Production of Human Antibody Fragments Binding to Melittin and Phospholipase A2 in Africanised Bee Venom: Minimising Venom Toxicity

The hybrid created from the crossbreeding of European and African bees, known as the Africanised bee, has provided numerous advantages for current beekeeping. However, this new species exhibits undesirable behaviours, such as colony defence instinct and a propensity to attack en masse, which can result in serious accidents. To date, there is no effective treatment for cases of Africanised bee envenomation. One promising technique for developing an efficient antivenom is the use of phage display technology, which enables the production of human antibodies, thus avoiding the complications of serum therapy, such as anaphylaxis and serum sickness. The aim of this study was to produce human monoclonal single-chain Fv (scFv) antibody fragments capable of inhibiting the toxic effects of Africanised bee venom. We conducted four rounds of selection of antibodies against the venom and three rounds of selection of antibodies against purified melittin. Three clones were selected and tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to verify their specificity for melittin and phospholipase A2. Two clones (C5 and C12) were specific for melittin, and one (A7) was specific for phospholipase A2. In a kinetic haemolytic assay, these clones were evaluated individually and in pairs. The A7-C12 combination had the best synergistic effect and was chosen to be used in the assays of myotoxicity inhibition and lethality. The A7-C12 combination inhibited the in vivo myotoxic effect of the venom and increased the survival of treated animals.

Serrumab: A human monoclonal antibody that counters the biochemical and immunological effects of Tityus serrulatus venom

In Brazil, the species Tityus serrulatus is responsible for the most severe cases of scorpion envenomation. There is currently a need for new scorpion anti-venoms that are more effective and less harmful. This study attempted to produce human monoclonal antibodies capable of inhibiting the activity of T. serrulatus venom (TsV), using the Griffin.1 library of human single-chain fragment-variable (scFv) phage antibodies. Four rounds of phage antibody selection were performed, and the round with the highest phage antibody titer was chosen for the production of monoclonal phage antibodies and for further analysis. The scFv 2A, designated serrumab, was selected for the production and purification of soluble antibody fragments. In a murine peritoneal macrophage cell line (J774.1), in vitro assays of the cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and IL-10 were performed. In male BALB/c mice, in vivo assays of plasma urea, creatinine, aspartate transaminase, and glucose were performed, as well as of neutrophil recruitment and leukocyte counts. It was found that serrumab inhibited the TsV-induced increases in the production of IL-6, TNF alpha, and IL-10 in J774.1 cells. The in vivo inhibition assay showed that serrumab also prevented TsV-induced increases in the plasma levels of urea, creatinine, aspartate transaminase, and glucose, as well as preventing the TsV-induced increase in neutrophil recruitment. The results indicate that the human monoclonal antibody serrumab is a candidate for inclusion in a mixture of specific antibodies to the various toxins present in TsV. Therefore, serrumab shows promise for use in the production of new anti-venom.

Molecular basis oh herpes simplex virus entry into the cell and retargeting of the viral tropism for the design of oncolytic herpesviruses

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infects oral epitelial cells, then spreads to the nerve endings and estabilishes latency in sensory ganglia, from where it may, or may not reactivate. Diseases caused by virus reactivation include mild diseases such as muco-cutaneous lesions, and more severe, and even life-threatening encephalitis, or systemic infections affecting diverse organs. Herpes simplex virus represents the most comprehensive example of virus receptor interaction in Herpesviridae family, and the prototype virus encoding multipartite entry genes. In fact, it encodes 11-12 glycoproteins and a number of additional membrane proteins: five of these proteins play key roles in virus entry into subsceptible cells. Thus, glycoprotein B (gB) and glycoprotein C (gC) interact with heparan sulfate proteoglycan to enable initial attachment to cell surfaces. In the next step, in the entry cascade, gD binds a specific surface receptor such as nectin1 or HVEM. The interaction of glycoprotein D with the receptor alters the conformation of gD to enable the activation of gB, glycoprotein H, and glycoprotein L, a trio of glycoproteins that execute the fusion of the viral envelope with the plasma membrane. In this thesis, I described two distinct projects: I. The retargeting of viral tropism for the design of oncolytic Herpesviruses: • capable of infecting cells through the human epitelial growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), overexpressed in highly malignant mammary and ovarian tumors and correlates with a poor prognosis; • detargeted from its natural receptors, HVEM and nectin1. To this end, we inserted a ligand to HER2 in gD. Because HER2 has no natural ligand, the selected ligand was a single chain antibody (scFv) derived from MAb4D5 (monoclonal antibody to HER2), herein designated scHER2. All recombinant viruses were targeted to HER2 receptor, but only two viruses (R-LM113 and R-LM249) were completely detargeted from HVEM and nectin1. To engineer R-LM113, we removed a large portion at the N-terminus of gD (from aa 6 to aa 38) and inserted scHER2 sequence plus 9-aa serine-glycine flexible linker at position 39. On the other hand, to engineer R-LM249, we replaced the Ig-folded core of gD (from aa 61 to aa 218) with scHER2 flanked by Ser-Gly linkers. In summary, these results provide evidence that: i. gD can tolerate an insert almost as big as gD itself; ii. the Ig-like domain of gD can be removed; iii. the large portion at the N-terminus of gD (from aa 6 to aa 38) can be removed without loss of key function; iv. R-LM113 and R-LM249 recombinants are ready to be assayed in animal models of mammary and ovary tumour. This finding and the avaibility of a large number of scFv greatly increase the collection of potential receptors to which HSV can be redirected. II. The production and purification of recombinant truncated form of the heterodimer gHgL. We cloned a stable insect cell line expressing a soluble form of gH in complex with gL under the control of a metalloprotein inducible promoter and purified the heterodimer by means of ONE-STrEP-tag system by IBA. With respect to biological function, the purified heterodimer is capable: • of reacting to antibodies that recognize conformation dependent epitopes and neutralize virion infectivity; • of binding a variety cells at cell surface. No doubt, the availability of biological active purified gHgL heterodimer, in sufficient quantities, will speed up the efforts to solve its crystal structure and makes it feasible to identify more clearly whether gHgL has a cellular partner, and what is the role of this interaction on virus entry.

