U.S. patent application number 09/982464 was filed with the patent office on 2003-06-26 for methods of optimizing antibody variable region binding affinity.
This patent application is currently assigned to Ixsys, Inc.. Invention is credited to Huse, William D., Watkins, Jeffry D., Wu, Herren.
Application Number | 20030120044 09/982464 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26856186 |
Filed Date | 2003-06-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030120044 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Huse, William D. ; et
al. |
June 26, 2003 |
Methods of optimizing antibody variable region binding affinity
Abstract
The invention provides a method of conferring donor CDR binding
affinity onto an antibody acceptor variable region framework. The
invention also provides a method of simultaneously grafting and
optimizing the binding affinity of a variable region binding
fragment. A method of optimizing the binding affinity of an
antibody variable region is also provided.
Inventors: |
Huse, William D.; (Del Mar,
CA) ; Watkins, Jeffry D.; (Encinitas, CA) ;
Wu, Herren; (Houston, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MEDLEN & CARROLL, LLP
101 HOWARD STREET
SUITE 350
SAN FRANCISCO
CA
94105
US
|
Assignee: |
Ixsys, Inc.
San Diego
CA
92121
|
Family ID: |
26856186 |
Appl. No.: |
09/982464 |
Filed: |
October 18, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09982464 |
Oct 18, 2001 |
|
|
|
09434870 |
Nov 4, 1999 |
|
|
|
60159689 |
Oct 14, 1999 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
530/387.1 ;
435/320.1; 435/326; 435/6.14; 435/69.1; 536/23.53; 702/20 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C07K 16/465 20130101;
C07K 16/36 20130101; C07K 16/464 20130101; C07K 2317/24 20130101;
C07K 2317/92 20130101; C07K 16/00 20130101; C07K 2317/55 20130101;
C07K 2317/56 20130101; C07K 16/2878 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
530/387.1 ;
702/20; 435/6; 435/320.1; 435/326; 435/69.1; 536/23.53 |
International
Class: |
C12Q 001/68; G06F
019/00; G01N 033/48; G01N 033/50; C12P 021/02; C12N 005/06 |
Claims
1. A method of constructing a population of altered heavy chain
variable region encoding nucleic acids, comprising: a) providing a
representation of first and second reference amino acid sequences,
said first reference sequence comprising the sequence of a donor
heavy chain variable region, said donor variable region comprising
i) framework regions and ii) three complementarity-determining
regions as defined by the combined definitions of Kabat and
Chothia; said second reference sequence comprising the sequence of
an acceptor heavy chain variable region comprising framework
regions; b) synthesizing a) first oligonucleotides encoding
portions of said framework regions of said acceptor heavy chain
variable region, wherein said portions of said framework regions
when compared to said second reference sequence are unmodified; and
b) a population of second oligonucleotides, each encoding i) at
least a portion of a first complementarity-determining region that
has been modified, said first complementarity-determining region
selected from the group consisting of HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3,
wherein said modified first complementarity-determining region
comprises a different amino acid at one or more positions when
compared to the corresponding donor complementarity determining
regions of said first reference sequence and ii) one or more
portions of unmodified framework regions which are capable of
hybridizing to said first oligonucleotides; c) mixing said first
oligonucleotides with said population of second oligonucleotides as
to create overlapping oligonucleotides; and d) treating said
overlapping oligonucleotides under conditions such that a
population of altered heavy chain variable region encoding nucleic
acids is constructed, wherein the framework regions encoded by said
altered heavy chain variable region encoding nucleic acids are
unmodified with respect to said second reference sequence.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said representation of first and
second reference sequences is in electronic form.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of (E)
coexpressing said population of altered heavy chain variable region
encoding nucleic acids with a light chain variable region encoding
nucleic acid so as to produce a diverse population of altered
heteromeric variable regions.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said synthesizing comprises
chemically synthesizing.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein said acceptor is human.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein said treating of step D)
comprises extension by a polymerase.
7. A method of constructing a population of altered light chain
variable region encoding nucleic acids, comprising: a) providing a
representation of first and second reference amino acid sequences,
said first reference sequence comprising the sequence of a donor
light chain variable region, said donor variable region comprising
i) framework regions and ii) three complementarity-determining
regions as defined by the combined definitions of Kabat and
Chothia; said second reference sequence comprising the sequence of
an acceptor light chain variable region comprising framework
regions; b) synthesizing a) first oligonucleotides encoding
portions of said framework regions of said acceptor light chain
variable region, wherein said portions of said framework regions
when compared to said second reference sequence are unmodified; and
b) a population of second oligonucleotides, each encoding i) at
least a portion of a first complementarity-determining region that
has been modified, said first complementarity-determining region
selected from the group consisting of LCDR1, LCDR2 and LCDR3,
wherein said modified first complementarity-determining region
comprises a different amino acid at one or more positions when
compared to the corresponding donor complementarity determining
regions of said first reference sequence and ii) one or more
portions of unmodified framework regions which are capable of
hybridizing to said first oligonucleotides; c) mixing said first
oligonucleotides with said population of second oligonucleotides as
to create overlapping oligonucleotides; and d) treating said
overlapping oligonucleotides under conditions such that a
population of altered light chain variable region encoding nucleic
acids is constructed, wherein the framework regions encoded by said
altered light chain variable region encoding nucleic acids are
unmodified with respect to said second reference sequence.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein said representation of first and
second reference sequences is in electronic form.
9. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of (E)
coexpressing said population of altered light chain variable region
encoding nucleic acids with a heavy chain variable region encoding
nucleic acid so as to produce a diverse population of altered
heteromeric variable regions.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein said synthesizing comprises
chemically synthesizing.
11. The method of claim 7, wherein said acceptor is human.
12. The method of claim 7, wherein said treating of step D)
comprises extension by a polymerase.
13. A method of constructing a population of altered heavy chain
variable region encoding nucleic acids, comprising: A) providing a
representation of first and second reference amino acid sequences,
said first reference sequence comprising the sequence of a donor
heavy chain variable region, said donor variable region comprising
i) framework regions and ii) three complementarity-determining
regions as defined by the combined definitions of Kabat and
Chothia; said second reference sequence comprising the sequence of
an acceptor heavy chain variable region comprising framework
regions; B) synthesizing a) a population of first oligonucleotides,
each encoding at least a portion of a first
complementarity-determining region selected from the group
consisting of HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3, wherein said modified first
complementarity-determining region comprises a different amino acid
at one or more positions when compared to the corresponding donor
complementarity determining regions of said first reference
sequence; and b) second oligonucleotides encoding i) portions of
said framework regions of said acceptor heavy chain variable
region, wherein said portions of said framework regions when
compared to said reference sequence are unmodified and ii) one or
more portions of a complementarity determining region which are
capable of hybridizing to said population of first
oligonucleotides; C) mixing said population of first
oligonucleotides with said second oligonucleotides as to create
overlapping oligonucleotides; and D) treating said overlapping
oligonucleotides under conditions such that a population of altered
heavy chain variable region encoding nucleic acids is constructed,
wherein the framework regions encoded by said altered heavy chain
variable region encoding nucleic acids are unmodified with respect
to said second reference sequence.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein said representation of first
and second reference sequences is in electronic form.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of (E)
coexpressing said population of altered heavy chain variable region
encoding nucleic acids with a light chain variable region encoding
nucleic acid so as to produce a diverse population of altered
heteromeric variable regions.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein said synthesizing comprises
chemically synthesizing.
17. The method of claim 13, wherein said acceptor is human.
18. The method of claim 13, wherein said treating of step D)
comprises extension by a polymerase.
19. A method of constructing a population of altered light chain
variable region encoding nucleic acids, comprising: A) providing a
representation of first and second reference amino acid sequences,
said first reference sequence comprising the sequence of a donor
light chain variable region, said donor variable region comprising
i) framework regions and ii) three complementarity-determining
regions as defined by the combined definitions of Kabat and
Chothia; said second reference sequence comprising the sequence of
an acceptor light chain variable region comprising framework
regions; B) synthesizing a) a population of first oligonucleotides,
each encoding at least a portion of a first
complementarity-determining region selected from the group
consisting of LCDR1, LCDR2 and LCDR3, wherein said modified first
complementarity-determining region comprises a different amino acid
at one or more positions when compared to the corresponding donor
complementarity determining regions of said first reference
sequence; and b) second oligonucleotides encoding i) portions of
said framework regions of said acceptor light chain variable
region, wherein said portions of said framework regions when
compared to said reference sequence are unmodified and ii) one or
more portions of a complementarity determining region which are
capable of hybridizing to said population of first
oligonucleotides; C) mixing said population of first
oligonucleotides with said second oligonucleotides as to create
overlapping oligonucleotides; and D) treating said overlapping
oligonucleotides under conditions such that a population of altered
light chain variable region encoding nucleic acids is constructed,
wherein the framework regions encoded by said altered light chain
variable region encoding nucleic acids are unmodified with respect
to said second reference sequence.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein said representation of first
and second reference sequences is in electronic form.
21. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of (E)
coexpressing said population of altered light chain variable region
encoding nucleic acids with a heavy chain variable region encoding
nucleic acid so as to produce a diverse population of altered
heteromeric variable regions.
22. The method of claim 19, wherein said synthesizing comprises
chemically synthesizing.
23. The method of claim 19, wherein said acceptor is human.
24. The method of claim 19, wherein said treating of step D)
comprises extension by a polymerase.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates generally to a method of monoclonal
antibody production and specifically to the simultaneous in vitro
affinity optimization of multiple distinct domains of a variable
region of a monoclonal antibody.
[0002] The War on Cancer is entering its third decade and recent
years have shown tremendous progress in the understanding of cancer
development and progression yet there has been only marginal
decreases in death rates from most types of cancer. Standard
chemotherapy and radiation therapy generally involve treatment with
therapeutic agents that impact not only cancer cells but other
highly proliferative cells of the body, often leading to
debilitating side effects. Thus, it is desirable to identify
therapeutic agents with a higher degree of specificity for the
carcinogenic lesion.
