Xiaoyu Yang

Mechanism of Action and Epitopes of Clostridium difficile Toxin B-neutralizing Antibody Bezlotoxumab Revealed by X-ray Crystallography

Background: Bezlotoxumab is a neutralizing antibody targeting toxin B of Clostridium difficile. Results: The structure of bezlotoxumab bound to a fragment of toxin B reveals its epitopes and mechanism of neutralization. Conclusion: The epitopes overlap with two of the presumed carbohydrate binding pockets, preventing binding of the toxin to target host cells. Significance: The data provide a molecular basis for neutralization by this clinically important antibody. The symptoms of Clostridium difficile infections are caused by two exotoxins, TcdA and TcdB, which target host colonocytes by binding to unknown cell surface receptors, at least in part via their combined repetitive oligopeptide (CROP) domains. A combination of the anti-TcdA antibody actoxumab and the anti-TcdB antibody bezlotoxumab is currently under development for the prevention of recurrent C. difficile infections. We demonstrate here through various biophysical approaches that bezlotoxumab binds to specific regions within the N-terminal half of the TcdB CROP domain. Based on this information, we solved the x-ray structure of the N-terminal half of the TcdB CROP domain bound to Fab fragments of bezlotoxumab. The structure reveals that the TcdB CROP domain adopts a β-solenoid fold consisting of long and short repeats and that bezlotoxumab binds to two homologous sites within the CROP domain, partially occluding two of the four putative carbohydrate binding pockets located in TcdB. We also show that bezlotoxumab neutralizes TcdB by blocking binding of TcdB to mammalian cells. Overall, our data are consistent with a model wherein a single molecule of bezlotoxumab neutralizes TcdB by binding via its two Fab regions to two epitopes within the N-terminal half of the TcdB CROP domain, partially blocking the carbohydrate binding pockets of the toxin and preventing toxin binding to host cells.

Developability studies before initiation of process development Improving manufacturability of monoclonal antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies constitute a robust class of therapeutic proteins. Their stability, resistance to stress conditions and high solubility have allowed the successful development and commercialization of over 40 antibody-based drugs. Although mAbs enjoy a relatively high probability of success compared with other therapeutic proteins, examples of projects that are suspended due to the instability of the molecule are not uncommon. Developability assessment studies have therefore been devised to identify early during process development problems associated with stability, solubility that is insufficient to meet expected dosing or sensitivity to stress. This set of experiments includes short-term stability studies at 2−8 þC, 25 þC and 40 þC, freeze-thaw studies, limited forced degradation studies and determination of the viscosity of high concentration samples. We present here three case studies reflecting three typical outcomes: (1) no major or unexpected degradation is found and the study results are used to inform early identification of degradation pathways and potential critical quality attributes within the Quality by Design framework defined by US Food and Drug Administration guidance documents; (2) identification of specific degradation pathway(s) that do not affect potency of the molecule, with subsequent definition of proper process control and formulation strategies; and (3) identification of degradation that affects potency, resulting in program termination and reallocation of resources.

Structure of full-length human anti-PD1 therapeutic IgG4 antibody pembrolizumab

Immunoglobulin G4 antibodies exhibit unusual properties with important biological consequences. We report the structure of the human full-length IgG4 S228P anti-PD1 antibody pembrolizumab, solved to 2.3-Å resolution. Pembrolizumab is a compact molecule, consistent with the presence of a short hinge region. The Fc domain is glycosylated at the CH2 domain on both chains, but one CH2 domain is rotated 120° with respect to the conformation observed in all reported structures to date, and its glycan chain faces the solvent. We speculate that this new conformation is driven by the shorter hinge. The structure suggests a role for the S228P mutation in preventing the IgG4 arm exchange. In addition, this unusual Fc conformation suggests possible structural diversity between IgG subclasses and shows that use of isolated antibody fragments could mask potentially important interactions, owing to molecular flexibility.

