Recombinant Single-Chain Antibody with the Trojan Peptide Penetratin Positioned in the Linker Region Enables Cargo Transfer Across the Blood–Brain Barrier

Delivery of therapeutic proteins into tissues and across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is limited by the size and biochemical properties of the proteins. Efficient delivery across BBB is generally restricted to small, highly lipophilic molecules. However, in the last decades, several peptides that can pass cell membranes have been identified. It has been shown that these peptides are also capable of delivering large hydrophilic cargoes into cells and are therefore a powerful biological tool for transporting drugs across cell membranes and even into the brain. We designed and prepared a single-chain antibody fragment (scFvs), specific for the pathological form of the prion protein (PrP^Sc), where a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) was used as a linker between the two variable domains of the scFv. The intravenously administered recombinant scFv-CPP was successfully targeted to and delivered into mouse brain cells. Our single-chain antibody fragments are of special interest in view of possible therapeutic reagents design not only for prion diseases but also for other neurodegenerative diseases.     

Screening of scFvs against cTnI from Phage Display Antibody Library and Their Expression in E.coli Rosetta

Introduction CardiactroponinI(cTnI),aspecificproteinof cardiacmusclecells,showsa40%dissimilarity withskeletaltroponinI(sTnI)inaminoacidse- quence.Moreover,humancardiacTnIhas31addi- tionalresiduesonitsN-terminalend,whichare notpresentinskeletalforms,thusprovidingahigh potentialforobtainingcardiac-specificantibod- ies[1,2].Themolecularweightofthisproteinis29 kDaandtherefore,itwillbereleasedreasonably rapidlyafteracutemyocardialinfarction(AMI). CTnIoftenappearsinbloodwithinafewhoursaf- ter…     

Polystyrene beads as an alternative support material for epitope identification of a prion-antibody interaction using proteolytic excision–mass spectrometry

The binding epitope structure of a protein specifically recognized by an antibody provides key information to prevent and treat diseases with therapeutic antibodies and to develop antibody-based diagnostics. Epitope structures of antigens can be effectively identified by the proteolytic epitope excision–mass spectrometry (MS) method, which involves (1) immobilization of monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies, e.g., on N-hydroxysuccinimide-activated sepharose, (2) affinity binding of the antigen followed by limited proteolytic digestion of the immobilized immune complex, and (3) elution and mass spectrometric analysis of the remaining affinity-bound peptide(s). In the epitope analysis of recombinant cellular bovine prion protein (bPrP^C) to a monoclonal antibody (mAb3E7), we found that epitope excision experiments resulted in extensive nonspecific binding of bPrP to a standard sepharose matrix employed. Here, we show that the use of amino-modified polystyrene beads with aldehyde functionality is an efficient alternative support for antibody immobilization, suitable for epitope excision–MS, with complete suppression of nonspecific bPrP binding.     

Novel solid-phase refolding method for preparation of scFv-immobilized polystyrene plates with high-antigen-binding activity

In the present study, we demonstrated site-specific immobilization and solid-phase refolding of single-chain Fv antibodies on hydrophilic polystyrene (phi-PS) plates that was mediated by novel polystyrene binding peptides (PS-tags: RIIIRRIRR), which were originally isolated and optimized in previous studies. Three PS-tag-fused scFvs, namely scFv-PS, scFv-(PS), and scFv-PSII, which were over-expressed in the insoluble fraction of Escherichia coli cells were denatured and site-specifically immobilized onto hydrophilic PS plates in the presence of 0.5~4 M urea and 0.1% Tween 20. The antigen-binding activity of the scFvs was efficiently recovered by washing the surface of the plate with PBS that contained 0.1% Tween 20 (PBST). The solid-phase refolding mediated by PS-tag was successfully applied to several scFvs such as mouse anti-CRP antibodies and an anti-RNase antibody, although further investigation of the versatility of scFv-PSII is needed. The maximal density of PS-tag-fused scFvs was increased more than 15-fold compared with a whole monoclonal antibody (mAb) immobilized on Maxisorp™ and, consequently, the sensitivity of PS-tag-fused scFvs for CRP in a sandwich ELISA was increased 25-fold. Thus, the novel, solid-phase, refolding method mediated by a PS-tag will be very useful for preparation of solid supports coated with recombinant antibody fragments, which can be used in immunoassays and immuno-separation.     

