacturability for optimized biparatopic antibody-drug conjugates targeting c-MET. MAbs 2024; 16:2302386. [PMID: 38214660 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2024.2302386] [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: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Optimal combinations of paratopes assembled into a biparatopic antibody have the capacity to mediate high-grade target cross-linking on cell membranes, leading to degradation of the target, as well as antibody and payload delivery in the case of an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). In the work presented here, molecular docking suggested a suitable paratope combination targeting c-MET, but hydrophobic patches in essential binding regions of one moiety necessitated engineering. In addition to rational design of HCDR2 and HCDR3 mutations, site-specific spiking libraries were generated and screened in yeast and mammalian surface display approaches. Comparative analyses revealed similar positions amendable for hydrophobicity reduction, with a broad combinatorial diversity obtained from library outputs. Optimized variants showed high stability, strongly reduced hydrophobicity, retained affinities supporting the desired functionality and enhanced producibility. The resulting biparatopic anti-c-MET ADCs were comparably active on c-MET expressing tumor cell lines as REGN5093 exatecan DAR6 ADC. Structural molecular modeling of paratope combinations for preferential inter-target binding combined with protein engineering for manufacturability yielded deep insights into the capabilities of rational and library approaches. The methodologies of in silico hydrophobicity identification and sequence optimization could serve as a blueprint for rapid development of optimal biparatopic ADCs targeting further tumor-associated antigens in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Evers
- Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Simon Krah
- Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Deniz Demir
- Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Ramona Gaa
- Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Desislava Elter
- Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | | | - Stefan Zielonka
- Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nicolas Rasche
- ADC and Targeted Therapeutics, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | | | - Christine Knuehl
- Research Unit Oncology, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Achim Doerner
- Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
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Beaumal C, Deslignière E, Diemer H, Carapito C, Cianférani S, Hernandez-Alba O. Improved characterization of trastuzumab deruxtecan with PTCR and internal fragments implemented in middle-down MS workflows. Anal Bioanal Chem 2024; 416:519-532. [PMID: 38008785 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-023-05059-x] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/28/2023]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are highly complex proteins mainly due to the structural microvariability of the mAb, along with the additional heterogeneity afforded by the bioconjugation process. Top-down (TD) and middle-down (MD) strategies allow the straightforward fragmentation of proteins to elucidate the conjugated amino acid residues. Nevertheless, these spectra are very crowded with multiple overlapping and unassigned ion fragments. Here we report on the use of dedicated software (ClipsMS) and application of proton transfer charge reduction (PTCR), to respectively expand the fragment ion search space to internal fragments and improve the separation of overlapping fragment ions for a more comprehensive characterization of a recently approved ADC, trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd). Subunit fragmentation allowed between 70 and 90% of sequence coverage to be obtained. Upon addition of internal fragment assignment, the three subunits were fully sequenced, although internal fragments did not contribute significantly to the localization of the payloads. Finally, the use of PTCR after subunit fragmentation provided a moderate sequence coverage increase between 2 and 13%. The reaction efficiently decluttered the fragmentation spectra allowing increasing the number of fragment ions characteristic of the conjugation site by 1.5- to 2.5-fold. Altogether, these results show the interest in the implementation of internal fragment ion searches and more particularly the use of PTCR reactions to increase the number of signature ions to elucidate the conjugation sites and enhance the overall sequence coverage of ADCs, making this approach particularly appealing for its implementation in R&D laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corentin Beaumal
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse Bio Organique, IPHC UMR 7178, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 67087, Strasbourg, France
- Infrastructure Nationale de Protéomique ProFI - FR2048, Strasbourg, France
| | - Evolène Deslignière
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse Bio Organique, IPHC UMR 7178, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 67087, Strasbourg, France
- Infrastructure Nationale de Protéomique ProFI - FR2048, Strasbourg, France
| | - Hélène Diemer
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse Bio Organique, IPHC UMR 7178, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 67087, Strasbourg, France
- Infrastructure Nationale de Protéomique ProFI - FR2048, Strasbourg, France
| | - Christine Carapito
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse Bio Organique, IPHC UMR 7178, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 67087, Strasbourg, France
- Infrastructure Nationale de Protéomique ProFI - FR2048, Strasbourg, France
| | - Sarah Cianférani
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse Bio Organique, IPHC UMR 7178, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 67087, Strasbourg, France
- Infrastructure Nationale de Protéomique ProFI - FR2048, Strasbourg, France
| | - Oscar Hernandez-Alba
- Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse Bio Organique, IPHC UMR 7178, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 67087, Strasbourg, France.
- Infrastructure Nationale de Protéomique ProFI - FR2048, Strasbourg, France.
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31
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Chang FL, Lee CC, Tsai KC, Lin TY, Chiang CW, Pan SL, Lee YC. An auristatin-based antibody-drug conjugate targeting EphA2 in pancreatic cancer treatment. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2023; 688:149214. [PMID: 37951154 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2023.149214] [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: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/13/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic adenocarcinoma, a highly aggressive form of cancer with a poor prognosis, necessitates the development of innovative treatment strategies. Our prior research showcased the growth-inhibiting effects of the anti-EphA2 antibody drug hSD5 on pancreatic cancer tumors. This antibody targets and induces the degradation of the EphA2 receptor while also prompting the antibody's internalization. A deeper dive into the hSD5 Fab crystallographic structure and docking studies revealed that hSD5's CDRH3 drives the primary interaction between hSD5 and the EphA2 active site. In this study, we developed a novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)-the auristatin-based hSD5-vedotin specifically targeting EphA2 in pancreatic cancer cells. This ADC aims at the tumor-specific antigen EphA2, triggering endocytosis and releasing the conjugated payload molecule Monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), amplifying the tumor-killing effect. Upon cellular entry, hSD5-vedotin demonstrated an impressive tumor-killing response, inhibiting tumor cell growth and promoting apoptosis even at lower antibody concentrations. In a pancreatic cancer xenograft animal model, hSD5-vedotin showcased the potential to suppress tumor growth entirely. Notably, potential immune resistance responses were also observed in recurrent pancreatic cancer tumors. Our empirical results underscore the possibility of developing hSD5-vedotin further, which we anticipate will have a broader and more potent therapeutic impact on pancreatic cancer and other EphA2-related cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fu-Ling Chang
- Ph.D. Program for Cancer Molecular Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Chung Lee
- The Ph.D. Program for Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Keng-Chang Tsai
- National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan; Ph.D. Program in Medical Biotechnology, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tsai-Yu Lin
- Ph.D. Program for Cancer Molecular Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chen-Wei Chiang
- Ph.D. Program in Drug Discovery and Development Industry, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Shiow-Lin Pan
- Ph.D. Program for Cancer Molecular Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Ph.D. Program in Drug Discovery and Development Industry, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; TMU Research Center of Cancer Translational Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan.