Computersimulationen zur Dynamik von verdünnten und halbverdünnten Polymerlösungen

Diese Arbeit legt eine neue Methode zur Simulation derDynamik vonPolymeren in verdünnter und halbverdünnterLösung vor. Die Effizienz der Methode und derAnstieg der Computerleistung in den letzten Jahren erlaubenes, weitaus komplexere Systeme als bisher zu betrachten.Die neue Methode modelliert die Polymere als Kugel-Feder-Ketten, die mittels Molekulardynamik simuliertwerden. Die Flüssigkeit wird durch die numerischeLösung der Kontinuitätsgleichungund der Navier-Stokes-Gleichung mit derLattice-Boltzmann-Methodemodelliert. Die Flüssigkeit wird über eineReibungskraft an die Monomere des Kugel-Feder-Modellsgekoppelt. Die Methode wird auf das Problem einer flexiblen EinzelketteimLösungsmittel angewendet. Der Vergleich derErgebnisse mit einer existierenden reinenMolekulardynamik-Simulationergibt Übereinstimmung innerhalb weniger Prozent,während die neueMethode um etwa einen Faktor 20 weniger CPU-Zeitbenötigt. Eine semiflexible Kette zeigt völliganderes Verhalten: Die Hydrodynamik spielt im Gegensatz zur flexiblen Ketteeineuntergeordnete Rolle. Simulationen von halbverdünntenLösungen flexibler Kettenbestehend aus insgesamt 50000 Monomeren zeigen zum erstenMal direkt dieAbschirmung sowohl der Volumenausschluss-Wechselwirkung alsauch derHydrodynamik.

