Patent Application
20230312722
The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202010618159.5 filed on Jun. 30, 2020, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to the field of biomedicine, and particularly to an anti-B7H4 antibody, a bispecific antibody and use thereof.
Breast cancer, ovarian cancer and endometrioma are common malignant tumors in women, wherein the breast cancer ranks first among cancers in women in incidence, and the data of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2018 show that the incidence rate of the breast cancer in the cancers in women all over the world is 24.2%. For the treatment of these cancers, immunotherapy and targeted therapy are the current hot spots. For example, Her2-targeting Herceptin has a good therapeutic effect on Her2 positive breast cancer. For triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), few therapeutic approaches exist at present due to the lack of corresponding targets, mainly including chemotherapy. FDA approved the PD-L1 inhibitor Atezolizumab in combination with albumin-bound paclitaxel for the treatment of metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) in March 2019, but PD-L1 is not highly expressed on triple negative breast cancer.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors are the most studied form of immunotherapy for breast cancer. Immune checkpoint molecules are often highly expressed in the tumor microenvironment, and tumors can evade the attack by the immune system by inhibiting the activation of T cells and inducing the depletion of T cells. The B7 family and the TNF family are two main co-stimulatory molecule families, wherein the B7 family comprises 10 molecules, namely CD80 (B7.1), CD86 (B7.2), B7H1 (PD-L1/CD274), B7-DC (PD-L2/CD273), B7H2 (ICOSL), B7H3 (CD276), B7H4 (B7S1/B7x/Vtcn1), B7H5 (VISTA), B7H6 and B7H7 (HHLA2). Several members of the B7 family and their receptors have been shown to be immune checkpoints, such as PD-L1/PD1, CTLA4 and VISTA.
B7H4 is a relatively new B7 family member, although widely expressed in body cells at mRNA level, its protein level expression is very limited, and only in part of ductal epithelial cells of the body, such as mammary duct and lobule, oviduct epithelium, endometrium and other tissues, has low-level expression. In contrast, B7H4 is abundantly expressed in a variety of tumor tissues, such as on tumor cells of breast cancer, particularly triple negative breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrioma. In terms of expression profile, B7H4 can be considered as a tumor-associated antigen with high specificity. On the other hand, B7H4 is a new immune checkpoint molecule, and in vitro experiments prove that B7H4 inhibits the proliferation and activation of T cells and the production of cytokines by interacting with its unknown T cell surface receptors. The tumor cells inhibit the activation of T cells through high expression of B7H4 molecules and inhibitory macrophages with high expression of B7H4 molecules in a tumor microenvironment, thereby realizing immune evasion. The expression profile of B7H4 on the tumor does not overlap with PD-L1. The method for reactivating the immune system through the treatment with a B7H4-targeting antibody and by blocking the negative regulation effect of B7H4 is a promising means for treating B7H4 positive tumors.
Monoclonal antibodies against B7-H4, or antibody-drug conjugates, or bispecific antibodies are currently being developed by several pharmaceutical companies. Genentech, BMS, Jounce, Jiangsu Hanson, etc. are in preclinical development stage, wherein the most rapidly advancing company is FivePrime with its anti-B7H4 monoclonal antibody, which is currently in clinically phase I, and its mechanism is primarily through ADCC and blocking of immune checkpoints to activate T cells. However, a human anti-B7H4 antibody with high affinity, high selectivity and high bioactivity has not yet been found clinically.
To solve the technical problem that a human anti-B7H4 antibody with high affinity, high selectivity and high bioactivity is unavailable in the art, the present invention provides a fully human anti-B7H4 antibody with high affinity, high selectivity and high bioactivity by utilizing a specific humanized mouse platform from Harbour, and a bispecific antibody of anti-B7H4×CD3 constructed on the basis of the antibody, so as to be applied to the treatment of B7H4 positive tumors.
The first technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is a B7H4-targeting antibody or a variant thereof, wherein the antibody comprises a light chain variable region and a heavy chain variable region, wherein:
In some specific embodiments, for the antibody or the variant thereof as described above, the variant has an amino acid substitution at position 3 or 4 of the HCDR2 and position 3 of the HCDR3 in the heavy chain variable region of the antibody, and/or an amino acid substitution at position 4 of the LCDR3 in the light chain variable region of the antibody.
Preferably, D at position 3 of the HCDR2 is substituted with G or E, and/or G at position 4 is substituted with A, and/or G at position 3 of the HCDR3 is substituted with A; N at position 4 of the LCDR3 is substituted with S, R or Q. That is, the light chain variable region comprises a LCDR1, a LCDR2, and a LCDR3 with amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 48, 55 and 66, respectively; the heavy chain variable region comprises a HCDR1, a HCDR2 and a HCDR3 with amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 11, 22 and 36, respectively; or the light chain variable region comprises a LCDR1, a LCDR2 and a LCDR3 with amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 47, 54 and 67, respectively; the heavy chain variable region comprises a HCDR1, a HCDR2 and a HCDR3 with amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 9, 23 and 35, respectively; or the light chain variable region comprises a LCDR1, a LCDR2 and a LCDR3 with amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 47, 54 and 67, respectively; the heavy chain variable region comprises a HCDR1, a HCDR2 and a HCDR3 with amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 9, 24 and 35, respectively; or the light chain variable region comprises a LCDR1, a LCDR2, and a LCDR3 with amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 47, 54, and 69, respectively; the heavy chain variable region comprises a HCDR1, a HCDR2 and a HCDR3 with amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 9, 24 and 38, respectively.
In some specific embodiments, for the antibody or the variant thereof as described above, the heavy chain variable region further comprises a heavy chain variable region framework region HFWR, and/or the light chain variable region further comprises a light chain variable region framework region LFWR, wherein the HFWR is a heavy chain variable region framework region of a human antibody and the LFWR is a light chain variable region framework region of a human antibody.
Preferably,
In the present invention, the amino acid mutation may also be one or more amino acid residue deletions, substitutions or additions in the original amino acid sequence, for example, FWR. Preferably, the amino acid mutation is an amino acid substitution, and the number of the amino acid substitutions is 1 to 3. Moreover, the amino acid sequence of the mutation has at least 85% sequence identity to the original amino acid sequence and maintains or improves the binding of the antibody to the target antigen; the at least 85% sequence identity is preferably at least 90% sequence identity, more preferably at least 95%, 96%, 97% or 98% sequence identity, and most preferably at least 99% sequence identity.
In some specific embodiments, for the antibody or the variant thereof as described above, the antibody further comprises a heavy chain constant region and/or a light chain constant region. Preferably, the heavy chain constant region of the antibody is selected from that of hIgG1, hIgG2, hIgG3 and hIgG4, and the light chain constant region is selected from that of a κ chain and a κ chain; more preferably, the variant has an amino acid substitution at position 239 and/or 332 of an Fc of the antibody, and preferably, the amino acid substitution is S239D and/or I332E.
In some specific embodiments, for the antibody or the variant thereof as described above, the antibody is a full-length antibody, an Fab, an Fab′, an F(ab′)2, an Fv, an scFv, or a monoclonal or polyclonal antibody prepared from an antibody as above.
In some specific embodiments, for the antibody as described above, the antibody comprises (1) a heavy chain and a light chain, wherein the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 95; the light chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 109; or the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 98; the light chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 112; or,
the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 98; the light chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 113; or,
the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 99; the light chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 114; or,
the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 100; the light chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 114; or,
the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 101; the light chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 109; or,
the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 102; the light chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 114; or,
the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 106; the light chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 117; or,
the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 98; the light chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 115; or,
the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 103; the light chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 112; or,
the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 103; the light chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 115; or,
(2) a heavy chain, wherein the heavy chain comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 132.
The term “antibody” may include an immunoglobulin, which is of a tetrapeptide chain structure formed by connection between two identical heavy chains and two identical light chains by interchain disulfide bonds. Immunoglobulins differ in amino acid composition and arrangement of their heavy chain constant regions and therefore in their antigenicity. Accordingly, immunoglobulins can be classified into five classes, or isotypes of immunoglobulins, namely IgM, IgD, IgG, IgA and IgE, with their corresponding heavy chains being the μ, δ, γ, α and ε chains, respectively. The Ig of the same class can be divided into different subclasses according to the differences in amino acid composition of the hinge regions and the number and location of disulfide bonds in the heavy chains; for example, IgG can be divided into IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4. Light chains are classified into κ or λ chains by the difference in the constant regions. Each of the five classes of Ig can have a κ chain or a λ chain.
In the present application, the light chain variable region of the antibody of the present application may further comprise a light chain constant region comprising a human κ or λ chain or a variant thereof. In the present application, the heavy chain variable region of the antibody of the present application may further comprise a heavy chain constant region comprising human IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4 or a variant thereof.
In light chains and heavy chains, the variable region and constant region are linked by a “J” region of about 12 or more amino acids, and the heavy chain further comprises a “D” region of about 3 or more amino acids. Each heavy chain consists of a heavy chain variable region (VH) and a heavy chain constant region (CH). The heavy chain constant region consists of 3 domains (CH1, CH2 and CH3). Each light chain consists of a light chain variable region (VL) and a light chain constant region (CL). The light chain constant region consists of one domain CL. The constant region of the antibody can mediate the binding of immunoglobulins to host tissues or factors, including the binding of various cells of the immune system (e.g., effector cells) to the first component (C1q) of classical complement system. The sequences of about 110 amino acids of the heavy and light chains of the antibody near the N-terminus vary considerably and thus are referred to as variable regions (V regions); the remaining amino acid sequences near the C-terminus are relatively stable and thus are referred to as constant regions (C regions). The variable regions comprise 3 hypervariable regions (HVRs) and 4 framework regions (FWRs) with relatively conservative sequences. The 3 hypervariable regions determine the specificity of the antibody and thus are also known as complementarity determining regions (CDRs). Each light chain variable region (VL) or heavy chain variable region (VH) consists of 3 CDR regions and 4 FWR regions arranged from the amino-terminus to the carboxyl-terminus in the following order: FWR1, CDR1, FWR2, CDR2, FWR3, CDR3, and FWR4.
