Dimitris Platis

Cost-effective production of a vaginal protein microbicide to prevent HIV transmission

A series of small-molecule microbicides has been developed for vaginal delivery to prevent heterosexual HIV transmission, but results from human clinical trials have been disappointing. Protein-based microbicides, such as HIV-specific monoclonal antibodies, have been considered as an alternative approach. Despite their promising safety profile and efficacy, the major drawback of such molecules is the economy of large-scale production in mammalian cells, the current system of choice. Here, we show that an alternative biomanufacturing platform is now available for one of the most promising anti-HIV antibodies (2G12). Our data show that the HIV-neutralization capability of the antibody is equal to or superior to that of the same antibody produced in CHO cells. We conclude that this protein production system may provide a means to achieve microbicide ingredient manufacture at costs that would allow product introduction and manufacture in the developing world.

New downstream processing strategy for the purification of monoclonal antibodies from transgenic tobacco plants

Affinity chromatography on immobilized Protein A is the current method of choice for the purification of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Despite its widespread use it presents certain drawbacks, such as ligand instability, leaching, toxicity and high cost. In the present work, we report a new procedure for the purification of two human monoclonal anti-HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) antibodies (mAbs 2G12 and 4E10) from transgenic tobacco plants using stable and low cost chromatographic materials. The first step of the mAb 2G12 purification procedure is comprised of an aqueous two-phase partition system (ATPS) for the removal of polyphenols while providing an essential initial purification boost (2.01-fold purification). In the second step, mAb 2G12 was purified using cation-exchange chromatography (CEX) on S-Sepharose FF, by elution with 20mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 7.5, containing 0.1M NaCl. The eluted mAb was directly loaded onto an immobilized metal affinity chromatography column (IMAC, Zn(2+)-iminodiacetic acid-Sepharose 6B) and eluted by stepwise pH gradient. The proposed method offered 162-fold purification with 97.2% purity and 63% yield. Analysis of the antibody preparation by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), enzyme immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and western blot showed that the mAb 2G12 was fully active and free of degraded variants, polyphenols and alkaloids. The effectiveness of the present purification protocol was evaluated by using a second transgenic human monoclonal anti-HIV mAb 4E10. The results showed that the same procedure can be successfully used for the purification of mAb 4E10. In the case of mAb 4E10, the proposed method offered 148-fold purification with 96.2% purity and 36% yield. Therefore, the proposed protocol may be of generic use for the purification of mAbs from transgenic tobacco plants.

Structure‐guided alteration of coenzyme specificity of formate dehydrogenase by saturation mutagenesis to enable efficient utilization of NADP+

Formate dehydrogenase from Candida boidinii (CboFDH) catalyses the oxidation of formate anion to carbon dioxide with concomitant reduction of NAD+ to NADH. CboFDH is highly specific to NAD+ and virtually fails to catalyze the reaction with NADP+. Based on structural information for CboFDH, the loop region between β‐sheet 7 and α‐helix 10 in the dinucleotide‐binding fold was predicted as a principal determinant of coenzyme specificity. Sequence alignment with other formate dehydrogenases revealed two residues (Asp195 and Tyr196) that could account for the observed coenzyme specificity. Positions 195 and 196 were subjected to two rounds of site‐saturation mutagenesis and screening and enabled the identification of a double mutant Asp195Gln/Tyr196His, which showed a more than 2 × 107‐fold improvement in overall catalytic efficiency with NADP+ and a more than 900‐fold decrease in the efficiency with NAD+ as cofactors. The results demonstrate that the combined polar interactions and steric factors comprise the main structural determinants responsible for coenzyme specificity. The double mutant Asp195Gln/Tyr196His was tested for practical applicability in a cofactor recycling system composed of cytochrome P450 monooxygenase from Bacillus subtilis, (CYP102A2), NADP+, formic acid and ω‐(p‐nitrophenyl)dodecanoic acid (12‐pNCA). Using a 1250‐fold excess of 12‐pNCA over NADP+ the first order rate constant was determined to be equal to kobs = 0.059 ± 0.004 min−1.

Application of a PEG/salt aqueous two-phase partition system for the recovery of monoclonal antibodies from unclarified transgenic tobacco extract.

