Patent Application
20230233707
Antibodies are very widely used in therapeutics and diagnostics applications. While there have been some efforts to oligomerize antibodies to enhance avidity and receptor clustering, there are no current methods to precisely form ordered and structurally homogeneous antibody-bound nanoparticle structures.
In a first aspect, the disclosure provides particles, comprising:
(a) a plurality of polypeptide polymers, wherein
wherein residues in parentheses are optional (i.e.: not considered in the percent identity requirement); and
(b) a plurality of (i) Tie2 receptor antibodies comprising Fc domains, and/or (ii) dimers of fibrinogen-like domain derived from angiopoietin (F domain) fused to an Fc domain;
wherein
wherein the particle comprises dihedral, tetrahedral, octahedral, or icosahedral symmetry.
In one embodiment, the Tie2 antibodies or dimers comprise Tic 2 antibodies, wherein the Tie-2 antibodies comprise an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of heavy and light chain pairs selected from the group consisting of:
In another embodiment, the dimers comprise an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:17 or 18, wherein residues in parentheses are optional.
In another embodiment, the particles or compositions thereof are used for treating comprising treating or limiting development of diseases or syndromes resulting from vascular dysfunction, including but not limited to bacterial or viral infections, sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), acute lung injury, acute kidney injury, wet-age related macular degeneration, open angle glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and diabetic nephropathy.
In another embodiment, the disclosure comprises polypeptides comprising an amino acid sequence comprising or consisting of the amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOS: 17-18 and 47, nucleic acids encoding such polypeptides, expression vectors comprising such nucleic acids operatively linked to control sequence, and host cells comprising such polypeptides, nucleic acids, and/or expression vectors.
In other embodiments, the disclosure provides kits comprising
(a) a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:1-9, wherein residues in parentheses are optional (i.e.: not considered in the percent identity requirement), wherein the polypeptide is capable of (a) assembling into a homo-polymer, and (b) binding to a constant region of an IgG antibody; optionally the polypeptides as further limited in embodiment disclosed herein; and
(b) Tie2 antibodies comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of heavy and light chain pairs selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:11-12; SEQ ID NOS:13-14; and SEQ ID NOS:15-16, and/or a fibrinogen-like domain derived from angiopoietin (F domain) fused to an Fc domain optionally comprising the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 17-18 and 47.
In further embodiments, the disclosure provides kits comprising:
(a) host cells capable of expressing a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60°, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:1-9, wherein residues in parentheses are optional (i.e.: not considered in the percent identity requirement), wherein the polypeptide is capable of (a) assembling into a homo-polymer, and (b) binding to a constant region of an IgG antibody; optionally the polypeptides as further limited in embodiment disclosed herein; and
(b) host cells capable of expressing Tie2 antibodies amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of heavy and light chain pairs selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:11-12; SEQ ID NOS:13-14; and SEQ ID NOS:15-16, and/or a fibrinogen-like domain derived from angiopoietin (F domain) fused to an Fc domain optionally comprising the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 17-18 and 47.
In another aspect, the disclosure provides particles, comprising:
(a) a plurality of polypeptide polymers, wherein
(b) a plurality of α-TNFRSF (tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily) antibodies comprising Fc domains;
wherein
wherein the particle comprises dihedral, tetrahedral, octahedral, or icosahedral symmetry.
In one embodiment, the α-TNFRSF antibody targets one or more of DR5/TRAIL-R2/TNFRSF10B/CD262, CD40, 4-1BB, and TWEAKR (Tumor Necrosis Factor-like Weak Inducer of Apoptosis Receptor)/TNFRSF12A/CD266. In another embodiment, the α-TNFRSF antibodies comprise an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of heavy and light chain pairs (when both heavy and light chain are needed) selected from the group consisting of:
SEQ ID NO: 19 and 20;
SEQ ID NO: 21 and 22;
SEQ ID NO: 23 and 24;
SEQ ID NO: 25 and 26;
SEQ ID NO: 27 and 28;
SEQ ID NO: 29;
SEQ ID NO: 30;
SEQ ID NO: 31 and 32;
SEQ ID NO: 33;
SEQ ID NO: 34 and 35;
SEQ ID NO: 36 and 37;
SEQ ID NO: 38 and 39;
SEQ ID NO: 40 and 41;
SEQ ID NO:42 and 43;
SEQ ID NO: 44 and 45;
SEQ ID NO: 44 and 46;
SEQ ID NO: 48 and 49;
SEQ ID NO: 50 and 51;
SEQ ID NO: 52 and 53;
SEQ ID NO: 54 and 55;
SEQ ID NO: 56;
Lob 7/6 heavy and light chains as disclosed in published US patent application US US20090074711; and Heavy and light chain pairs disclosed in 2018094300.
The disclosure also provides methods for using such particles to treat tumors.
In another embodiment, the disclosure provides kits comprising:
(a) one or more polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:1-9, wherein residues in parentheses are optional (i.e.: not considered in the percent identity requirement), wherein the polypeptide is capable of (a) assembling into a homo-polymer, and (b) binding to a constant region of an IgG antibody; optionally the polypeptides as further limited in embodiment herein; and
(b) α-TNFRSF antibodies comprising an antibody selected from the group consisting of: Lob 7/6, Lucatumumab, Dacetuzumab, Selicrelumab, Blesclumab, Urelumab, Utomilumab, Drozitumab, scTRAIL-Fc, KMTR2, 16E2, and Conatumumab (also referred to as AMG 655); optionally as further limited herein.
In another embodiment, the disclosure provides kits comprising:
(a) host cells capable of expressing one or more polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:1-9, wherein residues in parentheses are optional (i.e.: not considered in the percent identity requirement), wherein the polypeptide is capable of (a) assembling into a homo-polymer, and (b) binding to a constant region of an IgG antibody: optionally the polypeptides as further limited in any embodiment herein; and
(b) host cells capable of expressing α-TNFRSF antibodies comprising an antibody selected from the group consisting of: Lob 7/6, Lucatumumab, Dacetuzumab, Selicrelumab, Bleselumab, Urelumab, Utomilumab, Drozitumab, scTRAIL-Fc, KMTR2, 16E2, and Conatumumab (also referred to as AMG 655); optionally as further limited herein.
All references cited are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. Within this application, unless otherwise stated, the techniques utilized may be found in any of several well-known references such as: Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (Sambrook, et al., 1989, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press), Gene Expression Technology (Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 185. edited by D. Goeddel, 1991. Academic Press, San Diego, Calif.), “Guide to Protein Purification” in Methods in Enzymology (M. P. Deutsheer, ed., (1990) Academic Press, Inc.); PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications (Innis, et al. 1990. Academic Press, San Diego, Calif.), Culture of Animal Cells: A Manual of Basic Technique, 2nd Ed. (R. I. Freshney. 1987. Liss, Inc. New York, N.Y.), Gene Transfer and Expression Protocols, pp. 109-128, ed. E. J. Murray, The Humana Press Inc., Clifton, N.J.), and the Ambion 1998 Catalog (Ambion, Austin, Tex.).
As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
As used herein, the amino acid residues are abbreviated as follows: alanine (Ala; A), asparagine (Asn; N), aspartic acid (Asp; D), arginine (Arg; R), cysteine (Cys; C), glutamic acid (Glu; E), glutamine (Gin; Q), glycine (Gly; G), histidine (His; H), isoleucine (Ile; I), leucine (Leu; L), lysine (Lys; K), methionine (Met; M), phenylalanine (Phe; F), proline (Pro; P), serine (Ser, S), threonine (Thr, T). tryptophan (Trp; W), tyrosine (Tyr, Y), and valine (Val; V).
In all embodiments of polypeptides disclosed herein, any N-terminal methionine residues are optional (i.e.: the N-terminal methionine residue may be present or may be absent).
All embodiments of any aspect of the disclosure can be used in combination, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words ‘comprise’. ‘comprising’, and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to”. Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural and singular number, respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” and “below” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of the application.
In a first aspect, the disclosure provides particles, comprising:
(a) a plurality of polypeptide polymers, wherein
wherein residues in parentheses are optional (i.e.: not considered in the percent identity requirement): and
(b) a plurality of (i) Tie2 receptor antibodies comprising Fc domains, and/or (ii) dimers of fibrinogen-like domain derived from angiopoietin (F domain) fused to an Fc domain;
wherein
wherein the particle comprises dihedral. tetrahedral, octahedral, or icosahedral symmetry.
As shown in the examples that follow, the particles and compositions of the disclosure Tie2 receptor antibodies comprising Fc domains, and/or dimers of fibrinogen-like domain derived from angiopoietin (F domain) fused to an Fc domain significantly increased AKT and ERK1/2 phosphorylation above baseline and enhanced cell migration and vascular stability, and thus are useful for treating pathological symptoms that arise from bacterial and viral infections. For example, the ability to induce phosphorylation of AKT and ERK, can serve to enhance cell migration and tube formation, improve, wound healing after injury, and thus are useful in treating infections (such as bacterial and viral infections), as well as conditions characterized by diseases or syndromes resulting from vascular dysfunction, including but not limited to sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), acute lung injury, acute kidney injury, wet-age related macular degeneration, open angle glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and diabetic nephropathy.
The monomers in the plurality of polypeptide polymers comprise an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:1-9, wherein residues in parentheses are optional (i.e.: not considered in the percent identity requirement), wherein the polypeptide is capable of (a) assembling into a polymer, including but not limited to a homo-polymer, and (b) binding to a constant region of an IgG antibody.