To solve the above technical problem, the second technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is a B7H4-targeting bispecific antibody comprising a protein functional region A and a protein functional region B, wherein the protein functional region A is the B7H4-targeting antibody as described above; the protein functional region B is an antibody not targeting B7H4; preferably, the antibody not targeting B7H4 is a CD3-targeting antibody; more preferably, the CD3-targeting antibody comprises a light chain variable region and a heavy chain variable region, wherein the light chain variable region comprises a LCDR1, a LCDR2 and a LCDR3 with amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 46, 53 and 63, respectively; the heavy chain variable region comprises a HCDR1, a HCDR2 and a HCDR3 with amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 8, 20 and 34, respectively; or the light chain variable region comprises a LCDR1, a LCDR2 and a LCDR3 with amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 46, 53 and 63, respectively; the heavy chain variable region comprises a HCDR1, a HCDR2 and a HCDR3 with amino acid sequences as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 10, 20 and 34, respectively; and even more preferably, in the CD3-targeting antibody, the light chain variable region comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 86; the heavy chain variable region comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 76; or the light chain variable region VL comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 86; the heavy chain variable region VH comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 78; or the light chain variable region VL comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 86; the heavy chain variable region VH comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 84.
In some specific embodiments, for the bispecific antibody as described above, the protein functional region B comprises a light chain variable region and a heavy chain variable region, and the protein functional region A comprises a light chain variable region and a heavy chain variable region; wherein,
In the bispecific antibody of the present invention, the protein functional region B comprises a light chain variable region and a heavy chain variable region, and the protein functional region A comprises a light chain variable region and a heavy chain variable region; wherein,
In some specific embodiments, for the bispecific antibody as described above, the bispecific antibody is selected from the group consisting of:
Among them, n′ represents the amino-terminus (also designated N-terminus) of the polypeptide chain, c′ represents the carboxyl-terminus (also designated C-terminus) of the polypeptide chain, h represents the hinge region, L, L1 or L2 represents a linker, and a suitable linker (L) in the prior art consists of a repeating G4S amino acid sequence or a variant thereof. For example, linkers with the amino acid sequence (G4S)4 or (G4S)3 can be used, and variants thereof can also be used, e.g., one of the G of G4S is substituted with Q, e.g., the second or third G is substituted with Q. The preferred linker sequences of the present invention are set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 133-135. “-” represents a polypeptide bond linking different structural regions or is used to separate different structural regions.
In the present invention, the “[ ]” and “{ }” represent different functional regions or structures, respectively; for example, {VL-L-VH} and {VH-L-VL} represent the scFv structure, and [VH]/{VH} and [VL]/{VL} represent the heavy chain variable region and the light chain variable region of the Fab structure, respectively. When VH is protein functional region A or protein functional region B, it can also be expressed as VH_A (i.e., heavy chain variable region is protein functional region A) or VH_B (i.e., heavy chain variable region is protein functional region B); similarly, when VL is protein functional region A or protein functional region B, it can also be expressed as VL_A (i.e., light chain variable region is protein functional region A) or VL_B (i.e., light chain variable region is protein functional region B). In
In some preferred embodiments, the bispecific antibody is selected from the group consisting of:
The protein functional region of the present invention may be Fab, scFv or VH in some cases, or F(ab)2 or a full-length antibody in other cases, and is also referred to as an antibody, an antigen-binding protein or a binding protein in certain cases. In the present invention, an “Fab structure” or “Fab fragment” consists of one light chain and CH1 and the variable region of one heavy chain. The heavy chain of an Fab fragment cannot form a disulfide bond with another Fab heavy chain molecule. An “Fc” region contains two heavy chain fragments comprising the CH2 and CH3 domains of the antibody; the two heavy chain fragments are held together by two or more disulfide bonds and by the hydrophobic interaction of the CH3 domain. A “Fab′ fragment” contains one light chain and part of one heavy chain comprising the VH domain and the CH1 domain and the region between the CH1 and CH2 domains, such that interchain disulfide bonds can be formed between the two heavy chains of two Fab′ fragments to provide an F(ab′)2 fragment. A “F(ab′)2 fragment” contains two light chains and two heavy chains comprising part of the constant region between the CH1 and CH2 domains, such that interchain disulfide bonds are formed between the two heavy chains. Thus, an F(ab′)2 fragment consists of two Fab′ fragments held together by disulfide bonds between the two heavy chains. The term “Fv” refers to an antibody fragment consisting of the VL and VH domains of a single arm of an antibody, but lacks the constant region.
In the present invention, the scFv (single chain antibody fragment) may be a conventional single chain antibody in the art, which comprises a heavy chain variable region, a light chain variable region, and a short peptide of 15-20 amino acids. The VL and VH domains are paired to form a monovalent molecule by a linker that enables them to be produced as a single polypeptide chain. Such scFv molecules may have a general structure: NH2-VL-linker-VH-COOH or NH2-VH-linker-VL-COOH or is expressed as n′-VL-L-VH-c′ or n′-VH-L-VL-c′.
To solve the above technical problem, the third technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is a chimeric antigen receptor comprising the antibody according to the first technical solution of the present invention or the bispecific antibody according to the second technical solution of the present invention.
In the present application, the antibody or the bispecific antibody may be used to prepare a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) or the like so as to modify it onto cells such as T cells or NK cells. The chimeric antigen receptor may be one that is conventional in the art, including, for example, one that utilizes the above antibody in the form of an scFv as an extracellular antigen-binding domain.
Therefore, to solve the above technical problem, a fourth technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is a genetically modified cell comprising the antibody according to the first technical solution of the present invention; the cell is preferably a eukaryotic cell, more preferably an isolated human cell, and even more preferably an immune cell such as a T cell (e.g., in the form of CAR-T), or an NK cell such as an NK92 cell line.
To solve the above technical problem, a fifth technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is an isolated nucleic acid encoding the antibody or the bispecific antibody as described above or the chimeric antigen receptor according to the third technical solution of the present invention.
The preparation method for the nucleic acid is a conventional preparation method in the art, and preferably comprises the following steps: obtaining a nucleic acid molecule encoding the above antibody by gene cloning technology, or obtaining a nucleic acid molecule encoding the above antibody by artificial complete sequence synthesis.
It is known to those skilled in the art that substitutions, deletions, alterations, insertions or additions may be appropriately introduced into the base sequence encoding the amino acid sequence of the above antibody to provide a polynucleotide homologue. The polynucleotide homologue of the present invention may be produced by substituting, deleting or adding one or more bases of a gene encoding the antibody sequence within a range in which the activity of the antibody is maintained.
To solve the above technical problem, a sixth technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is an expression vector comprising the isolated nucleic acid as described above.
The recombinant expression vector may be obtained by using conventional methods in the art, i.e., by linking the nucleic acid molecule of the present application to various expression vectors. The expression vector is any conventional vector in the art, provided that it can carry the aforementioned nucleic acid molecule.
Preferably, the expression vector comprises a eukaryotic cell expression vector and/or a prokaryotic cell expression vector.
To solve the above technical problem, a seventh technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is a transformant comprising the isolated nucleic acid or the expression vector as described above.
The transformant may be prepared by using conventional methods in the art, e.g., by transforming the above recombinant expression vector into a host cell. The host cell of the transformant is any conventional host cell in the art, provided that it can enable the stable replication of the above recombinant expression vector and the nucleic acid carried can be efficiently expressed. Preferably, the host cell is a prokaryotic/eukaryotic cell, wherein the prokaryotic cell is preferably an E. coli cell such as TG1 and BL21 (expressing a single chain antibody or Fab antibody), and the eukaryotic cell is preferably an HEK293 cell or a CHO cell (expressing a full-length IgG antibody). The preferred recombinant expression transformant of the present invention can be obtained by transforming the aforementioned recombinant expression plasmid into a host cell. The transformation method is a conventional transformation method in the art, preferably a chemical transformation method, a heat shock method or an electric transformation method.
To solve the above technical problem, an eighth technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is a method for preparing a B7H4-targeting antibody or bispecific antibody comprising the following steps: culturing the transformant according to the seventh technical solution of the present invention, and obtaining the B7H4-targeting antibody or bispecific antibody from the culture.
To solve the above technical problem, a ninth technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is an antibody-drug conjugate comprising an antibody moiety and a conjugate moiety, wherein the antibody moiety comprises the antibody according to the first technical solution of the present invention and the bispecific antibody according to the second technical solution of the present invention, and the conjugate moiety includes, but is not limited to, a detectable label, a drug, a toxin, a cytokine, a radionuclide, an enzyme, or a combination thereof, the antibody moiety and the conjugate moiety are conjugated via a chemical bond or a linker.
To solve the above technical problem, a tenth technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is a pharmaceutical composition comprising the antibody according to the first technical solution of the present invention or the bispecific antibody according to the second technical solution of the present invention and optionally a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. Preferably, the pharmaceutical composition further comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
More preferably, the pharmaceutical composition further comprises other anti-tumor antibodies as an active ingredient.
The pharmaceutically acceptable carrier may be a carrier conventional in the art, and the carrier may be any suitable physiologically or pharmaceutically acceptable auxiliary material. The pharmaceutically acceptable auxiliary material is one conventional in the art, and preferably comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient, a filler, a diluent, or the like. More preferably, the pharmaceutical composition comprises 0.01%-99.99% of the above antibody and/or the bispecific antibody, and 0.01%-99.99% of a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, the percentage being the mass percentage of the pharmaceutical composition.