| | - Yu-Ching Lee
- Ph.D. Program in Medical Biotechnology, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Ph.D. Program for Cancer Molecular Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Ph.D. Program in Drug Discovery and Development Industry, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; TMU Research Center of Cancer Translational Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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32
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Liao X, Haight A, Welch D, Han L. Selective Reduction of Cysteine Mutant Antibodies for Site-Specific Antibody-Drug Conjugates. Bioconjug Chem 2023; 34:2293-2301. [PMID: 37983167 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Developing site-specific conjugation technologies for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) aims to produce more homogeneous and controlled drug-loaded ADCs to reduce variability and thereby improve the therapeutic index. This article presents a technology that uses cysteine mutant antibodies and mild phosphine-based reductants to prepare site-specific ADCs. The two types of cysteine mutant antibodies, designated C6v1 and C6v2, have one of the interchain disulfide-forming cysteines in the Fab region in the light chain (LC214) or in the heavy chain (HC220) substituted by alanine (or other amino acids), respectively. Certain phosphine-based reductants were found to selectively reduce the "unpaired" cysteines, at the heavy chain (HC220) for C6v1 or at the light chain (LC214) for C6v2 while keeping the interchain disulfide bonds in the hinge region intact, resulting in 90% of DAR2 species and more than 95% of the desired specific conjugation at HC or LC following conjugation to maleimide moieties. The reduction method shows consistent selectivity toward various C6v1 or C6v2 antibody backbones. Sensitivity toward buffer pH for some reductants can be used to optimize reductant reactivity and selectivity. The technology can be further expanded to generate site-specific DAR4 or dual-payload ADCs based on C6v1 or C6v2 antibodies. This technology offers a method to control drug-loading and conjugation sites using a mild one-pot process, as compared to the reduction-oxidation methods used in technologies such as THIOMAB, and shows superior DAR profiles and process simplification as compared to other selective reduction methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoli Liao
- Process Chemistry, Small Molecule CMC Development, AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois 60064, United States
| | - Anthony Haight
- Process Chemistry, Small Molecule CMC Development, AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois 60064, United States
| | - Dennie Welch
- Process Chemistry, Small Molecule CMC Development, AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois 60064, United States
| | - Linjie Han
- Analytical Development, Operations S&T, AbbVie Bioresearch Center, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
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33
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Zhang Y, Ding M, Wang L, Yin S, Zhang L, Cao X, Chen Z, Li W, Guo Q, Zhu S, Lu W, Yang T. Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel quaternary ammonium antibody drug conjugates based on camptothecin derivatives. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0292871. [PMID: 38113206 PMCID: PMC10729962 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) have emerged as a highly promising class of cancer therapeutics, comprising antibodies, effector molecules, and linkers. Among them, DS-8201a with DXd as the effector molecule, has shown remarkable anti-tumor efficacy against solid tumors, sparking a surge of interest in ADCs with camptothecin derivatives as ADC effector molecules. In this study, we introduced and successfully constructed quaternary ammonium ADCs utilizing camptothecin derivatives WL-14 and CPTS-1 for the first time. All four ADCs displayed excellent stability under physiological conditions and in plasma, facilitating their prolonged circulation in vivo. Moreover, the four ADCs, employing Val-Cit or Val-Ala dipeptide linkers effectively achieved complete release of the effector molecules via cathepsin B. Although, the in vitro antitumor activity of these ADCs was comparatively limited, the development of quaternary ammonium ADCs based on novel camptothecin derivatives as effector molecules is still a viable and promising strategy. Significantly, our study provides valuable insights into the crucial role of linker optimization in ADCs design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- R&D Department of Genetic Engineering, Shanghai Fudan-Zhangjiang Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
| | - Mengyuan Ding
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Lei Wang
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Sicheng Yin
- R&D Department of Genetic Engineering, Shanghai Fudan-Zhangjiang Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
| | - Liang Zhang
- R&D Department of Genetic Engineering, Shanghai Fudan-Zhangjiang Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
| | - Xuemei Cao
- R&D Department of Genetic Engineering, Shanghai Fudan-Zhangjiang Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
| | - Zhiyang Chen
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Weinan Li
- R&D Department of Genetic Engineering, Shanghai Fudan-Zhangjiang Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
| | - Qingsong Guo
- R&D Department of Genetic Engineering, Shanghai Fudan-Zhangjiang Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
| | - Shulei Zhu
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, PR China
- Innovation Center for AI and Drug Discovery, East China Normal University, Shanghai, PR China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Intelligent Drug Design and Manufacturing, East China Normal University, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Wei Lu
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Molecular Therapeutics and New Drug Development, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai, PR China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Intelligent Drug Design and Manufacturing, East China Normal University, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Tong Yang
- R&D Department of Genetic Engineering, Shanghai Fudan-Zhangjiang Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
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34
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López de Sá A, Díaz-Tejeiro C, Poyatos-Racionero E, Nieto-Jiménez C, Paniagua-Herranz L, Sanvicente A, Calvo E, Pérez-Segura P, Moreno V, Moris F, Ocana A. Considerations for the design of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) for clinical development: lessons learned. J Hematol Oncol 2023; 16:118. [PMID: 38087293 PMCID: PMC10717055 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-023-01519-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have emerged as a novel therapeutic strategy that has successfully reached patient treatment in different clinical scenarios. ADCs are formed by an antibody against a specific tumor-associated antigen (TAA), a cytotoxic payload, and a chemical linker that binds both. To this regard, most efforts have been focused on target identification, antibody design and linker optimization, but other relevant aspects for clinical development have not received the necessary attention. In this article using data from approved ADCs, we evaluated all characteristics of these agents, including payload physicochemical properties, in vitro potency, drug antibody ratio (DAR), exposure-response relationships, and clinical development strategies. We suggest that compounds with best options for clinical development include those with optimal payload physicochemical properties and cleavable linkers that would lead to a bystander effect. These modalities can facilitate the development of ADCs in indications with low expression of the TAA. Early clinical development strategies including changes in the schedule of administration with more frequent doses are also discussed in the context of an efficient strategy. In conclusion, we highlight relevant aspects that are needed for the optimal development of ADCs in cancer, proposing options for improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfonso López de Sá
- Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Clínico Universitario San Carlos, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), and CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristina Díaz-Tejeiro
- Experimental Therapeutics in Cancer Unit, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Cristina Nieto-Jiménez
- Experimental Therapeutics in Cancer Unit, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Lucía Paniagua-Herranz
- Experimental Therapeutics in Cancer Unit, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Adrián Sanvicente
- Experimental Therapeutics in Cancer Unit, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, Spain
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Emiliano Calvo
- START Madrid-HM Centro Integral Oncológico Clara Campal (CIOCC), Early Phase Program, HM Sanchinarro University Hospital, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pedro Pérez-Segura
- Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Clínico Universitario San Carlos, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), and CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Víctor Moreno
- START Madrid-Fundación Jiménez Díaz (FJD) Early Phase Program, Fundación Jiménez Díaz Hospital, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Alberto Ocana
- Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Clínico Universitario San Carlos, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), and CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain.
- Experimental Therapeutics in Cancer Unit, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, Spain.
- START Madrid-Fundación Jiménez Díaz (FJD) Early Phase Program, Fundación Jiménez Díaz Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
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35
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Bechtold-Peters K, Ruggiero A, Vriezen N, Ihle N, Klein A, Morgan C, Schweizer D, Liu D, Jacobson F, Buecheler J, Panek M, Duggan N, Malyala P, Dupraz P, Desai P, Niu S, Feng Y, Wang X. CMC Regulatory Considerations for Antibody-Drug Conjugates. J Pharm Sci 2023; 112:2965-2980. [PMID: 37741455 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2023.09.007] [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: 05/19/2023] [Revised: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates unite the specificity and long circulation time of an antibody with the toxicity of a chemical cytostatic or otherwise active drug using appropriate chemical linkers to reduce systemic toxicity and increase therapeutic index. This combination of a large biological molecule and a small molecule creates an increase in complexity. Multiple production processes are required to produce the native antibody, the drug and the linker, followed by conjugation of afore mentioned entities to form the final antibody-drug conjugate. The connected processes further increase the number of points of control, resulting in necessity of additional specifications and intensified analytical characterization. By combining scientific understanding of the production processes with risk-based approaches, quality can be demonstrated at those points where control is required and redundant comparability studies, specifications or product characterization are avoided. Over the product development lifecycle, this will allow process qualification to focus on those areas critical to quality and prevent redundant studies. The structure of the module 3 common technical document for an ADC needs to reflect each of the production processes and the combined overall approach to quality. Historically, regulatory authorities have provided varied expectations on its structure. This paper provides an overview of essential information to be included and shows that multiple approaches work as long as adequate cross-referencing is included.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea Ruggiero
- Ares Trading S.A. (an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany), Aubonne, Switzerland
| | | | - Nathan Ihle
- Bolt Biotherapeutics Inc, Redwood City, CA, USA
| | - Armin Klein
- MSD Innovation & Development GmbH, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Charles Morgan
- Denali Therapeutics, South San Francisco, CA, USA; Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Dengfeng Liu
- ArriVent Biopharma, Burlingame, CA, USA; AstraZeneca/MedImmune, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
| | - Fred Jacobson
- Genentech, A Member of the Roche Group, South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Mark Panek
- Johnson & Johnson, Collegeville, PA, USA
| | - Naomi Duggan
- MSD Innovation & Development GmbH, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Philippe Dupraz
- Ares Trading S.A. (an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany), Aubonne, Switzerland
| | - Priyanka Desai
- EMD Serono, Inc. (a business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany), Billerica, MA, USA
| | - Shufang Niu
- Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USA
| | - Yiqing Feng
- Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Xiangyang Wang
- ArriVent Biopharma, Gaithersburg, MD, USA; AstraZeneca/MedImmune, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
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36
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O'Brien NA, McDermott MSJ, Zhang J, Gong KW, Lu M, Hoffstrom B, Luo T, Ayala R, Chau K, Liang M, Madrid AM, Donahue TR, Glaspy JA, Presta L, Slamon DJ. Development of a Novel CLDN18.2-directed Monoclonal Antibody and Antibody-Drug Conjugate for Treatment of CLDN18.2-Positive Cancers. Mol Cancer Ther 2023; 22:1365-1375. [PMID: 37788341 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-23-0353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Gastric and pancreatic cancers are malignancies of high unmet clinical need. Expression of CLDN18.2 in these cancers, coupled with it's absence from most normal tissues, provides a potential therapeutic window against this target. We present preclinical development and characterization of a novel therapeutic mAb and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting CLDN18.2. A humanized CLDN18.2 specific mAb, CLDN18.2-307-mAb, was generated through immunization in mice followed by full humanization of the mouse mAb sequences. Antibody clones were screened by flow cytometry for selective binding to membrane bound CLDN18.2. A CLDN18.2-directed ADC (CLDN18.2-307-ADC) was also generated by conjugating MMAE to CLDN18.2 mAb using a cleavable linker. Tissue expression of CLDN18.2 was determined by IHC assay using a CLDN18.2-specific mAb. CLDN18.2-307-mAb binds with high affinity to CLDN18.2-positive (CLDN18.2+) cells and induces antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). Treatment with this CLDN18.2-mAb blocked the growth of CLDN18.2+ gastric and pancreas cancer cell line xenograft (CDX) models. Upon binding to the extracellular domain of this target, the CLDN18.2-ADC/CLDN18.2 protein was internalized and subsequently localized to the lysosomal compartment inducing complete and sustained tumor regressions in CLDN18.2+ CDXs and patient-derived pancreatic cancer xenografts (PDX). A screen of human cancer tissues, by IHC, found 58% of gastric, 60% of gastroesophageal junction, and 20% of pancreatic adenocarcinomas to be positive for membrane expression of CLDN18.2. These data support clinical development of the CLDN18.2-307-mAb and CLDN18.2-307-ADC for treatment of CLDN18.2+ cancers. Both are now being investigated in phase I clinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil A O'Brien