RLIKEVVENAQREGYDIAVAAIAAAVAFAVVAVAAAAADITSSEVLELAIRLIKE
VVENAQREGYVILLAALAAAAAFVVVAAAAKRAGITSSETLKRAIEEIRKRVEEA
QREGNDISEAARQAAEEFRKKAEELK (GSLEHHHHHH)
RLIKEVVENAQREGYDIAVAAIAAAVAFAVVAVAAAAADITSSEVLELAIRLIKE
VVENAQREGYVILLAALAAAAAFVVVAAAAKRAGITSSETLKRAIEEIRKRVEEA
QREGNDISEAARQAAEEFRKKAEELK (GSLEHHHHHH)
AAQLAGIDSEEVLELAARLIKEVVENAQREGYDIAVAAIAAAVAFAVVAVAAAAA
DITSSEVLELAIRLIKEVVENAVREGYVILLAALAAAAAFVVVAAAAKRAGITSS
ETLKRAIEEIRKRVEEAQREGNDISEAARQAAEEFRKKAEELK (GSLEHHHHHH)
KAVATAVEALKEAGASEDEIAEIVARVISEVIRILKENGSEYKVICVSVAKIVAE
IVEALKRSGTSEDEIAEIVARVISEVIRTLKESGSDYLIICVCVAIIVAEIVEAL
KRSGTSEDEIAEIVARVISEVIRTLKESGSSYEVIKECVQIIVLAIILALMKSGT
EVEEILLILLRVKTEVRRTLKESGS (GSLEHHHHHH)
RAVATAVEALKEAGASEDEIAEIVARVISEVIRILKESGSEYKVICRAVARIVAE
IVEALKRSGTSEDEIAEIVARVISEVIRTLKESGSDYLIICVCVAIIVAEIVEAL
KRSGTSEDEIAEIVARVISEVIRTLKESGSSYEVIKECVQIIVLAIILALMKSGT
EVEEILLILLRVKTEVRRTLKES (GSLEHHHHHH)
TVARIVAEIVEKLKRNGASEDEIAEIVAAIIAAVILTLKLSGSDYLIICVCVAII
VAEIVEALKRSGTSEDEIAEIVARVISAVIRVLKESGSSYEVIKECVQIIVLAII
LALMKSGTEVEEILLILLRVKTEVRRTLKES (GSLEHHHHHH)
ARRIAELVEKLKRDGTSAVEIAKIVAAIISAVIAMLKASGSSYEVICECVARIVA
EIVEALKRSGTSAAIIALIVALVISEVIRTLKESGSSFEVILECVIRIVLEIIEA
LKRSGTSEQDVMLIVMAVLLVVLATLQLS (GSLEHHHHHH)
IRLLVLQIRMLDEQRQE (GSLEHHHHHH)
LIMQLLINQIRLLALQIRMLALQLQE (GSLEHHHHHH)
indicates data missing or illegible when filed
As detailed in the examples that follow, the monomers comprise 3 domains (as reflected in the columns of Table 1):
(1) An (Fc) binding domain;
(2) A helical polypeptide (monomer) that helps position the Fe-binder domain and oligomer domain at the correct orientation to promote higher order structures (sometimes referred to as cages, or nanoparticles); and
(3) An oligomer domain that can associate via non-covalent interactions to form polymers (including but not limited to homo-polymers), such as dimers, trimers, tetramers, or pentamers (C2, C3, C4, or C5 cyclic symmetry, respectively).
In some embodiments, the oligomer domain can self-associate via non-covalent interactions to form a homo-polymer with an identical polypeptide. In another embodiment, the oligomer domain can associate via non-covalent interactions to form a pseudo-polymer with similar polypeptide that has some amino acid sequence differences, so long as each monomer has the required amino acid sequence identity to the reference polypeptide.
The polypeptide monomers fuse these domains at an orientation that when in oligomeric form and combined with IgG. forms the desired higher order structures as detailed herein.
Each polypeptide monomer has two interfaces: (1) A Fc-binding interface (defined for each polypeptide in Table 3); and (2) An oligomerization domain interface (defined for each polypeptide in Table 2). The polypeptides of the disclosure, when expressed, will form a cyclic oligomer with C2, C3, C4, or C5 symmetry via the oligomerization domain. When combined with antibody or dimer, a higher order, cage-like, polyhedral structure spontaneously assembles via interaction of the antibodies with Fc binding interfaces. The resulting higher order structures have C2 cyclic symmetry at the Fc position and cyclic 2, 3, 4, or 5-symmetry at each oligomerization domain interface. The resulting particles form precisely ordered and structurally homogeneous antibody-bound nanoparticle structures.
As used herein, a Tie-2 antibody “antibody” includes reference to full length and any functional antibody fragments (i.e.: that selectively bind to the Tie 2 receptor) including the Fc domain. In some embodiments, the antibody includes heavy and light chains. In other embodiments, the antibody may comprise a fusion protein comprising a protein that selectively bind to the Tie 2 receptor and an Fc domain, that dimerizes since the Fc domains naturally dimerizes. In other embodiments, the antibody may comprise an Fc fragment chemically modified to a protein that selectively bind to the Tic 2 receptor, which dimerizes since the Fc domains naturally dimerizes.
The Tie-2 dimers include two monomers of the fibrinogen-like domain derived from angiopoietin (F domain) fused to an Fc domain. The two monomers dimerize since the Fc domain naturally dimerizes. The F domain amino acid sequence present in each monomer comprises or consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:10:
When combined with Tie2 antibodies or the dimers, a higher order, cage-like, polyhedral structure spontaneously assembles via interaction of the antibodies or dimers with Fc binding interfaces. The resulting higher order structures have cyclic symmetry at each Fc-binding interface and each oligomerization domain interface. For example, the Tie2 antibody heavy and light chains can be co-expressed in cells to produce the Tie2 antibody, which can then be mixed with the polymers to form the particles of the disclosure. Alternatively, the Tie2-binding domain fused to an Fc domain can be expressed in cells, which associate to form the dimer, which can then be mixed with the polymers to form the particles of the disclosure
In one embodiment, amino acid residues that would be present at a polymeric interface (as defined in Table 2) in a polymer of the polypeptide monomer of any one of SEQ ID NOS:1-9 arc conserved (i.e.: identical to the amino acid residue at the same position in the reference polypeptide).
In another embodiment, amino acid residues in the monomers present at a Fc binding interface as defined in Table 3 are conserved.
In a further embodiment, amino acid substitutions relative to the reference monomer amino acid sequence comprise, consist essentially of or consist of substitutions at polar residues in the reference polypeptide. In other embodiments, polar residues on the surface of the polypeptide monomer that are not at the Fc or oligomeric interfaces may be substituted with other polar residues while maintaining folding and assembly properties of the designs.
As used herein, “polar” residues are C, D, E, H, K, N, Q, R, S, T, and Y. “Non-polar” residues are defined as A, G, I, L, M, F, P, W, and V.
In one embodiment, amino acid substitutions relative to the reference monomer amino acid sequence comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of substitutions at polar residues at non-Gly/Pro residues in loop positions, as defined in Table 4, in the reference polypeptide monomer.
In a further embodiment of any of these embodiments, amino acid changes from the reference polypeptide monomer are conservative amino acid substitutions. As used here “conservative amino acid substitution” means that:
In all embodiments disclosed herein, the polypeptides may comprise one or more additional functional groups or residues as deemed appropriate for an intended use. The polypeptides of the disclosure may include additional residues at the N-terminus or C-terminus, or a combination thereof; these additional residues are not included in determining the percent identity of the polypeptides of the invention relative to the reference polypeptide. Such residues may be any residues suitable for an intended use, including but not limited to detectable proteins or fragments thereof (also referred to as “tags”). As used herein, “tags” include general detectable moieties (i.e.: fluorescent proteins, antibody epitope tags, etc.), therapeutic agents, purification tags (His tags, etc.), linkers, ligands suitable for purposes of purification, ligands to drive localization of the polypeptide, peptide domains that add functionality to the polypeptides. In non-limiting embodiments, such functional groups may comprise one or more polypeptide antigens, polypeptide therapeutics, enzymes, detectable domains (ex: fluorescent proteins or fragments thereof). DNA binding proteins, transcription factors, etc. In one embodiment, the polypeptides may further comprise a functional polypeptide covalently linked to the amino-terminus and/or the carboxy-terminus. In other embodiments, the functional polypeptide may include, but is not limited to, a detectable polypeptide such as a fluorescent or luminescent polypeptide, receptor binding domains, etc.
In one embodiment, the plurality of homo-polymers comprises homo-dimers of the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:1-3. In these embodiments, adding the recited polypeptides with Tie2 antibodies or dimers results in spontaneous assembly into a D2 dihedral structure containing two antibodies per particle.
In another embodiment, the plurality of homo-polymers comprises homo-trimers of the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%0, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:4-6. In these embodiments, adding the recited polypeptides with Tie2 antibodies or dimers results in spontaneous assembly into a T32 tetrahedral structure containing six antibodies per particle.
In a further embodiment, the plurality of homo-polymers comprises homo-tetramers of the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:7. In these embodiments. adding the recited polypeptides with Tie2 antibodies or dimers results in spontaneous assembly into an 042 octahedral structure containing twelve antibodies per particle.
In a still further embodiment, the plurality of homo-polymers comprises homo-pentamers of the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:8-9. In these embodiments, adding the recited polypeptides with Tie2 antibodies or dimers results in spontaneous assembly into an 152 icosahedral structure containing thirty antibodies per particle.
