Ta-Chun Cheng

An Activity-Based Near-Infrared Glucuronide Trapping Probe for Imaging β-Glucuronidase Expression in Deep Tissues

β-glucuronidase is an attractive reporter and prodrug-converting enzyme. The development of near-IR (NIR) probes for imaging of β-glucuronidase activity would be ideal to allow estimation of reporter expression and for personalized glucuronide prodrug cancer therapy in preclinical studies. However, NIR glucuronide probes are not yet available. In this work, we developed two fluorescent probes for detection of β-glucuronidase activity, one for the NIR range (containing IR-820 dye) and the other for the visible range [containing fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)], by utilizing a difluoromethylphenol-glucuronide moiety (TrapG) to trap the fluorochromes in the vicinity of the active enzyme. β-glucuronidase-mediated hydrolysis of the glucuronyl bond of TrapG generates a highly reactive alkylating group that facilitates the attachment of the fluorochrome to nucleophilic moieties located near β-glucuronidase-expressing sites. FITC-TrapG was selectively trapped on purified β-glucuronidase or β-glucuronidase-expressing CT26 cells (CT26/mβG) but not on bovine serum albumin or non-β-glucuronidase-expressing CT26 cells used as controls. β-glucuronidase-activated FITC-TrapG did not interfere with β-glucuronidase activity and could label bystander proteins near β-glucuronidase. Both FITC-TrapG and NIR-TrapG specifically imaged subcutaneous CT26/mβG tumors, but only NIR-TrapG could image CT26/mβG tumors transplanted deep in the liver. Thus NIR-TrapG may provide a valuable tool for visualizing β-glucuronidase activity in vivo.

Gene expression imaging by enzymatic catalysis of a fluorescent probe via membrane-anchored β -glucuronidase

Development of nonimmunogenic and specific reporter genes to monitor gene expression in vivo is important for the optimization of gene therapy protocols. We developed a membrane-anchored form of mouse β-glucuronidase (mβG) as a reporter gene to hydrolyze a nonfluorescent glucuronide probe (fluorescein di-β-D-glucuronide, (FDGlcU) to a highly fluorescent reporter to assess the location and persistence of gene expression. A functional β-glucuronidase (βG) was stably expressed on the surface of murine CT26 colon adenocarcinoma cells where it selectively hydrolyzed the cell-impermeable FDGlcU probe. FDGlcU was also preferentially converted to fluorescent probe by (βG) on CT26 tumors. The fluorescent intensity in βG-expressing CT26 tumors was 240 times greater than the intensity in control tumors. Selective imaging of gene expression was also observed after intratumoral injection of adenoviral βG vector into carcinoma xenografts. Importantly, mβG did not induce an antibody response after hydrodynamic plasmid immunization of Balb/c mice, indicating that the reporter gene product displayed low immunogenicity. A membrane-anchored form of human βG also allowed in vivo imaging, demonstrating that human βG can be employed for imaging. This imaging system therefore, displays good selectivity with low immunogenicity and may help assess the location, magnitude and duration of gene expression in living animals and humans.

Measurement of Poly(ethylene glycol) by Cell-Based Anti-poly(ethylene glycol) ELISA

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is increasingly used in clinical and experimental medicine. However, quantification of PEG and PEGylated small molecules remains laborious and unsatisfactory. In this report, we stably expressed a functional anti-PEG antibody on the surface of BALB 3T3 cells (3T3/alphaPEG cells) to develop a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for PEG quantification. The alphaPEG cell-coated plate bound biotinylated PEG(5K) (CH(3)-PEG(5K)-biotin) and CH(3)-PEG(5K)-(131)I more effectively than did a traditional anti-PEG antibody-coated plate. Competitive binding between PEG (2, 5, 10, or 20 kDa) and a known amount of CH(3)-PEG(5K)-biotin allowed construction of a reproducible competition curve. The alphaPEG cell-based competition ELISA measured small molecules derivatized by PEG(2K), PEG(5K), PEG(10K), PEG(20K), and PEG(5K) at concentrations as low as 58.6, 14.6, 3.7, 3.7, and 14.6 ng/mL, respectively. Notably, the presence of serum or bovine serum albumin enhanced PEG measurement by the alphaPEG cell-based competition ELISA. Finally, we show here that the alphaPEG cell-based competition ELISA accurately delineated the pharmacokinetics of PEG(5K), comparable to those determined by direct measurement of radioactivity in blood after intravenous injection of CH(3)-PEG(5K)-(131)I into mice. This quantitative strategy may provide a simple and sensitive method for quantifying PEG and PEGylated small molecules in vivo.