Simultaneous monitoring of oxidation, deamidation, isomerization, and glycosylation of monoclonal antibodies by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method with ultrafast tryptic digestion

ABSTRACT Monoclonal antibodies are subjected to a wide variety of post-translational modifications (PTMs) that cause structural heterogeneity. Characterization and control of these modifications or quality attributes are critical to ensure antibody quality and to define any potential effects on the ultimate safety and potency of antibody therapeutics. The biopharmaceutical industry currently uses numerous tools to analyze these quality attributes individually, which requires substantial time and resources. Here, we report a simple and ultrafast bottom-up liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (uLC-MS) method with 5 min tryptic digestion to simultaneously analyze multiple modifications, including oxidation, deamidation, isomerization, glycation, glycosylation, and N-terminal pyro-glutamate formation, which can occur during antibody production in mammalian cell culture, during purification and/or on storage. Compared to commonly used preparation procedures, this uLC-MS method eliminates assay artifacts of falsely-increased Met oxidation, Asp isomerization, and Asn deamidation, a problem associated with long digestion times in conventional LC-MS methods. This simple, low artifact multi-attribute uLC-MS method can be used to quickly and accurately analyze samples at any stage of antibody drug development, in particular for clone and media selection during cell culture development.

Analysis and purification of IgG4 bispecific antibodies by a mixed-mode chromatography.

Therapeutic non-hinge-modified IgG4 molecules form bispecific hybrid antibodies with endogenous human IgG4 molecules via a process known as Fab-arm exchange (or called half molecule exchange). Analysis of the bispecific hybrids is critical for studies of half molecule exchange. A number of analytical methods are available to detect IgG4 hybrids. These methods mostly necessitate labeling or alteration of the model IgG4 molecules, or rely on time-consuming immunoassays and mass spectrometry. In addition, these methods do not allow isolation of hybrid antibodies. We report here the only analytical method to date that relies on chromatographic separation for detection of hybrids formed from intact antibodies in their native forms using pembrolizumab as an example. This method employs a mixed-mode chromatography using a Sepax Zenix SEC-300 column to separate a bispecific hybrid from the parental antibodies. The simultaneous quantitative monitoring of the newly formed hybrid and parental antibodies was achieved by UV absorption and/or protein fluorescence. The bispecific hybrid antibodies were purified with the same method for further biochemical characterization. The method has allowed monitoring of half molecule exchange between a human serum IgG4 and a tested IgG4 molecule, and has been implemented for the analysis of in vitro as well as in vivo samples.

Enlarging the repertoire of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies platforms: domesticating half molecule exchange to produce stable IgG4 and IgG1 bispecific antibodies

Half molecule exchange is the process whereby two IgG4 molecules exchange a heavy chain-light chain unit to form a new IgG4 entity with specificity towards two different antigens. While this unique property of IgG4 molecules confers anti-inflammatory properties in nature, it is not a desirable feature for a therapeutic mAb. Engineering of the IgG4 hinge region making it resemble that of an IgG1 is sufficient to dramatically reduce half molecule exchange in vitro and in vivo. The S228P modification of the hinge confers pharmaceutical properties to IgG4 equivalent to those of standard IgG1, while retaining the inability to trigger ADCC and CDC. Application of the molecular precepts underlying half molecule exchange between IgG4 molecules to IgG1 scaffolds offers the possibility to produce bispecific antibodies in vitro.

Epitopes and Mechanism of Action of the Clostridium difficile Toxin A-Neutralizing Antibody Actoxumab

The exotoxins toxin A (TcdA) and toxin B (TcdB) are produced by the bacterial pathogen Clostridium difficile and are responsible for the pathology associated with C. difficile infection (CDI). The antitoxin antibodies actoxumab and bezlotoxumab bind to and neutralize TcdA and TcdB, respectively. Bezlotoxumab was recently approved by the FDA for reducing the recurrence of CDI. We have previously shown that a single molecule of bezlotoxumab binds to two distinct epitopes within the TcdB combined repetitive oligopeptide (CROP) domain, preventing toxin binding to host cells. In this study, we characterize the binding of actoxumab to TcdA and examine its mechanism of toxin neutralization. Using a combination of approaches including a number of biophysical techniques, we show that there are two distinct actoxumab binding sites within the CROP domain of TcdA centered on identical amino acid sequences at residues 2162-2189 and 2410-2437. Actoxumab binding caused the aggregation of TcdA especially at higher antibody:toxin concentration ratios. Actoxumab prevented the association of TcdA with target cells demonstrating that actoxumab neutralizes toxin activity by inhibiting the first step of the intoxication cascade. This mechanism of neutralization is similar to that observed with bezlotoxumab and TcdB. Comparisons of the putative TcdA epitope sequences across several C. difficile ribotypes and homologous repeat sequences within TcdA suggest a structural basis for observed differences in actoxumab binding and/or neutralization potency. These data provide a mechanistic basis for the protective effects of the antibody in vitro and in vivo, including in various preclinical models of CDI.

