Michael Tesar

High-throughput generation and engineering of recombinant human antibodies

The first version of the Human Combinatorial Antibody Library (HuCAL) is a single-chain Fv-based phage display library (HuCAL-scFv) with 2x10(9) members optimised for high-throughput generation and targeted engineering of human antibodies. 61% of the library genes code for functional scFv as judged by sequencing. We show here that since HuCAL-scFv antibodies are expressed in high levels in Escherichia coli, automated panning and screening in miniaturised settings (96- and 384-well format) have now become feasible. Additionally, the unique modular design of HuCAL-genes and -vectors allows the distinctly facilitated conversion of scFv into Fab, miniantibody and immunoglobulin formats, and the fusion with a variety of effector functions and tags not only convenient for therapeutic applications but also for high-throughput purification and detection. Thus, the HuCAL principle enables the rapid and high-throughput development of human antibodies by optimisation strategies proven useful in classical low molecular weight drug development. We demonstrate in this report that HuCAL is a very convenient source of human antibodies for various applications.

Fully human, HLA-DR-specific monoclonal antibodies efficiently induce programmed death of malignant lymphoid cells

The Human Combinatorial Antibody Library (HuCAL) was screened for antibodies specific to human leukocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR) that induce programmed death of lymphoma/leukemia cells expressing the target antigen. The active Fab fragments were affinity-matured, and engineered to IgG4 antibodies of sub-nanomolar affinity. The antibodies exhibited potent in vitro tumoricidal activity on several lymphoma and leukemia cell lines and on chronic lymphocytic leukemia patient samples. They were also active in vivo in xenograft models of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Cell death occurred rapidly, without the need for exogenous immunological effector mechanisms, and was selective to activated/tumor-transformed cells. Although the expression of HLA-DR on normal hematopoietic cells is a potential safety concern, the antibodies caused no long-lasting hematological toxicity in primates, in vivo. Such monoclonal antibodies offer the potential for a novel therapeutic approach to lymphoid malignancies.

Monitoring of scFv selected by phage display using detection of scFv-pIII fusion proteins in a microtiter scale assay.

We describe here a method for the efficient and rapid analysis of antigen binding characteristics of recombinant antibodies (ab) selected by phage display. This novel approach combines the bacterial production of soluble single chain ab (scFv)-pIII fusion proteins on a microtiter scale with the detection of these fusion proteins via a pIII-specific ab. It facilitates the parallel analysis of large numbers of clones and is more efficient than current analysis protocols. Applying this technique, we analysed phage display selection of tetanus toxoid (TTX) specific scFv with respect to: (i) the productive expression of fusion proteins; (ii) the enrichment of specific scFv in subsequent rounds of phage display selection on a polyclonal level; (iii) the antigen specificity of individual scFv clones; (iv) the antigen binding affinity of a selected scFv. A TTX-specific scFv (clone 4.3) was further examined in a mono- and bivalent form by surface plasmon resonance analysis. ScFv 4.3 possesses a subnanomolar affinity and a low off rate constant.

Multifunctional g3p-peptide tag for current phage display systems

We have previously described a monoclonal antibody (mAb), 10C3, directed against the gene-3 protein (g3p) of filamentous phage M13, which was produced to study g3p fusion protein expression in Escherichia coli and its incorporation in the phage capsid [Tesar, M., Beckmann, C., Röttgen, P., Haase, B., Faude, U., Timmis, K., 1995. Monoclonal antibody against pIII of filamentous phage: an immunological tool to study pIII fusion protein expression in phage display systems. Immunology 1, 53-54]. In this study we report mapping of the antigenic epitope of the mAb 10C3, by means of short overlapping peptide-sequences [Frank, R., Overwin, H., 1996. Spot synthesis. In: Morris, G.E. (Ed.), Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 66: Epitope Mapping Protocols. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, pp. 149-169.] comprising the C-terminal half of the g3-protein. A minimal recognizable peptide was found which is represented in the 11 amino acid sequence from positions 292 to 302 of g3p [Wezenbeek van, P.M.G.P., Hulsebos, T.J.M., Schoenmakers, J.G.G., 1980. Nucleotide sequence of the filamentous bacteriophage M13 DNA genome: comparison with phage fd. Gene 11, 129-148]. In order to use the antibody also for detection and purification of recombinant proteins, such as single chain antibodies, the epitope was introduced as a tag sequence into the phagemid pHEN1 [Hoogenboom, H.R., Griffith, A.D., Johnson, K., Chiswell, D.J., Hudson, P., Winter, G., 1991. Multi-subunit proteins on the surface of the filamentous phage: methodologies for displaying antibody (Fab) heavy and light chains. Nucleic Acid Res. 19, 4133-4137; Nissim, A., Hoogenboom, H.R., Tomlinson, I.M., Flynn, G., Midgley, C., Lane, D., Winter, G., 1994. Antibody fragments from a single pot phage display library as immunochemical reagents. EMBO J. 13 (3) 692-698]. Purified single chain antibodies containing this tag were detectable down to a concentration of 2 ng ml(-1) under non-denaturing conditions (ELISA) or 4 ng per lane on immunoblots. The high sensitivity of the antibody for the peptide tag was reflected in the antibody affinity constant K(D) of 6.80 x 10(-10) M, which was determined by real time biomolecular interaction analysis (BIA) based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) [Karlsson, R., Fält, A., 1997. Experimental design for kinetic analysis of protein-protein interactions with surface plasmon resonance biosensors. J. Immunol. Methods 200, 121-133]. Finally, recombinant proteins in E. coli periplasmic extracts could be purified in a single step by affinity purification using immobilized mAb 10C3. These studies demonstrated that the new peptide-tag and its corresponding mAb represents a versatile tool for the detection of recombinant proteins selected by phage display technology.

Sharing of Nutritional Resources in Bacterial Communities Determined by Isotopic Ratio Mass Spectrometry of Biomarkers

WOLF-RAINER ABRAHAM, CHRISTIAN HESSE, OLIVER PELZA, STEFANIE HERMANN, MICHAEL TESARB, EDWARD R. B. MOORE, AND KENNETH N. TIMMIS GBF National Research Centre for Biotechnology, Dept. Environmental Microbiology, Mascheroder Weg 1, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany;a present address: ETH Zurich, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Schlieren, Switzerland; bpresent address: MorphoSys AG, Martinsried/Munchen, Germany