Susan Cannon-Carlson

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.

Empty Capsids in Column-Purified Recombinant Adenovirus Preparations

Empty capsids from adenovirus, that is, virus particles lacking DNA, are well documented in the published literature. They can be separated from complete virus by CsCl density gradient centrifugation. Here we characterize the presence of empty capsids in recombinant adenovirus preparations purified by column chromatography. The initial purified recombinant adenovirus containing the p53 tumor suppressor gene was produced from 293 cells grown on microcarriers and purified by passage through DEAE-Fractogel and gel-filtration chromatography. Further sequential purification of the column-purified virus by CsCl and glycerol density gradient centrifugations yielded isolated complete virus and empty capsids. The empty capsids were essentially noninfectious and free of DNA. Analysis of empty capsids by SDS-PAGE or RP-HPLC showed the presence of only three major components: hexon, IIIa, and a 31K band. This last protein was identified as the precursor to protein VIII (pVIII) by mass spectrometric analysis. No pVIII was detected from the purified complete virus. Analysis by electron microscopy of the empty capsids showed particles with small defects. The amount of pVIII was used to determine the level of empty capsid contamination. First, the purified empty capsids were used to quantify the relation of pVIII to empty capsid particle concentration (as estimated by either light scattering or hexon content). They were then used as a standard to establish the empty capsid concentration of various recombinant adenovirus preparations. Preliminary research showed changes in empty capsid concentration with variations in the infection conditions. While virus purification on anion-exchange or gel-filtration chromatography has little effect on empty capsid contamination, other chromatographic steps can substantially reduce the final concentration of empty capsids in column-purified adenovirus preparations.

Carboxyalkylated Histidine Is a pH-Dependent Product of Pegylation with SC-PEG

AbstractPurpose. Pegylation of therapeutic protein usually results in a mixture of monopegylated proteins with differing sites of modification. With rh-interferon-α2A pegylation, we have found that this heterogeneity includes two classes of pegylation site chemistry, the relative proportions of which can be adjusted by reaction pH. Methods. The effect of pegylation reaction pH on the relative proportion of three peaks produced was investigated. Products were purified and characterized by peptide mapping, chemical stability to neutral hydroxylamine, and biologic activity. Results. Reactions at basic pH levels produced a mixture of products pegylated at lysine residues as has been observed elsewhere. However, the dominant product of reactions at mildly acidic levels of pH showed distinct chemistry and higher cytopathic effect activity. The primary site of modification at this pH was His34. We developed a quantitative assay using sensitivity to neutral hydroxylamine to measure the proportion of urethane bonds involving carboxyalkylated histidines. This assay showed that histidine was pegylated preferentially at low pH levels with another protein, rh-Interleukin-10. Conclusions. Reaction pH can be used to select the preferred pegylation site chemistry.

Improvement of Monoclonal Antibody Production in Hybridoma Cells by Dimethyl Sulfoxide

Hybridoma cultures are routinely used as a source for monoclonal antibody (mAb) production necessary for preclinical evaluation. However, these cultures typically have low volumetric and specific productivities. In this article, we examined the use and the timing of addition of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a medium additive to improve mAb production in our hybridoma clone 19 (c19) cultures. From shake flask studies, we defined the optimal DMSO concentration and time of addition for improved productivity. This timing coordinated with high cell viability and density. Hybridoma cultures treated with DMSO up to 0.3% (v/v) possessed cell densities and viabilities comparable to untreated control. We demonstrated that 0.2% (v/v) DMSO added to shake flask cultures at their maximal viable cell densities resulted in a 2‐fold increase in specific mAb production. This procedure was scaleable up to 20 L Cellbags (Wave Bioreactors) with similar titer improvement. Moreover, DMSO treatment did not affect the bioactivity or glycosylation profiles of the mAb.

Mass spectrometric mapping of disulfide bonds in recombinant human interleukin‐13

Interleukin 13 (IL-13), a member of the a-helical family of cytokines, has approximately 30% primary sequence homology with IL-4 and shares a common receptor component. The biologically active rhIL-13 is monomeric and non-glycosylated, and contains two disulfide bonds as determined by comparative electrospray mass spectrometric (MS) analysis of the protein before and after reduction with dithiothreitol-dithioerythritol. A trypsin-resistant core peptide of rhIL-13 was isolated and analyzed by plasma desorption (PD) MS, identifying a disulfide-linked core peptide. Subsequent digestion of this core peptide by pepsin, followed by PDMS analysis of the resulting cystine-containing peptic fragments, provided rapid determination of the existing disulfide bonds between cysteine residues 28-56 and 44-70. This disulfide arrangement is similar to that observed for the analogous four internal cysteine residues in hIL-4. The conservation of disulfide bond arrangements between hIL-13 and hIL-4, coupled with their alpha-helical structure and sequence homologies, confirms that IL-13 and IL-4 are structural homologues. It is also consistent with their reported similarities in biological function and receptor binding kinetics.