Electrostatic-Mediated Affinity Tuning of Lysostaphin Accelerates Bacterial Lysis Kinetics and Enhances In Vivo Efficacy.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Zhao H
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8097437 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Electrostatic effects are ubiquitous in protein interactions and are found to be pervasive in the complement system as well. The interaction between complement fragment C3d and complement receptor 2 (CR2) has evolved to become a link between innate and adaptive immunity. Electrostatic interactions have been suggested to be the driving factor for the association of the C3d:CR2 complex. In this study, we investigate the effects of ionic strength and mutagenesis on the association of C3d:CR2 through Brownian dynamics simulations. We demonstrate that the formation of the C3d:CR2 complex is ionic strength-dependent, suggesting the presence of long-range electrostatic steering that accelerates the complex formation. Electrostatic steering occurs through the interaction of an acidic surface patch in C3d and the positively charged CR2 and is supported by the effects of mutations within the acidic patch of C3d that slow or diminish association. Our data are in agreement with previous experimental mutagenesis and binding studies and computational studies. Although the C3d acidic patch may be locally destabilizing because of unfavorable Coulombic interactions of like charges, it contributes to the acceleration of association. Therefore, acceleration of function through electrostatic steering takes precedence to stability. The site of interaction between C3d and CR2 has been the target for delivery of CR2-bound nanoparticle, antibody, and small molecule biomarkers, as well as potential therapeutics. A detailed knowledge of the physicochemical basis of C3d:CR2 association may be necessary to accelerate biomarker and drug discovery efforts.
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Project description:The enzyme lysostaphin possesses potent anti-staphylococcal activity and represents a promising antibacterial drug candidate; however, its immunogenicity poses a barrier to clinical translation. Here, structure-based biomolecular design enabled widespread depletion of lysostaphin DRB1(?)0401 restricted T cell epitopes, and resulting deimmunized variants exhibited striking reductions in anti-drug antibody responses upon administration to humanized HLA-transgenic mice. This reduced immunogenicity translated into improved efficacy in the form of protection against repeated challenges with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In contrast, while wild-type lysostaphin was efficacious against the initial MRSA infection, it failed to clear subsequent bacterial challenges that were coincident with escalating anti-drug antibody titers. These results extend the existing deimmunization literature, in which reduced immunogenicity and retained efficacy are assessed independently of each other. By correlating in vivo efficacy with longitudinal measures of anti-drug antibody development, we provide the first direct evidence that T cell epitope depletion manifests enhanced biotherapeutic efficacy.
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Project description:The principles relating the lysis times of fibrin clots to their contents of fibrin, plasminogen and plasminogen-activator were investigated. Mathematical considerations suggested that the square of the lysis time should correlate linearly with the fibrin content, and inversely with the activator and the plasminogen contents of the system. Experimental studies, during which these parameters were independently varied, showed that the predicted relationships were valid for concentrations that gave clot-lysis times in the range normally used for studies of fibrinolysis.
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Project description:Ganglioside GD2 is highly expressed on neuroectodermal tumors and an attractive therapeutic target for antibodies that have already shown some clinical efficacy. To further improve the current antibodies, which have modest affinity, we sought to improve affinity by using a combined method of random mutagenesis and in silico assisted design to affinity-mature the anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody hu3F8. Using yeast display, mutants in the Fv with enhanced binding over the parental clone were FACS-sorted and cloned. In silico modeling identified the minimal key interacting residues involved in the important charged interactions with the sialic acid groups of GD2. Two mutations, D32H (L-CDR1) and E1K (L-FR1) altered the electrostatic surface potential of the antigen binding site, allowing for an increase in positive charge to enhance the interaction with the negatively charged GD2-pentasaccharide headgroup. Purified scFv and IgG mutant forms were then tested for antigen specificity by ELISA, for tissue specificity by immunohistochemistry, for affinity by BIACORE, for antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and complement-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro, and for anti-tumor efficacy in xenografted humanized mice. The nearly 7-fold improvement in affinity of hu3F8 with a single D32H (L-CDR1) mutation translated into a ∼12-fold improvement in NK92MI-transfected CD16-mediated ADCC, a 6-fold improvement in CD32-mediated ADCC, and a 2.5-fold improvement in complement-mediated cytotoxicity while maintaining restricted normal tissue cross-reactivity and achieving substantial improvement in tumor ablation in vivo. Despite increasing GD2 affinity, the double mutation D32H (L-CDR1) and E1K (L-FR1) did not further improve anti-tumor efficacy.
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Project description:BackgroundAcute infection is a well-established risk factor of cardiovascular inflammation increasing the risk for a cardiovascular complication within the first weeks after infection. However, the nature of the processes underlying such aggravation remains unclear. Lipopolysaccharide derived from Gram-negative bacteria is a potent activator of circulating immune cells including neutrophils, which foster inflammation through discharge of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Here, we use a model of endotoxinemia to link acute infection and subsequent neutrophil activation with acceleration of vascular inflammation Methods: Acute infection was mimicked by injection of a single dose of lipopolysaccharide into hypercholesterolemic mice. Atherosclerosis burden was studied by histomorphometric analysis of the aortic root. Arterial myeloid cell adhesion was quantified by intravital microscopy.ResultsLipopolysaccharide treatment rapidly enhanced atherosclerotic lesion size by expansion of the lesional myeloid cell accumulation. Lipopolysaccharide treatment led to the deposition of NETs along the arterial lumen, and inhibition of NET release annulled lesion expansion during endotoxinemia, thus suggesting that NETs regulate myeloid cell recruitment. To study the mechanism of monocyte adhesion to NETs, we used in vitro adhesion assays and biophysical approaches. In these experiments, NET-resident histone H2a attracted monocytes in a receptor-independent, surface charge-dependent fashion. Therapeutic neutralization of histone H2a by antibodies or by in silico designed cyclic peptides enables us to reduce luminal monocyte adhesion and lesion expansion during endotoxinemia.ConclusionsOur study shows that NET-associated histone H2a mediates charge-dependent monocyte adhesion to NETs and accelerates atherosclerosis during endotoxinemia.
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