The route of administration for the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention is preferably parenteral administration, injection administration or oral administration. The injection administration preferably includes intravenous injection, intramuscular injection, intraperitoneal injection, intradermal injection or subcutaneous injection. The pharmaceutical composition is in any conventional dosage form in the art, preferably in the form of a solid, semisolid or liquid, i.e., it may be an aqueous solution, a non-aqueous solution or a suspension, more preferably a tablet, capsule, granule, injection, infusion, or the like. More preferably, it is administered intravascularly, subcutaneously, intraperitoneally or intramuscularly. Preferably, the pharmaceutical composition may also be administered as an aerosol or a coarse spray, i.e., administered nasally; or administered intrathecally, intramedullarily or intraventricularly. More preferably, the pharmaceutical composition may also be administered transdermally, percutaneously, topically, enterally, intravaginally, sublingually or rectally. The pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may be formulated into various dosage forms as required, and can be administered by a physician in the light of the patient's type, age, weight, and general disease state, route of administration, etc. The administration may be performed, for example, by injection or other therapeutic modalities.
The dosage level at which the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention is administered can be adjusted depending on the amount of the composition to achieve the desired diagnostic or therapeutic outcome. The dosage regimen may also be a single injection or multiple injections, or an adjusted one. The selected dosage level and regimen is appropriately adjusted depending on a variety of factors including the activity and stability (i.e., half-life) of the pharmaceutical composition, the formulation, the route of administration, combination with other drugs or treatments, the disease or disorder to be detected and/or treated, and the health condition and past medical history of the subject to be treated.
A therapeutically effective dose for the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may be estimated initially in cell culture experiments or animal models such as rodents, rabbits, dogs, pigs and/or primates. Animal models can also be used to determine the appropriate concentration range and route of administration, and subsequently an effective dose and a route of administration in humans. In general, the determination of and adjustment to the effective amount or dose to be administered and the assessment of when and how to make such adjustments are known to those skilled in the art.
For combination therapy, the above antibody, the bispecific antibody, and/or additional therapeutic or diagnostic agents may each be used as a single agent for use within any time frame suitable for performing the intended treatment or diagnosis. Thus, these single agents may be administered substantially simultaneously (i.e., as a single formulation or within minutes or hours) or sequentially.
For additional guidance regarding formulations, doses, dosage regimens, and measurable therapeutic outcomes, see Berkow et al. (2000) The Merck Manual of Medical Information and Merck & Co. Inc., Whitehouse Station, New Jersey; Ebadi (1998) CRC Desk Reference of Clinical Pharmacology, etc.
To solve the above technical problem, an eleventh technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is use of the antibody according to the first technical solution of the present invention, the bispecific antibody according to the second technical solution of the present invention, the chimeric antigen receptor according to the third technical solution of the present invention, the genetically modified cell according to the fourth technical solution of the present invention, the antibody-drug conjugate according to the ninth technical solution of the present invention or the pharmaceutical composition according to the tenth technical solution of the present invention in the manufacture of a medicament, a kit and/or an administration device for the treatment and/or prevention of a cancer.
Preferably, the cancer is a B7H4 positive tumor; the tumor is preferably breast cancer, ovarian cancer and endometrioma, the breast cancer being more preferably triple negative breast cancer.
To solve the above technical problem, a twelfth technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is a method for the detection of B7H4 in a sample, comprising conducting detection using the antibody or the bispecific antibody as described above. Preferably, the method is for non-diagnostic purposes.
The treatment or detection method for non-diagnostic purposes of the present invention includes, but is not limited to: screening of laboratory drugs, research of preventive medicine and formulation of public health policies, detection using kits, and the like. As known to those skilled in the art, modern medicine is divided into two parts: preventive medicine and clinical medicine. “The detection method for non-diagnosis purposes” of the present invention can detect samples (including human body secretion) collected in the environment in preventive medicine and determine whether the environment is polluted with an antigen. In the laboratory, laboratory reagents can also be detected by researchers using the antibody or the bispecific antibody of the present invention to ensure that the antigens used in experiments are not polluted with antigens other than B7H4 for further use in screening of new antibodies or screening of small molecule compounds as drug targets, etc.
To solve the above technical problem, a thirteen technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is a kit comprising the antibody according to the first technical solution of the present invention, the bispecific antibody according to the second technical solution of the present invention, the chimeric antigen receptor according to the third technical solution of the present invention, the genetically modified cell according to the fourth technical solution of the present invention, the antibody-drug conjugate according to the ninth technical solution of the present invention, and/or the pharmaceutical composition according to the tenth technical solution of the present invention, and optionally instructions for use.
To solve the above technical problem, a fourteen technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is an administration device comprising: (1) an infusion module for administering to a subject in need thereof the pharmaceutical composition according to the tenth technical solution of the present invention, and (2) optionally a pharmacodynamic monitoring module.
To solve the above technical problem, a fifteenth technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is use of the antibody according to the first technical solution of the present invention, the bispecific antibody according to the second technical solution of the present invention, the chimeric antigen receptor according to the third technical solution of the present invention, the genetically modified cell according to the fourth technical solution of the present invention, the antibody-drug conjugate according to the ninth technical solution of the present invention, and/or the pharmaceutical composition according to the tenth technical solution of the present invention in the diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment of a tumor.
Preferably, the tumor is as described according to the eighth technical solution of the present invention.
To solve the above technical problem, a sixteenth technical solution of the present invention is as follows: provided is a kit of parts comprising a kit A and a kit B, wherein the kit A comprises the antibody according to the first technical solution of the present invention, the bispecific antibody according to the second technical solution of the present invention, the chimeric antigen receptor according to the third technical solution of the present invention, the genetically modified cell according to the fourth technical solution of the present invention, the antibody-drug conjugate according to the ninth technical solution of the present invention, and/or the pharmaceutical composition according to the tenth technical solution of the present invention, and the kit B comprises another anti-tumor antibody or a pharmaceutical composition comprising the another anti-tumor antibody. The kit A and the kit B may be used simultaneously, or the kit A may be used prior to the use of the kit B, or the kit B may be used prior to the use of the kit A. The sequence of use can be determined according to actual requirements in a specific application.
The three-letter codes and single-letter codes for amino acids used in the present application are known to those skilled in the art, or are described in J. Biol. Chem, 243, p3558 (1968). As used herein, the term “include/includes/including” or “comprise/comprises/comprising” is intended to mean that a composition and a method include the elements described but does not exclude other elements; but the case of “consist/consists/consisting of” is also included as the context dictates. Unless otherwise specifically stated in the content, the term “or” is used in the present invention to mean, and is interchangeable with, the term “and/or”. The “about” and “approximately” shall generally mean an acceptable degree of error in the measured quantity in view of the nature or accuracy of the measurement. Exemplary degrees of error are typically within 10% thereof and more typically within 5% thereof or even within 2% or 1% thereof. As used herein, the term EC50 refers to the concentration for 50% of maximal effect, i.e., the concentration that can cause 50% of the maximal effect.
The above preferred conditions may be combined arbitrarily to obtain preferred embodiments of the present invention on the basis of the general knowledge in the art.
The reagents and starting materials used in the present invention are commercially available.
The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:
The present invention is further illustrated by the following examples, which are not intended to limit the present invention. Experimental procedures without specified conditions in the following examples are performed in accordance with conventional procedures and conditions, or in accordance with instructions.
Experimental animals, which may be mice, rats, rabbits, sheep and camels, can be immunized with the B7H4 recombinant protein or cells overexpressing B7H4 to obtain antibody molecules specifically binding to B7H4. Typically, the resulting antibody molecules are non-human antibodies. After obtaining non-human antibodies, these molecules need to be humanized by antibody engineering technology to reduce immunogenicity and improve druggability. However, the humanization of antibodies is complex in terms of the technology, and the humanized molecules tend to have reduced affinity for antigens. On the other hand, advances in transgenic technology have made it possible to develop genetically engineered mice that carry a human immunoglobulin immune repertoire and have the endogenous murine immune repertoire deleted. The Harbour H2L2 mice (Harbour Antibodies BV) are transgenic mice that carry human immunoglobulin immune repertoire, and the antibodies generated by the transgenic mice has a fully human sequence, thus eliminating the need for further humanization and greatly improving the efficiency of therapeutic antibody development.
1.1 Immunization of Mice
Harbour H2L2 mice were subjected to multiple rounds of immunization with a soluble recombinant human B7H4-ECD-mFc fusion protein (Sino Biological, #10738-H05H) as an antigen. The antigenic protein was mixed with an immunoadjuvant to form an immunogenic reagent, which was then injected subcutaneously via the groin or intraperitoneally. In each round of immunization, each mouse received a total injection dose of 100 μL. In the first round of immunization, each mouse received the immunization with an immunogenic reagent prepared by mixing 50 μg of antigenic protein with complete Freund's adjuvant (Sigma, #F5881) in a 1:1 volume ratio. In each subsequent round of booster immunization, each mouse received an immunization with an immunogenic reagent prepared by mixing 25 μg of antigenic protein with Sigma Adjuvant System adjuvant (Sigma, #S6322). The interval between rounds of booster immunization was at least two weeks. In general, there are 6-7 rounds of booster immunizations. The immunization was performed at days 0, 14, 28, 42, 56, 70, 84 and 98; and the antibody titer in serum of mice was measured at days 49 and 77. The last round of booster immunization was performed at a dose of 25 μg of antigenic protein per mouse 5 days before the isolation of H2L2 mouse splenic B cells.
Or plasmids encoding mouse CD40L, after transfected with CHO-K1 cells (CHO-K1/hu B7H4, Harbour BioMed) overexpressing human B7H4, were mixed with an immunoadjuvant to obtain an immunogenic reagent, and the mice were then immunized with 5×106 cells per mouse, the immunization process being the same as protein immunization.