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Martina S J McDermott
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Jun Zhang
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Ke Wei Gong
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Ming Lu
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Benjamin Hoffstrom
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Tong Luo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Raul Ayala
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Kevin Chau
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Min Liang
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Athena M Madrid
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Timothy R Donahue
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - John A Glaspy
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Leonard Presta
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Dennis J Slamon
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
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37
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Valsasina B, Orsini P, Caruso M, Albanese C, Ciavolella A, Cucchi U, Fraietta I, Melillo N, Fiorentini F, Rizzi S, Salsa M, Isacchi A, Gasparri F. Novel Thienoduocarmycin-Trastuzumab ADC Demonstrates Strong Antitumor Efficacy with Favorable Safety Profile in Preclinical Studies. Mol Cancer Ther 2023; 22:1465-1478. [PMID: 37722716 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-23-0315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/20/2023]
Abstract
New antibodies-drug conjugate (ADC) payloads overcoming chemoresistance and killing also poorly proliferating tumors at well-tolerated doses are much desired. Duocarmycins are a well-known class of highly potent cytotoxic agents, with DNA minor groove-binding and alkylation properties, active also in chemoresistant tumors. Although different duocarmycin derivatives have been used during the years as payloads for ADC production, unfavorable physicochemical properties impaired the production of ADCs with optimal features. Optimization of the toxin to balance reactivity and stability features and best linker selection allowed us to develop the novel duocarmycin-like payload-linker NMS-P945 suitable for conjugation to mAbs with reproducible drug-antibody ratio (DAR) >3.5. When conjugated to trastuzumab, it generated an ADC with good internalization properties, ability to induce bystander effect and immunogenic cell death. Moreover, it showed strong target-driven activity in cells and cytotoxic activity superior to trastuzumab deruxtecan tested, in parallel, in cell lines with HER2 expression. High in vivo efficacy with cured mice at well-tolerated doses in HER2-driven models was also observed. A developed pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model based on efficacy in mice and cynomolgus monkey PK data, predicted tumor regression in patients upon administration of 2 doses of trastuzumab-NMS-P945-ADC at 0.5 mg/kg. Thus, considering the superior physicochemical features for ADC production and preclinical results obtained with the model trastuzumab ADC, including bystander effect, immunogenic cell death and activity in chemoresistant tumors, NMS-P945 represents a highly effective, innovative payload for the creation of novel, next-generation ADCs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paolo Orsini
- Nerviano Medical Sciences srl, Nerviano, Milan, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Ulisse Cucchi
- Nerviano Medical Sciences srl, Nerviano, Milan, Italy
| | - Ivan Fraietta
- Nerviano Medical Sciences srl, Nerviano, Milan, Italy
| | | | | | - Simona Rizzi
- Nerviano Medical Sciences srl, Nerviano, Milan, Italy
| | - Matteo Salsa
- Nerviano Medical Sciences srl, Nerviano, Milan, Italy
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38
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Delaney S, Nagy Á, Karlström AE, Zeglis BM. Site-Specific Photoaffinity Bioconjugation for the Creation of 89Zr-Labeled Radioimmunoconjugates. Mol Imaging Biol 2023; 25:1104-1114. [PMID: 37052759 PMCID: PMC10570397 DOI: 10.1007/s11307-023-01818-5] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Site-specific approaches to bioconjugation produce well-defined and homogeneous immunoconjugates with potential for superior in vivo behavior compared to analogs synthesized using traditional, stochastic methods. The possibility of incorporating photoaffinity chemistry into a site-specific bioconjugation strategy is particularly enticing, as it could simplify and accelerate the preparation of homogeneous immunoconjugates for the clinic. In this investigation, we report the synthesis, in vitro characterization, and in vivo evaluation of a site-specifically modified, 89Zr-labeled radioimmunoconjugate created via the reaction between an mAb and an Fc-binding protein bearing a photoactivatable 4-benzoylphenylalanine residue. PROCEDURES A variant of the Fc-binding Z domain of protein A containing a photoactivatable, 4-benzoylphenylalanine residue - Z(35BPA) - was modified with desferrioxamine (DFO), combined with the A33 antigen-targeting mAb huA33, and irradiated with UV light. The resulting immunoconjugate - DFOZ(35BPA)-huA33 - was purified and characterized via SDS-PAGE, MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry, surface plasmon resonance, and flow cytometry. The radiolabeling of DFOZ(35BPA)-huA33 was optimized to produce [89Zr]Zr-DFOZ(35BPA)-huA33, and the immunoreactivity of the radioimmunoconjugate was determined with SW1222 human colorectal cancer cells. Finally, the in vivo performance of [89Zr]Zr-DFOZ(35BPA)-huA33 in mice bearing subcutaneous SW1222 xenografts was interrogated via PET imaging and biodistribution experiments and compared to that of a stochastically labeled control radioimmunoconjugate, [89Zr]Zr-DFO-huA33. RESULTS HuA33 was site-specifically modified with Z(35BPA)-DFO, producing an immunoconjugate with on average 1 DFO/mAb, high in vitro stability, and high affinity for its target. [89Zr]Zr-DFOZ(35BPA)-huA33 was synthesized in 95% radiochemical yield and exhibited a specific activity of 2 mCi/mg and an immunoreactive fraction of ~ 0.85. PET imaging and biodistribution experiments revealed that high concentrations of the radioimmunoconjugate accumulated in tumor tissue (i.e., ~ 40%ID/g at 120 h p.i.) but also that the Z(35BPA)-bearing immunoPET probe produced higher uptake in the liver, spleen, and kidneys than its stochastically modified cousin, [89Zr]Zr-DFO-huA33. CONCLUSIONS Photoaffinity chemistry and an Fc-binding variant of the Z domain were successfully leveraged to create a novel site-specific strategy for the synthesis of radioimmunoconjugates. The probe synthesized using this method - DFOZ(35BPA)-huA33 - was well-defined and homogeneous, and the resulting radioimmunoconjugate ([89Zr]Zr-DFOZ(35BPA)-huA33) boasted high specific activity, stability, and immunoreactivity. While the site-specifically modified radioimmunoconjugate produced high activity concentrations in tumor tissue, it also yielded higher uptake in healthy organs than a stochastically modified analog, suggesting that optimization of this system is necessary prior to clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Delaney
- Department of Chemistry, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
- Ph.D. Program in Biochemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ábel Nagy
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Amelie Eriksson Karlström
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Brian M Zeglis
- Department of Chemistry, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
- Ph.D. Program in Biochemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Ph.D. Program in Chemistry, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA.