[0003] The discovery of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in the 1970's
provided great hope for the reality of creating therapeutic
molecules with high specificity. Antibodies that bind to tumor
antigens would provide specific targeting agents for cancer
therapy. However, while the development of monoclonal antibodies
has provided a valuable diagnostic reagent, certain limitations
restrict their use as therapeutic entities.
[0004] A limitation encountered when attempts are made to use mAbs
as therapeutic agents is that since mAbs are developed in non-human
species, usually mouse, they elicit an immune response in human
patients. Chimeric antibodies join the variable region of the
non-human species, which confers binding activity, to a human
constant region. However, the chimeric antibody is often still
immunogenic and it is therefore necessary to further modify the
variable region.
[0005] One modification is the grafting of
complementarity-determining regions, (CDRs) which are in part
antigen binding onto a human antibody variable framework. However,
this approach is imperfect because CDR grafting often diminishes
the binding activity of the resulting humanized mAb. Attempts to
regain binding activity require laborious, step-wise procedures
which have been pursued essentially by a trial and error type of
approach. For example, one difficulty in regaining binding affinity
is because it is difficult to predict which framework residues
serve a critical role in maintaining antigen binding affinity and
specificity. Consequently, while antibody humanization methods that
rely on structural and homology data are used, the complexity that
arises from the large number of framework residues potentially
involved in binding activity has prevented success.
[0006] Combinatorial methods have been applied to restore binding
affinity, however, these methods require sequential rounds of
mutagenesis and affinity selection that can both be laborious and
unpredictable.
[0007] Thus, there exists a need for efficient and reliable methods
for producing human monoclonal antibodies which exhibit comparable
or enhanced binding affinities to their non-human counterparts. The
present invention satisfies this need and provides related
advantages as well.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The invention provides a method of conferring donor CDR
binding affinity onto an antibody acceptor variable region
framework. The method consists of: (a) constructing a population of
altered antibody variable region encoding nucleic acids, said
population comprising encoding nucleic acids for an acceptor
variable region framework containing a plurality of different amino
acids at one or more acceptor framework region amino acid positions
and donor CDRs containing a plurality of different amino acids at
one or more donor CDR amino acid positions; (b) expressing said
population of altered variable region encoding nucleic acids, and
(c) identifying one or more altered variable regions having binding
affinity substantially the same or greater than the donor CDR
variable region. The acceptor variable region framework can be a
heavy or light chain variable region framework and the populations
of heavy and light chain altered variable regions can be expressed
alone to identify heavy or light chains having binding affinity
substantially the same or greater than the donor CDR variable
region. The populations of heavy and light chains additionally can
be coexpressed to identify heteromeric altered variable region
binding fragments. The invention also provides a method of
simultaneously grafting and optimizing the binding affinity of a
variable region binding fragment. The method consists of: (a)
constructing a population of altered heavy chain variable region
encoding nucleic acids comprising an acceptor variable region
framework containing donor CDRs and a plurality of different amino
acids at one or more framework region and CDR amino acid positions;
(b) constructing a population of altered light chain variable
region encoding nucleic acids comprising an acceptor variable
region framework containing donor CDRs and a plurality of different
amino acids at one or more framework regions and CDR amino acid
positions; (c) coexpressing said populations of heavy and light
chain variable region encoding nucleic acids to produce diverse
combinations of heteromeric variable region binding fragments, and
(d) identifying one or more heteromeric variable region binding
fragments having affinity substantially the same or greater than
the donor CDR heteromeric variable region binding fragment. A
method of optimizing the binding affinity of an antibody variable
region is also provided. The method consists of: (a) constructing a
population of antibody variable region encoding nucleic acids, said
population comprising two or more CDRs containing a plurality of
different amino acids at one or more CDR amino acid positions; (b)
expressing said population of variable region encoding nucleic
acids, and (c) identifying one or more variable regions having
binding affinity substantially the same or greater than the donor
CDR variable region. The variable region populations can be heavy
or light chains and can be expressed as individual populations or
they can be coexpressed to produce heteromeric variable region
binding fragments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 shows the alignment of anti-CD40 variable region and
human template amino acid sequences.
[0010] FIG. 2 shows binding reactivity of humanized anti-CD40
variants.
[0011] FIG. 3 shows molecular modeling of anti-CD40 variant
CW43.
[0012] FIG. 4 shows a comparison of the quantitation of murine
framework residues in active variants from two libraries.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The invention is directed to a method of conferring donor
CDR binding affinity onto an antibody acceptor variable region
framework. The method effectively combines CDR grafting procedures
and affinity reacquisition of the grafted variable region into a
single step. The methods of the invention also are applicable for
affinity maturation of an antibody variable region. The affinity
maturation process can be substituted for, or combined with the
affinity reacquisition function when being performed during a CDR
grafting procedure. Alternatively, the affinity maturation
procedure can be performed independently from CDR grafting
procedures to optimize the binding affinity of variable region, or
an antibody. An advantage of combining grafting and affinity
reacquisition procedures, or affinity maturation, is the avoidance
of time consuming, step-wise procedures to generate a grafted
variable region, or antibody, which retains sufficient binding
affinity for therapeutic utility. Therefore, therapeutic antibodies
can be generated rapidly and efficiently using the methods of the
invention. Such advantages beneficially increase the availability
and choice of useful therapeutics for human diseases as well as
decrease the cost to the developer and ultimately to the
consumer.