1.2 Serum Titer Assay
At specific time points, the sera of mice were collected, and the titer of antibody binding to B7H4 protein in the sera was determined by the ELISA method and the titer of antibody binding to B7H4-overexpressing cells in the sera was determined by the FACS method.
In the ELISA method, an ELISA plate (coming, 9018) was coated with 1 μg/mL hB7H4-ECD-his protein (Sino Biological, #10738-H08H) at 100 L/well and incubated overnight at 4° C.; after 2 rinses, the plate was blocked with 1% BSA in PBST for 2 hours at 37° C.; the plate was added with serially-diluted sera at 100 μL/well and incubated for 1 hour at 37° C.; after 3 rinses, the plate was added with anti-rat-HRP (sigma, #A5795) diluted at 1:5000 at 100 L/well and incubated for 30 minutes at 37° C. After 3 rinses, the plate was added with TMB substrate at 100 μL/well and incubated for about 10 minutes, and then added with 1N HCl at 50 μL/well for termination of the color development, and then the absorbance at 450 nm was read (Molecular Devices, Plus 384).
In the FACS method, serially-diluted mouse sera were incubated with HEK293-B7H4 cells for 1 hour at 4° C.; after 2 washes of the cells, a secondary antibody Anti-Rat IgG (H+L) (Life technologies, A11006) was added and incubated for 1 hour at 4° C. and after 2 washes, the cells were resuspended and detected by a flow cytometer (BD, Flibur). HEK293 cells served as background controls.
1.3 Screening of Anti-B7H4 Antibodies by Hybridoma Technology
Immunized mice with high serum titer were selected for one final immunization and then sacrificed. Spleen cells and SP2/0 myeloma cells (ATCC, CRL-1581) were electrofused at a cell ratio of 4:1 with the electrofusion parameters shown as follows: V1: 50V, t1: 15 s, V2: 600 V, t2: 20 μs, t3: 0.5 s, n: 1, t4: 7 s, V+/−: +, and fade: on. The cells were resuspended in a DMEM medium containing 20% FBS and HT at 1×105/100 μL/well. After 24 hours, DMEM containing 20% FBS and 2×HT was added at 100 μL/well for further culturing. The supernatant was subsequently collected and detected for the antibody titer. Generally, 9-15 days after fusion, supernatants of protein-immunized mice were taken and subjected to primary screening with Acumen, and detected for the binding to CHO-K1/huB7H4 cells; supernatants of cell-immunized mice were taken and subjected to primary screening with Mirrorball (SPT Labtech, Mirrorball® fluorescence cytometer), and detected for the binding to HEK-293/huB7H4 cells. Positive clones were selected and then confirmed by ELISA and FACS to detect their binding ability to CHO-K1 cell line overexpressing human B7H4 (CHO-K1/huB7H4), CHO-K1 cell line overexpressing cynomolgus monkey B7H4 (CHO-K1/cynoB7H4), and CHO-K1 cell line overexpressing mouse B7H4 (CHO-K1/mB7H4). Positive wells were further subcloned by limiting dilution and further screened by ELISA and FACS methods. Clones with better binding to human and monkey B7H4 are selected for sequencing.
1.4. Screening of Anti-B7H4 Antibodies by In Vitro Cloning Technique for B Cells
The spleens of the mice were removed, ground and filtered through a 200-mesh filter, and the single cell suspensions were sorted according to the mouse memory B cell sorting kit (Miltenyi, #130-095-838). The sorted cells were subjected to immunofluorescence staining.
B200 positive cells (BioLegend, #103227), IgM negative cells (BioLegend, #406506) and B7H4 specific positive cells (BioLegend, #405207) were sorted using a flow cell sorter S3e. The cells obtained by sorting were cultured in a 96-well cell culture plate at a density of 5 cells per well, and irradiated EL4 cells were previously plated on the cell culture plate as feeder cells.
After 14 days of culture, culture supernatants were collected and subjected to ELISA assay, and for wells having binding activity to B7H4 protein, cells were taken and subjected to RT-PCR (SMART-Seq v4 Ultra Low Input RNA Kit for Sequencing (#634892), I-5™ 2× High-Fidelity Master Mix (#I5HM-5000)). The light and heavy chains obtained by amplification were spliced into an scFv by overlap PCR and expressed in E. coli, the expression supernatants were subjected to ELISA assay, and the positive clones were sequenced.
1.5. Sequence Analysis and Sequence Optimization of Anti-B7H4 Antibodies
The nucleotide sequences encoding the variable domains of the antibody molecules and the corresponding amino acid sequences were obtained through conventional sequencing means. 3 monoclonal sequences were obtained. In this example, the sequences of the variable domains of the anti-B7H4 monoclonal antibody molecules obtained from immunized Harbour H2L2 mice were human antibody sequences, whose germline gene analysis and post-translational modification site (PTM) analysis are listed in Table 1-1.
Chemical modifications, sometimes introduced after amino acid chains of a protein or polypeptide is translated and synthesized in a cell, are called post-translational modifications (PTMs). For antibodies, some PTM sites are very conservative. For example, the conservative amino acid asparagine (Asn) at position 297 (EU numbering) of the constant domain of the human IgG1 antibody is often glycosylated to form a saccharide chain whose structure is critical for antibody structure and associated effector functions. However, PTMs may have a greater effect on antigen binding or result in changes in the physicochemical properties of the antibody, if they are present in the variable domains, particularly in the antigen binding regions (e.g., CDRs) of an antibody. For example, glycosylation, deamidation, isomerization, oxidation, and the like may increase the instability or heterogeneity of antibody molecules, thereby increasing the difficulty and risk of antibody development. Thus, it is very important for the development of therapeutic antibodies to avoid some potential PTMs. As experience has accumulated, it has been found that some PTMs are highly correlated with the composition of amino acid sequences, especially the “pattern” of the composition of adjacent amino acids, which makes it possible to predict potential PTMs from the primary amino acid sequences of a protein. For example, it can be predicted that there is an N-linked glycosylation site from the N-x-S/T sequence pattern (asparagine at the first position, any amino acid other than non-proline at the second position, and serine or threonine at the third position). The amino acid sequence patterns leading to PTMs may be derived from germline gene sequences, e.g., the human germline gene fragment IGHV3-33 naturally having a glycosylation pattern NST in the FR3 region; or they may also be derived from somatic hypermutations.
The amino acid sequence patterns of PTMs may be disrupted by amino acid mutations, thereby reducing or eliminating the formation of specific PTMs. There are different methods for designing mutations depending on the antibody sequences and PTM sequence patterns. One method is to replace a “hot spot” amino acid (e.g., N or S in the NS pattern) with an amino acid with similar physicochemical properties (e.g., to mutate N into Q). If the PTM sequence pattern is derived from somatic hypermutations and is not present in the germline gene sequence, the other method can be to replace the sequence pattern with the corresponding germline gene sequence. In practice, a variety of methods for designing mutations may be used for the same PTM sequence pattern.
The sequences of the new antibody molecules obtained from amino acid mutations on the sequences of antibodies PR001476 and PR002037 are listed in Table 1-2.
1.6. Affinity Maturation of Antibody PR001476
The molecule PR001476 was modified by site-directed mutagenesis to improve its affinity for binding to B7H4. This method of affinity maturation is divided into two rounds.
In the first round, amino acids of the heavy chain CDR3 and light chain CDR3 (as defined by Chothia CDRs) of the molecule PR001476 were scanned point-by-point to create single-site saturation mutagenesis libraries for multiple amino acid positions. Two saturation mutagenesis libraries were screened, positive molecules with a signal of 2-fold over those of wild type were picked out for sequencing and further identified, and a plurality of mutation hot sites were selected according to the binding ability of the positive molecules to human B7H4.
In the second round, the hot sites found by the saturation mutagenesis in the first round were randomly combined to create a library containing all mutation combinations. The combination library was then screened. Several mutants were selected by sequencing the positive molecules and detecting their binding ability to human B7H4. The selected mutants were represented by the corresponding clone numbers, for example, PR001476-R1-25B3 and PR001476-R1-26D7.
The mutants were constructed into mammalian expression vectors for the expression and purification of the proteins. The mutants were then detected for their binding ability to B7H4 using FACS and Fortebio Octet. PR003369 in Table 1-2 is a preferred mutant derived from PR001476.
1.7. Preparation of Recombinant Antibodies and Physicochemical Property Characterization Analysis
1.7.1. Expression and Purification of Antibodies
This example describes a general method of antibody preparation in mammalian host cells (e.g., human embryonic kidney cell HEK293 or Chinese hamster ovary CHO cells and derived cells thereof) by using such techniques as transient transfection and expression, and affinity capture and separation. This method is applicable to an antibody of interest comprising an Fc region. The antibody of interest may consist of one or more protein polypeptide chains, and may be derived from one or more expression plasmids.