The swelling behaviour of polyelectrolyte networks

Being basic ingredients of numerous daily-life products with significant industrial importance as well as basic building blocks for biomaterials, charged hydrogels continue to pose a series of unanswered challenges for scientists even after decades of practical applications and intensive research efforts. Despite a rather simple internal structure it is mainly the unique combination of short- and long-range forces which render scientific investigations of their characteristic properties to be quite difficult. Hence early on computer simulations were used to link analytical theory and empirical experiments, bridging the gap between the simplifying assumptions of the models and the complexity of real world measurements. Due to the immense numerical effort, even for high performance supercomputers, system sizes and time scales were rather restricted until recently, whereas it only now has become possible to also simulate a network of charged macromolecules. This is the topic of the presented thesis which investigates one of the fundamental and at the same time highly fascinating phenomenon of polymer research: The swelling behaviour of polyelectrolyte networks. For this an extensible simulation package for the research on soft matter systems, ESPResSo for short, was created which puts a particular emphasis on mesoscopic bead-spring-models of complex systems. Highly efficient algorithms and a consistent parallelization reduced the necessary computation time for solving equations of motion even in case of long-ranged electrostatics and large number of particles, allowing to tackle even expensive calculations and applications. Nevertheless, the program has a modular and simple structure, enabling a continuous process of adding new potentials, interactions, degrees of freedom, ensembles, and integrators, while staying easily accessible for newcomers due to a Tcl-script steering level controlling the C-implemented simulation core. Numerous analysis routines provide means to investigate system properties and observables on-the-fly. Even though analytical theories agreed on the modeling of networks in the past years, our numerical MD-simulations show that even in case of simple model systems fundamental theoretical assumptions no longer apply except for a small parameter regime, prohibiting correct predictions of observables. Applying a "microscopic" analysis of the isolated contributions of individual system components, one of the particular strengths of computer simulations, it was then possible to describe the behaviour of charged polymer networks at swelling equilibrium in good solvent and close to the Theta-point by introducing appropriate model modifications. This became possible by enhancing known simple scaling arguments with components deemed crucial in our detailed study, through which a generalized model could be constructed. Herewith an agreement of the final system volume of swollen polyelectrolyte gels with results of computer simulations could be shown successfully over the entire investigated range of parameters, for different network sizes, charge fractions, and interaction strengths. In addition, the "cell under tension" was presented as a self-regulating approach for predicting the amount of swelling based on the used system parameters only. Without the need for measured observables as input, minimizing the free energy alone already allows to determine the the equilibrium behaviour. In poor solvent the shape of the network chains changes considerably, as now their hydrophobicity counteracts the repulsion of like-wise charged monomers and pursues collapsing the polyelectrolytes. Depending on the chosen parameters a fragile balance emerges, giving rise to fascinating geometrical structures such as the so-called pear-necklaces. This behaviour, known from single chain polyelectrolytes under similar environmental conditions and also theoretically predicted, could be detected for the first time for networks as well. An analysis of the total structure factors confirmed first evidences for the existence of such structures found in experimental results.

Immunoconiugati contenenti tossine vegetali o siRNA per la deplezione selettiva di cellule leucemiche. Preparazione, citotossicità e studi di mutagenesi sito-specifica.

CD33 is a myeloid cell surface marker absent on normal hematopoietic stem cells and normal tissues but present on leukemic blasts in 90% of adult and paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) cases. By virtue of its expression pattern and its ability to be rapidly internalized after antibody binding, CD33 has become an attractive target for new immunotherapeutic approaches to treat AML. In this study two immunoconjugates were constructed to contain a humanised single-chain fragment variable antibody (scFv) against CD33 in order to create new antibody-derived therapeutics for AML. The first immunoconjugate was developed to provide targeted delivery of siRNAs as death effectors into leukemic cells. To this purpose, a CD33-specific scFv, modified to include a Cys residue at its C-terminal end (scFvCD33-Cys), was coupled through a disulphide bridge to a nona-d-arginine (9R) peptide carrying a free Cys to the N-terminal. The scFvCD33-9R was able to completely bind siRNAs at a protein to nucleic acid ratio of about 10:1, as confirmed by electrophoretic gel mobility-shift assay. The conjugate was unable to efficiently transduce cytotoxic siRNA (siTox) into the human myeloid cell line U937. We observed slight reductions in cell viability, with a reduction of 25% in comparison to the control group only at high concentration of siTox (300 nM). The second immunoconjugate was constructed by coupling the scFvCD33-Cys to the type 1 ribosome inactivating protein Dianthin 30 (DIA30) through a chemical linking The resulting immunotoxin scFvCD33-DIA30 caused the rapid arrest of protein synthesis, inducing apoptosis and leading ultimately to cell death. In vitro dose-dependent cytotoxicity assays demonstrated that scFvCD33-DIA30 was specifically toxic to CD33-positive cell U937. The concentration needed to reach 50 % of maximum killing efficiency (EC50) was approximately 0.3 nM. The pronounced antigen-restricted cytotoxicity of this novel agent makes it a candidate for further evaluation of its therapeutic potential.

Genetic engineering and preclinical evaluation of oncolytic herpes simplex viruses retargeted to cancer-specific receptors

Oncolytic virotherapy exploits the ability of viruses to infect and kill cells. It is suitable as treatment for tumors that are not accessible by surgery and/or respond poorly to the current therapeutic approach. HSV is a promising oncolytic agent. It has a large genome size able to accommodate large transgenes and some attenuated oncolytic HSVs (oHSV) are already in clinical trials phase I and II. The aim of this thesis was the generation of HSV-1 retargeted to tumor-specific receptors and detargeted from HSV natural receptors, HVEM and Nectin-1. The retargeting was achieved by inserting a specific single chain antibody (scFv) for the tumor receptor selected inside the HSV glycoprotein gD. In this research three tumor receptors were considered: epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpressed in 25-30% of breast and ovarian cancers and gliomas, prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expressed in prostate carcinomas and in neovascolature of solid tumors; and epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII). In vivo studies on HER2 retargeted viruses R-LM113 and R-LM249 have demonstrated their high safety profile. For R-LM249 the antitumor efficacy has been highlighted by target-specific inhibition of the growth of human tumors in models of HER2-positive breast and ovarian cancer in nude mice. In a murine model of HER2-positive glioma in nude mice, R-LM113 was able to significantly increase the survival time of treated mice compared to control. Up to now, PSMA and EGFRvIII viruses (R-LM593 and R-LM613) are only characterized in vitro, confirming the specific retargeting to selected targets. This strategy has proved to be generally applicable to a broad spectrum of receptors for which a single chain antibody is available.

