Interconversion of Unexpected Thiol States Affects the Stability, Structure, and Dynamics of Antibody Engineered for Site-Specific Conjugation.

Authors
Orozco, Carolina T 
Edgeworth, Matthew J 
Devine, Paul WA 
Hines, Alistair R 
Cornwell, Owen 

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Type
Article
Change log
Abstract

Antibody-drug conjugates have become one of the most actively developed classes of drugs in recent years. Their great potential comes from combining the strengths of large and small molecule therapeutics: the exquisite specificity of antibodies and the highly potent nature of cytotoxic compounds. More recently, the approach of engineering antibody-drug conjugate scaffolds to achieve highly controlled drug to antibody ratios has focused on substituting or inserting cysteines to facilitate site-specific conjugation. Herein, we characterize an antibody scaffold engineered with an inserted cysteine that formed an unexpected disulfide bridge during manufacture. A combination of mass spectrometry and biophysical techniques have been used to understand how the additional disulfide bridge forms, interconverts, and changes the stability and structural dynamics of the antibody intermediate. This quantitative and structurally resolved model of the local and global changes in structure and dynamics associated with the engineering and subsequent disulfide-bonded variant can assist future engineering strategies.

Publication Date
2021-08-18
Online Publication Date
2021-08-09
Acceptance Date
2021-07-02
Keywords
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Antibody Specificity, Antineoplastic Agents, Binding Sites, Drug Design, Immunoconjugates, Models, Molecular, Protein Conformation, Sulfhydryl Compounds
Journal Title
Bioconjugate Chemistry
Journal ISSN
1043-1802
1520-4812
Volume Title
32
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Sponsorship
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L015889/1)
This work was supported by AstraZeneca and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensor Technologies and Applications under Grant EP/L015889/1.