Screening of High-Affinity scFvs From a Ribosome Displayed Library Using BIAcore Biosensor

An experimental protocol was developed to screen high-affinity single-chain Fv antibody fragments (scFvs) from a Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (Xac) immunized ribosome display library using BIAcore biosensor. The screening methods involved immobilizing antigen [lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of Xac] on sensor chip HPA and then unpurified expression products of scFvs flowing over the immobilized sensor chip. The affinity-improved scFvs were selected based on dissociation rate constants (k _d). Thirty-five enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-positive scFvs were analyzed by BIAcore, and three of those (scFv A1, B2, and C5) with lower k _d were screened. To demonstrate the accuracy of the screening method, the three scFvs were expressed in Escherichia coli HB2151 and purified. The purified scFvs were subsequently further identified according to association rate and affinity constants. The results showed that the three scFvs (A1, B2, and C5) had high affinity for LPS of Xac (3.51 × 10⁻¹¹, 1.13 × 10⁻¹⁰, 5.06 × 10⁻¹⁰ M, respectively). Furthermore, the scFv B2 was highly specific for LPS of Xac and had no any cross-reactions with bovine serum albumin and LPS from Xac-related bacteria. This provided evidence that the information from the BIAcore screening assay could be accurate.     

Application of Amperometric Immunoenzyme Sensors to the Determination of Bacterial Antigens

A new version of immunoenzyme assay for the antigens of pathogenic microorganisms Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus based on the use of amperometric sensors is proposed for their determination in diagnosing infectious diseases (tonsillitis of different severities). The best conditions for sensor operation were chosen, and the quantitative characteristics of the antibodies used and the antigen–antibody immune complexes formed. The sensors developed were tested with blood serums from ill patients, and the possibility of the differential diagnostics of diseases, at the early stages of their development, in particular, was demonstrated.     

Photobodies: Light-Activatable Single-Domain Antibody Fragments

Photocaged antibody fragments, termed photobodies, have been developed that are impaired in their antigen-binding capacity and can be activated by irradiation with UV light (365 nm). This rational design concept builds on the selective photocaging of a single tyrosine in a nanobody (a single-domain antibody fragment). Tyrosine is a frequently occurring residue in central positions of the paratope region. o-Nitrobenzyl-protected tyrosine variants were incorporated into four nanobodies, including examples directed against EGFR and HER2, and photodeprotection restores the native sequence. An anti-GFP photobody exhibited an at least 10 000-fold impaired binding affinity before photodeprotection compared with the parent nanobody. A bispecific nanobody–photobody fusion protein was generated to trigger protein heterodimerization by light. Photoactivatable antibodies are expected to become versatile protein reagents and to enable novel approaches in diagnostic and therapeutic applications.     

Construction of Human Nonimmune Library and Selection of scFvs Against IL-33

Interleukin (IL) 33 plays very important roles in inflammatory and allergic diseases. To select human single-chain Fv fragments (scFvs) against IL-33, a nonimmune phage library system was constructed. The full-length cDNA library was synthesized for amplification of the variable heavy chain (V_H) and variable light chain (V_L). By overlapping extension PCR for splicing V_H and V_L, the full-length scFv library DNA were amplified and then transformed into Escherichia coli TG1. The scFv library was constructed successfully which contained 2.5?×?10⁸ independent clones with full-length scFv inserts. The results of fingerprint maps of the scFvs by BstN I and DNA sequencing from the library at random proved that the library was diverse. The human IL-33 was amplified, expressed, and purified. The purified IL-33 with bioactivity was biotinylated and used as antigen for selection of scFv library by phage display. After three rounds of affinity selection, about 30?% of clones have specific binding activity with IL-33. Five of those with good binding activity were transformed into E. coli strain HB2151 for soluble expression. The selected scFvs were further identified by western blot and sequencing. Those selected scFvs could be used for further research of their effect on inflammatory and allergic diseases such as asthma by blockade of IL-33.     