The amino acid sequences of the polypeptide chains of the antibody were converted into nucleotide sequences by codon optimization. The encoding nucleotide sequences were synthesized and cloned into expression vectors compatible with the host cell. The mammalian host cells were transfected simultaneously with plasmids encoding the polypeptide chains of the antibody in a particular ratio, and the recombinant antibody with correct folding and assembly of polypeptide chains could be obtained by the conventional recombinant protein expression and purification techniques. Specifically, FreeStyle™ 293-F cells (Thermo, #R79007) were expanded in FreeStyle™ F17 Expression Medium (Thermo, #A1383504). Before the transient transfection, the cells were adjusted to a concentration of 6×105 cells/mL to 8×105 cells/mL, and cultured in a shaker at 37° C. with 8% CO2 for 24 hours at a concentration of 1.2×106 cells/mL. 30 mL of cultured cells were taken. Plasmids encoding the polypeptide chains of the antibody were mixed in a certain ratio, and a total of 30 μg of the plasmids (the ratio of the plasmids to cells was 1 μg:1 mL) were dissolved in 1.5 mL of Opti-MEM reduced serum medium (Thermo, #31985088). The resulting mixture was filtered through a 0.22 μm filter membrane for sterilization. Then, 1.5 mL of Opti-MEM was dissolved in 120 μL of 1 mg/mL PEI (Polysciences, #23966-2), and the mixture was left to stand for 5 minutes. PEI was slowly added to the plasmids, and the mixture was incubated at room temperature for 10 min. The mixed solution of plasmids and PEI was slowly added dropwise while shaking the culture flask, and the cells were cultured in a shaker at 37° C. with 8% CO2 for 5 days. Cell viability was measured after 5 days. The culture was collected and centrifuged at 3300 g for 10 min, and then the supernatant was collected and centrifuged at high speed to remove impurities. A gravity column (Bio-Rad, #7311550) containing MabSelect™ (GE Healthcare, #71-5020-91) was equilibrated with a PBS buffer (pH 7.4) and rinsed with 2-5 column volumes of PBS. The column was loaded with the supernatant sample, and rinsed with 5-10 column volumes of PBS buffer, followed by 0.1 M glycine at pH 3.5 to elute the target protein. The eluate was adjusted to neutrality with Tris-HCl at pH 8.0, and concentrated and buffer exchanged into PBS buffer or a buffer with other components with an ultrafiltration tube (Millipore, #UFC901024) to obtain a purified solution of the recombinant antibody. Finally, the purified antibody solution was determined for concentration using NanoDrop (Thermo, NanoDrop™ One), subpackaged and stored for later use.
1.7.2. Analysis of Protein Purity and Polymers by SEC-HPLC
In this example, analytical size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) was used to analyze the protein sample for purity and polymer form. An analytical chromatography column TSKgel G3000SWxl (Tosoh Bioscience, #08541, 5 μm, 7.8 mm×30 cm) was connected to a high-pressure liquid chromatograph HPLC (Agilent Technologies, Agilent 1260 Infinity II) and equilibrated with a PBS buffer at room temperature for at least 1 h. A proper amount of the protein sample (at least 10 μg) was filtered through a 0.22 μm filter membrane and then injected into the system, and an HPLC program was set: the sample was passed through the chromatography column with a PBS buffer at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min for a maximum of 25 minutes. An analysis report was generated by the HPLC, with the retention time of the components with different molecular sizes in the sample reported.
1.7.3. Protein Purity and Hydrophobicity Analysis by HIC-HPLC
Analytical hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) was used to analyze the protein sample for purity and hydrophobicity. An analytical chromatography column TSKgel Butyl-NPR (Tosoh Bioscience, 14947, 4.6 mm×3.5 cm) was connected to a high-pressure liquid chromatograph HPLC (Agilent Technologies, Agilent 1260 Infinity II) and equilibrated with a PBS buffer at room temperature for at least 1 hour. The method consisted of a linear gradient from 100% mobile phase A (20 mM histidine, 1.8 M ammonium sulfate, pH 6.0) to 100% mobile phase B (20 mM histidine, pH 6.0) within 16 minutes, wherein the flow rate was set at 0.7 mL/min, the sample concentration was 1 mg/mL, the injection volume was 20 μL, and the detection wavelength was 280 nm. After being recorded, the chromatogram was integrated using ChemStation software and relevant data were calculated. An analysis was generated, with the retention time of the components with different molecular sizes in the sample reported.
1.7.4. Determination of Thermostability of Protein Molecules by DSF
Differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) is a commonly used high-throughput method for determining the thermostability of proteins. In this method, changes in the fluorescence intensity of the dye that binds to unfolded protein molecules were monitored using a real-time quantitative fluorescence PCR instrument to reflect the denaturation process of the protein and thus to reflect the thermostability of the protein. In this example, the thermal denaturation temperature (Tm) of a protein molecule was measured by DSF. 10 μg of protein was added to a 96-well PCR plate (Thermo, #AB-0700/W), followed by the addition of 2 μL of 100× diluted dye SYPRO™ (Invitrogen, #2008138), and then the mixture in each well was brought to a final volume of 40 μL by adding buffer. The PCR plate was sealed, placed in a real-time quantitative fluorescence PCR instrument (Bio-Rad CFX96 PCR System), and incubated at 25° C. for 5 min, then at a temperature gradually increased from 25° C. to 95° C. at a gradient of 0.2° C./0.2 min, and at a temperature decreased to 25° C. at the end of the test. The FRET scanning mode was used and data analysis was performed using Bio-Rad CFX Maestro software to calculate the Tm of the sample.
1.8. Preparation of Anti-B7H4 Fully Human Recombinant Antibodies
Anti-B7H4 fully human IgG antibodies obtained in 1.3-1.6 and the optimized antibodies were prepared and analyzed using the method as described in 1.7.1. The results of transient expression and purification for small and large volumes are listed in Table 1-3 and Table 1-4, respectively. In addition, the sequences of anti-B7H4 antibodies (Table 1-5) were obtained from the prior documents and taken as controls in subsequent experiments.
1.9. Anti-B7H4 Antibody Sequences and Numbers
In the present invention, the amino acid sequences of the listed CDRs are shown according to the Chothia scheme. However, it is well known to those skilled in the art that the CDRs of an antibody can be defined in the art using a variety of methods, such as the Kabat scheme based on sequence variability (see Kabat et al., Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, Fifth Edition, National Institutes of Health (U.S.), Bethesda, Maryland (1991)), and the Chothia scheme based on the location of the structural loop regions (see J Mol Biol 273: 927-48, 1997). In the technical solution of the present invention, the Combined scheme comprising the Kabat scheme and the Chothia scheme can also be used to determine the amino acid residues in a variable domain sequence. The Combined scheme combines the Kabat scheme with the Chothia scheme to obtain a larger range. See Table 1-6 for details. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that unless otherwise specified, the terms “CDR” and “complementary determining region” of a given antibody or a region (e.g., variable region) thereof are construed as encompassing complementary determining regions as defined by any one of the above known schemes described herein. Although the scope claimed in the present invention is the sequences shown based on the Chothia scheme, the amino acid sequences corresponding to the other schemes for numbering CDRs shall also fall within the scope of the present invention.
Laa-Lbb can refer to an amino acid sequence from position aa (the Chothia scheme) to position bb (the Chothia scheme) beginning at the N-terminus of the light chain of the antibody; and Haa-Hbb can refer to an amino acid sequence from position aa (the Chothia scheme) to position bb (the Chothia scheme) beginning at the N-terminus of the heavy chain of the antibody. For example, L24-L34 can refer to the amino acid sequence from position 24 to position 34 according to the Chothia scheme beginning at the N-terminus of the light chain of the antibody; H26-H35 can refer to the amino acid sequence from position 26 to position 35 according to the Chothia scheme beginning at the N-terminus of the heavy chain of the antibody. It should be known to those skilled in the art that there are positions where insertion sites are present in numbering CDRs with the Chothia scheme (see http://bioinf.org.uk/abs/).
The sequence numbers of the CDRs, variable regions and light and heavy chains corresponding to the sequences of the anti-B7H4 antibodies of the present invention and the control antibody molecules are listed in Table 1-7. PR003366 is a single-chain variable region (scFv) homodimer molecule (scFv-Fc structure) constructed using the variable region sequence of PR002410.
The sequence numbers of the framework regions and Fv corresponding to the sequences of the anti-B7H4 antibodies of the present invention and the control antibody molecules are listed in Table 1-8.
The CDR sequences corresponding to the sequences of the anti-B7H-4 antibodies of the present invention and the control antibody molecules are listed in Table 1-9.
This example is intended to investigate the in vitro binding activity of anti-human B7H4 H2L2 monoclonal antibody to human/cynomolgus monkey/mouse B7H4. Antibody binding experiments at the cellular level were performed using CHOK1 cell line overexpressing human B7H4 (CHOK1/hu B7H4, Harbour BioMed), CHOK1 cell line overexpressing cynomolgus monkey B7H4 (CHOK1/cyno B7H4, Harbour BioMed), CHOK1 cell line overexpressing mouse B7H4 (CHOK1/m B7H4, Harbour BioMed) and SK-BR-3 cell line (ATCC® HTB-30) highly expressing human B7H4. Briefly, CHOK1/hu B7H4 cells, CHOK1/cyno B7H4 cells, CHOK1/m B7H4 cells or SK-BR-3 cells were digested and resuspended with PBS containing 2% BSA. The cell density was adjusted to 1×106 cells/mL. The cells were seeded in a 96-well V-bottom plate (Corning, #3894) at 100 μL/well, followed by the addition of test antibodies diluted in a 3-fold concentration gradient of 2 times the final concentration, each at 100 μL/well. The cells were incubated at 4° C. for 2 h away from light. Thereafter, the cells in each well were rinsed twice with 100 μL of pre-cooled PBS containing 2% BSA, and centrifuged at 500 g at 4° C. for 5 min, and then the supernatant was discarded. Then 100 μL of a fluorescent secondary antibody (Alexa Fluor 488-conjugated AffiniPure Goat Anti-Human IgG, Fcγ Fragment Specific, Jackson, #109-545-098, 1:500 diluted) was added to each well. The plate was incubated away from light at 4° C. for 1 h. The cells in each well were washed twice with 100 μL of pre-cooled PBS containing 2% BSA, and centrifuged at 500 g at 4° C. for 5 minutes, and then the supernatant was discarded. Finally, the cells in each well were resuspended with 200 μL of pre-cooled PBS containing 2% BSA, and the fluorescence signal values were read using an ACEA Novocyte3000 flow cytometer.