In one embodiment of all of these embodiments, the Tie2 antibodies or dimers comprise Tie 2 antibodies, wherein the Tie-2 antibodies comprise an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of heavy and light chain pairs selected from the group consisting of:
HTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNS
TYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFY
PSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK
TCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNST
YRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYP
SDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPCK
HTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNS
TYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFY
PSDIAVEWESNGQPEMNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK
In another embodiment of all of these embodiments, the Tie2 antibodies or dimers comprise dimers, wherein the dimers comprise monomers comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:47, wherein (X) is optional and when present comprises an amino acid linker of any suitable length and amino acid content. As noted above, the Tic-2 dimers include two monomers of the fibrinogen-like domain derived from angiopoietin (F domain) fused to an Fc domain. The two monomers dimerize since the Fc domain naturally dimerizes. The F domain amino acid sequence present in each monomer comprises or consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:10:
Human Ang1 F domain (Tie2 receptor binding domain; SEQ ID NO:10): Bold font Human IgG1 Fc: Underlined
KAELASEKPFRDCADVYQAGFNKSGIYTIYINNMPEPKKVECNMDVNGGGWTVIQHREDGSLDFQRGWKEYKMGE
GNPSGEYWLGNEFIFAITSQRQYMLRIELMDWEGNRAYSQYDRFHIGNEKQNYRLYLKGHTGTAGKQSSLILEGA
DFSTKDADNDNCMCKCALMLTGGWWFDACGPSNLNGMFYTAGQNHGKLNGIRWHYFKGPSYSLRSTTMMIRPLDF
KTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQ
VSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYT
QKSLSLSPGK
In one embodiment, the dimers comprise monomers comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:17 or 18, wherein residues in parentheses are optional. The residues in parentheses are either amino acid linkers (in these examples, GS-rich linkers), His-tags, or secretion signals (italicized—these may be absent, present, or replaced with any other secretion signal)
FCNMDVNGGGWTVIOHREDGSLDFQRGWKEYKMGFGNPSGEYWLGNEFIEAITSQRQYMLRIELMDWEGNRAYSQ
YDRFHIGNEKQNYRLYLKGHTGTAGKQSSLILHGADFSTKDADNDNCMCKCALMLTGGWWFDACGPSNLNGMFYT
AGQNHGKLNGIKWHYEKGPSYSLRSTTMMIRPLDE(GGSGGS)EPKSSDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKP
KDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCK
VSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSPDELTSNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPV
LDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK
IQHREDGSLDFQRGWKEYKMGFGNPSGEYWLGNEFIFAITSQRQYMLRIELMDWEGNRAYSQYDRFHIGNEKQNY
RLYLKGHTGTAGKQSSLILHGADFSTKDADNDNCMCKCALMLTGGWWFDACGPSNLNGMFYTAGQNHGKLNGIKW
HYFKGPSYSLRSTTMMIRPLDF(GGSGGS)EPKSSDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVT
CVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKT
ISKAKGQPREPWVTTLEPSRDELTKNGVSLTCLVEGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKL
TVDKSRWQQGNWFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQESLSLSPGK(GGSHHHHHH)
In one specific embodiment of any of the above embodiments, the plurality of homo-polymers comprises homo-tetramers of the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:7. In another specific embodiment of any of the above embodiments, the plurality of homo-polymers comprises homo-trimers of the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:5.
In another embodiment, the disclosure provides composition comprising a plurality of the particles of any embodiment herein comprising Tie2 receptor antibodies comprising Fc domains, and/or dimers of fibrinogen-like domain derived from angiopoietin (F domain) fused to an Fc domain. The compositions may be used, for example, in the methods and uses of the disclosure. In one embodiment, all antibodies or dimers in the composition are identical. In another embodiment. the antibodies or dimers in the composition are, in total, not identical. For example, the composition may comprise particles comprising Tie2 antibodies and particles comprising F domain dimers. In another embodiment, the composition may comprise particles comprising different Tie2 antibodies and/or F domain dimers having different amino acid sequences.
In another embodiment, the disclosure comprises pharmaceutical compositions comprising the Tie2 particle or composition of any embodiment herein, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The pharmaceutical compositions may be used, for example, in the methods and uses of the disclosure.
In another embodiment, the disclosure provides uses of the Tie 2 particles, compositions or pharmaceutical compositions for any suitable use, including but not limited to those described in the examples. In one embodiment, the disclosure provides methods for treating complications from bacterial or viral infections or any disease or syndrome resulting from vascular dysfunction, comprising administering to a subject having a bacterial or viral infection or any disease or syndrome resulting from vascular dysfunction an amount of the particles, compositions, or pharmaceutical compositions or any embodiment or combination of embodiments herein effective to treat the bacterial or viral infection. The methods may be used to treat any bacterial or viral infection, or any disease or syndrome resulting from vascular dysfunction as deemed appropriate by attending medical personnel. In one embodiment, the treating comprising treating or limiting development of diseases or syndromes resulting from vascular dysfunction, including but are not limited to sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), acute lung injury, acute kidney injury, wet-age related macular degeneration, open angle glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and diabetic nephropathy.
In another embodiment, the disclosure provides kits for generating the particles and compositions of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the kits comprise:
(a) a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:1-9, wherein residues in parentheses are optional (i.e.: not considered in the percent identity requirement), wherein the polypeptide is capable of (a) assembling into a homo-polymer, and (b) binding to a constant region of an IgG antibody; optionally wherein the polypeptides are as disclosed in any embodiment disclosed herein; and
(b) Tie2 antibodies comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of heavy and light chain pairs selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:11-12; SEQ ID NOS:13-14; and SEQ ID NOS:15-16, and/or a fibrinogen-like domain derived from angiopoietin (F domain) fused to an Fc domain optionally comprising the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:17-18 and 47.
In this embodiment, when the two components are combined the particles spontaneously assemble via interaction of the antibodies or dimers with Fc binding interfaces.
In another embodiment, the kits comprise:
(a) host cells capable of expressing a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, SS %, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:1-9, wherein residues in parentheses are optional (i.e.: not considered in the percent identity requirement), wherein the polypeptide is capable of (a) assembling into a homo-polymer, and (b) binding to a constant region of an IgG antibody; optionally wherein the polypeptides are as disclosed for any embodiment herein; and
(b) host cells capable of expressing Tie2 antibodies amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of heavy and light chain pairs selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:11-12; SEQ ID NOS:13-14; and SEQ ID NOS:15-16, and/or a fibrinogen-like domain derived from angiopoietin (F domain) fused to an Fc domain optionally comprising the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 17-18 and 47.
In this embodiment, the two components can be produced by the host cells and then combined so that the particles spontaneously assemble via interaction of the antibodies or dimers with Fc binding interfaces.
In another embodiment, the disclosure provides polypeptides comprising an amino acid sequence comprising or consisting of the amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOS: 17-18 and 47. The polypeptides may be used in producing the Tic 2 particles disclosed herein.
In another aspect, the disclosure provides nucleic acids encoding the polypeptide comprising or consisting of the amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOS: 17-18 and 47. The nucleic acid sequence may comprise single stranded or double stranded RNA or DNA in genomic or cDNA form, or DNA-RNA hybrids, each of which may include chemically or biochemically modified, non-natural, or derivatized nucleotide bases. Such nucleic acid sequences may comprise additional sequences useful for promoting expression and/or purification of the encoded polypeptide, including but not limited to polyA sequences, modified Kozak sequences, and sequences encoding epitope tags, export signals, and secretory signals, nuclear localization signals, and plasma membrane localization signals. It will be apparent to those of skill in the art, based on the teachings herein, what nucleic acid sequences will encode the polypeptides of the disclosure.
In another aspect, the disclosure provides expression vectors comprising the nucleic acids of the disclosure operatively linked to control sequence. “Expression vector” includes vectors that operatively link a nucleic acid coding region or gene to any control sequences capable of effecting expression of the gene product. “Control sequences” operatively linked to the nucleic acid sequences of the disclosure are nucleic acid sequences capable of effecting the expression of the nucleic acid molecules. The control sequences need not be contiguous with the nucleic acid sequences, so long as they function to direct the expression thereof. Thus, for example, intervening untranslated yet transcribed sequences can be present between a promoter sequence and the nucleic acid sequences and the promoter sequence can still be considered “operably linked” to the coding sequence. Other such control sequences include, but are not limited to, polyadenylation signals. termination signals, and ribosome binding sites. Such expression vectors can be of any type, including but not limited plasmid and viral-based expression vectors. The control sequence used to drive expression of the disclosed nucleic acid sequences in a mammalian system may be constitutive (driven by any of a variety of promoters, including but not limited to, CMV, SV40, RSV, actin, EF) or inducible (driven by any of a number of inducible promoters including, but not limited to, tetracycline, ecdysone, steroid-responsive). The expression vector must be replicable in the host organisms either as an episome or by integration into host chromosomal DNA. In various embodiments, the expression vector may comprise a plasmid, viral-based vector, or any other suitable expression vector.
In a further embodiment, the disclosure provides host cells comprising the polypeptide, nucleic acid, and/or expression vector of any embodiment disclosed herein. In various embodiments, the host cells can be either prokaryotic or eukaryotic.
In another aspect, the disclosure provides particles, comprising:
(a) a plurality of polypeptide polymers, wherein
(b) a plurality of α-TNFRSF (tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily) antibodies comprising Fc domains;
wherein
wherein the particle comprises dihedral, tetrahedral, octahedral, or icosahedral symmetry.
As shown in the examples that following, the particles of the disclosure targeting cell-surface TNFRSF receptors enhance signaling compared to free antibodies or Fc-fusions in DR5-mediated apoptosis, and were shown to induce tumor cell apoptosis. Thus, the compositions may be used to treat tumors.