[0014] In one embodiment, the invention is directed to methods of
producing grafted heavy and light chain variable regions having
similar or better binding affinity as the CDR donor variable
region. When coexpressed, the grafted heavy and light chain
variable regions assemble into variable region binding fragments
having similar or better binding affinity as the donor antibody or
variable region binding fragments thereof. The grafting is
accomplished by generating a diverse library of CDR grafted
variable region fragments and then screening the library for
binding activity similar or better than the binding activity of the
donor. A diverse library is generated by selecting acceptor
framework positions that differ at the corresponding position
compared to the donor framework and making a library population
containing of all possible amino acid residue changes at each of
those positions together with all possible amino acid residue
changes at each position within the CDRs of the variable region.
The grafting is accomplished by splicing a population of encoding
nucleic acids for the donor CDR containing species representing all
possible amino acid residues at each CDR position into a population
of encoding nucleic acids for an antibody acceptor variable region
framework which contains species representing all possible amino
acid residue changes at the selected framework positions. The
resultant population encodes the authentic donor and acceptor
framework amino acid sequences as well as all possible combinations
and permutations of these sequences with each of the 20 naturally
occurring amino acids at the changed positions.
[0015] In another embodiment, the invention is directed to methods
of producing grafted heavy and light chain variable regions, and
heteromeric binding fragments thereof, having similar or better
binding affinity as the CDR donor variable region. As described
above, the grafting is accomplished by generating a diverse library
of CDR grafted variable region fragments and then screening the
library for binding activity similar or better than the binding
activity of the donor. However, the diverse library is generated by
selecting acceptor framework positions that are predicted to affect
CDR binding affinity and making a library population containing of
all possible amino acid residue changes at each of those positions
or subsets of the selected amino acid positions together with all
possible amino acid residue changes at each position within the
CDRs of the variable region, or subsets of CDR positions. The
grafting is accomplished by splicing a population of encoding
nucleic acids for the donor CDR containing the selected position
changes into a population of encoding nucleic acids for an antibody
acceptor variable region framework which contains the selected
position changes.
[0016] In yet another embodiment, the invention is directed to the
optimization of binding affinity of an antibody variable region.
The optimization is accomplished by generating a library of
variable regions which contain all possible amino acid residue
changes at each amino acid position within two or more CDRS. When
expressed and screened for binding activity, the variable region,
or heavy and light chain heteromeric binding fragments, those
species within the population are selected that contain increased
or decreased binding activity compared to the parent molecule as
optimal binders. Libraries containing subsets, representing less
than all amino acid positions within the CDRs, can similarly be
generated and screened for selecting optimal binding variable
regions and heteromeric binding fragments thereof.
[0017] As used herein, the term "CDR" or "complementarity
determining region" is intended to mean the non-contiguous antigen
combining sites found within the variable region of both heavy and
light chain polypeptides. These particular regions have been
described by Kabat et al., J. Biol. Chem. 252, 6609-6616 (1977) and
Kabat et al., Sequences of protein of immunological interest.
(1991), and by Chothia et al., J. Mol. Biol. 196:901-917 (1987) and
by MacCallum et al., J. Mol. Biol. 262:732-745 (1996) where the
definitions include overlapping or subsets of amino acid residues
when compared against each other. Nevertheless, application of
either definition to refer to a CDR of an antibody or grafted
antibodies or variants thereof is intended to be within the scope
of the term as defined and used herein. The amino acid residues
which encompass the CDRs as defined by each of the above cited
references are set forth below in Table 1 as a comparison.
1TABLE 1 CDR Definitions Kabat.sup.1 Chothia.sup.2 MacCallum.sup.3
V.sub.H CDR1 31-35 26-32 30-35 V.sub.H CDR2 50-65 53-55 47-58
V.sub.H CDR3 95-102 96-101 93-101 V.sub.L CDR1 24-34 26-32 30-36
V.sub.L CDR2 50-56 50-52 46-55 V.sub.L CDR3 89-97 91-96 89-96
.sup.1Residue numbering follows the nomenclature of Kabat et al.,
supra .sup.2Residue numbering follows the nomenclature of Chothia
et al., supra .sup.3Residue numbering follows the nomenclature of
MacCallum et al., supra
[0018] As used herein, the term "framework" when used in reference
to an antibody variable region is entered to mean all amino acid
residues outside the CDR regions within the variable region of an
antibody. Therefore, a variable region framework is between about
100-120 amino acids in length but is intended to reference only
those amino acids outside of the CDRs.
[0019] As used herein, the term "framework region" is intended to
mean each domain of the framework that is separated by the CDRs.