The antibodies binding to human B7H4, cynomolgus monkey B7H4 and mouse B7H4 on the cell surface and to B7H4 on the surface of tumor cells SK-BR-3 are summarized below (Table 2-1, Table 2-2 and Table 2-3). The variant PR003369 with affinity maturation showed a significant improvement in its binding to tumor cells compared with PR002418 (Table 2-3).
The results of the initial antibodies binding to human B7H4 on the cell surface are shown in
This example is intended to investigate the activity of anti-human B7H4 H2L2 monoclonal antibody in mediating NK cell killing of target cells through the ADCC effect in vitro. In this experiment, the human PBMC was used as an effector cell and cell lines SK-BR-3 and MDA-MB-468 highly expressing B7H4 and a cell line HCC-1954 moderately expressing B7H4 were used as target cells. The killing efficiency was reflected by the conductivity of the target cell measured using an RTCA instrument from ACEA. A 96-well plate E-plate was first equilibrated with 50 μL of complete medium. SK-BR-3, MDA-MB-468 or HCC-1954 cells were digested, resuspended in RPM1640 complete medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum and diluted to 4×105/mL. The cell suspension was plated on the 96-well E-plate at 50 μL/well, i.e., 2×104/well, and incubated overnight at 37° C. The next day, 50 μL of fresh culture medium containing 2×105 PBMCs was added to each well, followed by the addition of 50 μL of antibodies diluted in a 4× concentration gradient with a maximum final concentration of 10 nM. A total of 8 concentrations were set in duplicate for each antibody. The conductivity of the target cells was measured in real time. Generally, the value at hour 4 was used to calculate the target cell killing efficiency=(1−sample/blank control)×100%.
The ADCC killing activity of PR001476 and its PTM variant/DE mutant antibody against tumor cells SK-BR-3 is shown in
To detect the function of the anti-B7H4 antibodies for blocking immune checkpoints of T cells and thus activating T cells, in this experiment, full-length B7H4 and anti-human CD3 antibody OKT3 in the form of scFv were overexpressed on HEK293T cells and taken as artificial antigen presenting cells (HEK 293T/OS8/hB7H4, KYinno), a human T cell isolation kit (Miltenyi, #130-096-535) was used to isolate T cells according to the method of the instruction, the artificial antigen presenting cells and the T cells were co-cultured, and the activation effect of the anti-B7H4 antibodies on T cells was detected. Specifically, HEK293T-OS8-hB7H4 was plated at a density of 1×104/well and incubated overnight. Human primary T cells were isolated and added to HEK293T/OS8/hB7H4 cells at a density of 2×105/100 μL/well, followed by the addition of test antibodies diluted in a 5-fold concentration gradient of 2 folds the final concentration, each at 100 μL/well, wherein the maximum final concentration of the antibody was 10 nM. A total of 6 concentrations were set in duplicate for each antibody. After 3 days of culture, the supernatant was collected and the concentration of IFN-γ was detected by ELISA method. The results showed that PR003369, PR002418, PR002421 and control antibodies all could promote the activation of T cells, wherein the variant PR003369 with affinity maturation had stronger T cell activation activity compared with the PTM variant PR002418 and the control antibody 2, and the mechanism of action of PR003369 may be blocking the interaction between B7H4 with its unknown receptor on T cells. The results of the anti-B7H4 antibodies blocking the immunosuppressive signal of B7H4 to activate T cells are shown in
Internalization of antibodies was detected using Zenon pHrodo iFL IgG Labeling Reagents kit (Invitrogen, #Z25611). The reagent is a secondary antibody with a fluorescent dye, does not emit fluorescence at neutral pH, can automatically emit bright fluorescence in an acidic pH environment after being combined with the primary antibody and internalized into lysosomes along with the antibody, and can be detected by FACS method. The specific method was as follows: SK-BR-3 cells were collected and centrifuged to discard the supernatant, and the cells were resuspended in a medium to adjust the cell concentration to 3×106/mL. The cell suspension was added to a 96-well plate at 50 μL/well, and then incubated overnight in a 37° C. thermostatic incubator. Test antibodies of 4× were prepared at a maximum concentration of 40 nM (4×), and diluted 3-fold for a total of 8 dilutions. A Zenon solution of 4× was prepared, and 25 μL of the test antibody and 25 μL of a Zenon labeling solution of 4× were mixed together and left to stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Then 50 μL of the labeled antibody was added to a 96-well plate containing the cells, and incubated in a 37° C. thermostatic incubator for 24 hours. The cells were digested and fluorescence values were read on a flow cytometer. The results showed that PR003369 had the highest internalization activity compared with the control antibody RP000014 and other antibodies. The results of internalization of the anti-B7H4 antibodies on SK-BR-3 cells are shown in
Internalization of the antibodies was detected using a-HFc-CL-MMAF reagent (Moradec, #AH-102-AF). The reagent is a secondary antibody carrying a toxic group MMAF, and the mechanism of the reagent being combined with the primary antibody and internalized along with the antibody to release the toxic group in the cells to kill the target cells is similar to that of ADC. The specific method was as follows: SK-BR-3 cells were collected and centrifuged to discard the supernatant, and the cells were resuspended in medium to a cell concentration of 1×105/mL. The cell suspension was added to a 96-well plate at 50 μL/well, and then incubated overnight in a 37° C. thermostatic incubator. Test antibodies of 4× were prepared at a maximum concentration of 40 nM (4×) in 5-fold dilutions for a total of 8 dilutions. An MMAF solution of 4× (4 μg/mL) was prepared. 25 μL of the test antibody of 4× and 25 μL of MMAF solution of 4× were added to a 96-well plate containing cells, and incubated at a 37° C. thermostatic incubator for 72 hours. 100 μL of CTG solution was added to the wells, and the luminescence signals of CTG were read using a microplate reader. The results in
In this example, an ADC was prepared using ADC conjugation technology by crosslinking a toxic group MMAE to an anti-B7H4 antibody (PR003369 antibody or control antibody 1). The purity parameters of the product are as follows, and the HPLC detection method is the same as that in 1.7.2.
To investigate whether the binding activity of the antibody to the B7H4 target was affected after crosslinking of MMAE groups, antibody binding experiments at the cellular level were performed using the cell line MDA-MB-468 highly expressing human B7H4, and the method was the same as that in Example 2. The results in
To investigate whether the internalization activity of the antibody was affected after crosslinking of MMAE groups, the internalization of the antibody was detected using Zenon pHrodo iFL IgG Labeling Reagents kit (Invitrogen, #Z25611). The experimental method was the same as that in Example 5. The results in
This example is to investigate the cell killing activity of the antibody with MMAE groups crosslinking ADCs. The cell line MDA-MB-468 highly expressing B7H4 was taken as a target cell, and the killing efficiency was reflected by the conductivity of the target cell measured using an RTCA instrument from ACEA. A 96-well plate E-plate was first equilibrated with 50 μL of complete medium. MDA-MB-468 cells were digested, resuspended in RPM1640 complete medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum and diluted to 1×105/mL. The cell suspension was plated on the 96-well E-plate at 50 μL/well, i.e., 5×103/well, and incubated overnight at 37° C. The next day, 100 μL of antibodies diluted in a 2× concentration gradient was added to each well with a maximum final concentration of 50 nM. A total of 8 concentrations were set in duplicate for each antibody. The conductivity of the target cells was measured in real time. Generally, the value at hour 96 was used to calculate the target cell killing efficiency=(1−sample/blank control)×100%. The results in
7.1. Determination of Affinity by SPR Method
10×HBS-EP+ (GE Healthcare, #BR-1006-69) was diluted 10-fold and then taken as an experimental buffer. The flow rate was set at 10 μL/min, and Protein A was coupled to 4 channels of a chip CM5 (GE Healthcare, #BR-1005-30) through the following procedures: 1) the injection time was set to 800 s, and a fresh mixture of 50 mM NHS and 200 mM EDC was injected into the 4 channels in a volume ratio of 1:1; 2) Protein A was diluted to 20 μg/mL with sodium acetate (GE Healthcare, #BR-1003-50) at pH 4.5 and injected into each channel for 800 s; and 3) 1 M ethanolamine at pH 8.5 was injected for 800 s to block the remaining active carboxyl groups on the chip surface. After blocking, the instrument was equilibrated with 1×HBS-EP+buffer for 2 hours, and the final coupling level of Protein A was about 2000 RU.
A multi-cycle kinetics mode was set at Biacore T200, and each cycle included antibody capture, analyte binding and chip regeneration. Antibodies PR002418 and PR002421, control antibody 1, and control antibody 2 were all diluted to 1 μg/mL, injected into channels 2, 3 and 4 at a flow rate of 10 μL/min for 30 s, and each antibody was captured by a pre-coupled Protein A at level 160 RU. Human B7-H4 (Sino biological, #10738-H08H) was injected into four channels (for control antibody 1, one maximum concentration of 100 nM was added) with a concentration gradient of 0 nM, 1.5625 nM, 3.125 nM, 6.25 nM, 12.5 nM, 25 nM and 50 nM sequentially, and the flow rate was set at 30 μL/min. The dissociation time was set to 200 s for PR002418, PR002421 and control antibody 2, and 500 s for control antibody 1, with 180 s for each injection. Finally, 10 mM glycine-hydrochloric acid at pH 1.5 (GE Healthcare, #BR-1003-54) was injected at the same flow rate for 30 s to regenerate the chip.
The experimental results were analyzed using the Biacore T200 analysis software 2.0, with channel 1 subtracted as a reference channel and a 1:1 kinetic fitting model selected as an analysis model. The results are shown in Table 7-1 and A-D of
7.2. Determination of Affinity by BLI Method
10× kinetics buffer (ForteBio, #18-1105) was diluted to 1× kinetics buffer for affinity assay and dilution of antigens and antibodies. The binding kinetics between the antigen and the antibody was analyzed by the Biolayer Interferometry (BLI) technique using an Octet Red 96e molecular interaction analyzer (Fortebio).