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39
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Bacauanu V, Merz ZN, Hua ZL, Lang SB. Nickel-Catalyzed Antibody Bioconjugation. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:25842-25849. [PMID: 37950853 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c10185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2023]
Abstract
New biocompatible methods for post-translational protein modification are challenging to develop but crucial to create improved chemical probes and optimize next-generation biologic therapies such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Herein, we describe the bottom-up construction of an aqueous nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling for the chemospecific arylation of cysteine residues on peptides and proteins and its use for the preparation of ADCs. A variety of arene linkages are exemplified, enabling the incorporation of small molecules, probes, and cytotoxic payloads. The utility of this new bioconjugation platform in a drug discovery setting is highlighted by the construction of novel ADCs with target-mediated in vitro cytotoxic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vlad Bacauanu
- Discovery Chemistry, Merck & Co., Inc., South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Zoe N Merz
- Discovery Chemistry, Merck & Co., Inc., South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Zhong L Hua
- Discovery Oncology, Merck & Co., Inc., South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
| | - Simon B Lang
- Discovery Chemistry, Merck & Co., Inc., South San Francisco, California 94080, United States
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40
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Xu C, Zhu M, Wang Q, Cui J, Huang Y, Huang X, Huang J, Gai J, Li G, Qiao P, Zeng X, Ju D, Wan Y, Zhang X. TROP2-directed nanobody-drug conjugate elicited potent antitumor effect in pancreatic cancer. J Nanobiotechnology 2023; 21:410. [PMID: 37932752 PMCID: PMC10629078 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-023-02183-9] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive malignancy with limited treatment options and a poor prognosis. Trophoblast cell surface antigen 2 (TROP2), a cell surface antigen overexpressed in the tumors of more than half of pancreatic cancer patients, has been identified as a potential target for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Almost all reported TROP2-targeted ADCs are of the IgG type and have been poorly studied in pancreatic cancer. Here, we aimed to develop a novel nanobody-drug conjugate (NDC) targeting TROP2 for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. RESULTS In this study, we developed a novel TROP2-targeted NDC, HuNbTROP2-HSA-MMAE, for the treatment of TROP2-positive pancreatic cancer. HuNbTROP2-HSA-MMAE is characterized by the use of nanobodies against TROP2 and human serum albumin (HSA) and has a drug-antibody ratio of 1. HuNbTROP2-HSA-MMAE exhibited specific binding to TROP2 and was internalized into tumor cells with high endocytosis efficiency within 5 h, followed by intracellular translocation to lysosomes and release of MMAE to induce cell apoptosis in TROP2-positive pancreatic cancer cells through the caspase-3/9 pathway. In a xenograft model of pancreatic cancer, doses of 0.2 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg HuNbTROP2-HSA-MMAE demonstrated significant antitumor effects, and a dose of 5 mg/kg even eradicated the tumor. CONCLUSION HuNbTROP2-HSA-MMAE has desirable affinity, internalization efficiency and antitumor activity. It holds significant promise as a potential therapeutic option for the treatment of TROP2-positive pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caili Xu
- Department of Biological Medicines and Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Min Zhu
- Shanghai Novamab Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 201318, China
| | - Qian Wang
- Department of Biological Medicines and Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Jiajun Cui
- Tanwei College, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yuping Huang
- Shanghai Novamab Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 201318, China
| | - Xiting Huang
- Department of Biological Medicines and Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Jing Huang
- Shanghai Novamab Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 201318, China
| | - Junwei Gai
- Shanghai Novamab Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 201318, China
| | - Guanghui Li
- Shanghai Novamab Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 201318, China
| | - Peng Qiao
- Shanghai Novamab Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 201318, China
| | - Xian Zeng
- Department of Biological Medicines and Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Dianwen Ju
- Department of Biological Medicines and Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China.
| | - Yakun Wan
- Shanghai Novamab Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 201318, China.
| | - Xuyao Zhang
- Department of Biological Medicines and Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Immunotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China.