Isolation and characterization of an anti-recombinant erythropoietin single-chain antibody fragment using a phage display antibody library

The production of a large amount of specific antibodies against erythropoietin (EPO) is necessary for both clinical treatment and doping control. However, the weak immunogenicity of EPO and the side effects of excessive injection make the conventional immunological protocol rather inefficient and time-consuming. In this study, a single-chain antibody fragment of variable region (scFv) against recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) was produced after three rounds of panning a phage display antibody library. The selected scFv-B₂ was expressed in soluble form in Escherichia coli DH5α F′ and purified by His-bond nickel affinity chromatography with a yield of about 1–2 mg of antibody in 1 L of the culture supernatant. The molecular weight of the scFv was estimated to be 29 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the affinity constant was found to be 1.0×10⁸ L mol⁻¹ based on a competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CI-ELISA). The potential ability of the scFvs for immunopurification of rHuEPO from related sample was demonstrated by using a double-antibody sandwich ELISA. The reported method is a very powerful tool to produce specific antibodies for rHuEPO detection demands.     

Phage display for the generation of antibodies for proteome research, diagnostics and therapy

Twenty years after its development, antibody phage display using filamentous bacteriophage represents the most successful in vitro antibody selection technology. Initially, its development was encouraged by the unique possibility of directly generating recombinant human antibodies for therapy. Today, antibody phage display has been developed as a robust technology offering great potential for automation. Generation of monospecific binders provides a valuable tool for proteome research, leading to highly enhanced throughput and reduced costs. This review presents the phage display technology, application areas of antibodies in research, diagnostics and therapy and the use of antibody phage display for these applications.     

量子点与人源抗谷胱甘肽单链抗体的连接与表征

用已构建的表达载体pPELB-B3, 在大肠杆菌Rosetta中可溶性表达人源抗谷胱甘肽(GSH)单链抗体B3(scFv-B3), 经Ni2+螯合亲和层析纯化后, 用点印迹法验证了其与GSH结合的特异性. 将水相合成的半导体纳米粒子(半导体量子点, QDs)在N-羟基琥珀酰亚胺(NHS)和1-乙基-3-(3-二甲基氨基丙基)碳酰二亚胺盐酸盐(EDC)的作用下, 与scFvs连接. 光谱分析和膜印迹结果表明, scFvs成功地共价连接到QDs表面, 所得的QD-scFvs复合物能够较好地识别GSH. 荧光显微镜观察QD-scFvs与人乳腺癌细胞MCF-7的作用结果, 初步判断QD-scFvs能够跨膜进入细胞.     

Photobodies: Light‐Activatable Single‐Domain Antibody Fragments

Photocaged antibody fragments, termed photobodies, have been developed that are impaired in their antigen‐binding capacity and can be activated by irradiation with UV light (365 nm). This rational design concept builds on the selective photocaging of a single tyrosine in a nanobody (a single‐domain antibody fragment). Tyrosine is a frequently occurring residue in central positions of the paratope region. o‐Nitrobenzyl‐protected tyrosine variants were incorporated into four nanobodies, including examples directed against EGFR and HER2, and photodeprotection restores the native sequence. An anti‐GFP photobody exhibited an at least 10 000‐fold impaired binding affinity before photodeprotection compared with the parent nanobody. A bispecific nanobody–photobody fusion protein was generated to trigger protein heterodimerization by light. Photoactivatable antibodies are expected to become versatile protein reagents and to enable novel approaches in diagnostic and therapeutic applications.     

具有谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶活性的含硒人源单链抗体的制备

以谷胱甘肽(GSH)为靶抗原, 从噬菌体展示人源单链抗体库中筛选人源单链抗体(scFv). 经3轮筛选后, 用ELISA方法检测出5个(2, 11, 16, 24, 32 )可以和GSH结合的克隆. PCR产物的电泳和测序结果表明, 只有3个克隆(11, 16, 24)具有完整的scFv编码基因. 选取和GSH结合力高的克隆11的scFv 编码基因组装到表达载体pPELB上, 在大肠杆菌Rosetta中进行可溶性表达, 用Ni2+螯合亲和层析纯化scFv-11, 免疫点印迹结果证实该抗体能与GSH特异结合. 通过化学突变将scFv-11的丝氨酸转变成硒代半胱氨酸(Sec)后, 获得了具有谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GPX)活力的含硒(Se)人源单链抗体(Se-scFv-11), 其活力为351 U/μmol.     