When the affinity of the antigen for the antibody was determined, the rotation speed of the sensor was set at 1000 rpm/min. The AHC sensors (Fortebio, #18-5060) placed in a row were equilibrated for 10 minutes in a test buffer before the AHC sensors were used to capture the B7-H4 antibodies at a capture height of 0.7 nm; the AHC sensors, after equilibrated in the buffer for 120 s, bound to 2-fold serially diluted human B7-H4 (concentrations were 50 nM-3.125 nM and 0 nM) for 180 s, followed by dissociation for 300 s. Finally, the AHC sensor was immersed in a 10 mM glycine-hydrochloric acid solution at pH 1.5 for regeneration to elute the proteins bound to the sensor.
When data analysis was performed using Octet Data Analysis software (Fortebio, version 11.0), 0 nM was taken as a reference well, and reference subtraction was performed; the “1:1 Global fitting” method was selected to fit the data, and the kinetics parameters of the binding of antigens to antigen-binding proteins were calculated, with kon (1/Ms) values, kdis (1/s) values and KD(M) values obtained (see Table 7-2). The results showed that the variant PR003369 with affinity maturation had stronger protein affinity than PR002418.
Epitope competition experiments were performed on B7-H4 antibodies PR002418 and PR002421, control antibody 1 and control antibody 2 by using ForteBio Octet Red96e platform, and the experimental buffer was the same as described above. Step one, acquisition of 100% signal of antibodies: B7-H4 (Acro Biosystems, #B74-H82E2-200 μg) was captured at a capture height of 0.25 nm using an SA sensor (Fortebio, #18-5019). The sensor was equilibrated in a buffer for 120 s and then immersed in each antibody diluted to 100 nM for 240 s, and the final signal of the antibody binding to B7-H4 was recorded as the 100% signal of the antibody. Step two, epitope competition experiment: B7-H4 was captured using an SA sensor at a capture height of 0.25 nm. The sensor was immersed in a primary antibody (at a concentration of 100 nM) for 240 s, and then the SA sensor was immersed in a mixture of the primary and secondary antibodies (both at a final concentration of 100 nM) for 240 s, and the difference in signals after immersion of the sensor in the antibody mixture was recorded as the signal of the antibody as the secondary antibody. The inhibition rate was calculated according to the following formula:
Inhibition (%)=(A−B)/A×100
A: 100% signal of an antibody (obtained from step one), B: the signal of the antibody as the secondary antibody (obtained from step two).
If the inhibition rate obtained was greater than 85(%), it means that the epitopes of the two antibodies were completely overlapped; if the inhibition rate was less than 85(%), it means that the epitopes to which the two antibodies bind were not completely overlapped.
The results in Table 8-1 showed that the epitopes of PR002418 and PR002421 binding to B7-H4 were different, and also different from the epitopes of control antibody 1 and control antibody 2, wherein PR002418 bound to one unique epitope (the first epitope), PR002421 bound to another epitope (the second epitope), and control antibody 1 and control antibody 2 bound to the same epitope (the third epitope).
The proteins of the B7 family (see Table 9-1 for details) were each diluted to 1 μg/mL with PBS, added to a 96-well plate (Corning, #9018) at 100 μL per well, and incubated overnight at 4° C. After the liquid was discarded, the plate was washed 3 times with PBST buffer (pH 7.4, containing 0.05% tween-20), and 250 μL of 2% BSA blocking buffer was added. The plate was incubated at 37° C. for 1 hour. The blocking buffer was discarded, and the plate was washed 3 times with PBST buffer (pH 7.4, containing 0.05% Tween-20). The test antigen-binding protein was diluted to 2 concentrations: 10 nM and 1 nM, and added at 100 μL per well. The plate was incubated at 37° C. for 1 hour. An isotype antibody was taken as a control. After the plate was washed 3 times with PBST buffer (pH 7.4, containing 0.05% Tween-20), the plate was added with a 5000-fold diluted goat anti-human F(ab′)2 HRP secondary antibody (Jackson ImmunoResearch, 109-035-097), and incubated at 37° C. away from light for 1 hour. After the plate was washed 3 times with PBST buffer (pH 7.4, containing 0.05% Tween-20), TMB (Biopanda, #TMB-S-003) was added at 100 μL/well. The plate was left away from light at room temperature for about 30 minutes. The reactions were terminated by adding 50 μL of stop buffer (BBI life sciences, #E661006-0200) to each well, and the absorbance values at 450 nm (OD450) was measured using a microplate reader (PerkinElemer, #Enspire).
30 μL of antibody was diluted to 270 μL of normal human serum (serum concentration 90%), the antibody was divided into 5 parts which were incubated at 37° C. for 0 day, 1 day, 4 days, 7 days and 14 days, respectively, and then the antibodies were taken out, quick frozen with liquid nitrogen, and stored at −80° C. The binding of antibodies to B7H4 on SK-BR-3 cells was detected by flow methods.
SK-BR-3 or CHOK1/H B7H4 cells were digested and resuspended with PBS containing 2% BSA. The cell density was adjusted to 1×106 cells/mL. The cells were seeded in a 96-well V-bottom plate (Corning, #3894) at 100 μL/well, followed by the addition of test antibodies diluted in a 3-fold gradient at a concentration that was 2 times the final concentration, each at 100 μL/well. The cells were incubated at 4° C. for 2 h away from light. Thereafter, the cells in each well were rinsed twice with 100 μL of pre-cooled PBS containing 2% BSA, and centrifuged at 500 g at 4° C. for 5 minutes, and then the supernatant was discarded. Then each well was added with 100 μL of fluorescent secondary antibody (Alexa Fluor 488-conjugated AffiniPure Goat Anti-Human IgG, Fcγ Fragment Specific, Jackson, #109-545-098, diluted in a 1:500 ratio), and the plate was incubated away from light at 4° C. for 60 minutes. The cells in each well were washed twice with 100 μL of pre-cooled PBS containing 2% BSA, and centrifuged at 500 g at 4° C. for 5 minutes, and then the supernatant was discarded. Finally, the cells in each well were resuspended with 200 μL of pre-cooled PBS containing 2% BSA, and the fluorescence signal values were read using an ACEA Novocyte3000 flow cytometer. The results in
6 female Nu/Nu mice with a weight of 18-22 g were selected and administered via tail vein at a dose of 20 mg/kg; the whole blood of 3 mice in one group was collected prior to the administration and 15 minutes, 24 hours (1 day), 4 days and 10 days after the administration, and the whole blood of 3 mice in the other group was collected prior to the administration and 5 hours, 2 days, 7 days and 14 days after the administration. The whole blood was left to stand for 30 min for coagulation and centrifuged at 2,000 rpm for 5 min at 4° C., and the isolated serum sample was cryopreserved at −80° C. until it was taken for analysis. In this example, the drug concentration in the serum of mice was quantitatively determined by ELISA method. The ELISA Fc end overall detection method was performed by capturing a fusion protein containing human Fc in the serum of mice using a goat anti-human Fc polyclonal antibody coating a 96-well plate, and then adding an HRP-labeled goat anti-human Fc secondary antibody. The plasma concentration data were analyzed using Phoenix WinNonlin software (version 8.2) by non-compartmental analysis (NCA) to evaluate the pharmacokinetics.
Table 11-1 shows the pharmacokinetic parameters of PR002418, PR002421 and control antibody 2 (PR002962). The results in
12.1. BALB/c Nude Mouse MDA-MB-468 Tumor Model
On the day of cell inoculation, each BALB/c nude mouse was inoculated subcutaneously with 1×107 tumor cells MDA-MB-468, the cells were resuspended in a PBS/Matrigel (1:1) mixture (0.1 mL/mouse) and inoculated subcutaneously. When the mean tumor volume of each group of mice reached 135 mm3, 25 mice were divided into 5 groups, with an administration cycle being 2 times per week for 12 administrations via intraperitoneal administration. After the start of administration, the body weight and the tumor volume were measured twice a week. The tumor volume was calculated as follows: tumor volume (mm3)=0.5×long diameter of tumor×short diameter of tumor2. The experiment was terminated 39 days after administration and all mice were euthanized.
The in vivo anti-tumor efficacy of BALB/c nude mouse MDA-MB-468 tumor model is shown in
12.2. NSG Mouse MDA-MB-468 Tumor Model with Reconstruction of Human PBMC Immune System
On the day of cell inoculation, each NCG mouse was inoculated subcutaneously with 5×106 tumor cells MDA-MB-468, the cells were resuspended in a PBS/Matrigel (1:1) mixture (0.1 mL/mouse) and inoculated subcutaneously. When the mean tumor volume of each group of mice reached 126 mm3, 30 mice were divided into 5 groups, each mouse was inoculated intravenously with 5×106 human PBMCs, and the cells were resuspended in 200 μL of PBS. The administration was started the next day with an administration cycle of twice a week for 8 administrations via intraperitoneal administration. After the start of administration, the body weight and the tumor volume were measured twice a week. The tumor volume was calculated as follows: tumor volume (mm3)=0.5×long diameter of tumor×short diameter of tumor2. The experimental observation was terminated 36 days after administration and then all mice were euthanized.