In this aspect, “antibody” includes reference to full length and any functional antibody fragments that selectively bind a TNFRSF including the Fc domain; fusion proteins comprising a protein that binds a TNFRSF and an Fc domain, that dimerizes since the Fc domains naturally dimerizes; and an Fc fragment chemically modified to a protein that binds a TNFRSF, which dimerizes since the Fc domains naturally dimerizes.
When combined with α-TNFRSF antibody, a higher order, cage-like, polyhedral structure spontaneously assembles via interaction of the antibodies with Fc binding interfaces. The resulting higher order structures have C2 cyclic symmetry at the Fc position and cyclic 2, 3, 4, or 5-symmetry at each homo-oligomerization domain interface.
All embodiments of the polypeptide monomers disclosed herein are equally applicable to this aspect of the disclosure. Thus, in various non-limiting embodiments, residues present at a polymeric interface, as defined in Table 2, in a polymer of the polypeptide of any one of SEQ ID NOS:1-9 may be conserved; residues present at a Fc binding interface of any one of SEQ ID NOS:1-9 as defined in Table 3 may be conserved; substitutions relative to the reference sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOS:1-9 may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of substitutions at polar residues in the reference polypeptide; substitutions relative to the reference sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOS:1-9 may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of substitutions at polar residues at non-Gly/Pro residues in loop positions, as defined in Table 4, in the reference polypeptide; and/or amino acid changes from the reference polypeptide of any one of SEQ ID NOS:1-9 may be conservative amino acid substitutions. In all embodiments, the polypeptide monomers may further comprise a functional polypeptide covalently linked to the amino-terminus and/or the carboxy-terminus. In various non-limiting embodiments, the functional polypeptide may include, but is not limited to, a detectable polypeptide such as a fluorescent or luminescent polypeptide, receptor binding domains, etc.
In one embodiment, the α-TNFRSF antibody heavy and light chains can be co-expressed in cells to produce the α-TNFRSF antibody, which can then be mixed with the polymers to form the particles of the disclosure.
In some embodiments, the polypeptide monomers in each polymer are 100% identical, and the polymers are homo-oligomers. In other embodiments, the polymers may comprise monomers with some amino acid differences, so long as each monomer has the required amino acid sequence identity to the reference polypeptide. In these embodiments, the polymers are not necessarily homo-oligomers. In light of this, as will be understood by those of skill in the art, the plurality of polymers in a given particle may comprise all homo-oligomers, the particle may comprise polymers that are not homo-oligomers, or a combination thereof. Similarly, the particle may comprise all homo-oligomers, and each homo-oligomer may be identical, or the plurality of homo-oligomers may comprise 2 or more different homo-oligomers.
In one embodiment, the plurality of polymers comprises dimers of the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:1-3. In these embodiments, adding the recited polypeptides with to α-TNFRSF antibodies results in spontaneous assembly into a D2 dihedral structure containing two antibodies per particle.
In another embodiment, the plurality of polymers comprises trimers of the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:4-6. In these embodiments, adding the recited polypeptides with α-TNFRSF antibodies results in spontaneous assembly into a T32 tetrahedral structure containing six antibodies per particle.
In a further embodiment, the plurality of polymers comprises tetramers of the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:7. In these embodiments, adding the recited polypeptides with α-TNFRSF antibodies results in spontaneous assembly into an 042 octahedral structure containing twelve antibodies per particle.
In one embodiment, the plurality of polymers comprises pentamers of the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:8-9. In these embodiments, adding the recited polypeptides with α-TNFRSF antibodies results in spontaneous assembly into an 152 icosahedral structure containing thirty antibodies per particle.
Any TNFRSF may be targeted as appropriate for an intended use of the particles and compositions thereof. In various embodiments, the α-TNFRSF antibody targets one or more of DR5/TRAIL-R2/TNFRSF10B/CD262, CD40, 4-1BB, and TWEAKR (Tumor Necrosis Factor-like Weak Inducer of Apoptosis Receptor)/TNFRSF12A/CD266. In various further embodiments, the α-TNFRSF antibodies comprise an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of heavy and light chain pairs (when both heavy and light chain are needed) selected from the group consisting of:
SEQ ID NO: 19 and 20;
SEQ ID NO: 21 and 22;
SEQ ID NO: 23 and 24;
SEQ ID NO: 25 and 26;
SEQ ID NO: 27 and 28;
SEQ ID NO: 29;
SEQ ID NO: 30;
SEQ ID NO: 31 and 32;
SEQ ID NO: 33;
SEQ ID NO: 34 and 35;
SEQ ID NO: 36 and 37;
SEQ ID NO: 38 and 39;
SEQ ID NO: 40 and 41;
SEQ ID NO: 42 and 43;
SEQ ID NO: 44 and 45;
SEQ ID NO: 44 and 46;
SEQ ID NO: 48 and 49;
SEQ ID NO: 50 and 51;
SEQ ID NO: 52 and 53
SEQ ID NO: 54 and 55;
SEQ ID NO: 56;
Lob 7/6 heavy and light chains as disclosed in published US patent application US US20090074711 (incorporated by reference herein in its entirety); and
Heavy and light chain pairs disclosed in 2018094300 (incorporated by reference herein in its entirety).
AGFSVFLFPP KPKDTLMISR TPEVTCVVVD VSHEDPEVQF NWYVDGVEVH NAKTKPREEQ
FNSTRFVVSV LTVVHQDWLN GKEYKCKVSN KGLPAPIEKT ISKTKGQPRE PQVYTLPPSR
EEMTKNQVSL TCLVKGFYPS DIAVEWESNG QPENNYKTTP PMLDSDGSFF LYSKLTVDKS
RWQQGNVFSC SVMHEALHNH YTQKSLSLSP GK (SEQ ID NO: 19)
VFLFPPKPKD TLMISRTPEV TCVVVDVSQE DPEVQFNWYV DGVEVHNAKT KPREEQFNST
YRVVSVLTVL HQDQLNGKEY KCKVSNKGLP SSIEKTISKA KGQPREPQVY TLPPSQEEMT
KNQVSLTCLV KGFYPSDIAV EWESNGQPEN NYKTTPPVLD SDGSFFLYSR LTVDKSRWQE
GNVFSCSVMH EALHNHYTQK SLSLSLGK (SEQ ID NO: 21)
VFLFPPKPKD TLMISRTPEV TCVVVDVSQE DPEVQFNWYV DGVEVHNAKT KPREEQFNST
YRVVSVLTVL HQDWLNGKEY KCKVSNKGLP SSIEKTISKA KGQPREPQVY TLPPSQEEMT
KNQVSLTCLV KGFYPSDIAV EWESNGQPEN NYKTTPPVLD SDGSFFLYSR LTVDKSRWQE
GNVFSCSMVH EALHNHYTQK SLSLSGK (SEQ ID NO: 23)
KPKDTLMISR TPEVTCVVVD VSHEDPEVQF NWYVDGVEVH NAKTKPREEQ FNSTFRVVSV
LTVVHQDWLN GKEYKCKVSN KGLPAPIEKT ISKTKGQPRE PQVYTLPPSR EEMTKNQVSI
TCLVKGFYPS DIAVEWESNG QPENNYKTTP PMLDSDGSFF LYSKLTVDKS RWQQGNVFSC
SVMHEALHNH YTQKSLSLSP GK (SEQ ID NO: 25)
GPSVFLFPPK PKDTLMISRT PEVTCVVVDV SHEDPEVKFN WYVDGVEVHN AKTKPREEQY
NSTYRVVSVL TVLHQDWLNG KEYKCKVSNK ALPAPIEKTI SKAKGQPREP QVYTLPPSRE
EMTKNQVSLT CLVKGFYPSD IAVEWESNGQ PENNYKTTPP VLDSDGSFFL YSKLTVDKSR
WQQGNVFSCS VMHEALHNHY TQKSLSLSPG K (SEQ ID NO: 27)
ELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYSSTYRVVSVLT
VLHQDWLNCKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWE
SNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK (SEQ ID
DKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQ
YNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVK
GFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSP
GK (SEQ ID NO: 34)
EVQLVQSGGGVERPGGSLRLSCAASGFTFDDYGMSSVRQAPGKGLEWVSGINWNGGSTGYADSVKGRVTISRDNA
KNSLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAKILGAGRGWYFDLWGKGTTVTVSSASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLV
KDYFPEPVTVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVPSSSLGTQTYICNVNHKPSNTKVDKKVEPKSCD
KTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQY
NSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKG
FYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG
K (SEQ ID NO: 36)
GVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSR
EEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDLSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHE
ALHLMYTAKSLSLSPGE (SEQ ID NO: 38)
SVFLFPPKPK DTLMISRTPE VTCVVVDVSH EDPEVKFNWY VDGVEVHNAK TKPREEQYNS
TYRVVSVLTV LHQDWLNGKE YKCKVSNKAL PAPIEKTISK AKGQPREPQV YTLPPSREEM
TKNQVSLTCL VKGFYPSDIA VEWESNGQPE NNYKTTPPVL DSDGSFFLYS KLTVDKSRWQ
QGNVFSCSVM HEALHNHYTQ KSLSLSPGK (SEQ ID NO: 40)
CDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREE
QYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLV
KGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLS
PGK (SEQ ID NO: 48)
HTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNS
TYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFY
PSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK
TCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNST
YRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYP
SDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK
HTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNS
TYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFY
PSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK
DVSHEDFEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYSSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKA
KGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDK
SRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSGSLSPGK (SEQ ID NO: 56)
indicates data missing or illegible when filed
In one specific embodiment of any of the above embodiments, the plurality of homo-polymers comprises homo-tetramers of the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:7. In another specific embodiment of any of the above embodiments, the plurality of homo-polymers comprises homo-trimers of the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:5.