Pathogenesis of cell toxicity by plant toxins

Ribosome inactivating proteins (RIPs) are a family of plant proteins that depurinate the major rRNA, inhibiting the protein synthesis. RIPs are divided into type 1, single chain proteins with enzymatic activity, and type 2 RIPs (toxic and non-toxic), with the enzymatic chain linked to a binding chain. RIPs have been used alone or as toxic component of immunotoxins for experimental therapy of many diseases. The knowledge of cell death pathway(s) induced by RIPs could be useful for clarifying the mechanisms induced by RIPs and for designing specific immunotherapy. The topic of the current study was (i) the determination of the amino acid sequence of the type 2 RIP stenodactylin. The comparison with other RIPs showed that the A chain is related to other toxic type 2 RIPs. whereas the B chain is more related to the non-toxic type 2 RIPs. This latter result is surprising because stenodactylin is actually the most toxic type 2 RIP known; (ii) the study of the cell death mechanisms induced by stenodactylin in human neuroblastoma cells (NB100). High doses of stenodactylin can activate the effector caspases (perhaps through the DNA damage and/or intrinsic/extrinsic pathways) and also cause ROS generation. Low doses cause a caspase-dependent apoptosis, mainly via extrinsic pathway. Moreover, the activation of caspases precedes the inhibition of protein synthesis; (iii) the investigation of the cell death pathway induced by the non-toxic type 2 RIPs ebulin l and nigrin b. These RIPs demonstrated high enzymatic activity in a cell-free system, but they lack high cytotoxicity. These preliminary studies demonstrate that the cell death mechanism induced by the two non-toxic RIPs is partially caspase-dependent apoptosis, but other mechanisms seem to be involved

Miniemulsionen als räumliche Begrenzungen : Synthese von Polymer-Hydroxylapatit-Nanopartikeln, bio-inspirierten Nanokapseln und Polymer-Einzelkettenpartikeln