A membrane antibody receptor for noninvasive imaging of gene expression

Monitoring gene expression is important to optimize gene therapy protocols and ensure that the proper tissue distribution is achieved in clinical practice. We developed a noninvasive imaging system based on the expression of artificial antibody receptors to trap hapten-labeled imaging probes. Functional membrane-bound anti-dansyl antibodies (DNS receptor) were stably expressed on melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo. A bivalent (DNS)2-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic 111Indium probe specifically bound to cells that expressed DNS receptors but not control scFv receptors. Importantly, the 111In probe preferentially localized to DNS receptors but not control receptors on tumors in mice as assessed by gamma camera imaging. By 48u2009h after intravenous injection, the uptake of the probe in tumors expressing DNS receptors was 72 times greater than the amount of probe in the blood. This targeting strategy may allow noninvasive assessment of the location, extent and persistence of gene expression in living animals and in the clinic.

Expression of beta-glucuronidase on the surface of bacteria enhances activation of glucuronide prodrugs

Extracellular activation of hydrophilic glucuronide prodrugs by β-glucuronidase (βG) was examined to increase the therapeutic efficacy of bacteria-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (BDEPT). βG was expressed on the surface of Escherichia coli by fusion to either the bacterial autotransporter protein Adhesin (membrane βG (mβG)/AIDA) or the lipoprotein (lpp) outermembrane protein A (mβG/lpp). Both mβG/AIDA and mβG/lpp were expressed on the bacterial surface, but only mβG/AIDA displayed enzymatic activity. The rate of substrate hydrolysis by mβG/AIDA-BL21cells was 2.6-fold greater than by pβG-BL21 cells, which express periplasmic βG. Human colon cancer HCT116 cells that were incubated with mβG/AIDA-BL21 bacteria were sensitive to a glucuronide prodrug (p-hydroxy aniline mustard β-D-glucuronide, HAMG) with an half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 226.53±45.4u2009μM, similar to the IC50 value of the active drug (p-hydroxy aniline mustard, pHAM; 70.6±6.75u2009μM), indicating that mβG/AIDA on BL21 bacteria could rapidly and efficiently convert HAMG to an active anticancer agent. These results suggest that surface display of functional βG on bacteria can enhance the hydrolysis of glucuronide prodrugs and may increase the effectiveness of BDEPT.

Functional Production of a Soluble and Secreted Single-Chain Antibody by a Bacterial Secretion System

Single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) serve as an alternative to full-length monoclonal antibodies used in research and therapeutic and diagnostic applications. However, when recombinant scFvs are overexpressed in bacteria, they often form inclusion bodies and exhibit loss of function. To overcome this problem, we developed an scFv secretion system in which scFv was fused with osmotically inducible protein Y (osmY), a bacterial secretory carrier protein, for efficient protein secretion. Anti-EGFR scFv (αEGFR) was fused with osmY (N- and C-termini) and periplasmic leader sequence (pelB) to generate αEGFR-osmY, osmY-αEGFR, and pelB-αEGFR (control), respectively. In comparison with the control, both the osmY-fused αEGFR scFvs were soluble and secreted into the LB medium. Furthermore, the yield of soluble αEGFR-osmY was 20-fold higher, and the amount of secreted protein was 250-fold higher than that of osmY-αEGFR. In addition, the antigen-binding activity of both the osmY-fused αEGFRs was 2-fold higher than that of the refolded pelB-αEGFR from inclusion bodies. Similar results were observed with αTAG72-osmY and αHer2-osmY. These results suggest that the N-terminus of osmY fused with scFv produces a high yield of soluble, functional, and secreted scFv, and the osmY-based bacterial secretion system may be used for the large-scale industrial production of low-cost αEGFR protein.

PET Imaging of b-Glucuronidase Activity by an Activity-Based 124 I-Trapping Probe for the Personalized Glucuronide Prodrug Targeted Therapy

