A hingeless Fc fusion system for site-specific cleavage by IdeS

Fusion of proteins to the Fc region of IgG is widely used to express cellular receptors and other extracellular proteins, but cleavage of the fusion partner is sometimes required for downstream applications. Immunoglobulin G-degrading enzyme of Streptococcus pyogenes (IdeS) is a protease with exquisite specificity for human IgG, and it can also cleave Fc-fusion proteins at a single site in the N-terminal region of the CH2 domain. However, the site of IdeS cleavage results in the disulfide-linked hinge region partitioning with the released protein, complicating downstream usage of the cleaved product. To tailor the Fc fragment for release of partner proteins by IdeS treatment, we investigated the effect of deleting regions of IgG-derived sequence that are upstream of the cleavage site. Elimination of the IgG-derived hinge sequence along with several residues of the CH2 domain had negligible effects on expression and purity of the fusion protein, while retaining efficient processing by IdeS. An optimal Fc fragment comprising residues 235–447 of the human IgG1 heavy chain sufficed for efficient production of fusion proteins and minimized the amount of residual Ig-derived sequence on the cleavage product following IdeS treatment. Pairing of this truncated Fc fragment with IdeS cleavage enables highly specific cleavage of Fc-fusion proteins, thus eliminating the need to engineer extraneous cleavage sequences. This system should be helpful for producing Fc-fusion proteins requiring downstream cleavage, particularly those that are sensitive to internal miscleavage if treated with alternative proteases.     

Enzymatic characterization of the streptococcal endopeptidase, IdeS, reveals that it is a cysteine protease with strict specificity for IgG cleavage due to exosite binding

Streptococcus pyogenes, an important pathogen in humans, secretes an IgG specific endopeptidase named IdeS. To elucidate the mechanism that is responsible for this specificity, we have here characterized the activity of IdeS in detail. Both gamma chains of human IgG or its Fc fragment were cleaved in the hinge region after Gly236 by IdeS, but other proteins or synthetic peptides containing sequences such as the P(4)-P(1) segment in the IgG cleavage site, or long peptides resembling the IgG hinge, were not hydrolyzed at all. This is likely due to a second binding site interacting with the Fc part of IgG. The lack of IdeS activity on peptide substrates necessitated the development of an assay with IgG as the substrate for kinetic studies. IdeS showed a sigmoidal velocity curve at physiological IgG concentrations, and a declining enzyme rate at higher IgG concentrations. This atypical velocity curve suggests product inhibition and/or allosteric control, which again indicates the presence of an exosite involved in substrate binding. The pseudoequilibrium constant for IdeS hydrolysis of IgG was 90 microM. The enzyme exhibited activity in the pH range of 5.1-7.6, with an optimum at pH 6.6. IdeS was stable above pH 10 but not at acidic pH. It exhibited an activity maximum around 37 degrees C and a decreased thermal stability at 42 degrees C. Iodoacetate and iodoacetamide inhibited IdeS, as expected for a cysteine protease, and biochemical evidence verified this classification. E-64 and chicken cystatin, specific inhibitors of family C1 and C13 cysteine proteases, were without effect on enzyme activity, as were class specific serine, aspartic, and metallo protease inhibitors. No significant similarities were found in protein sequence comparisons with known enzyme families, suggesting that IdeS represents a novel family of cysteine proteases.     

Recognition of IgG by Fcgamma receptor. The role of Fc glycosylation and the binding of peptide inhibitors