In another embodiment, the disclosure provides compositions comprising a plurality of the particles of any embodiment herein comprising α-TNFRSF antibodies. The compositions may be used, for example, in the methods and uses of the disclosure. In one embodiment, all antibodies in the composition are identical. In another embodiment, the antibodies are, in total, not identical.
In another embodiment, the disclosure comprises pharmaceutical compositions comprising the α-TNFRSF antibody particles or compositions of any embodiment herein, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The pharmaceutical compositions may be used, for example, in the methods and uses of the disclosure.
In another embodiment, the disclosure provides uses of the α-TNFRSF antibody particles, compositions or pharmaceutical compositions for any suitable use, including but not limited to those described in the examples. In one embodiment, the disclosure provides methods for treating method for treating a tumor, comprising administering to a subject having a tumor an amount of the particles, compositions, or pharmaceutical composition or any embodiment or combination of embodiments herein effective to induce tumor cell apoptosis. In one embodiment, the tumor overexpresses DR5 relative to a control tumor or a threshold DR5 expression level. As shown in the examples that following, the particles of the disclosure targeting cell-surface TNFRSF receptors enhance signaling compared to free antibodies or Fc-fusions in DR5-mediated apoptosis, and were shown to induce tumor cell apoptosis. Thus, the compositions may be used to treat tumors.
In another embodiment, the disclosure provides kits for generating the α-TNFRSF antibody particles and compositions of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the kits comprise:
(a) one or more polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:1-9, wherein residues in parentheses are optional (i.e.: not considered in the percent identity requirement), wherein the polypeptide is capable of (a) assembling into a homo-polymer, and (b) binding to a constant region of an IgG antibody; optionally the polypeptides as further limited in embodiment herein; and
(b) α-TNFRSF antibodies comprising an antibody selected from the group consisting of: Lob 7/6, Lucatumumab, Dacetuzumab, Selicrelumab, Blesclumab, Urelumab, Utomilumab, Drozitumab, scTRAIL-Fc, KMTR2, 16E2, and Conatumumab (also referred to as AMG 655); optionally as further specified by the heavy and light chain amino acid sequences described above.
In this embodiment, when the two components are combined the particles spontaneously assemble via interaction of the antibodies or dimers with Fc binding interfaces.
In another embodiment, the kits comprise:
(a) host cells capable of expressing one or more polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS:1-9, wherein residues in parentheses are optional (i.e.: not considered in the percent identity requirement), wherein the polypeptide is capable of (a) assembling into a homo-polymer, and (b) binding to a constant region of an IgG antibody; optionally the polypeptides as further limited in any embodiment herein; and
(b) host cells capable of expressing α-TNFRSF antibodies comprising an antibody selected from the group consisting of: Lob 7/6, Lucatumumab, Dacetuzumab, Selicrelumab, Bleselumab, Urelumab, Utomilumab, Drozitumab, scTRAIL-Fc, KMTR2, 16E2, and Conatumumab (also referred to as AMG 655); optionally as further specified by the heavy and light chain amino acid sequences described above.
In this embodiment, the two components can be produced by the host cells and then combined so that the particles spontaneously assemble via interaction of the antibodies or dimers with Fc binding interfaces.
As described in the examples, the particles have substantial internal volume that can be used to package nucleic acid or protein cargo. Thus, in another embodiment that can be combined with any other embodiment, the particles comprise a cargo within the particle internal volume. Any suitable cargo may be packaged within the particles, including but not limited to nucleic acids or polypeptides useful for an intended purpose.
The polypeptides described herein may be chemically synthesized or recombinantly expressed. The particles, polypeptides polymers, monomers, antibodies, and/or dimers may be linked to other compounds to promote an increased half-life in vivo or promote increased stability or activity in blood or at an injection site. Such linkage can be covalent or non-covalent as is understood by those of skill in the art, and may be accomplished, by way of non-limiting example, by methods including but not limited to chemical crosslinking, PEGylation, HESylation, PASylation, and/or glycosylation.
In another embodiment, one or more monomer in the polypeptide polymer may be linked covalently to either the antibody or dimer, in order to increase half-life in vivo or promote increased stability or activity in blood or injection site.
The pharmaceutical compositions of the disclosure may comprise (a) the particles, or compositions of any embodiment or combination of embodiments herein, and (b) a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The pharmaceutical compositions may further comprise (a) a lyoprotectant; (b) a surfactant; (c) a bulking agent; (d) a tonicity adjusting agent; (e) a stabilizer; (f) a preservative and/or (g) a buffer. In some embodiments, the buffer in the pharmaceutical composition is a Tris buffer, a histidine buffer, a phosphate buffer, a citrate buffer or an acetate buffer. The composition may also include a lyoprotectant, e.g. sucrose, sorbitol or trehalose. In certain embodiments, the composition includes a preservative e.g. benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium, chlorohexidine, phenol, m-cresol, benzyl alcohol, methylparaben, propylparaben, chlorobutanol, o-cresol, p-cresol, chlorocresol, phenylmercuric nitrate, thimerosal, benzoic acid, and various mixtures thereof. In other embodiments, the composition includes a bulking agent, like glycine. In yet other embodiments, the composition includes a surfactant e.g., polysorbate-20, polysorbate-40, polysorbate-60, polysorbate-65, polysorbate-80 polysorbate-85, poloxamer-188, sorbitan monolaurate, sorbitan monopalmitate, sorbitan monostearate, sorbitan monooleate, sorbitan trilaurate, sorbitan tristearate, sorbitan trioleate, or a combination thereof. The composition may also include a tonicity adjusting agent, e.g., a compound that renders the formulation substantially isotonic or isosmotic with human blood. Exemplary tonicity adjusting agents include sucrose, sorbitol, glycine, methionine, mannitol, dextrose, inositol, sodium chloride, arginine and arginine hydrochloride. In other embodiments, the composition additionally includes a stabilizer, e.g., a molecule which substantially prevents or reduces chemical and/or physical instability of the nanostructure, in lyophilized or liquid form. Exemplary stabilizers include sucrose, sorbitol, glycine, inositol, sodium chloride, methionine, arginine, and arginine hydrochloride.
The particles, or compositions may be the sole active agent in the composition, or the composition may further comprise one or more other agents suitable for an intended use.
As used herein, “treat” or “treating” means accomplishing one or more of the following: (a) reducing severity of symptoms of the disorder in the subject; (b) limiting increase in symptoms in the subject; (c) increasing survival; (d) decreasing the duration of symptoms; (e) limiting or preventing development of symptoms; and (t) decreasing the need for hospitalization and/or the length of hospitalization for treating the disorder.
As used herein, “limiting” means to limit development of the disorder in subjects at risk of such disorder.
As used herein, an “amount effective” refers to an amount of the particle, composition, or pharmaceutical composition that is effective for treating and/or limiting development of the disorder. The particle, composition, or pharmaceutical composition of any embodiment herein are typically formulated as a pharmaceutical composition, such as those disclosed above, and can be administered via any suitable route, including orally, parentally, by inhalation spray, rectally, or topically in dosage unit formulations containing conventional pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, adjuvants, and vehicles. The term parenteral as used herein includes, subcutaneous, intravenous, intra-arterial, intramuscular, intrasternal, intratendinous, intraspinal, intracranial, intrathoracic, infusion techniques or intraperitoneally. Polypeptide compositions may also be administered via microspheres, liposomes, immune-stimulating complexes (ISCOMs), or other microparticulate delivery systems or sustained release formulations introduced into suitable tissues (such as blood). Dosage regimens can be adjusted to provide the optimum desired response (e.g., a therapeutic or prophylactic response). A suitable dosage range may, for instance, be 0.1 μg/kg-00 mg/kg body weight of the particle, composition, or pharmaceutical composition thereof. The composition can be delivered in a single bolus, or may be administered more than once (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, or more times) as determined by attending medical personnel.
We set out to design proteins that drive the assembly of arbitrary antibodies into symmetric assemblies with well-defined structures. We reasoned that symmetric protein assemblies could be built out of IgG antibodies, which are two-fold symmetric proteins, by placing the symmetry axes of the antibodies on the two-fold axes of the target architecture and designing a second protein to hold the antibodies in the correct orientation. As we aimed for a format that would work for many different antibodies, we chose as the nanoparticle interface the interaction between the constant fragment crystallizable (Fc) domain of IgG and the Fc-binding helical bundle protein A.
To design a homo-oligomer terminating with an Fc-binding interface that has the correct geometry to hold the IgGs in the correct relative orientation for the desired architecture, we computationally fused three protein building blocks together: Fc-binders, monomers, and homo-oligomers. The Fc-binder forms the first nanocage interface between the antibody and the nanocage-forming design, the homo-oligomer forms the second nanocage interface between designed protein chains, and the monomer links the two interfaces together in the correct orientation to generate the desired nanomaterial.
To generate usable Fc-binding building blocks beyond protein A itself, we designed a second Fe-binding building block by grafting the protein A interface residues onto a designed helical repeat protein (
We used a recently described computational protocol (WORMS) that rapidly samples all possible fusions from our building block library to identify those with the net rigid body transforms required to generate dihedral, tetrahedral, octahedral, and icosahedral AbCs (20, 21). To describe the final nanocage architectures, we follow a naming convention which summarizes the point group symmetry and the cyclic symmetries of the building blocks. For example, a T32 assembly has tetrahedral point group symmetry and is built out of a C3 cyclic symmetric antibody-binding designed oligomer, and the C2 cyclic symmetric antibody Fe. While the antibody dimer aligns along the two-fold axis in all architectures, the designed component is a second homodimer in D2 dihedral structures; a homotrimer in T32 tetrahedral structures, O32 octahedral structures, and 132 icosahedral structures; a homotetramer in 042 octahedral structures; and a homopentamer in 152 icosahedral structures.
