Substance Binding Human Igg Fc Receptor Iib (Fcyriib)

Abstract

The invention relates to novel immunogens carrying conformationally discriminating epitopes (CDEs) and to immunization methods for producing antibodies that specifically recognize proteins with very closely related homologues. In particular, the invention relates to antibodies which are specific for either FcγRIIb or FcγIIa.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES AND SEQUENCE LISTING

FIG. 1: Sequence alignment of the extracellular domains of the human FcγRIIb and FcγRIIa. Differing amino acids are boxed.

FIG. 2: Structure of FcγRIIb in ribbon representation. The unique residues are shown in ball-and-stick and potential glycosylation sites are indicated as larger spheres. Arrows point to possible extractable substructures (epitopes 1 and 2) hat may be artificially generated for the improvement of immunization protocols towards specific FcγRIIb-antisera and subsequently for the production of isoform specific monoclonal antibodies.

FIG. 3: Left diagram: Histogram of a FACS measurement of Raji cells (FcγRIIb-positive and FcγRIIa-negative) using the preimmune serum of the mouse (minus), the obtained antiserum after the immunization procedure (antiserum) and the pan-FcγRII-mAb AT10 (Greenman et al., 1991). Right diagram: Fluorescence label on U-937 cells. (FcγRIIa-positive and FcγRIIb negative). The antiserum reacts only marginally with the cells indicating the presence of specific antibodies.

FIG. 4: FACS analysis of human blood incubated either with normal serum (negative control), antiserum of a mouse immunized with FcγRIIb-CDE[126-137], mAb AT10 or the specific monoclonal antibody GB3 generated by using this invention. a): Dotblot analysis of the blood sample in terms of cell size (FSC-H) and granularity (SSC-H). The observed regions R1, R2 R3 contain lymphocytes (B and T cells), monocytes and granulocytes respectively. b) Fluorescence intensity of the cells found in region R1 representing lymphocytes. The pan-FcγRIIb mAb AT10, the mAb GB3 and the antiserum stain the FcγRIIb-positive B-cells while the FcγRII-negative T cells are not recognized. c) Fluorescence intensity of the cells found in region R2 representing monocytes/macrophages. In contrast to the positive controls mAb AT10 and the antiserum the mAb GB3 does not recognize the FcγRIIa-positive monocytes. d) Fluorescence intensity of the cells found in region R3 representing granulocytes. In contrast to the positive controls mAb AT10 and the antiserum the mAb GB3 does not recognize the FcγRIIa-positive granulocytes.

FIG. 5: The variable regions of the cloned antibody GB3. The boxed regions represent the CDRs while the underlined termini may vary due to cloning artifacts introduced by the primer. a) Variable region of the light chain; b) Variable region of the heavy chain.

FIG. 6: The variable regions of the cloned antibody CE5. The boxed regions represent the CDRs while the underlined termini may vary due to cloning artifacts introduced by the primer. a) Variable region of the light chain; b) Variable region of the heavy chain.

FIG. 7: The glycopeptide CDE[126-137] used for immunization and generation of FcγRIIb-specific antibodies.

FIG. 8: Immunisation of SJL mice with a specific anti-mouse FcγRII antibody. SJLj were immunized with 200 μg MOG an day 0. Treatment with antiFcγRII antibody (dosis of 50 μg/week) started at day 5. The clinical score was monitored daily and is given as the average of the 8 mice per group.