Recently determined crystal structures of the complex between immunoglobulin constant regions (Fc) and their Fc-respective receptors (FcR) have revealed the detailed molecular interactions of this receptor-ligand pair. Of particular interest is the contribution of a glycosylation at Asn(297) of the C(H)2 domain of IgG to receptor recognition. The carbohydrate moieties are found outside the receptor.Fc interface in all receptor.Fc complex structures. To understand the role of glycosylation in FcR recognition, the receptor affinities of a deglycosylated IgG1 and its Fc fragment were determined by solution binding studies using surface plasmon resonance. The removal of carbohydrates resulted in a non-detectable receptor binding to the Fc alone and a 15- to 20-fold reduction of the receptor binding to IgG1, suggesting that the carbohydrates are important in the function of the FcgammaRIII. Structurally, the carbohydrates attached to Asn(297) fill the cavity between the C(H)2 domains of Fc functioning equivalently as a hydrophobic core. This may stabilize a favorable lower hinge conformation for the receptor binding. The structure of the complex also revealed the dominance of the lower hinge region in receptor.Fc recognition. To evaluate the potential of designing small molecular ligands to inhibit the receptor function, four lower hinge peptides were investigated for their ability to bind to the receptor FcgammaRIII. These peptides bind specifically to FcgammaRIII with affinities 20- to 100-fold lower than IgG1 and are able to compete with Fc in receptor binding. The results of peptide binding illustrate new ways of designing therapeutic compounds to block Fc receptor activation.     

System for cleavable Fc fusion proteins using tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease

We describe a novel Fc fusion protein system that can be cleaved by tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease. This system is desirable because it takes advantage of the high specificity of TEV protease and its activity at 4 degrees C. We produced two TEV-Fc fusion proteins that contain the first three Ig domains and all six Ig domains of the cell adhesion molecule L1. Both proteins were efficiently cleaved by TEV protease at 4 degrees C. Functional analysis of the cleavage products in neurite outgrowth assays showed they had similar activities to their parental Fc fusion proteins. Therefore, TEV-Fc fusion proteins may increase the utility and flexibility of the Fc fusion protein system.     

Human Fc gamma RI and Fc gamma RII interact with distinct but overlapping sites on human IgG.

Cellular receptors for IgG (Fc gamma R) mediate important protective functions. By using site-specific mutants of a chimeric antibody (mouse V H domain and L chain; human IgG3 C H domains), we have demonstrated that human Fc gamma RI interacts with a site in the lower hinge of human IgG (residues 234 to 237) and that this interaction dictates Fc gamma RI-mediated superoxide generation. Mutations at position 235 resulted in the most profound reductions in Fc gamma RI recognition. We have also mapped an interaction site for Fc gamma RII to the same region; however, mutations at position 234 and 237 resulted in the greatest reductions in Fc gamma RII recognition. The two receptors appear to recognize overlapping but nonidentical sites on the lower hinge of IgG. Deviations from the optimal motif 234-Leu-Leu-Gly-Gly-237 may then explain the human IgG subclass specificity profile for human Fc gamma RI and Fc gamma RII.     

Pharmacokinetic properties of IgG and various Fc fusion proteins in mice

Fusion to an IgG Fc region is an established strategy to extend the half-life of therapeutic proteins. Most Fc fusion proteins, however, do not achieve the long half-life of IgGs. Based on findings that scFv-Fc fusion proteins exhibit a shorter half-life than the corresponding IgG molecules, we performed a comparative study of different antibody-derived Fc fusion proteins. We could confirm that fusion of single-chain Fv (scFv) and single-chain diabody (scDb) molecules to an Fc region yields in fusion proteins with substantially extended half-lives compared with the single-chain versions. However, even fusion proteins with a size similar to that of IgG, e.g., scDb-Fc, did not have a half-life as long as an IgG molecule. Binding to the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) under acidic and neutral conditions was similar for IgG and all Fc fusion proteins. However, we observed differences between IgG and the Fc fusion proteins for dissociation of FcRn-bound proteins induced by shifting from acidic to neutral pH, reflecting the physiological release mechanism, further supporting a contribution of the kinetics of pH-dependent release from FcRn to the pharmacokinetic properties of IgG and Fc fusion proteins.     