High throughput peptide mapping method for analysis of site specific monoclonal antibody oxidation.

Oxidation of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) often occurs on surface exposed methionine and tryptophan residues during their production in cell culture, purification, and storage, and can potentially impact the binding to their targets. Characterization of site specific oxidation is critical for antibody quality control. Antibody oxidation is commonly determined by peptide mapping/LC-MS methods, which normally require a long (up to 24h) digestion step. The prolonged sample preparation procedure could result in oxidation artifacts of susceptible methionine and tryptophan residues. In this paper, we developed a rapid and simple UV based peptide mapping method that incorporates an 8-min trypsin in-solution digestion protocol for analysis of oxidation. This method is able to determine oxidation levels at specific residues of a mAb based on the peptide UV traces within <1h, from either TBHP treated or UV light stressed samples. This is the simplest and fastest method reported thus far for site specific oxidation analysis, and can be applied for routine or high throughput analysis of mAb oxidation during various stability and degradation studies. By using the UV trace, the method allows more accurate measurement than mass spectrometry and can be potentially implemented as a release assay. It has been successfully used to monitor antibody oxidation in real time stability studies.

Analysis of monoclonal antibody oxidation by simple mixed mode chromatography.

Analysis of oxidation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in most cases relies on peptide mapping and LC-MS, which is time consuming and labor-intensive. A robust chromatography based method that is able to resolve and quantitate mAb oxidation variants due to oxidized methionine or tryptophan is highly desired. Here we developed a novel mixed mode chromatography method using the unique property of Sepax Zenix SEC-300MK column to analyze mAb oxidation levels. The separation of oxidized species relied upon the mixed mode of size exclusion and hydrophobic interaction between the resin and antibodies. The chromatography was performed in a regular SEC mobile phase, PBS, containing NaCl at a concentration (0-2.4M) specific for individual antibodies. This method was able to resolve and quantitate the oxidized antibodies as prepeaks, of either methionine-oxidized species induced by the common oxidants TBHP, tryptophan-oxidized species triggered by AAPH, or oxidized species by UV photo-irradiation. The prepeaks were further characterized by SEC-MALLS as monomers and confirmed by LC-MS as oxidized antibody variants with a mass increase of 16 or 32Da. This method has been successfully applied to monitor multiple monoclonal antibodies of IgG1, IgG2, and IgG4 subclasses.

Ultrafast and high-throughput N-glycan analysis for monoclonal antibodies

ABSTRACT Glycosylation is a critical attribute for development and manufacturing of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in the pharmaceutical industry. Conventional antibody glycan analysis is usually achieved by the 2-aminobenzamide (2-AB) hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) method following the release of glycans. Although this method produces satisfactory results, it has limited use for screening a large number of samples because it requires expensive reagents and takes several hours or even days for the sample preparation. A simple and rapid glycan analysis method was not available. To overcome these constraints, we developed and compared 2 ultrafast methods for antibody glycan analysis (UMAG) that involve the rapid generation and purification of glycopeptides in either organic solvent or aqueous buffer followed by label-free quantification using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. Both methods quickly yield N-glycan profiles of test antibodies similar to those obtained by the 2-AB HILIC-HPLC method. In addition, the UMAG method performed in aqueous buffer has a shorter assay time of less than 15 min, and enables high throughput analysis in 96-well PCR plates with minimal sample handling. This method, the fastest, and simplest as reported thus far, has been evaluated for glycoprofiling of mAbs expressed under various cell culture conditions, as well as for the evaluation of antibody culture clones and various production batches. Importantly the method sensitively captured changes in glycoprofiles detected by traditional 2-AB HILIC-HPLC or HILIC-UPLC. The simplicity, high speed, and low cost of this method may facilitate basic research and process development for novel mAbs and biosimilar products.