SEQ ID NO: 1 amino acid sequence of FcγRIIa (as in FIG. 1)

SEQ ID NO: 2 amino acid sequence of FcγIIb (as in FIG. 1)

SEQ ID NO: 3 sequence of the glycopeptide CDE [126-137]

SEQ ID NO: 4 nucleic acid sequence of the variable light region of mAb GB3

SEQ ID NO: 5 corresponding amino acid sequence of the variable light region of mAb GB3

SEQ ID NO: 6 nucleic acid sequence of the variable heavy region of mAb GB3

SEQ ID NO: 7 corresponding amino acid sequence of the variable heavy region of mAb GB3

SEQ ID NO: 8 nucleic acid sequence of the variable light region of mAb CE5

SEQ ID NO: 9 corresponding amino acid sequence of the variable light region of mAb CE5

SEQ ID NO: 10 nucleic acid sequence of the variable heavy region of mAb CE5

SEQ ID NO: 11 corresponding amino acid sequence of the variable heavy region of mAb CE5

EXAMPLES

Example 1

Synthesis of the Cyclo-[N-β-(2-acetylamino-deoxy-2-β-glucopyranosyl)-Asn¹³⁹, Gly¹⁴¹]-(129-141)-FcγRIIb2, CDE[126-137]

Standard amino acid derivatives were from Alexis (Läufelfingen, Switzerland), Fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-derivative (Fmoc) of Asn(N-β-3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2-acetylamino-deoxy-2-β-glucopyranosyl)-OH from Merck-Novabiochem (Darmstadt, Germany), and the preloaded chlorotrityl resin from Pepchem (Tübingen, Germany). Reagents and solvents were of the highest quality commercially available and were used without further purification. Analytical reversed-phase HPLC was performed on Waters equipment (Eschborn, Germany) with a Symmetry C₁₈ column (5 μm, 3.9×150 mm, Waters) by linear gradient elution: (1) 0-100% A in 15 min, or (2) 0-30% A in 20 min, up to 50% A in 5 min and to 100% A in further 5 min, (flow rate of 1.5 ml/min and UV detection at 210 nm). The binary elution system was (A) acetonitrile/2% H₃PO₄ (90:10) and (B) acetonitrile/2% H₃PO₄ (5:95). Preparative reversed-phase HPLC was carried out on Abimed equipment (Langenfeld, Germany) using Nucleosil C₁₈ PPN (5 μm, 100 Å, 10×250 mm, Macherey-Nagel, Düren, Germany) and a gradient of 0.08% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in acetonitrile (A) and 0.1% TFA in water (B) at a flow rate of 10 ml/min: 2% A for 7 min, up to 40% A in 50 min and to 70% A in further 5 min. ESI-MS spectra were recorded on a Perkin-Elmer SCIEX API 165 triple quadrupole spectrometer. LC-MS was carried out with a Nucleosil C₁₈ column (5 μm, 100 Å, 1×250 mm, Macherey-Nagel) using linear gradients of 0.1% TFA in water and 0.08% TFA in acetonitrile (flow rate: 30 μl/min; detection at 210 nm).

a) Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis.

The linear peptide precursor was synthesized manually on Fmoc-Gly-chlorotrityl resin (232 mg, 0.13 mmol) following standard procedures of Fmoc/tert-butyl (tBu) chemistry. The Fmoc group was cleaved in each step with two successive treatments (3 and 20 min) with 20% piperidine in N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP). For Fmoc-Ser(tBu)-OH and Fmoc-Phe-OH double couplings (2×1 h) with Fmoc-amino acid/2-(1H-benzotriazol-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluoro-phosphate (HBTU)/N-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt)/N,N-diisopropylethylamine (DIEA) (4:4:4:8 eq) in NMP were applied, whereas the glycosylated Asn derivative was introduced by single coupling using Fmoc-aminoacid/(1H-benzotriazol-1-yloxy)-tripyrrolidinophosphonium hexafluorophosphate (PyBOP)/HOBt/DIEA (2:2:2:5 eq) in NMP. The reaction was complete after 5 h, as confirmed by the Kaiser test. A capping step with acetic anhydride/DIEA (1:1, 3 eq) for 10 min was performed prior to chain elongation. For acylation with the remaining amino acid derivatives (Arg was introduced as Arg-2,2,4,6,7-pentamethyl-dihydrobenzofurane-5-sulfonyl [Pbf] derivative) again double couplings (2×1.5 h) were used with Fmoc-amino acid/HBTU/HOBt/DIEA (6:6:6:12 eq) in NMP.

b) Cleavage of the Side-Chain-Protected Peptide.

