Author: Gary Kobs

Optimizing Antibody Enrichment for Pharmacokinetic Assays

Posted on by Gary Kobs
Schematic showing immuno-enrichment using High Capacity Magne® Streptavidin Beads.
Schematic showing immuno-enrichment using High Capacity Magne® Streptavidin Beads.

During preclinical research and development of therapeutic antibodies, multiple variants of each antibody are assessed for pharmacokinetic (PK) characteristics across model systems such as rodents, beagles and primates. Ligand-binding assays (LBA) or liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry(LC–MS/MS)-based methods represent the two most common technologies used to perform the PK studies for mAb candidates(1,2).

Using either method it is essential to ensure accurate quantitative results that the initial enrichment of the target therapeutic antibody from serum or plasma be optimal. Biotinylated antibodies or antigens (against the therapeutic targets) immobilized onto high capacity streptavidin beads will enrich therapeutic antibody from serum or plasma samples. The affinity of biotin for streptavidin (Kd = 10–15) is one of the strongest and most stable interactions in biology therefore the biotin-streptavidin interaction cannot be reversed under non-denaturing conditions. Hence, it is possible to perform extensive washing to remove nonspecifically bound protein and elute therapeutic antibodies without also eluting the biotinylated component, thus improving the detection limit.

Magnetic based separation techniques have several advantages in comparison with standard separation procedures. This process is usually very simple, with only a few handling steps. All the steps of the purification procedure can take place in one single test tube. The magnetic separation techniques are also the basis of various automated procedures. Learn more about  the High Capacity Magne™ Streptavidin Beads (Cat # V7820) .

References

High-Throughput Screening for Potential Biomarkers Using Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)

Posted on by Gary Kobs

3240CA02_1A_rename_3Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a bodily fluid present around the brain and in the spinal cord. It acts as a protective cushion against shocks and participates in the immune response in the brain. Analysis of total CSF protein can be used for diagnostic purposes, as, for instance, a sign of a tumor, bleeding, inflammation, or injury. Considering the high value of CSF as a source of potential biomarkers for brain-associated damages and pathologies, the development of robust automated platform for CSF proteomics is of great value.

The scalable automated proteomic pipeline (ASAP2)  was initially developed with the purpose of (i) discovering protein biomarkers in plasma (1). A summary of the ASAP2 process is as follows:As a first step, abundant-protein immuno-affinity depletion is performed with antibody-based columns and LC systems equipped with a refrigerated autosampler and fraction collector. This block is linked to and followed by buffer exchange performed in a 96-well plate format by manual operations that require <1 h to be completed. The rest of the process is fully automated and includes (i) reduction, alkylation, enzymatic digestion.; (ii) tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling and pooling (processing time of ); (iii) RP solid-phase extraction (SPE) purification ; and (iv) strong cation-exchange (SCX) SPE purification.

A recent reference (2) validated the use of ASAP2 for sample preparation and proteomic analysis of human CSF samples was performed. CSF samples were first depleted from abundant proteins by multiplexed immuno-affinity. Subsequently, reduction, alkylation, protein digestion (using Trypsin/Lys-C), TMT 6-plex labeling, pooling, and sample cleanup were performed in a 96-well-plate format using a liquid-handling robotic platform. Ninety-six  identical CSF samples were prepared using the highly automated ASAP2 procedure. Proteome coverage consistency, quantitative precision, and individual protein variability, were determined. Results indicated that, ASAP2 is efficient in analyzing large numbers of human CSF samples and would be a valuable tool for biomarker discovery.