Therefore, for the specific example of a heavy chain variable
region and for the CDRs as defined by Kabat et al., framework
region 1 corresponds to the domain of the variable region
encompassing amino acids 1-30; region 2 corresponds to the domain
of the variable region encompassing amino acids 36-49; region 3
corresponds to the domain of the variable region encompassing amino
acids 66-94, and region 4 corresponds to the domain of the variable
region from amino acids 103 to the end of the variable region. The
framework regions for the light chain are similarly separated by
each of the light claim variable region CDRs. Similarly, using the
definition of CDRs by Chothia et al. or McCallum et al. the
framework region boundaries are separated by the respective CDR
termini as described above.
[0020] As used herein,the term "donor" is intended to mean a parent
antibody molecule or fragment thereof from which a portion is
derived from, given or contributes to another antibody molecule or
fragment thereof so as to confer either a structural or functional
characteristic of the parent molecule onto the receiving molecule.
For the specific example of CDR grafting, the parent molecule from
which the grafted CDRs are derived is a donor molecule. The donor
CDRs confer binding affinity of the parent molecule onto the
receiving molecule. It should be understood that a donor molecule
does not have to be from a different species as the receiving
molecule of fragment thereof. Instead, it is sufficient that the
donor is a separate and distinct molecule.
[0021] As used herein, the term "acceptor" is intended to mean an
antibody molecule or fragment thereof which is to receive the
donated portion from the parent or donor antibody molecule or
fragment thereof. An acceptor antibody molecule or fragment thereof
is therefore imparted with the structural or functional
characteristic of the donated portion of the parent molecule. For
the specific example of CDR grafting, the receiving molecule for
which the CDRs are grafted is an acceptor molecule. The acceptor
antibody molecule or fragment is imparted with the binding affinity
of the donor CDRs or parent molecule. As with a donor molecule, it
is understood that an acceptor molecule does not have to be from a
different species as the donor.
[0022] A "variable region" when used in reference to an antibody or
a heavy or light chain thereof is intended to mean the amino
terminal portion of an antibody which confers antigen binding onto
the molecule and which is not the constant region. The term is
intended to include functional fragments thereof which maintain
some of all of the binding function of the whole variable region.
Therefore, the term "heteromeric variable region binding fragments"
is intended to mean at least one heavy chain variable region and at
least one light chain variable regions or functional fragments
thereof assembled into a heteromeric complex. Heteromeric variable
region binding fragments include, for example, functional fragments
such as Fab, F(ab).sub.2, Fv, single chain Fv (scfv) and the like.
Such functional fragments are well known to those skilled in the
art. Accordingly, the use of these terms in describing functional
fragments of a heteromeric variable region is intended to
correspond to the definitions well known to those skilled in the
art. Such terms are described in, for example, Harlow and Lane,
Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New
York (1989); Molec. Biology and Biotechnoloqy: A Comprehensive Desk
Reference (Myers, R. A. (ed.), New York: VCH Publisher, Inc.);
Huston et al., Cell Biophysics, 22:189-224 (1993); Pluckthun and
Skerra, Meth. Enzymol., 178:497-515 (1989) and in Day, E. D.,
Advanced Immunochemistry, Second Ed., Wiley-Liss, Inc., New York,
N.Y. (1990).
[0023] As used herein, the term "population" is intended to refer
to a group of two or more different molecules. A population can be
as large as the number of individual molecules currently available
to the user or able to be made by one skilled in the art.
Populations can be as small as 2-4 molecules or as large as
10.sup.13 molecules. An example where a small population can be
useful is where one wishes to optimize binding affinity of a
variable region or of heteromeric binding fragments by compiling
beneficial differences from a small number of parent molecules
having similar binding affinity into a single variable binding
fragment species. An example of where large populations, including
as large as 10.sup.8 or greater different molecules, can be desired
is where all possible combinations of amino acids differences
between donor and acceptor at all positions within a variable
region are to be generated in order to obtain maximum diversity and
increase the efficiency of compiling beneficial changes. In some
embodiments, populations are between about 5 and 10 different
species as well as up to hundreds or thousands of different
species. The populations can be diverse or redundant depending on
the intent and needs of the user. Those skilled in the art will
know what size and diversity of a population is suitable for a
particular application.
[0024] As used herein, the term "altered" when used in reference to
an antibody variable region is intended to mean a heavy or light
chain variable region that contains one or more amino acid changes
in a framework region, a CDR or both compared to the parent amino
acid sequence at the changed position. Where an altered variable
region is derived from or composed of different donor and acceptor
regions, the changed amino acid residues within the altered species
are to be compared to their respective amino acid positions within
the parent donor and acceptor regions. For example, a variable
region containing donor CDRs grafted into an acceptor framework and
containing one or more amino acid changes within the framework
regions and one or more amino acid changes within the CDRs will
have amino acids residues at the changed framework region positions
different than the residues at the comparable positions in the
acceptor framework. Similarly, such an altered variable region will
have amino acid residues at the changed CDR positions different
than the residues at the comparable positions in the donor
CDRs.