The side-chain-protected linear peptide was cleaved from the resin by treating the peptide-resin with 5 ml of 1% TFA in dichloromethane (DCM) for 3 min. The filtrate was analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) (CH₃Cl/MeOH/H₂O, 8:3:1) prior to addition of 1 ml of 10% pyridine in methanol. The TFA treatment was repeated until the TLC control on the filtrate was negative (overall four treatments). Finally, the resin was washed with DCM and trifluoroethanol to improve the peptide recovery. The peptide-containing filtrates and the final washes were combined and concentrated to a small volume. The residue was diluted with MeOH, and the product was precipitated with ice-cold water. The crude product was collected by filtration (270 mg, 80% yield) and characterized by analytical HPLC (gradient 1) and ESI-MS. A major peak (t_R 9.5 min; ESI-MS: m/z=2520 [M+H]⁺; M_r=2519.0 calcd for C₁₂₀H₁₈₈N₂₀O₃₆S) and a minor peak (t_R 9.3 min; ESI-MS: m/z=2478 [M−42+H]⁺) at the ratio of 75:20 were found to correspond to the expected product and to a side product, respectively. The mass difference was attributed to the loss of one acetyl protecting group from Asn(Ac₃AcNH-β-Glc).

c) Cyclization.

Backbone cyclization was accomplished at a peptide concentration of 0.9 mM in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), in the presence of PyBOP/HOBt/DIEA (1.5:1.5:3.5 eq). The base was added in portions over 1 h. The conversion of the linear peptide to the cyclic form was monitored by analytical HPLC, and was completed after 2.5 h. The reaction mixture was taken to dryness, and the residue was triturated and washed with ice-cold diethyl ether to remove traces of DMF prior to the TFA cleavage.

d) Cleavage of the Side-Chain Protecting Groups.

The acid-labile side-chain protecting groups were removed by dissolving the cyclic peptide in 10 ml the ice-cold TFA/triisopropylsilane (TISH)/H₂O (90:5:5). After 2 h shaking, the TFA was removed under reduced pressure, the oily residue was diluted with a small amount of MeOH and the crude product precipitated with ice-cold diethyl ether. The precipitate was collected by centrifugation, washed several times with ice-cold ether and, finally, lyophilized from water. The crude glycopeptide which in addition to the triacetylated form, according to LC-MS was contaminated by the di- and mono-acetyl derivatives, was suspended in MeOH and treated in portions with NaOMe over 30 min until an apparent pH of >10 was reached. The reaction was monitored by HPLC, and after 3.5 h it was quenched by addition of glacial acetic acid until pH <5. The mixture was taken to dryness, and the solid was suspended in MeOH and reprecipitated with ice-cold diethyl ether. The precipitate was collected by filtration and lyophilized from water. The crude product was purified by preparative HPLC and the cyclic glycopeptide was isolated as lyophilized material; yield: 20% yield (based on the starting resin loading of 0.13 mmol); HPLC: >95% (t_R 7.37 min with gradient 2); ESI-MS: m/z=1642.8 [M+H]⁺; M=1641.8 Da calculated for C₇₁H₁₀₈N₂₀O₂₅.

Coupling of the CDE[126-137] to FcγRIIb Yielding FcγRIIb-CDE[126-137]

100 μl human soluble FcγIIb (10.6 mg/ml) were added to 1490 μl 50 mM borate pH10 and 410 μl of the glycopeptide CDE[126-137] (2 mg/ml) and stirred gently at room temperature. 100 μl of a 0.3% glutaraldehyde solution were slowly added and the whole mixture stirred for another two hours at RT before 100 μl 1M glycine was added. The resulting FcγRIIb-CDE[126-137] was stirred for another 30 min and then dialyzed against PBS and concentrated.