References

  1. Dayon, L et al. (2014) Comprehensive and Scalable Highly Automated MS-Based Proteomic Workflow for Clinical Biomarker Discovery in Human Plasma. J of Proteome Res. 13, 3837–45
  2. Galindo, M-N. et al. (2015) Proteomics of Cerebrospinal Fluid: Throughput and Robustness Using a Scalable Automated Analysis Pipeline for Biomarker Discovery. Anan. Chem. 87, 10755–61

Characterizing Unique Protein: DNA Interactions Using Cell-Free Protein Expression

Posted on by Gary Kobs
Molecular model of human telomere DNA
Molecular model of human telomere DNA

The POT1 protein plays a critical role in telomere protection and telomerase regulation. POT1 binds single-stranded 5′-TTAGGGTTAG-3′ and forms a dimer with the TPP1 protein. Human POT1 contains two Oligonucleotide/Oligosaccharide Binding (OB) fold domains, OB1 and OB2, which make physical contact with the DNA. OB1 recognizes 5′-TTAGGG whereas OB2 binds to the downstream TTAG-3′ (1,2). Several recent studies from other species have shown that some of these proteins are able to recognize a broader variety of DNA ligands than expected (3). A recent reference reexamined the sequence-specificity of the Human POT1 protein (4).
SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands through Exponential Enrichment) was used  to re-examine the DNA-binding specificity of human POT1 (5).

Continue reading “Characterizing Unique Protein: DNA Interactions Using Cell-Free Protein Expression”

Optimizing Antibody Internalization Assays: pHAb Dyes

Posted on by Gary Kobs
22255190_pHabAmine_3D_image_050615-final-large

Promega has recently developed a method that allows antibodies to be screened for their internalization properties in a simple, plate-based format. The method uses pH sensor dyes (pHAb dyes), which are not fluorescent at neutral pH but become highly fluorescent at acidic pH. When an antibody conjugated with pHAb dye binds to its antigen on the cancer cell membrane, the antibody-dye-antigen complex is not fluorescent, but upon internalization and trafficking into endosomal and lysosomal vesicles the pH drops, and the dye becomes fluorescent.

To demonstrate the broad utility of the pHAb dye for receptor mediated antibody internalization, two therapeutic antibodies, trastuzumab and cetuximab,which bind to HER2 and EGFR respectively, were selected for a case study (1). Both the antibodies, which are known to internalize were labeled with pHAb dyes using amine or thiol chemistry.

Parameters such as the impact of dye–to-antibody ratio on the antigen–antibody binding, change in fluorescence as a function of pH of free dye and labeled dye, and labeled antibody internalization as a function of pHAb conjugated antibody concentration were evaluated.

The results indicate that pHAb dyes are pH sensitive fluorescent dyes that enable the study of receptor-mediated antibody internalization.Internalization assays can be performed in a plate-based homogeneous format and allow endpoint assays as well as real-time monitoring of internalization. They further show that internalization can be monitored even at a very low amount of antibody which is very important during the early monoclonal antibody development phase when the amount of sample is limited and the antibody concentration in the samples is low. a complimentary approach, they  also showed that a secondary antibody labeled with pHAb dye can be used instead of labeling primary antibodies.

Literature cited

Nath, N. et al. (2016) Homogeneous plate based antibody internalization assay using pH sensor fluorescent dye J.  Immunol. Methods epub ahead of print

Dino Protein: New Methods for Old (Very) Samples

Posted on by Gary Kobs
Hadrosaurus skeleton vintage engraving.
Hadrosaurus skeleton vintage engraving.

Brachylophosaurus was a mid-sized member of the hadrosaurid family of dinosaurs living about 78 million years ago, and is known from several skeletons and bonebed material from the Judith River Formation of Montana and the Oldman Formation of Alberta. Recent fossil evidence indicates structures similar to blood vessels in location and morphology, have been recovered after demineralization of multiple dinosaur cortical bone fragments from multiple specimens, some of which are as old as 80 Ma. These structures were hypothesized to be either endogenous to the bone (i.e., of vascular origin) or the result of biofilm colonizing the empty  network after degradation of original organic components (i.e., bacterial, slime mold or fungal in origin).  Cleland et al. (1) tested the hypothesis that these structures are endogenous and thus retain proteins in common with extant archosaur blood vessels that can be detected with high-resolution mass spectrometry and confirmed by immunofluorescence.