[0025] As used herein, the term "nucleic acid" or "nucleic acids"
is intended to mean a single- or double-stranded DNA or RNA
molecule. A nucleic acid molecule of the invention can be of
linear, circular or branched configuration, and can represent
either the sense or antisense strand, or both, of a native nucleic
acid molecule. The term also is intended to include nucleic acid
molecules of both synthetic and natural origin. A nucleic acid
molecule of natural origin can be derived from any animal, such as
a human, non-human primate, mouse, rat, rabbit, bovine, porcine,
ovine, canine, feline, or amphibian, or from a lower eukaryote,
such as Drosophila, C. elegans or yeast. A synthetic nucleic acid
includes, for example, chemical and enzymatic synthesis. The term
"nucleic acid" or "nucleic acids" is similarly intended to include
analogues of natural nucleotides which have similar functional
properties as the referenced nucleic acid and which can be utilized
in a manner similar to naturally occurring nucleotides and
nucleosides.
[0026] As used herein, the term "coexpressing" is intended to mean
the expression of two or more molecules by the same cell. The
coexpressed molecules can be polypeptides or encoding nucleic
acids. The coexpression can be, for example, constitutive or
inducible. Such nucleic acid sequences can also be expressed
simultaneously or, alternatively, regulated independently. Various
combinations of these modes of coexpression can additionally be
used depending on the number and intended use of the variable
region encoding nucleic acids. The term is intended to include the
coexpression of members originating from different populations in
the same cell. For example, populations of molecules can be
coexpressed where single or multiple different species from two or
more populations are expressed in the same cell. A specific example
includes the coexpression of heavy and light chain variable region
populations where at least one member from each population is
expressed together in the same cell to produce a library of cells
coexpressing different species of heteromers variable region
binding fragments. Populations which can be coexpressed can be as
small as 2 different species within each population. Additionally,
the number of molecules coexpressed from different populations also
can be as large as 10.sup.8 or greater, such as in the case where
multiple amino acid position changes of multiple framework regions
or CDRs in both heavy and light chain antibody variable region
populations are produced and coexpressed. Numerous different sized
populations of encoding nucleic acids inbetween the the above
ranges and greater can also be coexpressed. Those skilled in the
art know, or can determine, what modes of coexpression can be used
to achieve a particular goal or satisfy a desired need.
[0027] As used herein, the term "identifying" is intended to mean
detecting by a qualitative or quantitative means, a variable region
or altered variable of the invention by functional or biochemical
properties, including, for example, binding affinity of catalytic
activity.
[0028] As used herein the term "binding affinity" is intended to
mean the strength of a binding interaction and therefore includes
both the actual binding affinity as well as the apparent binding
affinity. The actual binding affinity is a ratio of the association
rate over the disassociation rate. Therefore, conferring or
optimizing binding affinity includes altering either or both of
these components to achieve the desired level of binding affinity.
The apparent affinity can include, for example, the avidity of the
interaction. For example, a bivalent heteromeric variable region
binding fragment can exhibit altered or optimized binding affinity
due to its valency.
[0029] As used herein, the term "optimizing" when used in reference
to a variable region or a functional fragment thereof is intended
to mean that the binding affinity of the variable region has been
modified compared to the binding affinity of a parent variable
region or a donor variable region. A variable region exhibiting
optimized activity can exhibit, for example, higher affinity or
lower affinity binding, or increased or decreased association or
dissociation rates compared to an unaltered variable region. A
variable region exhibiting optimized activity also can exhibit
increased stability such as increased half-life in a particular
organism. For example, an antibody activity can be optimized to
increase stability by decreasing susceptibility to proteolysis. An
antibody exhibiting optimized activity also can exhibit lower
affinity binding, including decreased association rates or
increased dissociation rates, if desired. An optimized variable
region exhibiting lower affinity binding is useful, for example,
for penetrating a solid tumor. In contrast to a higher affinity
variable region, which would bind to the peripheral regions of the
tumor but would be unable to penetrate to the inner regions of the
tumor due to its high affinity, a lower affinity variable region
would be advantageous for penetrating the inner regions of the
tumor. As with optimization of binding affinities above,
optimization of a catalytic variable region can be, for example,
increased or decreased catalytic rates, disassociation constants or
association constants.
[0030] As used herein, the term "substantially the same" when used
in reference to binding affinity is intended to mean similar or
identical binding affinities where one molecule has a binding
affinity constant that is similar to another molecule within the
experimental variability of the affinity measurement. The
experimental variability of the binding affinity measurement is
dependent upon the specific assay used and is known to those
skilled in the art.
[0031] The invention provides a method for conferring donor CDR
binding affinity onto an antibody acceptor variable region
framework. The method consists of: (a) constructing a population of
altered antibody variable region encoding nucleic acids, the
population consisting of encoding nucleic acids for an acceptor
variable region framework containing a plurality of different amino
acids at one or more acceptor framework region amino acid positions
and donor CDRs containing a plurality of different amino acids at
one or more donor CDR amino acid positions; (b) expressing the
population of altered variable region encoding nucleic acids, and
(c) identifying one or more altered variable regions having binding
affinity substantially the same or greater than the donor CDR
variable region.