半胱氨酸蛋白酶IdeS的原核表达、纯化及活性鉴定

酿脓链球菌来源的免疫球蛋白G降解酶 (immunoglubulin G-degrading enzyme of Streptococcus pyogenes, IdeS) 是一种典型的半胱氨酸水解酶,可以在抗体铰链区的特定位点进行酶切,使IgG水解为完整的 F(ab)₂片段和Fc片段,由于其独特的酶活特异性和高活性,IdeS可以作为工具酶应用于IgG的亚单位制备、结构分析及表征分析.利用双标签 (GST-tag及His₆-tag) 表达系统在E.coli中高效表达了可溶性重组蛋白酶GST-IdeS-His₆,并在IdeS的氨基端与GST之间加上肠激酶酶切位点,以利于标签的去除.再利用亲和层析的纯化方法对目的蛋白进行纯化.使用SDS-PAGE、HPLC-SEC、LC-MS对纯化后的IdeS进行分析和鉴定.结果表明:本系统所表达的蛋白酶IdeS得率高,每1L菌液纯化可获得约25mg纯度为90%以上的蛋白酶IdeS,将此蛋白酶与抗体IgG以1:100 (m/m) 比例混合,于37℃反应30min,即可酶切完全.能够满足蛋白质结构分析中对蛋白酶的高质量要求,并且适用于抗体类药物的表征分析.同时,蛋白酶IdeS也可以应用于生物仿制药、生物改良药和新一代抗体以及Fc-融合蛋白的研究.     

Antigen binding allosterically promotes Fc receptor recognition

A key question in immunology is whether antigen recognition and Fc receptor (FcR) binding are allosterically linked. This question is also relevant for therapeutic antibody design. Antibody Fab and Fc domains are connected by flexible unstructured hinge region. Fc chains have conserved glycosylation sites at Asn297, with each conjugated to a core heptasaccharide and forming biantennary Fc glycan. The glycans modulate the Fc conformations and functions. It is well known that the antibody Fab and Fc domains and glycan affect antibody activity, but whether these elements act independently or synergistically is still uncertain. We simulated four antibody complexes: free antibody, antigen-bound antibody, FcR-bound antibody, and an antigen-antibody-FcR complex. We found that, in the antibody’s “T/Y” conformation, the glycans, and the Fc domain all respond to antigen binding, with the antibody population shifting to two dominant clusters, both with the Fc-receptor binding site open. The simulations reveal that the Fc-glycan-receptor complexes also segregate into two conformational clusters, one corresponding to the antigen-free antibody-FcR baseline binding, and the other with an antigen-enhanced antibody-FcR interaction. Our study confirmed allosteric communications in antibody-antigen recognition and following FcR activation. Even though we observed allosteric communications through the IgG domains, the most important mechanism that we observed is the communication via population shift, stimulated by antigen binding and propagating to influence FcR recognition.     

Fc 融合蛋白在药学领域的研究进展

Fc 融合蛋白是指利用基因工程等技术将某种具有生物活性的功能蛋白分子与Fc 片段融合而产生的新型重组蛋白,其不仅保留了功能蛋白分子的生物学活性,还具有一些抗体的性质,如通过结合相关Fc 受体延长半衰期和引发抗体依赖细胞介导的细胞毒性效应等。对Fc融合蛋白及其在药学领域的研究进展进行了综述。     

The IgG Fc contains distinct Fc receptor (FcR) binding sites: the leukocyte receptors Fc gamma RI and Fc gamma RIIa bind to a region in the Fc distinct from that recognized by neonatal FcR and protein A

The CH2-CH3 interface of the IgG Fc domain contains the binding sites for a number of Fc receptors including Staphylococcal protein A and the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). It has recently been proposed that the CH2-CH3 interface also contains the principal binding site for an isoform of the low affinity IgG Fc receptor II (Fc gamma RIIb). The Fc gamma RI and Fc gamma RII binding sites have previously been mapped to the lower hinge and the adjacent surface of the CH2 domain although contributions of the CH2-CH3 interface to binding have been suggested. This study addresses the question whether the CH2-CH3 interface plays a role in the interaction of IgG with Fc gamma RI and Fc gamma RIIa. We demonstrate that recombinant soluble murine Fc gamma RI and human Fc gamma RIIa did not compete with protein A and FcRn for binding to IgG, and that the CH2-CH3 interface therefore appears not to be involved in Fc gamma RI and Fc gamma RIIa binding. The importance of the lower hinge was confirmed by introducing mutations in the proposed binding site (LL234,235AA) which abrogated binding of recombinant soluble Fc gamma RIIa to human IgG1. We conclude that the lower hinge and the adjacent region of the CH2 domain of IgG Fc is critical for the interaction between Fc gamma RIIa and human IgG, whereas contributions of the CH2-CH3 interface appear to be insignificant.     