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden Miniemulsionen als räumliche Begrenzungen für die Synthese von unterschiedlichen funktionellen Materialien mit neuartigen Eigenschaften verwendet. Das erste Themengebiet umfasst die Herstellung von Polymer/Calciumphosphat-Hybridpartikeln und –Hybridkapseln über die templatgesteuerte Mineralisation von Calciumphosphat. Die funktionalisierte Oberfläche von Polymernanopartikeln, welche über die Miniemulsionspolymerisation hergestellt wurden, diente als Templat für die Kristallisation von Calciumphosphat auf den Partikeln. Der Einfluss der funktionellen Carboxylat- und Phosphonat-Oberflächengruppen auf die Komplexierung von Calcium-Ionen sowie die Mineralisation von Calciumphosphat auf der Oberfläche der Nanopartikel wurde mit mehreren Methoden (ionenselektive Elektroden, REM, TEM und XRD) detailliert analysiert. Es wurde herausgefunden, dass die Mineralisation bei verschiedenen pH-Werten zu vollkommen unterschiedlichen Kristallmorphologien (nadel- und plättchenförmige Kristalle) auf der Oberfläche der Partikel führt. Untersuchungen der Mineralisationskinetik zeigten, dass die Morphologie der Hydroxylapatit-Kristalle auf der Partikeloberfläche mit der Änderung der Kristallisationsgeschwindigkeit durch eine sorgfältige Wahl des pH-Wertes gezielt kontrolliert werden kann. Sowohl die Eigenschaften der als Templat verwendeten Polymernanopartikel (z. B. Größe, Form und Funktionalisierung), als auch die Oberflächentopografie der entstandenen Polymer/Calciumphosphat-Hybridpartikel wurden gezielt verändert, um die Eigenschaften der erhaltenen Kompositmaterialien zu steuern. rnEine ähnliche bio-inspirierte Methode wurde zur in situ-Herstellung von organisch/anorganischen Nanokapseln entwickelt. Hierbei wurde die flexible Grenzfläche von flüssigen Miniemulsionströpfchen zur Mineralisation von Calciumphosphat an der Grenzfläche eingesetzt, um Gelatine/Calciumphosphat-Hybridkapseln mit flüssigem Kern herzustellen. Der flüssige Kern der Nanokapseln ermöglicht dabei die Verkapselung unterschiedlicher hydrophiler Substanzen, was in dieser Arbeit durch die erfolgreiche Verkapselung sehr kleiner Hydroxylapatit-Kristalle sowie eines Fluoreszenzfarbstoffes (Rhodamin 6G) demonstriert wurde. Aufgrund der intrinsischen Eigenschaften der Gelatine/Calciumphosphat-Kapseln konnten abhängig vom pH-Wert der Umgebung unterschiedliche Mengen des verkapselten Fluoreszenzfarbstoffes aus den Kapseln freigesetzt werden. Eine mögliche Anwendung der Polymer/Calciumphosphat-Partikel und –Kapseln ist die Implantatbeschichtung, wobei diese als Bindeglied zwischen künstlichem Implantat und natürlichem Knochengewebe dienen. rnIm zweiten Themengebiet dieser Arbeit wurde die Grenzfläche von Nanometer-großen Miniemulsionströpfchen eingesetzt, um einzelne in der dispersen Phase gelöste Polymerketten zu separieren. Nach der Verdampfung des in den Tröpfchen vorhandenen Lösungsmittels wurden stabile Dispersionen sehr kleiner Polymer-Nanopartikel (<10 nm Durchmesser) erhalten, die aus nur wenigen oder einer einzigen Polymerkette bestehen. Die kolloidale Stabilität der Partikel nach der Synthese, gewährleistet durch die Anwesenheit von SDS in der wässrigen Phase der Dispersionen, ist vorteilhaft für die anschließende Charakterisierung der Polymer-Nanopartikel. Die Partikelgröße der Nanopartikel wurde mittels DLS und TEM bestimmt und mit Hilfe der Dichte und des Molekulargewichts der verwendeten Polymere die Anzahl an Polymerketten pro Partikel bestimmt. Wie es für Partikel, die aus nur einer Polymerkette bestehen, erwartet wird, stieg die mittels DLS bestimmte Partikelgröße mit steigendem Molekulargewicht des in der Synthese der Partikel eingesetzten Polymers deutlich an. Die Quantifizierung der Kettenzahl pro Partikel mit Hilfe von Fluoreszenzanisotropie-Messungen ergab, dass Polymer-Einzelkettenpartikel hoher Einheitlichkeit hergestellt wurden. Durch die Verwendung eines Hochdruckhomogenisators zur Herstellung der Einzelkettendispersionen war es möglich, größere Mengen der Einzelkettenpartikel herzustellen, deren Materialeigenschaften zurzeit näher untersucht werden.rn

Computersimulationen zum Einfluss topologischer Beschränkungen auf Polymere

Topologische Beschränkungen beeinflussen die Eigenschaften von Polymeren. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird mit Hilfe von Computersimulationen im Detail untersucht, inwieweit sich die statischen Eigenschaften von kollabierten Polymerringen, Polymerringen in konzentrierten Lösungen und aus Polymerringen aufgebauten Bürsten mit topologischen Beschränkungen von solchen ohne topologische Beschränkungen unterscheiden. Des Weiteren wird analysiert, welchen Einfluss geometrische Beschränkungen auf die topologischen Eigenschaften von einzelnen Polymerketten besitzen. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit geht es um den Einfluss der Topologie auf die Eigenschaften einzelner Polymerketten in verschiedenen Situationen. Da allerdings gerade die effiziente Durchführung von Monte-Carlo-Simulationen von kollabierten Polymerketten eine große Herausforderung darstellt, werden zunächst drei Bridging-Monte-Carlo-Schritte für Gitter- auf Kontinuumsmodelle übertragen. Eine Messung der Effizienz dieser Schritte ergibt einen Beschleunigungsfaktor von bis zu 100 im Vergleich zum herkömmlichen Slithering-Snake-Algorithmus. Darauf folgt die Analyse einer einzelnen, vergröberten Polystyrolkette in sphärischer Geometrie hinsichtlich Verschlaufungen und Knoten. Es wird gezeigt, dass eine signifikante Verknotung der Polystrolkette erst eintritt, wenn der Radius des umgebenden Kapsids kleiner als der Gyrationsradius der Kette ist. Des Weiteren werden sowohl Monte-Carlo- als auch Molekulardynamiksimulationen sehr großer Ringe mit bis zu einer Million Monomeren im kollabierten Zustand durchgeführt. Während die Konfigurationen aus den Monte-Carlo-Simulationen aufgrund der Verwendung der Bridging-Schritte sehr stark verknotet sind, bleiben die Konfigurationen aus den Molekulardynamiksimulationen unverknotet. Hierbei zeigen sich signifikante Unterschiede sowohl in der lokalen als auch in der globalen Struktur der Ringpolymere. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit wird das Skalierungsverhalten des Gyrationsradius der einzelnen Polymerringe in einer konzentrierten Lösung aus völlig flexiblen Polymerringen im Kontinuum untersucht. Dabei wird der Anfang des asymptotischen Skalierungsverhaltens, welches mit dem Modell des “fractal globules“ konsistent ist, erreicht. Im abschließenden, dritten Teil dieser Arbeit wird das Verhalten von Bürsten aus linearen Polymeren mit dem von Ringpolymerbürsten verglichen. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die Struktur und das Skalierungsverhalten beider Systeme mit identischem Dichteprofil parallel zum Substrat deutlich voneinander abweichen, obwohl die Eigenschaften beider Systeme in Richtung senkrecht zum Substrat übereinstimmen. Der Vergleich des Relaxationsverhaltens einzelner Ketten in herkömmlichen Polymerbürsten und Ringbürsten liefert keine gravierenden Unterschiede. Es stellt sich aber auch heraus, dass die bisher verwendeten Erklärungen zur Relaxationsverhalten von herkömmlichen Bürsten nicht ausreichen, da diese lediglich den anfänglichen Zerfall der Korrelationsfunktion berücksichtigen. Bei der Untersuchung der Dynamik einzelner Monomere in einer herkömmlichen Bürste aus offenen Ketten vom Substrat hin zum offenen Ende zeigt sich, dass die Monomere in der Mitte der Kette die langsamste Relaxation besitzen, obwohl ihre mittlere Verrückung deutlich kleiner als die der freien Endmonomere ist.

