Robert L. Shields

Expression of full-length immunoglobulins in Escherichia coli: rapid and efficient production of aglycosylated antibodies.

Many research and clinical applications require large quantities of full-length antibodies with long circulating half-lives, and production of these complex multi-subunit proteins has in the past been restricted to eukaryotic hosts. In this report, we demonstrate that efficient secretion of heavy and light chains in a favorable ratio leads to the high-level expression and assembly of full-length IgGs in the Escherichia coli periplasm. The technology described offers a rapid, generally applicable and potentially inexpensive method for the production of full-length therapeutic antibodies, as verified by the expression of several humanized IgGs. One E. coli-derived antibody in particular, anti-tissue factor IgG1, has been thoroughly evaluated and has all of the expected properties of an aglycosylated antibody, including tight binding to antigen and the neonatal receptor. As predicted, the protein lacks binding to C1q and the FcgammaRI receptor, making it an ideal candidate for research purposes and therapeutic indications where effector functions are either not required or are actually detrimental. In addition, a limited chimpanzee study suggests that the E. coli-derived IgG1 retains the long circulating half-life of mammalian cell-derived antibodies.

Inhibition of Allergic Reactions with Antibodies to IgE

Numerous clinical studies show that direct interference with the IgE response leads to a decrease or elimination of allergic symptoms. The aim of these studies was to design a therapy aimed at decreasing IgE levels in order to ameliorate atopic disease. To this end, a murine monoclonal antibody, MAE11, directed against IgE was identified, which had all the properties necessary to interfere with IgE responses, but lacked the harmful side effects of inducing receptor cross-linking. The antibody was selected on the basis of its ability to bind circulating IgE at the same site as the high-affinity receptor, thus blocking the binding of IgE to mast cells and basophils. To allow for possible chronic administration and to avoid the problems of antigenicity, MAE11 was humanized. The best of several humanized variants, version 25 (rhumAb-E25) was selected since it possessed binding affinity and biological activity comparable to MAE11. Clinical studies are underway to determine the safety and efficacy of this treatment for allergic rhinitis and asthma.

Inhibition of insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR) signaling and tumor cell growth by a fully human neutralizing anti–IGF-IR antibody

Insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR) plays an important role in tumor cell growth and survival. On ligand stimulation, IGF-IR, a receptor tyrosine kinase, phosphorylates tyrosine residues on two major substrates, IRS-1 and Shc, which subsequently signal through the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT pathways. Here, we describe the characterization of a fully human anti–IGF-IR monoclonal antibody 19D12 that inhibits IGF binding and autophosphorylation of both IGF-IR/IGF-IR homodimers and IGF-IR/insulin receptor heterodimers. 19D12 does not recognize insulin receptor homodimers. In addition to inhibiting IGF-IR autophosphorylation, 19D12 also inhibits IRS-1 phosphorylation and activation of the major downstream signaling molecules AKT and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2. Furthermore, the antibody down-regulates the total IGF-IR protein level and can exhibit antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity activity against a non–small cell adenocarcinoma cell line in vitro in the presence of isolated human natural killer cells. 19D12 binds tightly to the receptor, with an affinity of 3.8 pmol/L as measured by KinExA. In cell culture, 19D12 inhibits proliferation and soft agar growth of various tumor cell lines. In vivo, 19D12 inhibits the tumor growth of a very aggressive human ovarian tumor xenograft model A2780. These data support the development of this anti–IGF-IR monoclonal antibody as a promising anticancer agent.

Development of a two-part strategy to identify a therapeutic human bispecific antibody that inhibits IgE receptor signaling

The development of bispecific antibodies as therapeutic agents for human diseases has great clinical potential, but broad application has been hindered by the difficulty of identifying bispecific antibody formats that exhibit favorable pharmacokinetic properties and ease of large-scale manufacturing. Previously, the development of an antibody technology utilizing heavy chain knobs-into-holes mutations and a single common light chain enabled the small-scale generation of human full-length bispecific antibodies. Here we have extended the technology by developing a two-part bispecific antibody discovery strategy that facilitates proof-of-concept studies and clinical candidate antibody generation. Our scheme consists of the efficient small-scale generation of bispecific antibodies lacking a common light chain and the hinge disulfides for proof-of-concept studies coupled with the identification of a common light chain bispecific antibody for large-scale production with high purity and yield. We have applied this technology to generate a bispecific antibody suitable for development as a human therapeutic. This antibody directly inhibits the activation of the high affinity IgE receptor FcϵRI on mast cells and basophils by cross-linking FcϵRI with the inhibitory receptor FcγRIIb, an approach that has strong therapeutic potential for asthma and other allergic diseases. Our approach for producing human bispecific full-length antibodies enables the clinical application of bispecific antibodies to a validated therapeutic pathway in asthma.