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41
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McNamara B, Greenman M, Pebley N, Mutlu L, Santin AD. Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC) in HER2/neu-Positive Gynecologic Tumors. Molecules 2023; 28:7389. [PMID: 37959808 PMCID: PMC10650896 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28217389] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a new class of targeted anti-cancer therapies that combine a monoclonal tumor-surface-receptor-targeting antibody with a highly cytotoxic molecule payload bonded through specifically designed cleavable or non-cleavable chemical linkers. One such tumor surface receptor is human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2), which is of interest for the treatment of many gynecologic tumors. ADCs enable the targeted delivery of a variety of cytotoxic therapies to tumor cells while minimizing delivery to healthy tissues. This review summarizes the existing literature about HER2-targeting ADC therapies approved for use in gynecologic malignancies, relevant preclinical studies, strategies to address ADC resistance, and ongoing clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Alessandro D. Santin
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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42
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Ledford H. Cancer trial results show power of weaponized antibodies. Nature 2023; 623:231-232. [PMID: 37919412 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-03421-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
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Liu Z, Zhang H, Sun J, Zheng M, Cui L, Zhang Y, Cheng J, Tang Z, Chen X. Organic-Solvent-Free "Lego-Like" Modular Preparation of Fab-Nondestructive Antibody-Drug Conjugates with Ultrahigh Drug-to-Antibody Ratio. Adv Mater 2023; 35:e2300377. [PMID: 37532247 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202300377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have exciting possibilities in targeted tumor therapy. However, in the existing ADC preparation processes, the random attachment of the payloads to the antigen-binding fragments (Fab) greatly increases the risk of disrupting its antigen recognition ability, while the drug-antibody ratio (DAR) is low, leading to a cumbersome preparation process and low drug delivery efficiency. Herein, poly(glutamic acid) is used to expand the number of drug binding sites, based on the "click chemistry" of azide and DBCO, and the high affinity of Fc-III-4C peptide to the crystalline fragment (Fc) of the monoclonal antibodies. Various antibody-polymer-drug conjugates are obtained with ultrahigh DAR using this organic-solvent-free "Lego-like" modular construction. Among them, aHER2-P-MMAE with DAR of 41.6 achieves tumor growth inhibition (TGI) of 99.7% for both medium-sized and large SKOV-3 ovarian tumors, and aPDL1-P-MMAE (DAR = 40.7) achieves TGI of 98.5% for MC38 colon tumors. In summary, a universal platform is created to prepare Fab-nondestructive ADCs with ultrahigh DAR, which can be used to develop precision medicine for personalized anticancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhilin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, China
| | - Honglei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, China
- Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Applications of Ministry of Education and Key Laboratory of Polymeric Materials & Application Technology of Hunan Province, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, China
| | - Jiali Sun
- Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, China
- School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Mengfei Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, China
- School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Linjie Cui
- Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, China
- School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, China
| | - Jianjun Cheng
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, 310024, China
| | - Zhaohui Tang
- Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, China
- School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Xuesi Chen
- Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, China
- School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
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44
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Pincus SH, Stackhouse M, Watt C, Ober K, Cole FM, Chen HC, Smith III AB, Peters T. Soluble CD4 and low molecular weight CD4-mimetic compounds sensitize cells to be killed by anti-HIV cytotoxic immunoconjugates. J Virol 2023; 97:e0115423. [PMID: 37772823 PMCID: PMC10617435 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01154-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE HIV infection can be effectively treated to prevent the development of AIDS, but it cannot be cured. We have attached poisons to anti-HIV antibodies to kill the infected cells that persist even after years of effective antiviral therapy. Here we show that the killing of infected cells can be markedly enhanced by the addition of soluble forms of the HIV receptor CD4 or by mimics of CD4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seth H. Pincus
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Megan Stackhouse
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Connie Watt
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Kelli Ober
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Frances M. Cole
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Hung-Ching Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Amos B. Smith III
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Tami Peters
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
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45
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Marvin CC, Hobson AD, McPherson M, Dunstan TA, Vargo TR, Hayes ME, Fettis MM, Bischoff A, Wang L, Wang L, Hernandez A, Jia Y, Oh JZ, Tian Y. Self-Immolative Carbamate Linkers for CD19-Budesonide Antibody-Drug Conjugates. Bioconjug Chem 2023; 34:1835-1850. [PMID: 37788373 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates consist of potent small-molecule payloads linked to a targeting antibody. Payloads must possess a viable functional group by which a linker for conjugation can be attached. Linker-attachment options remain limited for the connection to payloads via hydroxyl groups. A releasing group based on 2-aminopyridine was developed to enable stable attachment of para-aminobenzyl carbamate (PABC) linkers to the C21-hydroxyl group of budesonide, a glucocorticoid receptor agonist. Payload release involves a cascade of two self-immolative events that are initiated by the protease-mediated cleavage of the dipeptide-PABC bond. Budesonide release rates were determined for a series of payload-linker intermediates in buffered solution at pH 7.4 and 5.4, leading to the identification of 2-aminopyridine as the preferred releasing group. Addition of a poly(ethylene glycol) group improved linker hydrophilicity, thereby providing CD19-budesonide ADCs with suitable properties. ADC23 demonstrated targeted delivery of budesonide to CD19-expressing cells and inhibited B-cell activation in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher C Marvin
- AbbVie Inc., 1 North Waukegan Road, North Chicago, Illinois 60064, United States
| | - Adrian D Hobson
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Michael McPherson
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Theresa A Dunstan
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Thomas R Vargo
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Martin E Hayes
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Margaret M Fettis
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Agnieszka Bischoff
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Lu Wang
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Lu Wang
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Axel Hernandez
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Ying Jia
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Jason Z Oh
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Yu Tian
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, 381 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
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Yue TC, Ge Y, Aprile FA, Ma MT, Pham TT, Long NJ. Site-Specific 68Ga Radiolabeling of Trastuzumab Fab via Methionine for ImmunoPET Imaging. Bioconjug Chem 2023; 34:1802-1810. [PMID: 37751398 PMCID: PMC10587866 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 09/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
Bioconjugates of antibodies and their derivatives radiolabeled with β+-emitting radionuclides can be utilized for diagnostic PET imaging. Site-specific attachment of radioactive cargo to antibody delivery vectors provides homogeneous, well-defined immunoconjugates. Recent studies have demonstrated the utility of oxaziridine chemistry for site-specific labeling of methionine residues. Herein, we applied this approach to site-specifically radiolabel trastuzumab-derived Fab immunoconjugates with 68Ga, which can be used for in vivo PET imaging of HER2-positive breast cancer tumors. Initially, a reactive azide was introduced to a single solvent-accessible methionine residue in both the wild-type Fab and an engineered derivative containing methionine residue M74, utilizing the principles of oxaziridine chemistry. Subsequently, these conjugates were functionalized with a modified DFO chelator incorporating dibenzocyclooctyne. The resulting DFO-WT and DFO-M74 conjugates were radiolabeled with generator-produced [68Ga]Ga3+, to yield the novel PET radiotracers, [68Ga]Ga-DFO-WT and [68Ga]Ga-DFO-M74. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that [68Ga]Ga-DFO-M74 exhibited a higher affinity for HER2 receptors. Biodistribution studies in mice bearing orthotopic HER2-positive breast tumors revealed a higher uptake of [68Ga]Ga-DFO-M74 in the tumor tissue, accompanied by rapid renal clearance, enabling clear delineation of tumors using PET imaging. Conversely, [68Ga]Ga-DFO-WT exhibited lower uptake and inferior image contrast compared to [68Ga]Ga-DFO-M74. Overall, the results demonstrate that the highly facile methionine-oxaziridine modification approach can be simply applied to the synthesis of stable and site-specifically modified radiolabeled antibody-chelator conjugates with favorable pharmacokinetics for PET imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas
T. C. Yue
- Department
of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London W120BZ, U.K.
