蛋白多肽类药物长效化技术研究策略

多肽/蛋白质类药物普遍存在体内半衰期短的问题,使其应用受到了限制。近年来,蛋白质半衰期的研究取得了很大的进展,许多技术已经被提出并测试延长治疗性蛋白的作用时间,如与其他蛋白基因融合(免疫球蛋白域或血清蛋白,如白蛋白)、与聚合物结合(PEG化修饰、聚唾液酸化、HEP化等)。这些技术主要基于本身较长的半衰期及循环机制调控以延长多肽/蛋白质类药物的半衰期。针对上述的多种长效化方式及相关产品进行了综述与讨论,以期为此类药物的长效化研究提供思路。     

天然多糖作为蛋白质药物化学修饰剂的研究进展

蛋白质工程和基因工程技术的迅速发展迎来了蛋白质类药物的新时代。然而,蛋白质药物稳定性差、体内半衰期短且常具有免疫原性,极大限制了其临床治疗效果。目前,研究人员发展了多种策略改造蛋白质分子,其中以利用聚合物进行化学修饰发展最为迅速,并推动多种聚乙二醇修饰的蛋白质药物上市。天然多糖是构成生命体的大分子物质之一,与聚乙二醇类似,高相对分子质量的多糖可以赋予蛋白质类药物延长的半衰期、更高稳定性及更低免疫原性。另一方面,多糖修饰还可以提高蛋白质药物的靶向性、入胞能力,协同发挥多糖自身的抗凝、抗肿瘤和抗氧化等活性。本文对蛋白质药物的多糖修饰研究进展进行综述。     

蛋白药物的聚乙二醇定点修饰策略与最佳位点

聚乙二醇修饰是一种改善蛋白质药物临床药效行之有效的方法。聚乙二醇修饰具有延长蛋白质药物在体内的半衰期、降低免疫原性和延缓蛋白酶降解、提高稳定性和溶解性等优点。而聚乙二醇的定点修饰由于能够获得均一性和高活性保留率的产物,并能提高产率,已经引起了广泛关注。综述了近年来聚乙二醇定点修饰蛋白质药物方面的研究进展,着重介绍了聚乙二醇定点修饰的策略及最佳修饰位点,并对聚乙二醇定点修饰技术的发展趋势进行了展望。     

人t-PA溶栓突变体的研究进展

人t-PA在机体循环中的纤溶系统中起重要作用,是一种内源性溶血栓因子,t-PA蛋白分子可直接用于溶栓治疗,但天然的t-PA分子在体内半衰期短,极最被清除,因而限制其广泛应用,根据它的结构特点而改造的一系列t-PA变体分子将成为新一代溶栓药物,在溶栓治疗中广泛应用。     

反义核酸技术应用难点及研究进展

反义核酸技术已被广泛用于治疗药物、药物靶点确认、探知病理基因的表达。目前对其作用原理的研究集中于其被吸收入细胞的机制、在细胞内的分布、反义核酸序列的最佳长度和性质,并针对体内可能抑制反义核酸活性的影响因素,采取了各种相应的反义核酸优化技术,如对反义核酸的化学修饰、联结高效的转运载体、确定最佳的反义结合位点等,通过这些技术来提高其体内稳定性、跨细胞转运的效率,识别靶序列的特异性,以获得更多更好的反义药物投入实用。     

肿瘤治疗中细胞因子递送策略的研究进展

细胞因子多数是由机体免疫细胞和某些非免疫细胞产生的,对细胞的生长、增殖、分化均有调节作用的一类具有生物活性的蛋白质。在肿瘤治疗中,细胞因子作为一种蛋白质药物,具有体内半衰期短、全身毒副作用大等特点,因而选择细胞因子递送策略时需考虑以上因素。文章简要介绍了几种常见的细胞因子,并综述了近年来在肿瘤治疗中细胞因子递送策略的研究进展。     

蛋白质药物的聚乙二醇修饰

聚乙二醇被广泛应用于蛋白质药物的化学修饰,修饰后的蛋白质药物的性质发生多方面变化,如:增加了此类药物的溶解度和稳定性,耐酶水解的能力增强,减弱或消除免疫原性,增加药物在体内的半衰期等。近年来,聚乙二醇修饰剂的种类和修饰方法发展较快,蛋白质分子上的氨基、巯基、羧基均成为化学修饰的研究对象。本文综述了聚乙二醇修饰的原理与方法,修饰方法的比较与优化,修饰后产品的鉴定与检测。     

长效多肽药物研究进展

重组蛋白药物在体内存留时间的长短,极大地影响到药物的使用剂量和治疗效果。防止多肽在体内迅速降解、延长半衰期成为蛋白质工程药物改造的重要课题之一。经过许多学者多年来的不懈研究,不少长效多肽药物已经上市,还有一些正在进行临床研究。综述了几种多肽药物常用的长效改造方法如化学修饰、基因融合、点突变以及药物制剂释放系统的改造。     