[0032] The process of producing human antibody forms from nonhuman
species involves recombinantly splicing CDRs from a nonhuman donor
antibody into a human acceptor framework region to confer binding
activity onto the resultant grafted antibody, or variable region
binding fragment thereof. The process of grafting, referred to as
the procedure for splicing CDRs into a framework, while
mechanically simple it almost always results in a grafted antibody
that exhibits a substantial loss in binding affinity. Although
donor and acceptor variable regions are structurally similar, the
process nevertheless combines CDR binding domains with a
heterologous acceptor region, resulting in a conformationally
imperfect setting for the binding residues of the grafted antibody.
Therefore, once the CDR-grafted antibody, or variable region
binding fragment is made, it requires subsequent rounds of
molecular engineering to reacquire binding affinity comparable to
the donor antibody. The present invention combines these steps such
that CDR grafting and binding reacquisition occur in a single
simultaneous procedure. The method is also applicable to optimizing
the binding affinity of an antibody, or variable region binding
fragment simultaneous with CDR grafting and to optimizing an
antibody or variable region binding fragment in a single procedure
without including the CDR grafting process.
[0033] The methods of the invention confer or impart donor CDR
binding affinity onto an antibody acceptor variable region
framework in a procedure which achieves grafting of donor CDRs and
affinity reacquisition in a simultaneous process. The methods
similarly can be used, either alone or in combination with CDR
grafting, to modify or optimize the binding affinity of a variable
region. The methods for conferring donor CDR binding affinity onto
an acceptor variable region are applicable to both heavy and light
chain variable regions and as such can be used to simultaneous
graft and optimize the binding affinity of an antibody variable
region.
[0034] The methods for conferring donor CDR binding affinity onto a
variable region involve identifying the relevant amino acid
positions in the acceptor framework that are known or predicted to
influence a CDR conformation, or that are known or predicted to
influence the spacial context of amino acid side chains within the
CDR that participate in binding, and then generate a population of
altered variable region species that incorporate a plurality of
different amino acid residues at those positions. For example, the
different amino acid residues at those positions can be
incorporated either randomly or with a predetermined bias and can
include all of the twenty naturally occurring amino acid residues
at each of the relevant positions. Subsets, including less than all
of the naturally occurring amino acids can additionally be chosen
for incorporation at the relevant framework positions. Including a
plurality of different amino acid residues at each of the relevant
framework positions ensures that there will be at least one species
within the population that will have framework changes which allows
the CDRs to reacquire their donor binding affinity in the context
of the acceptor framework variable region.
[0035] In addition to the framework changes at selected amino acid
positions, the CDRs also are altered to contain a plurality of
different amino acid residue changes at all or selected positions
within the donor CDRS. For example, random or biased incorporation
of the twenty naturally occurring amino acid residues, or
preselected subsets, are also introduced into the donor CDRs to
produce a diverse population of CDR species. Including a diverse
population of different CDR variant species ensures that beneficial
changes in the framework positions are not neutralized by a
conformationally incompatible residue in a donor CDR. Inclusion of
CDR variant species into the diverse population of variable regions
also allows for the generation of variant species that exhibit
optimized binding affinity for a predetermined antigen.
[0036] The resultant population of CDR grafted variable regions
described above will therefore contain, at the relevant framework
positions and at the selected CDR positions, a species
corresponding to the authentic parent amino acid residue at each
position as well as a diverse number of different species which
correspond to the possible combinations and permutations of the
authentic parent amino acid residues together with the variant
residues at each of the relevant framework and selected CDR
positions. Such a diverse population of CDR grafted variable
regions are screened for an altered variable region species which
retains donor CDR binding activity, or optimized binding
activity.
[0037] One advantage of the methods of the invention is that they
do not limit the choice of acceptor variable regions applicable, or
expected to be successful, for receiving CDRs from the donor
molecule. For example, when choosing an acceptor region it can be
desirable, or in some circumstances even required, to select an
acceptor that is closely similar to the variable region amino acid
sequence harboring the donor CDRs because the CDR conformation in
the grafted variable region will likely be more similar to that of
the donor. However, selecting similar framework region sequences
between the donor and acceptor variable regions still does not
provide which residues, out of the differences, actually play a
role in CDR binding affinity of the grafted variable region.
Selection of similar acceptor frameworks therefore only limits the
number of possible residues which to investigate in order to
reacquire binding affinity onto the grafted variable region. The
methods of the invention circumvent this problem by producing a
library of all possible or relevant changes in the acceptor
framework, and then screening those variable regions, or
heteromeric binding fragments thereof for species that maintain or
exhibit increased binging affinity compared to the donor molecule.
Therefore, the applicability is not preconditioned on the
availability or search for an acceptor framework variable region
similar to that of the donor.