- School
of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King’s College London, Fourth Floor Lambeth Wing, St. Thomas’ Hospital, London SE17EH, U.K.
| | - Ying Ge
- Department
of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London W120BZ, U.K.
| | - Francesco A. Aprile
- Department
of Chemistry and Institute of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences
Research Hub, Imperial College London, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London W120BZ, U.K.
| | - Michelle T. Ma
- School
of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King’s College London, Fourth Floor Lambeth Wing, St. Thomas’ Hospital, London SE17EH, U.K.
| | - Truc T. Pham
- School
of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King’s College London, Fourth Floor Lambeth Wing, St. Thomas’ Hospital, London SE17EH, U.K.
| | - Nicholas J. Long
- Department
of Chemistry and Institute of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences
Research Hub, Imperial College London, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London W120BZ, U.K.
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47
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Kong C, Pu J, Zhao Q, Weng W, Ma L, Qian Y, Hu W, Meng X, Meng T. MTX-13, a Novel PTK7-Directed Antibody-Drug Conjugate with Widened Therapeutic Index Shows Sustained Tumor Regressions for a Broader Spectrum of PTK7-Positive Tumors. Mol Cancer Ther 2023; 22:1128-1143. [PMID: 37352387 PMCID: PMC10544008 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-23-0164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
Protein tyrosine kinase 7 (PTK7) is a Wnt signaling pathway protein implicated in cancer development and metastasis. When using a potent microtubule inhibitor (Aur0101), PTK7-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), h6M24-vc0101 (PF-06647020/cofetuzumab pelidotin) is efficacious only in limited tumor types with low response rates in a phase I trial. To improve patient response and to expand responding tumor types, we designed MTX-13, a PTK7-targeting ADC consisting of a novel antibody (Ab13) conjugated to eight molecules of topoisomerase I inhibitor exatecan through T1000, a novel self-immolative moiety. MTX-13 exhibited PTK7-specific cell binding, efficient internalization, and exatecan release to cause cytotoxic activity through DNA damage and apoptosis induction, and a strong bystander killing. MTX-13 displayed potent antitumor activities on cell line-derived xenograft and patient-derived xenograft models from a wide range of solid tumors, significantly outperforming h6M24-vc0101. PTK7 was shown to be an actionable target in small cell lung cancer for which MTX-13 showed complete and durable responses. With a consistent overexpression of PTK7 in squamous cell carcinomas derived from diverse anatomic sites, strong potency of MTX-13 in this group of heterogenous tumors suggested a common treatment strategy. Finally, MTX-13 inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in an orthotopic colon cancer xenograft model. MTX-13 displayed a favorable pharmacokinetic and safety profile in monkeys with the highest non-severely toxic dose (HNSTD) of ≥30 mg/kg, significantly higher than 3-5 mg/kg of HNSTD for h6M24-vc0101. The higher therapeutic index of MTX-13 bodes well for its clinical translation with the potential to expand the responding patient population beyond that of current PTK7-targeting ADCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Kong
- Multitude Therapeutics, Xuhui District, Shanghai, China
| | - Junyi Pu
- School of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Qianqian Zhao
- Multitude Therapeutics, Xuhui District, Shanghai, China
| | - Weining Weng
- Multitude Therapeutics, Xuhui District, Shanghai, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Linjie Ma
- Multitude Therapeutics, Xuhui District, Shanghai, China
| | - Yu Qian
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wenhao Hu
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Chiral Molecule and Drug Discovery, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xun Meng
- Multitude Therapeutics, Xuhui District, Shanghai, China
| | - Tao Meng
- MabCare Therapeutics, Shanghai, China
- HySlink Therapeutics, Shanghai, China
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Mungra N, Biteghe FAN, Malindi Z, Huysamen AM, Karaan M, Hardcastle NS, Bunjun R, Chetty S, Naran K, Lang D, Richter W, Hunter R, Barth S. CSPG4 as a target for the specific killing of triple-negative breast cancer cells by a recombinant SNAP-tag-based antibody-auristatin F drug conjugate. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2023; 149:12203-12225. [PMID: 37432459 PMCID: PMC10465649 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-023-05031-3] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is phenotypic of breast tumors lacking expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), the progesterone receptor (PgR), and the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). The paucity of well-defined molecular targets in TNBC, coupled with the increasing burden of breast cancer-related mortality, emphasizes the need to develop targeted diagnostics and therapeutics. While antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have emerged as revolutionary tools in the selective delivery of drugs to malignant cells, their widespread clinical use has been hampered by traditional strategies which often give rise to heterogeneous mixtures of ADC products. METHODS Utilizing SNAP-tag technology as a cutting-edge site-specific conjugation method, a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4)-targeting ADC was engineered, encompassing a single-chain antibody fragment (scFv) conjugated to auristatin F (AURIF) via a click chemistry strategy. RESULTS After showcasing the self-labeling potential of the SNAP-tag component, surface binding and internalization of the fluorescently labeled product were demonstrated on CSPG4-positive TNBC cell lines through confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. The cell-killing ability of the novel AURIF-based recombinant ADC was illustrated by the induction of a 50% reduction in cell viability at nanomolar to micromolar concentrations on target cell lines. CONCLUSION This research underscores the applicability of SNAP-tag in the unambiguous generation of homogeneous and pharmaceutically relevant immunoconjugates that could potentially be instrumental in the management of a daunting disease like TNBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neelakshi Mungra
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Medical Biotechnology and Immunotherapy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700 South Africa
- Centre for Immunity and Immunotherapies, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Washington, 98101 USA
| | - Fleury A. N. Biteghe
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Zaria Malindi
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Medical Biotechnology and Immunotherapy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700 South Africa
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Laser Research Centre, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, Johannesburg, 2028 South Africa
| | - Allan M. Huysamen
- Department of Chemistry, PD Hahn Building, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700 South Africa