Antibody-drug conjugate model fast characterization by LC-MS following IdeS proteolytic digestion

Here we report the design and production of an antibody-fluorophore conjugate (AFC) as a non-toxic model of an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). This AFC is based on the conjugation of dansyl sulfonamide ethyl amine (DSEA)-linker maleimide on interchain cysteines of trastuzumab used as a reference antibody. The resulting AFC was first characterized by routine analytical methods (SEC, SDS-PAGE, CE-SDS, HIC and native MS), resulting in similar chromatograms, electropherograms and mass spectra to those reported for hinge Cys-linked ADCs. IdeS digestion of the AFC was then performed, followed by reduction and analysis by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry analysis. Dye loading and distribution on light chain and Fd fragments were calculated, as well as the average dye to antibody ratio (DAR) for both monomeric and multimeric species. In addition, by analyzing the Fc fragment in the same run, full glyco-profiling and demonstration of the absence of additional conjugation was easily achieved.

As for naked antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins, IdeS proteolytic digestion may rapidly become a reference analytical method at all stages of ADC discovery, preclinical and clinical development. The method can be routinely used for comparability assays, formulation, process scale-up and transfer, and to define critical quality attributes in a quality-by-design approach.     

Immunoglobulin cleavage by the streptococcal cysteine protease IdeS can be detected using protein G capture and mass spectrometry

The immunoglobulin degrading enzyme of Streptococcus pyogenes, IdeS, is an unusual cysteine protease produced by group A streptococci for which the only known substrate is immunoglobulin G (IgG). To date, IdeS has not been found to cleave any of the known synthetic substrates that other cysteine proteases hydrolyse, thus making the development of an IdeS detection assay difficult. Furthermore, at high doses of substrate, product generation is inhibited potentially due to the need for a dimeric enzyme complex with IgG. In this study we have developed a mass spectral assay for IdeS activity based on the detection of an Mr approximately 25,300 Fc fragment that retains the ability to bind streptococcal protein G. Using this assay procedure, evidence for a multimeric enzyme-substrate complex was obtained as well as identifying isolated heavy chains as a non-substrate inhibitor of IdeS activity. Under appropriate experimental conditions the assay could be used to detect IdeS activity in bacterial culture media or in human plasma without a requirement for purified reactants. The availability of a rapid and sensitive assay for IdeS should facilitate the detailed biochemical characterization of this unusual bacterial cysteine protease.     

BLyS受体TACI、BCMA与人IgG1 Fc融合蛋白在哺乳动物细胞中的表达与鉴定

从人肝脏和肾脏cDNA文库中扩增了人IgG1Fc与B淋巴细胞刺激因子 (BLyS)的受体TACI及BCMA的胞外编码区 ,构建了TACI Fc及BCMA Fc融合表达质粒pSec1 Fc TACI与 pSec1 Fc BCMA ,并使用电穿孔法转染COS 7细胞 ,从 1L无血清培养上清中可纯化得到分泌表达的TACI Fc与BCMA Fc融合蛋白约 2mg。为获得TACI Fc与BCMA Fc的稳定来源 ,构建了TACI Fc与BCMA Fc的CHO稳定表达细胞株。免疫沉淀和ELISA结果显示 ,TACI Fc及BCMA Fc能特异性地结合其配体BLyS而不与BLyS同家族的TNF结合。TACI Fc及BCMA Fc可阻断BLyS对体外培养的小鼠B淋巴细胞的促增殖作用     

Antibody-drug conjugate model fast characterization by LC-MS following IdeS proteolytic digestion