Example 2

Immunization with FcγRIIb-CDE[126-137]

A female six weeks old C57B1/6 mouse was immunized intraperitoneally every two weeks with an emulsion of 50 μg FcγRIIb-CDE[126-137] in 100 μl Complete Freunds Adjuvant (CFA, Sigma/Deisenhofen, Germany) for three times. Three weeks after the last immunization the mouse was boosted with 50 μg of the FcγRIIb-CDE[126-137]: Three days later the spleen was removed from the animal and the fusion of the extracted cells with myeloma cells was performed according to Bazin, and Lemieux, 1989.

Example 3

Screening of the Hybridoma for FcγRIIb-CDE[126-137]-Specificity

Clones that were able to grow in the presence of hypoxanthine, aminopterin, and thymidine were isolated and their supernatant tested in ELISA assays where FcγRIIb-CDE[126-137] was precoated on microtitre plate with 120 ng sFcγRIIa/b per well (in 100 μl PBS, 20° C., 12 h). The plate was washed and incubated with PBS/T (PBS/0.2% Tween 20, 30 min). 100 μl of the respective hybridoma were added to the well (100 μl, 90 min). The plate was washed three times with blocking buffer before 100 μl of a peroxidase labeled goat-anti mouse IgG+IgM antibody (Dianova, Hamburg/Germany) diluted in PBS/T was added. After incubating for 90 min and subsequent washing with PBS/T, 100 μl of substrate buffer (0.2 M citrate/phosphate buffer pH 5.2, 4 mg/ml o-phenylenediamine, 0.024% (v/v) hydrogenperoxide) were applied to the wells. The reaction was stopped by adding 50 μl 8 N sulfuric acid and the absorbance at 490 nm was measured in an ELISA reader.

Clones that were positive in this assay were tested by flow cytometry (FACS) using 10⁵ Raji cells per sample (ATCC CCL-86) which strongly express human FcγIIb. After incubation with 100 μl hybridoma supernatant for 30 min on ice the cells were washed with 1 ml RPMI/10% FCS and precipitated by centrifugation (400×g, 4° C., 5 min). 100 μl FITC labeled goat anti human antibody (Dianova, Hamburg/Germany) were added. After incubation for 30 min on ice the cells were washed (RPMI/10% FCS) and subjected to flow cytometry (FACSort, Becton Dickinson, Heidelberg/Germany). The median value of the fluorescence for 5,000 counted cells was determined for each sample. Hybridoma supernatants that were positive in this assay were subjected in a similar assay using U-937 cells (ATCC CRL-1593.2) which strongly express FcγRIIa to determine FcγRIIb-specificity of the hybridoma. As positive control for both cell lines the pan-FcγRII-mAb AT10 (Greenman et al., 1991) was used.

Example 4

Immunisation of SJL Mice with a Specific Anti-Mouse FcγRII Antibody

SJL-Mice were immunized with 200 μg MOG to induce Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) an established animal model of Multiple Sclerosis. Prophylactic as well as therapeutic (data not shown) treatment of 8 mice per group with a specific anti-mouse FcγRII antibody (50 μg/week) significantly reduces the symptoms (clinical score )of the disease (0=healthy, 1=light paralysis, 2=medium paralysis, 3=strong paralysis, 4=complete paralysis, 5=death). The results are shown in FIG. 8.

REFERENCES

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Claims

1-53. (canceled)

54. An artificial peptide or polypeptide comprising a conformationally discriminating epitope (CDE) in its native conformation, wherein the CDE is structurally stabilized by circularization.

55. The peptide or polypeptide claim 54, comprising artificial or glycosylated amino acids.

56. The peptide or polypeptide claim 54, conjugated to a carrier molecule.

57. The peptide or polypeptide of claim 54 comprising a CDE of an Fc receptor.

58. The peptide or polypeptide of claim 57 comprising a CDE of FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa, the CDE comprising at least one residue which is unique to either FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa.