In-vitro-Studien zur Generierung bi-spezifischer T-Zellen durch T-Zell-Antigenrezeptor-Gentransfer

In der Dissertation konnte gezeigt werden, dass von einem pp65(495-503)-spezifischen Doppelketten-TZR (2-Plasmide-retrovirales Vektorsystem) ein Potential der Fremdinteraktion mit spezifitätsfremden humanen gp100(280-288)- und AML(14-22)- sowie murinen MDM2(81-88)- und p53(264-272)-Tumorantigen-spezifischen TZRa und -b Ketten besteht. Folglich zeichneten sich essentielle Optimierungsverfahren ab. Für die Generierung von bi-spezifischen T-Zellenrnwurden zwei Strategien etabliert. Das erste Verfahren hatte zur Voraussetzung, dass der Donor und Rezipient einen HCMV-seropositiven Status aufweisen würden. Es ließen sich pp65(495-503)-spezifische T-Zellen aus HCMV-seropositiven Blutproben expandieren, die eine effiziente pp65(495-503)-Spezifität charakterisierte. In der zweiten Strategie wurde die Situation behandelt, dass der Donor HCMV-seronegativ und der Rezipient HCMV-seropositiv wären.rnHierbei wurde das Verfahren der simultanen Kotransfektion mit einem pp65(495-503)- und p53(264-272)-spezifischen TZR etabliert. Bei der Verwendung beider Strategien konnten effizient p53(264-272)-Tumorantigen und pp65(495-503)-bi-spezifische T-Zellen generiert werden.rnHinzukommend konnte der Einfluss einer möglichen Kompetition um CD3 undrnFehlinteraktion mit den endogenen TZRa und -b Ketten dargelegt werden. Des Weiteren erfolgten Interaktionsanalysen mit einem p53(264-272)-Tumorantigen-spezifischen Einzelketten-TZR. Die Analysen erfolgten sowohl unter nicht-kompetitiven Bedingungen in der humanen Jurkat-76 Zelllinie, welche den genomischen Verlust von endogenen TZRa und -b Ketten kennzeichnete, als auch unter kompetitiven Bedingungen in den humanen T-Zellen, die endogene TZRa und -b Ketten besitzen. In dem 2-Plasmide-retroviralen Vektorsystem konnte gezeigt werden, dass unter nicht-kompetitiven Bedingungen der p53(264-272)- Tumorantigen-spezifische Einzelketten-TZR in erhöhtem Maße mit der murinen MDM2(81-88)-sowie homologen p53(264-272)- als auch mit den humanen TZRa Ketten der Spezifitäten AML(14-22), gp100(280-288) und pp65(495-503) (Vb3-Analyse) interagieren konnte. Interessanterweise zeigte sich im 1-Plasmid-retroviralen Vektorsystem ein geringeres Interaktionsverhalten mit murinen und vor allem humanen TZRa Ketten. Das Interaktionspotential schien TZR Subfamilien-abhängig zu sein. Essentiell war es, dass der p53(264-272)-Tumorantigenspezifische Einzelketten-TZR eines 1-Plasmid-retroviralen Vektorsystems, trotz minimaler Beeinflussungen, stets an der Zelloberfläche exprimiert werden konnte und sich kein vollständiger Verlust der p53(264-272)-Spezifität verzeichnen ließ. Aufgrund der Verdrängung der Va-Domäne des p53(264-272)-Tumorantigen-spezifischen Einzelketten-TZR durch eine Volllängen-TZRa-Kette, erfolgte die Optimierung der Va/Vb-Interaktion des Einzelketten-TZR (1-Plasmid-retrovirales Vektorsystem). Es konnte ein neuartiger p53(264-272)-Tumorantigenspezifischer Einzelketten-TZR mit einer zusätzlichen künstlichen Disulfidbrücke zwischen Va(Q51C) und dem C-terminalen Ende des SL7-Linkers (G16C) generiert werden. Dieser Einzelketten-TZR zeigte im Vergleich zum Ausgangskonstrukt eine stärkere Va/Vb-Bindung, ausgelesen an einer effizienten Reduktion der residuellen Kettenfehlinteraktion, sowie eine effiziente TZR-Expression und Funktionalität, als auch eine vergleichbare TZR-MHC:Peptid-Affinität. Zusammenfassend konnten pp65(465-503)- und p53(264-272)-Tumorantigen-bi-spezifische T-Zellen generiert werden, die eine effiziente duale Spezifität aufwiesen. Auch konnte detailliert das Interaktionsverhalten eines p53(264-272)-Tumorantigen-spezifischen Einzelketten-TZR mit spezifitätsfremden TZRa Ketten dargelegt sowie eine Optimierung eines p53(264-272)-Tumorantigen-spezifischen Einzelketten-TZR (1-Plasmid-retrovirales Vektorsystem) erzielt werden.