Utilizing NMR and EPR spectroscopy to probe the role of copper in prion diseases

Copper is an essential nutrient for the normal development of the brain and nervous system, although the hallmark of several neurological diseases is a change in copper concentrations in the brain and central nervous system. Prion protein (PrP) is a copper‐binding, cell‐surface glycoprotein that exists in two alternatively folded conformations: a normal isoform (PrP^C) and a disease‐associated isoform (PrP^Sc). Prion diseases are a group of lethal neurodegenerative disorders that develop as a result of conformational conversion of PrP^C into PrP^Sc. The pathogenic mechanism that triggers this conformational transformation with the subsequent development of prion diseases remains unclear. It has, however, been shown repeatedly that copper plays a significant functional role in the conformational conversion of prion proteins. In this review, we focus on current research that seeks to clarify the conformational changes associated with prion diseases and the role of copper in this mechanism, with emphasis on the latest applications of NMR and EPR spectroscopy to probe the interactions of copper with prion proteins. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Antibody synthesis induced by endogenous internal images

In this study, immunization with a vaccine consisting of multiple F(abt’)₂ fragments of affinity-purified antitetanus toxoid antibodies covalently bound to a carrier protein successfully induced antitetanus toxoid antibodies. Further studies showed that this vaccine preparation contained no biologically detectable tetanus antigen. The induced antitetanus antibody (Ab1t’) titer was higher than the titer of antibodies binding control antigens. The immunizing F(abt’)₂ preparation did not elicit a secondary antitetanus response from mice primed with tetanus toxoid and, hence, appeared free of tetanus epitopes. The specificity of Ab1t’ was established by absorption and inhibition with antigen. Immunization with antitetanus F(abt’)₂ (Ab1t’) fragments appears to have elicited naturally occurring autologous antitetanus toxoid antibody (Ab1t’) through an idiotypic pathway. As predicted by network theory, anti-idiotype (Ab2) and antitetanus (Ab1t’) cycled reciprocally. Clonotypic characterization of Ab1t’ using isoelectric focusing and affinity immunoblotting showed increases in Ab1t’ titer to be the result of increased synthesis by limited subsets of antitetanus toxoid B-cell clones and not increased synthesis by multiple clones, as is characteristic of antigen-driven Ab1 responses. Many Ab1 and Ab1t’ clonotypes had identical pIs, suggesting that they either share V region genes or are the product of the same B-cell clones. These findings indicate that immunization with polyclonal multivalent Ab1 preparations can trigger active synthesis of antibodies with the same specificity. The results provide further evidence for naturally occurring idiotypic cascades that could be exploited for studies of catalytic antibodies.     

Environmental Analysis Using Antibody and Receptor Based Techniques

Abstract

Immunochemical analysis relies on the selective binding of antibodies to defined targets such as environmental compounds. Commercial applications in the environmental field are still restricted to a limited number of immunoassays and a few immunochromatographic applications. The main barrier to a broader exploitation is seen in the generation of a sufficient number of antibodies within an acceptable time period. Recombinant technologies are expected to eventually replace the circumstantial approach to obtain new Abs by new immunizations. Examples for recombinant singlechain fragments (scFv) and antigen binding fragments (Fab) directed against herbicidal s-triazines are given. If antibodies are replaced by receptors and other functional ligands, biological effects monitoring becomes available. As an example an enzyme-linked receptor assay (ELRA) for endocrine disruptors providing estrogen equivalents is presented. Finally, the concept of bioresponse-linked instrumental analysis is introduced for the tight coupling of effect monitoring to chemical analysis. In the first step, analyte binding by functional biomolecules is recorded to provide binding equivalents. The second step is targeted at chemical analysis of bioeffective analytes bound to the functional biomolecules.     