长效化融合蛋白药物及其药动学分析技术的研究进展

融合蛋白技术应用于生物制药行业已超过25年,其目的为改善原来天然蛋白的性质,从而具有新的理化特征和生物学功能,其中最为显著的特点是改善了小分子蛋白及多肽半衰期短的缺陷。基于该技术所诞生的融合蛋白类药物已成为当前生物药研发的热点。结合已上市融合蛋白类药物,通过与传统多肽蛋白类药物比较,重点突出融合蛋白类药物自身特点,主要从融合抗体Fc段和人血清白蛋白以延长小分子蛋白及多肽半衰期的角度对融合蛋白药物长效化策略进行评述;对融合蛋白类药物在体内的吸收、分布、代谢和排泄的显著特征进行概述;综述该类药物在体内的分析技术并指出当前分析技术的优缺点及发展方向,为长效化融合蛋白药物的设计、分析研究与开发提供依据和思路。     

人干扰素α2b和IgG Fc片段融合蛋白显著延长体内半衰期

重组人干扰素α(rHuIFNα)已被广泛用于临床治疗多种人类病毒性疾病和肿瘤。但IFNα在体内半衰期较短从而导致IFNα在用药后数小时即从血浆中被清除。目前常用化学修饰和构建融合蛋白的方法来延长IFNα的半衰期。在本研究中, 构建了IFNα2b与人IgG免疫球蛋白Fc片段的融合基因(IFNα2b-Fcγ)并在毕赤酵母中以二聚体形式分泌表达, 并有部分糖基化。不同亚型Fcγ片段的融合蛋白对IFNα2b抗病毒活性均有一定影响。其中IFNα2b-Fcγ2所受影响最小, 较单纯的IFNα2b降低了2.3倍, 抗病毒活性可达4.29x107 IU/mg, 大鼠皮下注射后循环血液中半衰期达65 h, 血液中存留时间120 h以上, 比商品重组干扰素的体内半衰期延长约8倍, 血液存留时间延长10倍, 显示了其良好的临床应用 前景。     

Longer action means better drug: tuning up protein therapeutics

An increasing number of proteins are currently available on the market as therapeutics and this branch of the pharmaceutical industry will expand substantially during the coming years. As many diseases result from dysfunction of proteins forming multicomponent complexes, protein drugs with their inherent high specificity and affinity seem to be optimal medical agents. On the other hand, proteins are often highly instable and sensitive to degradation, which questions their applicability as effective therapeutics. Therefore, redesign and engineering of proteins is usually a required step in the present day drug development.Several approaches have been applied to optimize the protein properties central to their pharmaceutical use. This review focuses on different strategies that improve two crucial factors influencing protein drug efficiency: protein stability and its in vivo half-life. We provide examples of successful genetic and chemical modifications applied in the design of effective protein therapeutics.     

A comparison of apparent mRNA half-life using kinetic labeling techniques vs decay following administration of transcriptional inhibitors.

Several different techniques were used to determine the apparent half-lives of immunoglobulin gamma 2b heavy chain and kappa light chain mRNA's in mouse myeloma 4T001 and a mutant derived from 4T001, i.e., mutant I17. The mutant I17 Ig heavy chain mRNA lacks CH1 and has fused CH2 and CH3 domains resulting in a truncated protein. By all four techniques the Ig heavy chain mRNA from mutant I17 displays a half-life that is approximately 70% the half-life of Ig mRNA in 4T001 cells. However, the absolute values of apparent half-life varied by greater than twofold for both lines among several of the techniques employed. The half-life of Ig gamma 2b mRNA in 4T001 cells was found to be 6.4 h by measuring decay following administration of the adenosine analog DRB to block new mRNA synthesis and 5.7 hr by measuring accumulation in an approach to steady-state labeling protocol. In contrast, the observed Ig mRNA half-lives determined by measuring decay following administration of actinomycin D to block new mRNA synthesis, or in a pulse-chase analysis were 2.9 and 3.8 h, respectively. The apparent half-life for Ig kappa light chain mRNA was the same in the 4T001 and I17 lines using any one technique but the value varied depending on the technique from a high value of 5.9 h following DRB to a low value of 2.4 h with actinomycin decay. Approach to steady-state is theoretically the most accurate method to measure mRNA half-life when that value is less than the doubling time of the cells. Pulse-chase analyses are accurate for measuring mRNA half-life when that value is longer than the effective chase period. Measuring preformed message decay following administration of drugs to block new mRNA synthesis is adaptable over a range of half-lives, but the cells must be shown to retain correct RNA metabolism over the time frame of the experiment. Determining a correct half-life for a particular mRNA may not be feasible using only one method and may, in fact, require several different approaches until a consensus value emerges.     

Albumin as a versatile platform for drug half-life extension

Background

Albumin is the most abundant plasma protein, is highly soluble, very stable and has an extraordinarily long circulatory half-life as a direct result of its size and interaction with the FcRn mediated recycling pathway. In contrast, many therapeutic molecules are smaller than the renal filtration threshold and are rapidly lost from the circulation thereby limiting their therapeutic potential. Albumin can be used in a variety of ways to increase the circulatory half-life of such molecules.