To make the fusions, the protocol first aligns the model of the Fc and Fc-binder protein along the C2 axis of the specified architecture (
Synthetic genes encoding designed protein sequences appended with a C-terminal 6× histidine tag were expressed in E. coli. Designs were purified from clarified lysates using immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) was used as a final purification step. Across all geometries, 34 out of 48 AbC-forming designs had a peak on SEC that roughly corresponded to the expected size of the design model. Designs were then combined with human IgG1 Fc, and the assemblies were re-purified via SEC. Eight of these AbC-forming designs assembled with Fc into a species that eluted as a monodisperse peak at a volume consistent with the target nanoparticle molecular weight (
NS-EM micrographs and two-dimensional class averages revealed nanocages with shapes and sizes corresponding to the design models (
Single-particle NS-EM and cryo-EM reconstructed 3D maps of the AbCs formed with Fc are in close agreement with the computational design models (
Enhancing Cell Signaling with AbCs
The designed AbCs provide a general platform for investigating the effect of associating cell surface receptors into clusters on signaling pathway activation. Binding of antibodies to cell surface receptors can result in antagonism of signaling as engagement of the natural ligand is blocked (25). While in some cases receptor clustering has been shown to result in activation (11, 26, 27), there have been no systematic approaches to varying the valency and geometry of receptor engagement that can be readily applied to many different signaling pathways. We took advantage of the fact that almost any receptor-binding antibody, of which there are many, can be readily assembled into a wide array of different architectures using our AbC-forming designs to investigate the effect of receptor clustering on signaling. We assembled antibodies and Fe-fusions targeting a variety of signaling pathways into nanoparticles and investigated their effects as described in the following paragraphs.
This work focuses on the use of antibody fragment crystallizable (Fc)-fusions to angiopoietin-1 F-domain to enhance angiogenesis signaling.
Certain receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), such as the Angiopoietin-1 receptor (Tie2), activate downstream signaling cascades when clustered (31, 32). Scaffolding the F-domain from angiopoietin-1 (A1F) onto nanoparticles induces phosphorylation of AKT and ERK, enhances cell migration and tube formation in vitro, and improves wound healing after injury in vivo (32). Therapeutics with these activities could be useful in treating conditions characterized by cell death and inflammation, such as sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). To determine whether the AbC platform could be used to generate such agonists, we assembled o42.1 and i52.3 AbCs with Fc fusions to A1F (
The designed AbCs provide a general platform for investigating the effect of associating cell surface receptors into clusters on signaling pathway activation. Binding of antibodies to cell surface receptors can result in antagonism of signaling as engagement of the natural ligand is blocked (6). There have been no systematic approaches to varying the valency and geometry of receptor engagement that can be readily applied to many different signaling pathways. We took advantage of the fact that almost any receptor-binding antibody, of which there arc many, can be readily assembled into a wide array of different architectures using our AbC-forming designs to investigate the effect of receptor clustering on signaling. This work focuses on the use of antibodies targeting two tumor necrosis family receptor superfamily members: Death Receptor 5 (DR5) and CD40.
Death Receptor 5 (DR5) is a tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily cell surface protein that initiates a caspase-mediated apoptotic signaling cascade terminating in cell death when cross-linked by its trimeric native ligand, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) (9, 10, 27-30). Like other members of the family, DR5 can also form alternative signaling complexes that activate non-apoptotic signaling pathways such as the NF-κB pro-inflammatory pathway and pathways promoting proliferation and migration upon ligand binding (29). Because DR5 is overexpressed in some tumors, multiple therapeutic candidates have been developed to activate DR5, such as α-DR5 mAbs and recombinant TRAIL, but these have failed clinical trials due to low efficacy and the development of TRAIL resistance in tumor cell populations (29, 30). Combining trimeric TRAIL with bivalent α-DR5 IgG leads to a much stronger apoptotic response than either component by itself, likely due to induction of larger-scale DR5 clustering via the formation of two-dimensional arrays on the cell surface (27).
We investigated whether α-DR5 AbCs formed with the same IgG (conatumumab) could have a similar anti-tumor effect without the formation of unbounded arrays. Five designs across four geometries were chosen (d2.4, t32.4, t32.8, o42.1, and i52.3) to represent the range of valencies and shapes (
All five α-DR5 AbCs caused caspase 317-mediated apoptosis at similar levels to TRAIL in a colorectal tumor cell line. whereas the antibody alone or AbCs formed with bare Fc did not lead to caspase-3/7 activity or cell death, even at the highest concentrations tested (
We next investigated the downstream pathways activated by the α-DR5 AbCs by analyzing their effects on cleaved PARP, a measure of apoptotic activity, as well as the NF-kB target cFLIP. Consistent with the caspase and cell viability data, o42.1 α-DR5 AbCs increased cleaved PARP, while free α-DR5 antibody, TRAIL or o42.1 Fc AbCs did not result in an increase in cleaved PARP over baseline (
CD340, a TNFR superfamily member expressed on antigen presenting dendritic cells and B cells, is cross-linked by trimeric CD40 ligand (CD40L or CD154) on T cells, leading to signaling and cell proliferation (33, 34). We investigated whether assembling a non-agonist α-CD40 antibody (LOB7/6) into nanocages could substitute for the need for cell surface presentation. Octahedral AbCs were assembled with LOB7/6 IgG; SEC, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and NS-EM (
Our approach goes beyond previous computational design efforts to create functional nanomaterials by integrating form and function; our AbCs employ antibodies as both structural and functional components. By fashioning designed antibody-binding, cage-forming oligomers through rigid helical fusion, a wide range of geometries and orientations can be achieved. This design strategy can be generalized to incorporate other homo-oligomers of interest into cage-like architectures. For example, nanocages could be assembled with viral glycoprotein antigens using components terminating in helical antigen-binding proteins, or from symmetric enzymes with exposed helices available for fusion to maximize proximity of active sites working on successive reactions. The AbCs offer considerable advantages in modularity compared to previous fusion of functional domain approaches; any of the thousands of known antibodies with sufficient protein A binding can be simply mixed with the appropriate design to drive formation of the desired symmetric assembly, and we have demonstrated this principle using multiple different IgGs and Fc-fusions (Tables 8-9). EM and SEC demonstrate monodispersity comparable to IgM and not (to our knowledge) attained by any other antibody-protein nanoparticle formulations.
AbCs show considerable promise as signaling pathway agonists. Assembly of antibodies against RTK- and TNFR-family cell-surface receptors into AbCs led to activation of diverse downstream signaling pathways involved in cell death, proliferation, and differentiation. While antibody-mediated clustering has been previously found to activate signaling pathways (11, 27, 33), our approach has the advantage of much higher structural homogeneity, allowing more precise tuning of phenotypic effects and more controlled formulation. AbCs also enhanced antibody-mediated viral neutralization. There are exciting applications to targeted delivery, as the icosahedral AbCs have substantial internal volume (around 15,000 nm3, based on an estimated interior radius of 15.5 nm) that could be used to package nucleic acid or protein cargo, and achieving different target specificity in principle is as simple as swapping one antibody for another. We anticipate that the AbCs developed here, coupled with the very large repertoire of existing antibodies, will be broadly useful across a wide range of applications in biomedicine.
The crystal structure of the B-domain from S. aureus protein A in complex with Fe fragment (PDB ID: 1L6X) was relaxed with structure factors using Phenix Rosetta™ (39, 40). Briefly, the RosettaScript™ MotifGraft mover was used to assess suitable solutions to insertions of the protein A binding motif extracted from 1L6X into a previously reported designed helical repeat protein (DHR79) (17). Specifically, a minimal protein A binding motif was manually defined and extracted and used as a template for full backbone alignment of DHR79 while retaining user-specified hotspot residues that interact with the Fc domain in the crystal structure at the Fc/DHR interface and retaining native DHR residues in all other positions. The MotifGraft alignment was followed by 5 iterations of FastDesign and 5 iterations of FastRelax in which the DHR side chain and backbone rotamers were allowed to move while the Fc context was completely fixed. The best designs were selected based on a list of heuristic filter values. See supplementary materials for the full XML file used during design.