Here we report the design and production of an antibody-fluorophore conjugate (AFC) as a non-toxic model of an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). This AFC is based on the conjugation of dansyl sulfonamide ethyl amine (DSEA)-linker maleimide on interchain cysteines of trastuzumab used as a reference antibody. The resulting AFC was first characterized by routine analytical methods (SEC, SDS-PAGE, CE-SDS, HIC and native MS), resulting in similar chromatograms, electropherograms and mass spectra to those reported for hinge Cys-linked ADCs. IdeS digestion of the AFC was then performed, followed by reduction and analysis by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry analysis. Dye loading and distribution on light chain and Fd fragments were calculated, as well as the average dye to antibody ratio (DAR) for both monomeric and multimeric species. In addition, by analyzing the Fc fragment in the same run, full glyco-profiling and demonstration of the absence of additional conjugation was easily achieved.   As for naked antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins, IdeS proteolytic digestion may rapidly become a reference analytical method at all stages of ADC discovery, preclinical and clinical development. The method can be routinely used for comparability assays, formulation, process scale-up and transfer, and to define critical quality attributes in a quality-by-design approach.     

Identification and quantification of Fc fusion peptibody degradations by limited proteolysis method

An Fc fusion protein expressed in Escherichia coli contains Met1 and Asp2 residues at the N terminus and an active peptide attached to the C terminus of the Fc region. Due to the unique amino acid sequence of Fc, many commonly used proteolysis methods have severe drawbacks for characterizing degradations of Met1 and Asp2 residues. A novel method has been developed to effectively characterize the degradations by employing a limited endoproteinase Glu-C digestion. The limited digestion generates a dimeric peptide of (Met1-Glu14)(2) due to specific cleavage at the residue Glu14 of the N terminus. This peptide together with its degraded products, including Met1 oxidation and Asp2 isomerization, can be identified and quantified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The optimization of digestion procedure and linearity of quantification are also described. This approach was successfully used in a photostability study to assess the product stability of an Fc fusion peptibody.     

Soluble monomeric IgG1 Fc

Antibody fragments are emerging as promising biopharmaceuticals because of their relatively small size and other unique properties. However, compared with full-size antibodies, these antibody fragments lack the ability to bind the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) and have reduced half-lives. Fc engineered to bind antigens but preserve interactions with FcRn and Fc fused with monomeric proteins currently are being developed as candidate therapeutics with prolonged half-lives; in these and other cases, Fc is a dimer of two CH2-CH3 chains. To further reduce the size of Fc but preserve FcRn binding, we generated three human soluble monomeric IgG1 Fcs (mFcs) by using a combination of structure-based rational protein design combined with multiple screening strategies. These mFcs were highly soluble and retained binding to human FcRn comparable with that of Fc. These results provide direct experimental evidence that efficient binding to human FcRn does not require human Fc dimerization. The newly identified mFcs are promising for the development of mFc fusion proteins and for novel types of mFc-based therapeutic antibodies of small size and long half-lives.     

Characterization of two species of Fc fragments obtained from rat IgG2a by prolonged papain digestion.

Prolonged papain digestion of rat IgG2a produced two molecular species of Fc fragments, termed Fc(I) and Fc(II). Studies by gel filtration chromatography and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in SDS/urea indicated that the two subunit polypeptide chains in each Fc preparation were associated by non-covalent bonds only. By analytical ultracentrifugation Fc(I) was found to have a m.w. of 47,100 and a sedimentation coefficient of 4.08S. Fc(II) had a m.w. of 39,800 and a sedimentation coefficient of 3.83S. The m.w. for the subunit chains of Fc(I) and Fc(II) were 25,300 and 20,300, respectively, as determined by analytical ultracentrifugation under dissociating conditions. Calculation of the frictional coefficient ratios indicated that both Fc fragments possessed compact globular structures. The difference in size between these two Fc fragments probably was due to a loss of some carboxy-terminal residues in Fc(II). Both Fc fragments possessed nearly identical amino-terminal amino acid sequences. Papain cleavage occurred primarily between residues 233/234 and 234/235. The carbohydrate compositions of the two species of Fc fragments were similar. It was concluded that under acid and reducing conditions papain cleavage of rat IgG2a occurred to the carboxy-terminal side of the hinge region. Prolonged papain digestion led to secondary attack in the carboxy-terminal end of the CGAMMA3 domain at an unidentified site, or sites, producing a stable second species of Fc fragments.     