Aqueous two‐phase partition systems (ATPS) have been widely used for the separation of a large variety of biomolecules. In the present report, the application of a polyethylene glycol/phosphate (PEG/phosphate) ATPS for the separation of anti‐HIV monoclonal antibodies 2G12 (mAb 2G12) and 4E10 (mAb 4E10) from unclarified transgenic tobacco crude extract was investigated. Optimal conditions that favor opposite phase partitioning of plant debris/mAb as well as high recovery and purification were found to be 13.1% w/w (PEG 1500), 12.5% w/w (phosphate) at pH 5 with a phase ratio of 1.3 and 8.25% w/w unclarified tobacco extract load. Under these conditions, mAb 2G12 and mAb 4E10 were partitioned at the bottom phosphate phase with 85 and 84% yield and 2.4‐ and 2.1‐fold purification, respectively. The proposed ATPS was successfully integrated in an affinity‐based purification protocol, using Protein A, yielding antibodies of high purity and yield. In this study, ATPS was shown to be suitable for initial protein recovery and partial purification of mAb from unclarified transgenic tobacco crude extract.

Engineering sensitive glutathione transferase for the detection of xenobiotics

Cytosolic glutathione transferases (GSTs) are a major reserve of high-capacity ligand binding proteins which recognise a large variety of hydrophobic compounds. In the present study, the binding of non-substrate xenobiotic compounds (herbicides and insecticides) to maize GST I was investigated by employing kinetic inhibition studies, site-directed mutagenesis and molecular modelling studies. The results showed that the xenobiotics bind at the substrate binding site. Based on in silico docking analysis, two residues were selected for assessing their contribution to xenobiotic binding. The mutant Gln53Ala of GST I Exhibits 9.2-fold higher inhibition potency for the insecticide malathion, compared to the wild-type enzyme. A potentiometric assay was developed for the determination of malathion using the Gln53Ala mutant enzyme. The assay explores the ability of the xenobiotic to promote inhibition of the GST-catalysing 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB)/glutathione (GSH) conjugation reaction. The sensing scheme is based on the pH change occurring in a low buffer system by the GST reaction, which is measured potentiometrically using a pH electrode. Calibration curve was obtained for malathion, with useful concentration range 0-20 microM. The methods reproducibility was in the order of +/-3-5% and malathion recoveries were 96.7+/-2.8%. Immobilized Gln53Ala mutant GST was used to assemble a biosensor for malathion. The enzyme was immobilized by crosslinking with glutaraldehyde and trapped behind a semipermeable membrane in front of the pH electrode. The results demonstrated that the immobilized enzyme behaved similar to free enzyme.

Affinity chromatography for the purification of therapeutic proteins from transgenic maize using immobilized histamine.

Plant molecular pharming is a technology that uses plants as bioreactors to produce recombinant molecules of medical and veterinary importance. In the present study, we evaluated the ability of histamine (HIM), tryptamine (TRM), phenylamine (PHEM) and tyramine (TYRM) coupled to Sepharose CL-4B via a 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether spacer to bind and purify human monoclonal anti-HIV antibody 2F5 (mAb 2F5) from spiked maize seed and tobacco leaf extracts. Detailed studies were carried out to determine the factors that affect the chromatographic behaviour of mAb 2F5 and also maize seed and tobacco leaf proteins. All affinity adsorbents showed a reduced capacity to bind and a reduced ability to purify proteins from tobacco extract compared to maize extract. Under optimal conditions, HIM exhibited high selectivity for mAb 2F5 and allowed a high degree of purification (>95% purity) and recovery (>90%) in a single step with salt elution (0.4 M KCl) from spiked maize seed extract. Analysis of the purified antibody fraction by ELISA and Western blot showed that the antibody was fully active and free of degraded variants or modified forms. The efficacy of the system was assessed further using a second therapeutic antibody (human monoclonal anti-HIV antibody mAb 2G12) and a therapeutic enzyme (alpha-chymotrypsin). HIM may find application in the purification of a wide range of biopharmaceuticals from transgenic plants.

Structure-guided design of a novel class of benzyl-sulfonate inhibitors for influenza virus neuraminidase

Influenza NA (neuraminidase) is an antiviral target of high pharmaceutical interest because of its essential role in cleaving sialic acid residues from cell surface glycoproteins and facilitating release of virions from infected cells. The present paper describes the use of structural information in the progressive design from a lead binding ion (a sulfate) to a potent submicromolor inhibitor (K(i) 0.13 microM). Structural information derived from the X-ray structure of an NA complexed with several sulfate ions, in combination with results derived from affinity labelling and molecular modelling studies, was used to guide design of potent sulfonic acid-based inhibitors. These inhibitors are structural fragments of the polysulfonate triazine dye Cibacron Blue 3GA and represent novel lead scaffolds for designing non-carbohydrate inhibitors for influenza neuraminidases.