The in vivo anti-tumor efficacy of the NSG mouse MDA-MB-468 tumor model with reconstitution of human PBMC immune system is shown in
The pathological tissue chip was purchased from Guilin Fanpu Biotech, Inc. It comprises a BRC1021 breast cancer tissue chip, an EMC1021 endometrial cancer tissue chip, an OVC1021 ovarian cancer tissue chip and an MNO1021 normal tissue chip. Paraffin sections had a thickness of 4 μm and were taken with positive control tissue. Dewaxing and washing were performed; antigen retrieval was performed as follows: citric acid at pH 6 was added, the mixture was heated at 125° C. for 5 minutes, sealed for 10 minutes, and cooled at room temperature for 30 minutes; the mixture was washed with water and then with 0.3% hydrogen peroxide for 5 minutes, and then washed with TBST for 3 times for 5 minutes; Dako blocking buffer was used directly, and blocked in an incubation box at room temperature for 20 minutes; the blocking buffer was removed, the primary antibody was added, the antibody diluent Dako was used directly, the mixture was incubated for 60 minutes in an incubation box at room temperature, and a control was substituted with Rabbit IgG; the mixture was washed with TBST for three times, five minutes each time; a secondary antibody, Anti-Rabbit (EnVision+System-HRP Labelled Polymer) was incubated in the incubation box for 30 minutes at room temperature; the mixture was washed with TBST for three times, five minutes each time; after DAB color development, 0.85 mL of distilled water was added into reagents according to the sequence of the reagents A to B to C in an amount of 50 μL, and the mixture was incubated for 5 minutes in an incubation box at room temperature, then washed with distilled water, and counterstained with hematoxylin. The chip was observed under a microscope followed by sealing and reading.
The results in
Selected anti-B7H4 and anti-CD3 antibodies were used to prepare a bispecific antibody. The prepared B7H4×CD3 bispecific antibody can bind to two targets simultaneously, with one terminus being capable of recognizing B7H4 specifically expressed on tumor cell surfaces and the other terminus being capable of binding to CD3 molecules on T cells. After binding to the surface of a tumor cell, the B7H4×CD3 bispecific antibody molecule can recruit and activate T cells in the vicinity of the tumor cell, thereby killing the tumor cell.
A and B of
E and F, G and H, and I and J show B7H4×CD3 bispecific antibody molecules having “2+1” asymmetric structures. For the “2+1” asymmetric structural molecules, structures (5) and (6) involve four protein chains, which comprise the heavy and light chains of the corresponding anti-B7H4 antibody, and the heavy and light chains of the anti-CD3 antibody described above (see
To minimize the formation of byproducts with mismatched heavy chains (e.g., mismatching of two heavy chains of the anti-CD3 antibody), a mutant heterodimeric Fc region carrying a “knob-hole” mutation and a modified disulfide bond was used, as described in WO2009080251 and WO2009080252. The B7H4×CD3 bispecific antibody has an Fc of IgG1 and carries L234A, L235A and P329G (numbered according to the EU index) mutations on CH3 of the Fc. Each bispecific antibody was generated by co-transfecting simultaneously three or four different mammalian expression vectors encoding: 1) the heavy chain of the corresponding anti-B7H4 antibody, which carries a “Hole” mutation in the Fc region so as to produce a heterodimeric antibody, CH3 of the Fc carrying L234A, L235A and P329G mutations; 2) the heavy chain of the corresponding anti-CD3 antibody, which carries a “knob” mutation in the Fc region so as to produce a heterodimeric antibody, CH3 of the Fc carrying L234A, L235A and P329G mutations; 3) the light chain of the corresponding anti-CD3 antibody. 4) the light chain of the corresponding anti-B7H4 antibody. The “knob” mutation in the Fc region of human IgG1 consists of: T366W, and the “Hole” mutation consists of: T366S, L368A, and Y407V. In addition, S354C in the “knob” Fc region and “Hole” Y349C may be included; they form a pair of disulfide bonds to increase the stability and the yield of the heterodimeric antibody.
The B7H4×CD3 bispecific antibody molecules constructed in this example are listed in Tables 14-1, 14-2, and 14-3, with the structure numbers in the tables corresponding to
SK-BR-3 cells were digested. T cells were isolated using the human T cell isolation kit (Miltenyi, #130-096-535) as described in the method of the instruction, and resuspended with PBS containing 2% BSA. The cell density was adjusted to 1×106 cells/mL. The cells were seeded in a 96-well V-bottom plate (Corning, #3894) at 100 μL/well, followed by the addition of test antibodies diluted in a 3-fold gradient at a concentration that was 2 times the final concentration, each at 100 μL/well. The cells were incubated at 4° C. for 2 h away from light. Thereafter, the cells in each well were rinsed twice with 100 μL of pre-cooled PBS containing 2% BSA, and centrifuged at 500 g at 4° C. for 5 min, and then the supernatant was discarded. Then each well was added with 100 μL of fluorescent secondary antibody (Alexa Fluor 488-conjugated AffiniPure Goat Anti-Human IgG, Fcγ Fragment Specific, Jackson, #109-545-098, diluted in a 1:500 ratio), and the plate was incubated away from light at 4° C. for 1 h. The cells in each well were washed twice with 100 μL of pre-cooled PBS containing 2% BSA, and centrifuged at 500 g at 4° C. for 5 minutes, and then the supernatant was discarded. Finally, the cells in each well were resuspended with 200 μL of pre-cooled PBS containing 2% BSA, and the fluorescence signal values were read using an ACEA Novocyte3000 flow cytometer.
The results of the B7H4×CD3 bispecific antibody molecules having the “1+1” asymmetric structures binding to SK-BR-3 cells are shown in
In this experiment, human primary T cells were used as effector cells, and a cell line SK-BR-3 or MDA-MB-468 highly expressing B7H4, a cell line HCC-1954 moderately expressing B7H4, or a B7H4 negative cell line MDA-MB-231 was used as target cells. The killing efficiency was reflected by the conductivity of the target cell measured using an RTCA instrument from ACEA. A 96-well plate E-plate was first equilibrated with 50 μL of complete medium. Target cells were digested, resuspended in RPM1640 complete medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum and diluted to 4×105/mL. The cell suspension was plated on the 96-well E-plate at 50 μL/well, i.e., 2×104/well, and incubated overnight at 37° C. The next day, primary T cells were isolated using the T cell isolation kit (Miltenyi, #130-096-535) according to the method of the instruction. 50 μL of fresh culture medium containing 2×105 T cells was added to each well, followed by the addition of 50 μL of antibodies diluted in a 4× concentration gradient with a maximum final concentration of 10 nM. A total of 8 concentrations were set in duplicate for each antibody. The conductivity of the target cells was measured in real time. The value at hour 24 was used to calculate the target cell killing efficiency=(1−sample/blank control)×100%. The supernatant was collected after 24 hours and the concentration of IFN-γ was detected by ELISA method. The instructions of IFN gamma Human Uncoated ELISA Kit (Thermo, #88-7316-77) were referred to for the ELISA method.
The results of the B7H4×CD3 bispecific antibody molecules having the “1+1” asymmetric structures activating T cells and killing target cells SK-BR-3 are shown in
On the day of cell inoculation, each NCG mouse was inoculated subcutaneously with 5×106 tumor cells MDA-MB-468, the cells were resuspended in a PBS/Matrigel (1:1) mixture (0.1 mL/mouse) and inoculated subcutaneously. When the mean tumor volume of each group of mice reached 126 mm3, 18 mice were divided into 3 groups, each mouse was inoculated intravenously with 5×106 human PBMCs, and the cells were resuspended with 200 μL of PBS. The administration was started the next day with an administration cycle of once a week for a total of 3 administrations via intravenous administration. After the start of administration, the body weight and the tumor volume were measured twice a week. The tumor volume was calculated as follows: tumor volume (mm3)=0.5×long diameter of tumor×short diameter of tumor2. The experimental observation was terminated 36 days after administration and then all mice were euthanized.
The mean tumor volume of the mice in the vehicle control group at day 36 after administration was 942 mm3. The mean tumor volume of the test drug PR003733 (2 mg/kg) treatment group at day 36 after administration was 590 mm3, showing a significant difference (p value was 0.048) from that of the vehicle control group, with the tumor growth inhibition rate TGI (%) being 37.31%. The mean tumor volume of the test drug PR003899 (2 mg/kg) treatment group at day 36 after administration was 0 mm3, with complete regression of tumor, showing a significant difference (p value was 0.0001) from that of the vehicle control group, with the tumor growth inhibition rate TGI (%) being 100% (see
In the HCC-1954 model, on the day of cell inoculation, each NCG mouse was inoculated subcutaneously with 5×106 tumor cells HCC-1954, the cells were resuspended in a PBS/Matrigel (1:1) mixture (0.1 mL/mouse) and inoculated subcutaneously. When the mean tumor volume of each group of mice reached 102 mm3, 15 mice were divided into 3 groups, each mouse was inoculated intravenously with 3×106 human PBMCs, and the cells were resuspended with 200 μL of PBS. The administration was started the next day with a dosing period of once a week for a total of 2 administrations, via intravenous administration. After the start of administration, the body weight and the tumor volume were measured twice a week. The tumor volume was calculated as follows: tumor volume (mm3)=0.5×long diameter of tumor×short diameter of tumor2. The experiment was terminated 16 days after administration for observation and then all mice were euthanized.
The mean tumor volume of the mice in the vehicle control group at day 16 after administration was 622 mm3. The mean tumor volume of the test drug PR003733 (0.5 mg/kg) treatment group at day 16 after administration was 450 mm3, showing no significant difference (p value was 0.1) from that of the vehicle control group, with the tumor growth inhibition rate TGI (%) being 27.64%. The mean tumor volume of the test drug PR003899 (0.5 mg/kg) treatment group at day 16 after administration was 322 mm3, showing a significant difference (p value was 0.0028) from that of the vehicle control group, with the tumor growth inhibition rate TGI (%) being 48.27% (see
Pharmacodynamic experiments of the two tumor models showed that PR003899 had better efficacy than PR003733.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202010618159.5 | Jun 2020 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2021/102952 | 6/29/2021 | WO |