| | - Maryam Karaan
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Medical Biotechnology and Immunotherapy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700 South Africa
| | - Natasha S. Hardcastle
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Medical Biotechnology and Immunotherapy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700 South Africa
| | - Rubina Bunjun
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700 South Africa
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700 South Africa
| | - Shivan Chetty
- Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Witwatersrand, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2000 South Africa
| | - Krupa Naran
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Medical Biotechnology and Immunotherapy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700 South Africa
| | - Dirk Lang
- Division of Physiological Sciences, Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700 South Africa
| | | | - Roger Hunter
- Department of Chemistry, PD Hahn Building, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700 South Africa
| | - Stefan Barth
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Medical Biotechnology and Immunotherapy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700 South Africa
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, South African Research Chair in Cancer Biotechnology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700 South Africa
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49
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Zhao Y, Kim S, Zheng X, Kim SH, Han A, Chen TH, Wang S, Zhong J, Qiu H, Li N. Investigation of High Molecular Weight Size Variant Formation in Antibody-Drug Conjugates: Microbial Transglutaminase-Mediated Crosslinking. J Pharm Sci 2023; 112:2629-2636. [PMID: 37586591 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2023.08.006] [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: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Microbial transglutaminase (mTG) has become a powerful tool for manufacturing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). It enables site-specific conjugation by catalyzing formation of stable isopeptide bond between glutamine (Q) side chain and primary amine. However, the downstream impact of mTG-mediated conjugation on ADC product quality, especially on high molecular weight (HMW) size variant formation has not been studied in a systematic manner. This study investigates the mechanisms underlying the formation of HMW size variants in mTG-mediated ADCs using size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Our findings revealed that the mTG-mediated glutamine and lysine (K) crosslinking is the primary source of the increased level of HMW size variants in the ADCs. In the study, two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with glutamine engineered for site-specific conjugation were used as model systems. Based on the LC-MS analysis, a single lysine (K56) in the heavy chain (HC) was identified as the major Q-K crosslinking site in one of the two mAbs. The HC C-terminal K was observed to crosslink to the target Q in both mAbs. Quantitative correlation was established between the percentage of HMW size variants determined by SEC and the percentage of crosslinked peptides quantified by MS peptide mapping. Importantly, it was demonstrated that the level of HMW size variants in the second ADC was substantially reduced by the complete removal of HC C-terminal K before conjugation. The current work demonstrates that crosslinking and other side reactions during mTG-mediated conjugation needs to be carefully monitored and controlled to ensure process consistency and high product quality of the final ADC drug product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yimeng Zhao
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA.
| | - Sunnie Kim
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Xiang Zheng
- Therapeutic Proteins, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Se Hyun Kim
- Therapeutic Proteins, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Amy Han
- Therapeutic Proteins, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Tse-Hong Chen
- Formulation Development, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Serena Wang
- Formulation Development, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Jieqiang Zhong
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | - Haibo Qiu
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA.
| | - Ning Li
- Analytical Chemistry, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA
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50
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Ebrahimi SB, Hong X, Ludlow J, Doucet D, Thirumangalathu R. Studying Intermolecular Interactions in an Antibody-Drug Conjugate Through Chemical Screening and Computational Modeling. J Pharm Sci 2023; 112:2621-2628. [PMID: 37572780 DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2023.08.002] [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: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023]
Abstract
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) combine the selectivity of antibodies with the cytotoxicity of drug payloads to yield highly targeted and potent therapeutics. Owing to the need to chemically modify residues for attachment of the payload and their more complex structure compared to either component alone, ADCs can present additional challenges related to stability of the final drug product. Here, we report for the first time the use of high-throughput experimental screens and computational techniques to tune the conformational and colloidal behavior of a monomethyl auristatin F-based ADC. The ADC, which exhibits high opalescence with strongly attractive protein-protein interactions, is transformed into a more stable structure by experimentally traversing a library of more than ∼100 formulations. A significant reduction in turbidity and increase in diffusion interaction parameter is observed by varying properties such as pH and ionic strength. Computational modeling rationalized these changes and pointed to the presence of attractive electrostatic interactions between ADC molecules facilitated by the drug payload and histidine residues. Taken together, the experimental and computational work presented provides a general roadmap of studies to perform during ADC development to find stable formulations, while the mechanistic learnings can be applied towards the design and stabilization of other IgG1-based ADCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sasha B Ebrahimi
- Drug Product Development, Steriles, GlaxoSmithKline, Collegeville, PA 19426, United States.
| | - Xuan Hong
- Computational Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Collegeville, PA 19426, United States
| | - James Ludlow
- Drug Product Development, Steriles, GlaxoSmithKline, Collegeville, PA 19426, United States
| | - Dany Doucet
- Drug Product Development Packaging, Device and Design Solutions, GlaxoSmithKline, Collegeville, PA 19426, United States
| | - Renuka Thirumangalathu
- Drug Product Development, Steriles, GlaxoSmithKline, Collegeville, PA 19426, United States
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