Designs were initially assessed via yeast surface display binding to biotinylated Fc protein. Upon confirmation of a qualitative binding signal, the design was closed into a pET29b expression vector with a C-terminal His-tag. The protein was expressed in BL21 DE3 in autoinduction medium (10 mL 50×M, 10 mL 50×5052, 480 mL almost TB, 1× chloramphenicol, 1× kanamycin) for 20 hours at 27° C. at 225 rpm (41). Cells were resuspended in lysis buffer (20 mM Tris, 300 mM NaCl, 30 mM imidazole, 1 mM PMSF, 5% glycerol (v/v), pH 8.0) and lysed using a microfluidizer at 1800) PSI. Soluble fractions were separated via centrifugation at 24,000×g. IMAC with Ni-NTA batch resin was used for initial purification; briefly, nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA) resin was equilibrated with binding buffer (20 mM Tris, 300 mM NaCl, 30 mM imidazole, pH 8.0), soluble lysate was poured over the columns, columns were washed with 20 column volumes (CVs) of binding buffer, and eluted with 5 CVs of elution buffer (20 mM Tris, 300 mM NaCl, 500 mM imidazole, pH 8.0). Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) with a Superdex 200 column was used as the polishing step (
Affinity of DHR79-FcB to biotinylated IgG1 and biotinylated Fc protein was assessed using Octet™ Biolayer Interferometry (BLI). DHR79-FcB exhibits a 71.7 nM affinity to IgG1 (full antibody) and a 113 nM affinity to the IgG 1 Fe protein (
Input pdb files were compiled to use as building blocks for the generation of antibody cages. For the protein A binder model, the Domain D from Staphylococcus aureus Protein A (PDB ID 1DEE) was aligned to the B-domain of protein A bound to Fc (PDB ID 1L6X) (16, 19). The other Fc-binding design structure, where protein A was grafted onto a helical repeat protein, was also modeled with Fe from 1L6X. PDB file models for monomeric helical repeat protein linkers (42) and cyclic oligomers (2 C2s, 3 C3s, 1 C4, and 2 C5s) that had at least been validated via SAXS were compiled from previous work from our lab (17-19). Building block models were manually inspected to determine which amino acids were suitable for making fusions without disrupting existing protein-protein interfaces.
These building blocks were used as inputs, along with the specified geometry and fusion orientation, into the alpha helical fusion software (Supplementary Text for a description on how to operate WORMS)(20, 21). Fusions were made by overlapping helical segments at all possible allowed amino acid sites. Fusions are then evaluated for deviation for which the cyclic symmetry axes intersect according to the geometric criteria: D2, T32, O32, O42, I32, and I52 intersection angles are 45.0°, 547, 35.3°, 45.0°, 20.9°, and 31.7°, respectively (22) with angular and distance tolerances of at most 5.7° and 0.5 Å respectively. Post-fusion .pdb files were manually filtered to ensure that the N-termini of the Fc domains are facing outwards from the cage, so that the Fabs of an IgG would be external to the cage surface. Sequence design was performed using Rosetta™ symmetric sequence design (SymPackRotamersMover in RosettaScripts™) on residues at and around the fusion junctions 42), with a focus on maintaining as many of the native residues as possible. Residues were redesigned if they clashed with other residues, or if their chemical environment was changed after fusion (e.g. previously-core facing residues were now solvent-exposed). Index residue selectors were used to prevent design at Fe residue positions.
Genes were codon optimized for bacterial expression of each designed antibody-nanocage forming oligomers, with a C-terminal glycine/serine linker and 6× C-terminal histidine tag appended. Synthetic genes were cloned into pet29b+ vectors between NdeI and XhoI restriction sites; the plasmid contains a kanamycin-resistant gene and T7 promoter for protein expression. Plasmids were transformed into chemically competent Lemo21(DE3) E. coli bacteria using a 15-second heat shock procedure as described by the manufacturer (New England Biolabs). Transformed cells were added to auto-induction expression media, as described above, and incubated for 16 hours at 37° C. and 200 rpm shaking (4.1). Cells were pelleted by centrifugation at 4000×g and resuspended in lysis buffer (150 mM NaCl, 25 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0. added protease inhibitor and DNAse). Sonication was used to lyse the cells at 85% amplitude, with 15 second on/off cycles for a total of 2 minutes of sonication time. Soluble material was separated by centrifugation at 16000×g. IMAC was used to separate out the His-tagged protein in the soluble fraction as described above. IMAC elutions were concentrated to approximately 1 mL using 10K MWCO spin concentrators, filtered through a 0.22 uM spin filter, and run over SEC as a final polishing step (SEC running buffer: 150 mM NaCl, 25 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0).
Designs that produced monodisperse SEC peaks around their expected retention volume were combined with Fc from human IgG1. Fc was produced recombinantly either using standard methods for expression in HEK293T cells or in E. coli (43). Cage components were incubated at 4° C. for at minimum 30 minutes. 100 mM L-arginine was added during the assembly to AbCs formed with the i52.6 design, as this was observed to maximize the formation of the designed AbC 152.6 and minimize the formation of visible “crashed out” aggregates (23). Fc-binding and cage formation were confirmed via SEC; earlier shifts in retention time (compared to either component run alone) show the formation of a larger structure. NS-EM was used as previously described to confirm the structures of designs that passed these steps.
For confirming AbC structures with intact IgGs, human IgG1 (hIgG1) was combined with AbC-forming designs following the same protocol for making Fc cages. This assembly procedure was also followed for all IgG or Fc-fusion AbCs reported hereafter. The data in
Dynamic light scattering measurements (DLS) were performed using the default Sizing and Polydispersity method on the UNcle™ (Unchained Labs). 8.8 μL of AbCs were pipetted into the provided class cuvettes. DLS measurements were run in triplicate at 25° C. with an incubation time of 1 second; results were averaged across runs and plotted using Graphpad Prism. The estimated hydrodynamic diameter is listed next to all DLS peaks shown below.
For all samples except o42.1 Fc and i52.3 Fc, 3.0 μL of each SEC-purified sample between 0.008-0.014 mg/mL in TBS pH 8.0 was applied onto a 400-mesh or 200-mesh Cu grid glow-discharged carbon-coated copper grids for 20 seconds, followed by 2× application of 3.0 μL 2% nano-W stain. Micrographs were recorded using Legion software on a 120 kV FEI Tecnai G2 Spirit™ with a Gatan Ultrascan™ 40(0) 4 k×4 k CCD camera at 67,000 nominal magnification (pixel size 1.6 A/pixel) or 52,000 nominal magnification (pixel size 2.07 Å) at a defocus range of 1.5-2.5 μm. Particles were picked either with DoGPicker or cisTEM; both are reference-free pickers. Contrast-transfer function was estimated using GCTF or cisTEM. 2D class averages were generated in cryoSPARC or in cisTEM. Reference-free ab initio 3D reconstruction of selected 2D class averages from each dataset was performed in cryoSPARC or in cisTEM (Table 10).
3.0 μL of i52.3 Fc sample at 0.8 mg/mL in TBS pH 8.0 with 100 mM Arginine was applied onto C-flat 1.2 μm glow-discharged copper grids. Grids were then plunge-frozen in 10) liquid ethane, cooled with liquid nitrogen using and FEI MK4 Vitrobot with a 6 second blotting time and 0 force. The blotting process took place inside the Vitrobot chamber at 20° C. and 100% humidity. Data acquisition was performed with the Leginon data collection software on an FEI Talos electron microscope at 200 kV and a Gatan K2 Summit camera. The nominal magnification was 36,00× with a pixel size of 1.16 Å/pixel. The dose rate was adjusted to 8 counts/pixel/s. Each movie was acquired in counting (node fractionated in 50 frames of 200 ms/frame. Frame alignment was performed with MotionCorr2. Particles were manually picked within the Appion interface. Defocus parameters were estimated with GCTF. Reference-free 2D classification with cryoSPARC was used to select a subset of particles for Ab-Initio 3D reconstruction function in cryoSPARC.
A summary of data acquisition and processing is provided in Table 11.
Colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line-Colo205, and renal cell carcinoma cell line RCC4 were obtained from ATCC. Primary kidney tubular epithelial cells RAM009 were a gift from Dr. Akilesh (University of Washington). Colo205 cells were grown in RPMI1640 medium with 10% Fetal Bovine Scrum (FBS) and penicillin/streptomycin. RCC4 cells were grown in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium with 10% FBS and penicillin/streptomycin. RAM09 were grown in RPMI with 10% FBS. ITS-supplement, penicillin/streptomycin and Non Essential Amino Acids (NEAA). All cell lines were maintained at 37° C. in a humidified atmosphere containing 5% CO2.
Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs, Lonza, Germany, catalog #C2519AS) were grown on 0.1% gelatin-coated 35 mm cell culture dish in EGM2 media. Briefly, EGM2 consist of 20% Fetal Bovine Scrum, 1% penicillin-streptomycin, 1% Glutamax (Gibco, catalog #35050061), 1% endothelial cell growth factor (31), 1 mM sodium pyruvate, 7.5 mM HEPES, 0.0 mg/mL heparin, 0.01% amphotericin B, a mixture of 1×RPMI 1640 with and without glucose to reach 5.6 mM glucose concentration in the final volume. Media was filtered through a 0.45-micrometer filter. HUVECs at passage 7 were utilized in Tie2 signaling and cell migration experiments. HUVECs at passage 6 were used in tube formation assay.
Caspase 3/7 Glo assay
Cells were passaged using trypsin and 20,000 cells/well were plated onto a 96-well white tissue culture plate and grown in appropriate media. Medium was changed the next day (100 μL/well) and cells were treated with either uncaged α-DR5 AMG655 antibody (150 nM), recombinant human TNF Related Apoptosis Inducing Ligand (rhTRAIL; 150 nM), Fc-only AbCs or α-DR5 AbCs (150 nM, 1.5 nM, 15 pM) and incubated at 37° C. for 24 hours. The following day 100 μL/well of caspase GLO™ reagent (Promega, USA) was added on top of the media and incubated for 2 hours at 37° C. Luminescence was then recorded using Perkin EnVision microplate reader (Perkin Elmer). Statistical comparisons were performed using Graphpad Prism™ (see Table 11 for full detail).
Cells were plated onto a 96-well plate at 20,000 cells/well. The next day, cells were treated with 150 nM of α-DR5 AbCs, rhTRAIL and α-DR5 antibody for 4 days. At day 4, 100 μL of CellTiter-Glo reagent (Promega Corp. USA, #G7570) was added to the 100 μL of media per well, incubated for 10 min at 37° C. and luminescence was measured using a Perkin-Elmer Envision plate reader.