Combinatorial de novo design and application of a biomimetic affinity ligand for the purification of human anti-HIV mAb 4E10 from transgenic tobacco

Monoclonal anti‐HIV antibody 4E10 (mAb 4E10) is one of the most broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV, directed against a specific epitope on envelope protein gp41. In the present study, a combinatorial de novo design approach was used for the development of a biomimetic ligand for the affinity purification of mAb 4E10 from tobacco transgenic extract in a single chromatographic step. The biomimetic ligand (4E10lig) was based on a L‐Phe/β‐Ala bi‐substituted 1,3,5‐triazine (Trz) scaffold (β‐Ala‐Trz‐L‐Phe, 4E10lig) which potentially mimics the more pronounced electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions of mAb 4E10‐binding sequence determined by screening of a random peptide library. This library was comprised of Escherichia coli cells harboring a plasmid (pFlitrx) engineered to express a fusion protein containing random dodecapeptides that were inserted into the active loop of thioredoxin, which itself was inserted into the dispensable region of the flagellin gene. Adsorption equilibrium studies with this biomimetic ligand and mAb 4E10 determined a dissociation constant (KD) of 0.41 ± 0.05 µM. Molecular modeling studies of the biomimetic ligand revealed that it can potentially occupy the same binding site as the natural binding core peptide epitope. The biomimetic affinity adsorbent was exploited in the development of a facile mAb 4E10 purification protocol, affording mAb 4E10 of high purity (approximately 95%) with good overall yield (60–80%). Analysis of the antibody preparation by SDS‐PAGE, enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), and western blot showed that the mAb 4E10 was fully active and free of degraded variants, polyphenols, and alkaloids. Copyright

Chemical and Genetic Engineering Strategies to Improve the Potency of Pharmaceutical Proteins and Enzymes

Over the last decade there has been significant progress in understanding the molecular basis of disease processes. At the same time the technological advances in the area of genomics and the efforts in proteomics research have increased the possibility of discovering many proteins with defined therapeutic functions. A large number of these proteins have found clinical application. Despite the importance of proteins as therapeutic agents, they have a number of disadvantages in comparison to small-molecule drugs, including immunogenicity and antigenicity, poor efficacy and oral bioavailability as well as, in many cases, short serum half-lives. To date, the most promising approaches for improving protein therapeutics rely on the use of genetic engineering and site-specific chemical synthesis/modification techniques. Improving the potency of protein drugs by employing modern recombinant DNA technologies and novel chemical synthesis techniques is of primary importance, not only because of the enormous medicinal benefit but also because of the significant economic edge an improved drug can provide in todays competitive market.

Design, synthesis and application of benzyl‐sulfonate biomimetic affinity adsorbents for monoclonal antibody purification from transgenic corn

The human anti‐human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody 2G12 (mAb 2G12) is one of the most broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV that recognizes a unique epitope on the surface glycoprotein gp120. In the present work, a limited affinity‐ligand library was synthesized and evaluated for its ability to bind and purify recombinant mAb 2G12 expressed in transgenic corn. The affinity ligands were structural fragments of polysulfonate triazine dye Cibacron Blue 3GA (CB3GA) and represent novel lead scaffolds for designing synthetic affinity ligands. Solid phase chemistry was used to synthesize variants of CB3GA lead ligand. One immobilized ligand, bearing 4‐aminobenzyl sulfonic acid (4ABS) linked on two chlorine atoms of the triazine ring (4ABS‐Trz‐4ABS), displayed high affinity for mAb 2G12. Absorption equilibrium, 3D molecular modelling and molecular dynamics simulation studies were carried out to provide a detailed picture of the 4ABS‐Trz‐4ABS interaction with mAb 2G12. This biomimetic affinity ligand was exploited for the development of a facile two‐step purification protocol for mAb 2G12. In the first step of the procedure, mAb 2G12 was purified on an S‐Sepharose FF cation exchanger, and in the second step, mAb 2G12 was purified using affinity chromatography on 4ABS‐Trz‐4ABS affinity adsorbent. Analysis of the antibody preparation by sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay showed that the mAb 2G12 was fully active and of sufficient purity suitable for analytical applications. Copyright