Continue reading “Dino Protein: New Methods for Old (Very) Samples”

ProteaseMAX: A Surfactant for the Most Complex Mixtures

Posted on by Gary Kobs
Alternate Proteases Cover

Here we provide two examples of “atypical” experiments that take advantage of the properties of the ProteaseMAX™ Surfactant to improve studies involving digestion of complex protein mixtures.

Example 1
Clostridium difficile spores are considered the morphotype of infection, transmission and persistence of C. difficile infections. A recent publication (1) illustrated a novel strategy using three different approaches  to identify proteins of the exosporium layer of C. difficile spores and complements previous proteomic studies on the entire C. difficile spores.

Continue reading “ProteaseMAX: A Surfactant for the Most Complex Mixtures”

Will Warmer Weather Wake the Sleeping Giant (Viruses)?

Posted on by Gary Kobs

Artist's conception of Mimivirus structure, the first of the giant viruses identified.
Artist’s conception of Mimivirus structure, the first of the giant viruses identified.

Following the discovery of Mimivirus (1) the first virus with a particles large enough to be visible under the light microscope, two additional “giant” viruses infecting Acanthamoeba have been discovered Pandoravirus (2) and Pithovirus sibericum (3), the latter from a 30,000 year old Siberian permafrost. A fourth type was recently isolated from the same sample of permafrost by Legendre et al, and named Mollivirus sibericum (4).

Mollivirus sibericum has an approximately spherical virion (0.6 µm diameter) with a 651kb GC-rich genome that encodes 523 proteins. To further characterize the virus the researchers performed transcromic- and proteomic-based time course experiments.

For the particle proteome and infectious cycle analysis, proteins were extracted and then run a 4–12% polyacrylamide gel, and trypsin digests were performed in-gel before nano LC-MS/MS analysis of the resulting peptides. Proteomic studies of the particle showed that it lacked an embarked transcription apparatus, but revealed an unusual presence of many ribosomal and ribosome-related proteins.

When the researchers explored the proteome during the course of an entire infectious cycle, the relative proportions of Mollivirus-, mitochondrion-, and Acanthamoeba encoded proteins were found to vary consistently with an infectious pattern that preserved the cellular host integrity as long as possible and with the release of newly formed virus particles through exocytosis.

In an interesting footnote, the authors of this study point out the fact that two different viruses retain their infectivity in prehistorical permafrost layers should be a concern in the context of global warming and the potential to expose humans to primeval viruses.

References

1. La Scola, B. et al.   (2003) A giant virus in amoebae. Science  299, 2033.
2. Philippe, N. et al. (2013) Pandoraviruses. Amoeba virus with genomes up to 2.5Mb reaching that of parasitic eukaryotes. Science 341,281–6.
3. Legendre, M. et al. (2014) Thirty thousand year old distant relative of giant icosahedral DNA viruses with a pandoravirus morphology. Proc.Natl. Acad. Sci. 111, 4274–9.
4. Legendre, M. et al. (2015)  In depth study of Mollivirus sibercum, a new 30,000 year old giant virus infecting Acanthamoeba.  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 112, E5327–35 (online).

IdeZ Protease: A New Tool for the Characterization of Antibodies

Posted on by Gary Kobs
12335MB

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies are large, complex molecules that undergo numerous post translational modifications (PTMs).  In-depth characterization of antibody PTMs remains a significant hurdle because their large size (~150 kDa) makes mass spectrometry analysis extremely challenging.

IdeS protease specifically cleaves IgGs into Fab and Fc fragments. This enzyme is highly specific and cleaves human IgG specifically at one site in the lower hinge region.  Because of the exquisite specificity of the enzyme, it produces highly homogeneous Fc and Fab fragments which are then readily analyzed using techniques such as mass spectrometry or HPLC.

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One of the drawbacks of IdeS is that it exhibits poor activity against mouse IgGs. IdeZ Protease is an immunoglobulin-degrading enzyme from Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus. It is an engineered recombinant protease overexpressed in E. coli. Like IdeS Protease, IdeZ Protease specifically cleaves IgG molecules below the hinge region to yield F(ab′)2 and Fc fragments.  Reduction of the digestion products produces three fragments of ~25kDa that are readily analyzed by LC-MS.