Safety and therapeutic efficacy of adoptive p53-specific T cell antigen receptor (TCR) gene transfer

Immunotherapy with T cells genetically modified by retroviral transfer of tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-specific T cell receptors (TCR) is a promising approach in targeting cancer. Therefore, using a universal TAA to target different tumor entities by only one therapeutic approach was the main criteria for our TAA-specific TCR. Here, an optimized (opt) αβ-chain p53(264-272)-specific and an opt single chain (sc) p53(264-272)-specific TCR were designed, to reduce mispairing reactions of endogenous and introduced TCR α and TCR β-chains, which might lead to off-target autoimmune reactions, similar to Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). rnIn this study we evaluated the safety issues, which rise by the risk of p53TCR gene transfer-associated on/off-target toxicities as well as the anti-tumor response in vivo in a syngeneic HLA-A*0201 transgenic mouse model. We could successfully demonstrate that opt sc p53-specific TCR-redirected T cells prevent TCR mispairing-mediated lethal off-target autoimmunity in contrast to the parental opt αβ-chain p53-specific TCR. Since the sc p53-specific TCR proofed to be safe, all further studies were performed using sc p53-specific TCR redirected T cells only. Infusion of p53-specific TCR-redirected T cells in Human p53 knock-in (Hupki) mice after lymphodepletion-preconditioning regimen with either sublethal body irradiation (5Gy) or chemotherapy (fludarabine and cyclophosphamide) in combination with vaccination (anti-CD40, CpG1668 and p53(257-282) peptide) did not result in a depletion of hematopoietic cells. Moreover, adoptive transfer of high numbers of p53-specific TCR-redirected T cells in combination with Interleukin 2 (IL-2) also did not lead to toxic on-target reactions. The absence of host tissue damage was confirmed by histology and flow cytometry analysis. Furthermore, p53-specific TCR-redirected T cells were able to lyse p53+A2.1+ tumor cells in vitro. However, in vivo studies revealed the potent suppressive effect of the tumor microenvironment (TME) mediated by tumor-infiltrating myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC). Accordingly, we could improve an insufficient anti-tumor response in vivo after injection of the sc p53-specific TCR-redirected T cells by additional depletion of immunosuppressive cells of the myeloid lineage.rnTogether, these data suggest that the optimized sc p53(264-272)-specific TCR may represent a safe and efficient approach for TCR-based gene therapy. However, combinations of immunotherapeutic strategies are needed to enhance the efficacy of adoptive cell therapy (ACT)-mediated anti-tumor responses.