Cells were seeded onto a 12-well tissue culture plate at 50,000 cells/well. The next day, cells were treated with α-DR5 AbCs, rhTRAIL, or α-DR5 antibodies at 150 nM concentration. Three days later, cells were passaged at 30,000 cells/well and treated with 150 nM of α-DR5 cages, rhTRAIL and α-DR5 antibody for 3 days. At 6 days, the media was replaced with 450 μL/well of fresh media and 50 μL of Alamar™ blue reagent (Thermofisher Scientific, USA, #DAL1025) was then added. After 4 hours of incubation at 37° C., 50 μL of media was transferred into a 96-well opaque white plate and fluorescence intensity was measured using plate reader according to manufacturer's instructions.
Cells were passaged onto a 12-well plate at 40,000 cells/well and were grown until 80% confluency is reached. Before treatment, the media was replaced with 500 μL of fresh media. For DR5 experiments, AMG-655 antibody and rhTRAIL were added at 150 nM concentration and Fc-only nanocages or α-DR5 nanocages were added at I50 nM, 1.5 nM and 15 pM concentration onto the media and incubated for 24 hours at 37° C. prior to protein isolation.
Media containing dead cells was transferred to a 1.5 ml Eppendorf tube, and the cells were gently rinsed with 1× phosphate buffered saline. 1× trypsin was added to the cells for 3 min. All the cells were collected into the 1.5 mL Eppendorf containing the medium with dead cells. Cells were washed once in PBS 1× and lysed with 70 μL of lysis buffer containing 20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 150 mM NaCl, 15% Glycerol, 1% Triton, 3% SDS, 25 mM β-glycerophosphate, 50 mM NaF, 10 mM Sodium Pyrophosphate, 0.5% Orthovanadate, 1% PMSF (all chemicals were from Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.), 25 U Benzonase Nuclease (EMD Chemicals, Gibbstown, N.J.), protease inhibitor cocktail (Pierce™ Protease Inhibitor Mini Tablets, Thermo Scientific, USA), and phosphatase inhibitor cocktail 2 (catalog #P5726), in their respective tubes. Total protein samples were then treated with 1 μL of Benzonase (Novagen, USA) and incubated at 37° C. for 10 min. 21.6 μL of 4× Laemmli Sample buffer (Bio-Rad, USA) containing 10% beta-mercaptoethanol was added to the cell lysate and then heated at 95° C. for 10 minutes. The boiled samples were either used for Western blot analysis or stored at −80° C.
Synthetic genes were optimized for mammalian expression and subcloned into the CMV/R vector (VRC 8400; PMID:15994776). XbaI and AvrII restriction sites were used for insertion of A1F-Fc. Gene synthesis and cloning was performed by Genscript. Expi 293F cells were grown in suspension using Expi293 Expression Medium (Thermo Fisher Scientific) at 150 RPM. 5% CO2, 70% humidity, 37° C. At confluency of ˜2.5×106 cells/mL, the cells were transfected with the vector encoding A1F-Fc (1000 μg per 1 L of cells) using PEI MAX (Polysciences) as a transfection reagent. Cells were incubated for 96 hours, after which they were spun down by centrifugation (4,000×g, 10 min, 4° C.) and the protein-containing supernatant was further clarified by vacuum-filtration (0.45 μm, Millipore Sigma). In preparation of nickel-affinity chromatography steps, 50 mM Tris, 350 mM NaCl, pH 8.0 was added to clarified supernatant. For each liter of supernatant, 4 mL of Ni Sepharose™ excel resin (GE) was added to the supernatant, followed by overnight shaking at 4° C. After 16-24 hours, resin was collected and separated from the mixture and washed twice with 50 mM Tris, 500 mM NaCl, 30 mM imidazole, pH 8.0 prior to elution of desired protein with 50 mM Tris, 500 mM NaCl. 300 mM imidazole, pH 8.0. Eluates were purified by SEC using a Superdex™ 200 Increase column.
The protein samples were thawed and heated at 95° C. for 10 minutes. 10 μL of protein sample per well was loaded and separated on a 4-10% SDS-PAGE gel for 30 minutes at 250 Volt. The proteins were then transferred onto a Nitrocellulose membrane for 12 minutes using the semi-dry turbo transfer western blot apparatus (Bio-Rad, USA). Post-transfer, the membrane was blocked in 5% nonfat dry milk for 1 hour. After 1 hour, the membrane was probed with the respective antibodies: cleaved-PARP (Cell Signaling, USA) at 1:2000 dilution; cFLIP (R&D systems, USA) at 1:1000 dilution; pERK1/2 (Cell Signaling) at 1:5000 dilution; pFAK (Cell Signaling) at 1:1000 dilution; p-AKT(S473)(Cell Signaling) at 1:2000 dilution; and actin (Cell Signaling, USA) at 1:10,000 dilution. Separately, for p-AKT(S473) the membrane was blocked in 5% BSA for 3 hours followed by primary antibody addition. Membranes with primary antibodies were incubated on a rocker at 4° C., overnight. Next day, the membranes were washed with 1×TBST (3 times, 10 minutes interval) and the respective HRP-conjugated secondary antibody (Bio-Rad, USA) (1:10,000) was added and incubated at room temperature for 1 hour. For p-AKT(S473), following washes, the membrane was blocked in 5% milk at room temperature for 1 hour and then incubated in the respective HRP-conjugated secondary antibody (1:2000) prepared in 5% milk for 2 hours. After secondary antibody incubation, all the membranes were washed with 1×TBST (3 times, 10 minutes interval) and developed using Luminol reagent and imaged using Bio-Rad ChemiDoc™ Imager. Data were quantified using the imageJ™ software to analyze band intensity. Quantifications were done by calculating the peak area for each band. Each signal was normalized to the actin quantification from that lane of the same gel, to allow for cross-gel comparisons. Fold-changes were then calculated compared to PBS for all samples except for the pAKT reported for the A1F-Fc western blot (there was not enough pAKT signal for comparison, so o42.1 A1F-Fc was used for normalization). Statistical comparisons were performed using Graphpad Prism™ (see Tables 11, 12 for full detail).
Passage 7 HUVECs were seeded onto 35 mm, 0.1% gelatin-coated plates and cultured in EGM-2. Once a monolayer of cells has been established, a scratch is made on the cell layer using a 200 μL pipette tip. Media is changed to DMEM Low glucose supplemented with 2% Fetal Bovine Serum. Scaffolds were added into the media at 18 nM A1F-Fc concentrations. The imaging was performed in Leica Microscope at 10× magnification under phase contrast at 0 and 12 hours. The images are quantified using ImageJ software to calculate the level of cell migration as a ratio of change in wound area to initial wound area. Level of cell migration is normalized to PBS. Statistical comparisons were performed using Graphpad Prism (see Table 12 for full detail).
Tube formation was done with modified protocol from Liang et al., 2007. Briefly, passage 6 HUVECs were seeded onto 24-well plates precoated with 150 μL of 100% cold Matrigel™ (Corning, USA) at 150,000 cells/well density along with scaffolds at 89 nM A1F-Fc concentrations or PBS in low glucose DMEM medium supplemented with 0.5% FBS for 24 hours. At the 24 hour time point, old media is aspirated and replaced with fresh media without scaffolds. The cells continue to be incubated up to 72 hours. Cells were imaged at 48-hour and 72-hour time points using Leica Microscope at 10× magnification under phase contrast. Thereafter, the tubular formations were quantified by calculating the number of nodes, meshes and tubes using Angiogenesis Analyzer plugin in Image J software. Vascular stability is calculated by averaging the number of nodes, meshes, and tubes then normalizing to PBS. Statistical comparisons were performed using Graphpad Prism™ (see Table 12 for full detail).
A non-agonistic antibody (clone LOB7/6, product code MCA1590T, BioRad), was combined with the octahedral o42.1 AbC-forming design as described above and the AbCs were characterized by DLS and NS-EM (
To assay CD40 activation, we followed manufacturer's instructions for a bioluminescent cell-based assay that measures the potency of CD40 response to external stimuli such as IgGs (Promega, JA2151). Briefly, CD40 effector Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells were cultured and reagents were prepared according to the assay protocol. The antibodies and AbCs were incubated with the CD40 effector CHO cells for 8 hours at 37° C., 5% CO2. Bio-Glo™ Luciferase Assay System (G7941) included in the assay kit was used to visualize the activation of CD40 from luminescence readout from a plate reader. The Bio-Glo™ Reagent was applied to the cells and luminescence was detected by a Synergy Neo2 plate reader every min for 30 minutes. Data were analyzed by averaging luminescence between replicates and subtracting plate background. The fold induction of CD40-binding response was determined by RLU of sample normalized to RLU of no antibody controls. Data curves were plotted and EC50 was calculated using GraphPad Prism™ using the log(agonist) vs. response—Variable slope (four parameters); see Table 7 for EC50 values and 95% CI values.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. Nos. 63/036,062 filed Jun. 8, 2020; 63/085,351 filed Sep. 30, 2020; 63/088,586 filed Oct. 7, 2020, and 63/088,576 filed Oct. 7, 2020, each incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. A computer readable form of the Sequence Listing is filed with this application by electronic submission and is incorporated into this application by reference in its entirety. The Sequence Listing is contained in the file created on Jun. 3, 2021 having the file name “20-1330-WO-SeqList_ST25.txt” and is 178 kb in size.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2021/036117 | 6/7/2021 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63088586 | Oct 2020 | US | |
| 63088576 | Oct 2020 | US | |
| 63085351 | Sep 2020 | US | |
| 63036062 | Jun 2020 | US |