Beta-glucuronidase (βG) is a potential biomarker for cancer diagnosis and prodrug therapy. The ability to image βG activity in patients would assist in personalized glucuronide prodrug cancer therapy. However, whole-body imaging of βG activity for medical usage is not yet available. Here, we developed a radioactive βG activity–based trapping probe for positron emission tomography (PET). We generated a 124I-tyramine–conjugated difluoromethylphenol beta-glucuronide probe (TrapG) to form 124I-TrapG that could be selectively activated by βG for subsequent attachment of 124I-tyramine to nucleophilic moieties near βG-expressing sites. We estimated the specificity of a fluorescent FITC-TrapG, the cytotoxicity of tyramine-TrapG, and the serum half-life of 124I-TrapG. βG targeting of 124I-TrapG in vivo was examined by micro-PET. The biodistribution of 131I-TrapG was investigated in different organs. Finally, we imaged the endogenous βG activity and assessed its correlation with therapeutic efficacy of 9-aminocamptothecin glucuronide (9ACG) prodrug in native tumors. FITC-TrapG showed specific trapping at βG-expressing CT26 (CT26/mβG) cells but not in CT26 cells. The native TrapG probe possessed low cytotoxicity. 124I-TrapG preferentially accumulated in CT26/mβG but not CT26 cells. Meanwhile, micro-PET and whole-body autoradiography results demonstrated that 124I-TrapG signals in CT26/mβG tumors were 141.4-fold greater than in CT26 tumors. Importantly, Colo205 xenografts in nude mice that express elevated endogenous βG can be monitored by using infrared glucuronide trapping probes (NIR-TrapG) and suppressed by 9ACG prodrug treatment. 124I-TrapG exhibited low cytotoxicity allowing long-term monitoring of βG activity in vivo to aid in the optimization of prodrug targeted therapy. Mol Cancer Ther; 13(12); 2852–63. ©2014 AACR.

High-Throughput Sorting of the Highest Producing Cell via a Transiently Protein-Anchored System

Developing a high-throughput method for the effecient selection of the highest producing cell is very important for the production of recombinant protein drugs. Here, we developed a novel transiently protein-anchored system coupled with fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) for the efficient selection of the highest producing cell. A furin cleavage peptide (RAKR) was used to join a human anti-epithelial growth factor antibody (αEGFR Ab) and the extracellular-transmembrane-cytosolic domains of the mouse B7-1 antigen (B7). The furin inhibitor can transiently switch secreted αEGFR Ab into a membrane-anchored form. After cell sorting, the level of membrane αEGFR Ab-RAKR-B7 is proportional to the amount of secreted αEGFR Ab in the medium. We further selected 23 αEGFR Ab expressing cells and demonstrated a high correlation (R2u200a=u200a0.9165) between the secretion level and surface expression levels of αEGFR Ab. These results suggested that the novel transiently protein-anchored system can easily and efficiently select the highest producing cells, reducing the cost for the production of biopharmaceuticals.

Optimization of an anti-poly(ethylene glycol) (anti-PEG) cell-based capture system to quantify PEG and PEGylated molecules

Sensitive determination of the pharmacokinetics of PEGylated molecules can accelerate the process of drug development. Here, we combined different anti-PEG Fab expressing 293T cells as capture cells (293T/3.3, 293T/6.3, and 293T/15-2b cells) with four detective anti-PEG antibodies (3.3, 6.3, 7A4, or 15-2b) to optimize an anti-PEG cell-based sandwich ELISA. Then, we quantified free PEG (mPEG2K-NH2 and mPEG5K-NH2) or PEG-conjugated small molecules (mPEG5K-biotin and mPEG5K-NIR797), proteins (PegIntron and Pegasys), and nanoparticles (Liposomal-Doxorubicin and quantum-dots). The combination of 293T/15-2b cells and the 7A4 detection antibody was best sensitivity for free PEG, PEG-like molecules, and PEGylated proteins with detection at ng mL-1 levels. On the other hand, 293T/3.3 cells combined with the 15-2b antibody had the highest sensitivity for quantifying Lipo-Dox at 2 ng mL-1. All three types of anti-PEG cells combined with the 15-2b antibody had high sensitivity for quantum dot quantification down to 7 pM. These results suggest that the combination of 293T/15-2b cells and 7A4 detection antibody is the optimal pair for sensitive quantification of free PEG, PEG-like molecules, and PEGylated proteins, whereas the 293T/3.3 cells combined with 15-2b are more suitable for quantifying PEGylated nanoparticles. The optimized anti-PEG cell-based sandwich ELISA can provide a sensitive, precise, and convenient tool for the quantification of a range of PEGylated molecules.

Development of Membrane-Bound GM-CSF and IL-18 as an Effective Tumor Vaccine

The development of effective adjuvant is the key factor to boost the immunogenicity of tumor cells as a tumor vaccine. In this study, we expressed membrane-bound granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) as adjuvants in tumor cells to stimulate immune response. B7 transmembrane domain fused GM-CSF and IL-18 was successfully expressed in the cell membrane and stimulated mouse splenocyte proliferation. Co-expression of GM-CSF and IL-18 reduced tumorigenesis (P<0.05) and enhanced tumor protective efficacy (P<0.05) significantly in comparison with GM-CSF alone. These results indicated that the combination of GM-CSF andIL-18 will enhance the immunogenicity of a cell-based anti-tumor vaccine. This membrane-bound approach can be applied to other cytokines for the development of novel vaccine strategies.