Efficiency of recombinant human TNF in human cancer therapy

Recombinant human tumour necrosis factor (TNF) has a selective effect on angiogenic vessels in tumours. Given that it induces vasoplegia, its clinical use has been limited to administration through isolated limb perfusion (ILP) for regionally advanced melanomas and soft tissue sarcomas of the limbs. When combined with the alkylating agent melphalan, a single ILP produces a very high objective response rate. In melanoma, the complete response (CR) rate is around 80% and the overall objective response rate greater than 90%. In soft tissue sarcomas that are inextirpable, ILP is a neoadjuvant treatment resulting in limb salvage in 80% of the cases. The CR rate averages 20% and the objective response rate is around 80%. The mode of action of TNF-based ILP involves two distinct and successive effects on the tumour-associated vasculature: first, an increase in endothelium permeability leading to improved chemotherapy penetration within the tumour tissue, and second, a selective killing of angiogenic endothelial cells resulting in tumour vessel destruction. The mechanism whereby these events occur involves rapid (of the order of minutes) perturbation of cell-cell adhesive junctions and inhibition of alphavbeta3 integrin signalling in tumour-associated vessels, followed by massive death of endothelial cells and tumour vascular collapse 24 hours later. New, promising approaches for the systemic use of TNF in cancer therapy include TNF targeting by means of single chain antibodies or endothelial cell ligands, or combined administration with drugs perturbing integrin-dependent signalling and sensitizing angiogenic endothelial cells to TNF-induced death.

Chemosensitization of carcinoma cells using epithelial cell adhesion molecule-targeted liposomal antisense against bcl-2/bcl-xL

Nanoscale drug delivery systems, such as sterically stabilized immunoliposomes binding to internalizing tumor-associated antigens, can increase therapeutic efficacy and reduce toxicity to normal tissues compared with nontargeted liposomes. The epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is of interest as a ligand for targeted drug delivery because it is abundantly expressed in solid tumors but shows limited distribution in normal tissues. To generate EpCAM-specific immunoliposomes for targeted cancer therapy, the humanized single-chain Fv antibody fragment 4D5MOCB was covalently linked to the exterior of coated cationic liposomes. As anticancer agent, we encapsulated the previously described antisense oligonucleotide 4625 specific for both bcl-2 and bcl-xL. The EpCAM-targeted immunoliposomes (SIL25) showed specific binding to EpCAM-overexpressing tumor cells, with a 10- to 20-fold increase in binding compared with nontargeted control liposomes. No enhanced binding was observed on EpCAM-negative control cells. On cell binding, SIL25 was efficiently internalized by receptor-mediated endocytosis, ultimately leading to down-regulation of both bcl-2 and bcl-xL expression on both the mRNA and protein level, which resulted in enhanced tumor cell apoptosis. In combination experiments, the use of SIL25 led to a 2- to 5-fold sensitization of EpCAM-positive tumor cells of diverse origin to death induction by doxorubicin. Our data show the promise of EpCAM-specific drug delivery systems, such as antisense-loaded immunoliposomes, for targeted cancer therapy.

Multiple B-cell clones producing antibodies directed to the spacer and disintegrin/thrombospondin type-1 repeat 1 (TSP1) of ADAMTS13 in a patient with acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

BACKGROUND: The cysteine-rich/spacer domains of ADAMTS13 contain a major binding site for antibodies in patients with acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). OBJECTIVE: To study the heterogeneity of the antibody response towards these domains an immunoglobulin V-gene phage-display library was constructed to isolate monoclonal anti-ADAMTS13 antibodies from the immunoglobulin repertoire of a patient with acquired TTP. METHODS: Combined variable heavy chain (VH) and variable light chain (VL) segments, expressed as single-chain Fv fragments (scFv), were selected for binding to an ADAMTS13 fragment consisting of the disintegrin/thrombospondin type-1 repeat 1 (TSP1)/cysteine-rich/spacer domains. RESULTS: Seven different scFv antibody clones were identified that were assigned to four groups based on their homology to VH germline gene segments. Epitope-mapping revealed that scFv I-9 (VH1-69), I-26 (VH1-02), and I-41 (VH3-09) bind to an overlapping binding site in the ADAMTS13 spacer domain, whereas scFv I-16 (VH3-07) binds to the disintegrin/TSP1 domains. The affinity of scFv for the disintegrin/TSP1/cysteine-rich/spacer domain was determined by surface plasmon resonance analysis and the dissociation constants ranged from 3 to 254 nM. The scFv partially inhibited ADAMTS13 activity. However, full-length IgG prepared from the variable domains of scFv I-9 inhibited ADAMTS13 activity more profoundly. Plasma of six patients with acquired TTP competed for binding of scFv I-9 to ADAMTS13. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that multiple B-cell clones producing antibodies directed against the spacer domain are present in the patient analyzed in this study. Our findings also suggest that antibodies with a similar epitope specificity as scFv I-9 are present in plasma of other patients with acquired TTP.