59. The peptide or polypeptide of claim 58, wherein the CDE comprises amino acids 27 to 30, or amino acids 127 to 135 or amino acids 160 to 171 of FcγRIIb of SEQ ID NO: 2 or the corresponding amino acids of FcγRIIa of SEQ ID NO: 1, or the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3.

60. The peptide or polypeptide of claim 57 conjugated to FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa.

61. A method of producing a peptide carrying a conformationally discriminating epitope (CDE) for the generation of antibodies specifically recognizing a protein of interest carrying such an epitope, comprising: (a) providing a protein of interest, (b) identifying a CDE on said protein, (c) producing a peptide comprising the sequence of the CDE, (d) structurally stabilizing the peptide by circularization so that the CDE is present in its native conformation.

62. The method of claim 61, wherein the circularization of the peptide is achieved by generating cysteine bridges, or by bridging amino acid side chains that form a pseudopeptide.

63. The method of claim 61, wherein the peptide is generated using amino acids carrying glycosylation moieties which are present on the protein of interest.

64. The method of claim 61, further comprising: (e) conjugating the peptide to a carrier molecule selected from haptens, polypeptides, peptides, and the protein of interest.

65. A peptide or polypeptide comprising a CDE, obtained by the method of claim 61.

66. A method comprising generating immunomodulatory substances specifically recognizing the CDE in its natural environment by providing the peptide or polypeptide of claim 54 as an immunogen in a environment suitable to generate the substance.

67. A method comprising immunizing an animal or a transgenic animal expressing human FcγRIIa by administering an effective amount of the peptide or polypeptide of claim 59 to a subject in need thereof.

68. A method comprising generating an antibody that can specifically recognize alleles of the FcγRIIa Arg/His polymorphism at position 131 or the FcγRIIa Val/Phe polymorphism at position 155 by providing an effective amount of the peptide or polypeptide of claim 59 in an environment effective to a subject to generate the antibody.

69. A method of producing substances capable of discriminating between an antigen of interest and closely related antigens, comprising immunizing an animal with a peptide or polypeptide according to claim 59 or with a correctly folded peptide derived from FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa, or both, and isolating the resulting antibodies.

70. A substance that specifically binds to the peptide or polypeptide of claim 54.

71. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof that specifically binds to human FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa in the natural environment of the Fc receptor.

72. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, that binds with higher affinity to FcγRIIb than to FcγRIIa.

73. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, that binds with higher affinity to FcγRIIa than to FcγRIIb.

74. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, that is able to specifically block IgG binding to human FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa.

75. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, that does not interfere with immune complex binding to FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa.

76. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, that inhibits the physiological function of human FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa.

77. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, that activates the physiological function of human FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa.

78. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, that specifically cross-links human FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa.

79. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, that is in a monomeric or multimeric state.

80. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, that is capable of binding to a CDE of FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa.

81. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof according to claim 80, that is capable of binding to an epitope of human FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa comprising at least one of amino acids 12, 27, 29, 30, 104, 127, 132, 135, 160 and 171 of the amino acid sequence of FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa according to SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2.

82. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof according to claim 81, that is capable of binding to an epitope of FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa comprising amino acids 27 to 30, and/or 127 to 135, or 160 to 171 of the amino acid sequence of FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa according to SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2.

83. The antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, that is a polypeptide carrying a complementarity determining region (CDR) which is specific for FcγRIIb.

84. The antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 83, that is a polypeptide carrying one or more of the CDR-sequences according to SEQ ID Nos: 5, 7, 9 and 11.

85. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, that is of the class IgG, IgE, IgM or IgA.

86. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, that is selected from single chain antibodies, bi-functional antibodies and tri-functional antibodies, Fab fragments, F(ab)2 fragments, Fv fragments and scv-fragments.

87. An antibody or part thereof according to claim 71, comprising the variable light or heavy regions of antibody GB3 according to SEQ ID NO: 5 and 7, or a portion thereof having specificity; or the variable light or heavy regions of antibody CE5 according to SEQ ID NO: 9 and 11 or a portion thereof having specificity.