One of the key advantages of the IdeZ Protease is that it has significantly improved activity against mouse IgG2a and IgG3 subclasses compared to IdeS Protease. IdeZ Protease does not cleave mouse IgG1 or IgG2b.

Key technical parameters when digesting mouse IgGs utilizing IdeZ are the following:

• Add 1 unit of IdeZ Protease per 1µg of IgG to be digested.
• IdeZ Protease is most active in buffers at or near neutral pH. The recommended digestion buffer is 50mM sodium phosphate, 150mM NaCl (pH 6.6).
• Mouse IgG2a and IgG3 typically require 2–4 hours at 37°C  for complete digestion.
• IdeZ Protease has a histidine tag for easy removal if so desired.

Purify and Conjugate Antibodies in a Single Workflow

Posted on by Gary Kobs

Isoform_Antibodies_LinkedInAntibodies labeled with small molecules such as fluorophore, biotin or drugs play a critical role in various areas of biological research,drug discovery and diagnostics. There are several limitations to current methods for labeling antibodies including the need for purified antibodies at high concentrations and multiple buffer exchange steps.

In a recent publication, a method (on-bead conjugation) is described that addresses these limitations by combining antibody purification and conjugation in a single workflow. This method uses high capacity-magnetic Protein A or Protein G beads to capture antibodies directly from cell media followed by conjugation with small molecules and elution of conjugated antibodies from the beads.

Using a variety of fluorophores the researchers show that the on-bead conjugation method is compatible with both thiol- and amine-based chemistry.

This method enables simple and rapid processing of multiple samples in parallel with high-efficiency antibody recovery. It is further shown that recovered antibodies are functional and compatible with downstream applications.

Literature Cited

Nidhi, N. et al. (2015) On-bead antibody-small molecule conjugation using high-capacity magnetic bead J. Immunol. Methods  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jim.2015.08.008

Cell-Free Expression Application: Antibody Screening

Posted on by Gary Kobs

TestPermissions2Ricin, derived from caster seeds, inhibits protein synthesis by binding to ribosomes, resulting in cell death. The protein is composed of two polypeptide chains: Ricin Toxin A chain and Ricin Toxin B chain. Ricin inhibits protein synthesis very quickly, and the cell or tissue damage begins within several hours. However, signs of poisoning often are not noted before significant damage has been done, making treatment difficult. Therapeutics that either block the ribosome binding site or compete with the toxin for binding are highly desired. Both antibodies and competitive ligands inhibited binding of the toxin to cell membranes.

A recent publication by Dong et al. (1), described a study to investigate the therapeutic effect of mAb 4C13, a monoclonal antibody against ricin. One of first experiments performed was to determine the general effect the inhibition of protein synthesis induced by ricin using cell-free expression.

In the study, the authors used T3 Coupled Reticulocyte Lysate Systems from Promega. Both ricin and mAb were diluted with saline. Aliquots of ricin (80 ng/ml) were mixed with an equal volume mAbs (1.6μg/ml) or saline alone and incubated at 4 °C for 1.5 h. A total volume of 4μl of sample was added into the reaction system (i.e, T3 Coupled Reticulocyte and plasmid DNA containing the lucifersase gene downstream of T3 RNA phage promoter). After incubation at 30 °C for 1.5 h, the products were cooled at −20 °C for 10 min. A total of 5μl of each reactive product containing synthesized luciferase was mixed with 50μl luciferase assay reagent pre-equilibrated to room temperature, and the fluorescence absorbance was measured immediately with the micro-ELISA Reader.

Positive results obtained from this preliminary experiment, led to more thorough experiments to determine the dosage effect using in vivo models (i.e., cell lines and mice) to characterize the cytotoxicity and binding activity of mAb 4C13. The mAB 4C13 was shown to be a effective in the mouse model.

Dong, N. et al. (2015) Monoclonal antibody , mAb 4C13, an effective detoxicant antibody against ricin poisoning. Vaccine 33, 3836–42