Structural analysis of prion proteins by means of drift cell and traveling wave ion mobility mass spectrometry

The prion protein (PrP) is implicitly involved in the pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The conversion of normal cellular PrP (PrP^C), a protein that is predominantly α-helical, to a β-sheet-rich isoform (PrP^Sc), which has a propensity to aggregate, is the key molecular event in prion diseases. During its short life span, PrP can experience two different pH environments; a mildly acidic environment, whilst cycling within the cell, and a neutral pH when it is glycosyl phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored to the cell membrane. Ion mobility (IM) combined with mass spectrometry has been employed to differentiate between two conformational isoforms of recombinant Syrian hamster prion protein (SHaPrP). The recombinant proteins studied were α-helical SHaPrP(90-231) and β-sheet-rich SHaPrP(90-231) at pH 5.5 and pH 7.0. The recombinant proteins have the same nominal mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) but differ in their secondary and tertiary structures. A comparison of traveling-wave (T-Wave) ion mobility and drift cell ion mobility (DCIM) mass spectrometry estimated and absolute cross-sections showed an excellent agreement between the two techniques. The use of T-Wave ion mobility as a shape-selective separation technique enabled differentiation between the estimated cross-sections and arrival time distributions (ATDs) of α-helical SHaPrP(90-231) and β-sheet-rich SHaPrP(90-231) at pH 5.5. No differences in cross-section or ATD profiles were observed between the protein isoforms at pH 7.0. The findings have potential implications for a new ante-mortem screening assay, in bodily fluids, for prion misfolding diseases such as TSEs.     

Generation of a Recombinant Full-Length Human Antibody Binding to Botulinum Neurotoxin A

In order to develop a recombinant full-length human anti-botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) antibody, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were collected from three healthy volunteers and induced for BoNT/A-specific immune response by in vitro immunization. The genes encoding human Fd fragment, consisting of antibody heavy chain variable region and constant region 1 with the genes encoding antibody light chain, were cloned from the immunized PBMC. Afterwards, one combinatory human antigen-binding fragment (Fab) library was constructed using a lambda phage vector system. The size of the constructed library was approximately 10⁵ Escherichia coli transformants. After screening the library by BoNT/A antigen using a plaque lifting with immunostaining approach, 55 clones were identified as positive. The Fab gene of the most reactive clone exhibiting particularly strong BoNT/A binding signal was further subcloned into a full-length human IgG1 antibody gene template in an adenoviral expression vector, in which the heavy and light chains were linked by a foot-and-mouth-disease virus-derived 2A self-cleavage peptide under a single promoter. After the full-length human IgG1 was expressed in mammalian cells and purified with protein L column, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the heavy and light chains of the antibody were cleaved completely. The affinity expressed as the dissociation constant (K _d) for the recombinant human antibody to bind to BoNT/A was determined by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and results confirmed that the recombinant full-length human antibody retained BoNT/A-binding specificity with K _d value of 10⁻⁷ M.     

Synthetic peptides in the diagnosis of neurological diseases

For several years peptides have been used to investigate many aspects of the molecular mechanisms supporting the etiopathogenesis of neurological diseases. Even if well-established and commercially-available assays for the diagnosis of neurological diseases, based on peptides, are presently not available, much research has been focused to the comprehension of the pathogenetic mechanisms of relevant neurological diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease and prion diseases. Several peptides, which strongly contributed to increase in the progress, and in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of these important diseases, have been selected as antigens to be proposed in possible alternative diagnostic methodologies. The authors focused their attention on the possible peptides to be used as diagnostics for these three characteristic neurological diseases. In fact, Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which peptides have been used for the characterization of both B and T immune response, while Alzheimer's disease and prion diseases can be cumulative regarded as "protein folding disorders" in which peptides can be used to identify the misfolded protein.     

Harnessing Effective Molarity to Design an Electrochemical DNA‐based Platform for Clinically Relevant Antibody Detection

Easy‐to‐use platforms for rapid antibody detection are likely to improve molecular diagnostics and immunotherapy monitoring. However, current technologies require multi‐step, time‐consuming procedures that limit their applicability in these fields. Herein, we demonstrate effective molarity‐driven electrochemical DNA‐based detection of target antibodies. We show a highly selective, signal‐on DNA‐based sensor that takes advantage of antibody‐binding‐induced increase of local concentration to detect clinically relevant antibodies in blood serum. The sensing platform is modular, rapid, and versatile and allows the detection of both IgG and IgE antibodies. We also demonstrate the possible use of this strategy for the monitoring of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies in body fluids. Our approach highlights the potential of harnessing effective molarity for the design of electrochemical sensing strategies.