88. A nucleic acid sequence encoding the peptide of claim 58 or an antibody or fragment or derivative thereof that specifically binds to human FcγRIIb or FcγRIIa in the natural environment of the Fc receptor.

89. The nucleic acid of claim 88 encoding the sequence of monoclonal antibodies CE5 or GB3 according to SEQ ID NOs: 4, 6, 8 and 10 or a portion thereof.

90. A nucleic acid vector comprising the nucleic acid sequence according to claim 88.

91. A host cell transfected with a vector according to claim 90.

92. A pharmaceutical or diagnostic composition comprising an effective amount of the antibody, fragment or derivative thereof according to claim 71 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier substance.

93. A diagnostic kit for the detection of autoimmune diseases or cancer, comprising the antibody, fragment or derivative thereof according to claim 71, or a recombinant peptide or polypeptide comprising a conformationally discriminating epitope (CDE) in its native conformation, wherein the CDE is structurally stabilized by circulization.

94. A method comprising producing an inhibitor or activator of the FcγRIIa/IgG interaction or the FcγRIIb/IgG interaction by providing the antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71 in an environment to produce the inhibitor or activator.

95. A method comprising diagnosing or treating an autoimmune disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, immune thrombocytopenic purpura and multiple sclerosis, comprising administering the pharmaceutical or diagnostic composition of claim 92 to a subject in need of diagnosis or treatment of said disease.

96. A method comprising administering the pharmaceutical or diagnostic composition of claim 92 to a subject in need thereof.

97. The method of claim 96, wherein said composition is administered as an adjuvant with other biotherapeutics.

98. The method of claim 97, wherein the other biotherapeutics are selected from the group consisting of antibodies Herceptin®, Rituxan®, IC14, PANOREX™, IMC-225, VITAXIN™, Campath 1H/LDP-03, LYMPHOCIDE™ und ZEVLIN™, and antibodies binding to the following cancer antigens: MAGE-1, MAGE-3, BAGE, GAGE-1, GAGE-2, N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase, p15, beta-catenin, MUM-1, CDK-4, HER-2/neu, human papillomavirus E6, human papillomavirus-E7 and MUC-1.

99. A method comprising diagnosing or treating an allergy by administering an effective amount of the pharmaceutical composition of claim 92 to a subject in need thereof.

100. A method comprising treating a disease associated with activated dendritic cells or macrophages by administering an effective amount of the pharmaceutical composition of claim 92 to a subject in need thereof.

101. A method comprising treating host-versus-graft disease by administering an effective amount of the pharmaceutical composition of claim 92 to a subject in need thereof.

102. A method comprising treating amyloid linked diseases by administering an effective amount of the pharmaceutical composition of claim 92 to a subject in need thereof.

103. A method comprising administering to a subject the antibody or fragment or derivative of claim 71, wherein the antibody or fragment or derivative thereof comprises specific anti-FcγRIIa fragments in bi-specific antibodies to direct antigens towards transport by thrombocytes and/or uptake by the liver and spleen phagocytosis system of the subject.

104. A method comprising administering to a subject the antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71, wherein the antibody or fragment or derivative thereof is a specific anti-FcγRIIa antibody or fragment thereof to diagnose or treat ITP in the subject.

105. A method comprising producing a pharmaceutical composition comprising the antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71 wherein the pharmaceutical composition increases the effect of vaccination upon administration to a patient.

106. An antibody or fragment or derivative thereof of claim 71 that is modified in the Fc-fragment by the modification of the glycosylation or mutagenesis to enhance the binding towards subsets of the Fc-receptors.

107. The method of claim 69, further comprising generating recombinant immunomodulatory substances with antibodies.

108. A nucleic acid sequence encoding the antibody, fragment or derivative of claim 71.

109. A nucleic acid vector comprising the nucleic acid sequence according to claim 108.

110. A host cell transfected with a vector according to claim 109.

111. The method of claim 96, wherein said cancer is a lymphoma or a leukemia.