Scope of review

This article will review the mechanisms which underpin albumin's extraordinarily long circulatory half-life and how the understanding of these processes are currently being employed to extend the circulatory half-life of drugs which can be engineered to bind to albumin, or are conjugated to, or genetically fused to, albumin.

Major conclusions

The recent and growing understanding of the pivotal role of FcRn in maintaining the extended circulatory half-life of albumin will necessitate a greater and more thorough investigation of suitable pre-clinical model systems for assessing the pharmacokinetic profiles of drugs associated, conjugated or fused to albumin.

General significance

Association, conjugation or fusion of therapeutic drugs to albumin is a well-accepted and established half-life extension technology. The manipulation of the albumin–FcRn interaction will facilitate the modulation of the circulatory half-life of albumin-enabled drugs, leading to superior pharmacokinetics tailored to the disease state and increased patient compliance. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Serum Albumin.     

Comparative pharmacokinetics of three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in five bird species

Information on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of anti-inflammatory drugs in birds is scarce. Choice of drug and of dosage is usually empirical, since studies of anti-inflammatory drugs are lacking. In this study, three common veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were administered intravenously to five different bird species. Sodium salicylate, flunixin and meloxicam were selected as anti-inflammatory drugs. These NSAIDs were administered intravenously to chickens (Gallus gallus), ostriches (Struthio camelus), ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) and pigeons (Columba livia). Plasma concentrations of the drugs were determined by validated high-performance liquid chromatography methods and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated. Most bird species exhibited rapid elimination of these drugs. Ostriches had the fastest elimination rate for all three NSAIDs, but there were some interesting species differences. Chickens had a half-life that was approximately 10-fold as long as the other bird species for flunixin. The half-life of chickens and pigeons was three-fold as long as the other bird species for meloxicam, and, for salicylic acid, the half-life in pigeons was at least three-five-fold longer than in the other bird species.     

Metabolism of 35S-labelled Antithyroid Drugs in Man

Differences in the metabolic fate of antithyroid drugs influence the optimal frequency of administration and their therapeutic efficacy. ³⁵S propylthiouracil differed from the ³⁵S imidazoles (carbimazole and methimazole) in the more rapid absorption and excretion and the shorter biological half-life in the plasma of the former. Renal function may have a more important influence on the biological half-life of the drugs than thyroid status. Further work is required to determine the optimal frequency of administration for each compound.     

Antibody buffering in the brain

The efficacy of chemotherapy on brain tumors is often hindered by the presence of the blood brain barrier. This barrier keeps many systemically administered substances from entering the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), while allowing intrathecally administered drugs free passage out of that compartment. Therefore, achieving a therapeutic concentration of a cell cycle inhibitor in the CSF for a time long enough to have a cytotoxic effect on slow-growing tumor cells has proven difficult. The ability of an antibody to prolong ligand half-life and bioactivity has been previously described occurring in the plasma. This phenomenon has not yet been described or exploited for use in the CSF compartment. Antibodies often have a longer residence time in the CSF than small-molecule drugs, so antibody buffering, administration of a drug with its specific antibody, can prolong the bioactive lifetime of a drug in the CSF. Here we describe antibody buffering of the small molecule hapten 2-phenyl-oxazol-5-one-methylene-gamma-amino butyrate in the CSF of a rats. Not only does the presence of an antibody buffer increase the half-life of both total and free hapten in the CSF, but the antibody can be re-charged in situ with fresh hapten, even days after the initial antibody infusion. Antibody buffering may provide a viable option for delivering a stable, bio-available concentration of a drug that is normally rapidly eliminated from the CSF.     

Improving therapeutic properties of protein drugs through alteration of intracellular trafficking pathways

Although intracellular trafficking processes can play a central role in the physiological function of a protein, these same processes can also limit the benefit of the protein when it is taken out of its physiological context and used as a protein drug. Therefore, the properties of certain protein drugs may be improved by manipulating their trafficking pathways to suit their therapeutic function. A detailed consideration of the factors that govern how protein traffic is routed among different cellular destinations can be used to ascertain molecular design criteria for engineering a protein drug so as to alter its trafficking pathway in a beneficial manner. In this review, we summarize studies that have applied this approach to achieve the following three improvements in protein drug function: (1) half-life extension of the Fc fragment of IgG, (2) half-life extension of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and (3) increase in cellular association of transferrin.     

Changing single side-chains can greatly enhance the resistance of a membrane protein to irreversible inactivation.

The thermal inactivation rates of a set of 20 cysteine-substituted variants of the integral membrane protein diacylglycerol kinase were measured. Two of the mutations, I53C and I70C, were found to significantly prolong the half-life of the enzyme in detergent solution. By combining the single mutants to create a double mutant, I53C/I70C, the half-life of the enzyme was improved from less than a minute at 70 degrees C to 51 minutes. These results demonstrate that individual side-chain substitutions can significantly improve the properties of membrane proteins in detergent solution.