Engineering a Monomeric Fc Domain Modality by N-Glycosylation for the Half-life Extension of Biotherapeutics

Human IgG is a bivalent molecule that has two identical Fab domains connected by a dimeric Fc domain. For therapeutic purposes, however, the bivalency of IgG and Fc fusion proteins could cause undesired properties. We therefore engineered the conversion of the natural dimeric Fc domain to a highly soluble monomer by introducing two Asn-linked glycans onto the hydrophobic C_H3-C_H3 dimer interface. The monomeric Fc (monoFc) maintained the binding affinity for neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) in a pH-dependent manner. We solved the crystal structure of monoFc, which explains how the carbohydrates can stabilize the protein surface and provides the rationale for molecular recognition between monoFc and FcRn. The monoFc prolonged the in vivo half-life of an antibody Fab domain, and a tandem repeat of the monoFc further prolonged the half-life. This monoFc modality can be used to improve the pharmacokinetics of monomeric therapeutic proteins with an option to modulate the degree of half-life extension.     

The influences of hinge length and composition on the susceptibility of human IgA to cleavage by diverse bacterial IgA1 proteases

The influences of IgA hinge length and composition on its susceptibility to cleavage by bacterial IgA1 proteases were examined using a panel of IgA hinge mutants. The IgA1 proteases of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus sanguis strains SK4 and SK49, Neisseria meningitidis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Haemophilus influenzae cleaved IgA2-IgA1 half hinge, an Ab featuring half of the IgA1 hinge incorporated into the equivalent site in IgA1 protease-resistant IgA2, whereas those of Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus oralis, and S. sanguis strain SK1 did not. Hinge length reduction by removal of two of the four C-terminal proline residues rendered IgA2-IgA1 half hinge resistant to all streptococcal IgA1 metalloproteinases but it remained sensitive to cleavage by the serine-type IgA1 proteases of Neisseria and Haemophilus spp. The four C-terminal proline residues could be substituted by alanine residues or transferred to the N-terminal extremity of the hinge without affect on the susceptibility of the Ab to cleavage by serine-type IgA1 proteases. However, their removal rendered the Ab resistant to cleavage by all the IgA1 proteases. We conclude that the serine-type IgA1 proteases of Neisseria and Haemophilus require the Fab and Fc regions to be separated by at least ten (or in the case of N. gonorrhoeae type I protease, nine) amino acids between Val(222) and Cys(241) (IgA1 numbering) for efficient access and cleavage. By contrast, the streptococcal IgA1 metalloproteinases require 12 or more appropriate amino acids between the Fab and Fc to maintain a minimum critical distance between the scissile bond and the start of the Fc.     

Enhanced Fc-dependent cellular cytotoxicity of Fc fusion proteins derived from TNF receptor II and LFA-3 by fucose removal from Asn-linked oligosaccharides

Fucose removal from complex-type oligosaccharide of human IgGs results in a major enhancement of Fc-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of fucose removal on the effector function of another class of clinically important molecules that can effect cellular cytotoxicity, Fc fusion proteins. The receptors chosen for study were TNF receptor II and LFA-3, both of which have therapeutic significance. The fucosylated versions of these fusion proteins were produced in unmodified CHO cells, whereas the nonfucosylated counterparts were produced in CHO cells with alpha-1,6-fucosyltransferase, an enzyme required for fucosylation, knocked-out. Whilst binding activity of TNFRII-Fc and LFA-3-Fc were unchanged by fucose-removal, nonfucosylated Fc fusion proteins exhibited significantly higher Fc receptor gammaIIIa-binding and increased Fc-mediated cytotoxicity on target cells compared to fucosylated counterparts. Notably, in case of TNFRII-Fc, only the nonfucosylated protein exhibited potent Fc dependent cytotoxicity to transmembrane TNF-alpha expressing cells. These results prove that enhancement of Fc dependent cellular cytotoxicity by fucose-removal is effective in not only whole IgG but also Fc fusion proteins, and thus widens the potential of Fc-fusion proteins as therapeutic candidates.