[0038] Selection of the relevant framework amino acid positions to
alter can depend on a variety of criteria well known to those
skilled it the art. As described above, one criteria for selecting
relevant framework amino acids to change can be the relative
differences in amino acid framework residues between the donor and
acceptor molecules. Selection of relevant framework positions to
alter using this approach is simple and has the advantage of
avoiding any subjective bias in residue determination or any
inherent bias in CDR binding affinity contribution by the residue.
Criteria other than relatedness of amino acid residues can be used
for selecting relevant framework positions to alter. Such criteria
can be used in combination with, or alternative to the selection of
framework positions having divergent amino acid residues. These
additional criteria are described further and similarly are well
known to those skilled in the art.
[0039] Another criteria which can be used for determining the
relevant amino acid positions to change can be, for example,
selection of framework residues that are known to be important, or
contribute to CDR conformation. For example, canonical framework
residues play such a role in CDR conformation or structure. Such
residues can be considered to be relevant to change for a variety
of reasons, including for example, their new context of being
associated with heterologous CDR sequences in the grafted variable
region. Targeting of a canonical framework residue as a relevant
position to change can identify a more compatible amino acid
residue in context with its associated donor CDR sequence.
Additionally, targeting of canonical residues can allow for the
identification of residues at these positions that absorb
detrimental effects to CDR structure from residues located
elsewhere in the framework region.
[0040] The frequency of an amino acid residue at a particular
framework position is another criteria which can be used for
selecting relevant framework amino acid positions to change. For
example, comparison of the selected framework with other framework
sequences within its subfamily can reveal residues that occur at
minor frequences at a particular position or positions. Such
positions harboring less abundant residues are similarly applicable
for selection as a position to alter in the acceptor variable
region framework.
[0041] The relevant amino acid positions to change also can be
selected, for example, based on proximity to a CDR. In certain
contexts, such residues can participate in CDR conformation or
antigen binding. Moreover, this criteria can similarly be used to
prioritize relevant positions selected by other criteria described
herein. Therefore, differentiating between residues proximal and
distal to one or more CDRs is an efficient way to reduce the number
of relevant positions to change using the methods of the
invention.
[0042] Other criteria for selecting relevant amino acid framework
positions to alter include, for example, residues that are known or
predicted to reside in three-dimensional space near the antigen-CDR
interface or predicted to modulate CDR activity. Similarly,
framework residues that are known or predicted to contact opposite
domain of the heavy (V.sub.H) and light (V.sub.L) chain variable
region interface. Such framework positions can effect the
conformation or affinity of a CDR by modulating the CDR binding
pocket, antigen interaction or the V.sub.H and V.sub.L interaction.
Therefore, selection of these amino acid positions as relevant for
construction of the diverse population to screen can beneficially
identify framework changes which replace residues having
detrimental effects on CDR conformation or absorb detrimental
effects of residues occurring elsewhere in the framework.
[0043] Finally, other framework residues that can be selected for
alteration include amino acid positions that are inaccessible to
solvent. Such residues are generally buried in the variable region
and therefore capable of influencing the conformation of the CDR or
V.sub.H and V.sub.L interactions. Solvent accessibility can be
predicted, for example, from the relative hydrophobicity of the
environment created by the amino acid side chains of the
polypeptide or by known three-dimensional structural data.
[0044] In addition to selecting the relevant framework positions,
the method of conferring donor CDR binding affinity onto an
antibody acceptor variable region framework also incorporates
changes in the donor CDR amino acid positions. As with selecting
the relevant framework positions to change, there is similarly a
range of possible changes that can be made in the donor CDR
positions. Some or all of the possible changes that can be selected
for change can be introduced into the population of grafted donor
CDRs to practice the methods of the invention.
[0045] One approach is to change all amino acid positions along a
CDR by replacement at each position with, for example, all twenty
naturally occurring amino acids. The replacement of each position
can occur in the context of other donor CDR amino acid positions so
that a significant portion of the CDR maintains the authentic donor
CDR sequence, and therefore, the binding affinity of the donor CDR.
For example, an acceptor variable region framework targeted for
relevant amino acid positions changes as described previously, can
be targeted for grafting with a population of CDRs containing
single position replacements at each position within the CDRS.
Similarly, an acceptor variable region framework can be targeted
for grafting with a population of CDRs containing more than one
position changed to incorporate all twenty amino acid residues, or
a fractional subset, at each set of positions within the CDRs. For
example, all possible sets of changes corresponding to two, three
or four or more amino acid positions within a CDR can be targeted
for introduction into a population of CDRs for grafting into an
acceptor variable region framework.
[0046] Single amino acid position changes are generated at each
position without altering the remain amino acid positions within
the CDR. A population of single position changes will contain at
each position the varied amino acid residues, incorporated either
randomly or with a biased frequency, while leaving the remaining
positions as donor CDR residues. For the specific example of a ten
residue CDR, the population will contain species having the first,
second and third, continued through the tenth CDR residue,
individually randomized or represented by a biased frequency of
incorporated amino acid residues while the remaining non-varied
positions represent the donor CDR amino acid residues. For the
specific example described above, these non-varied positions would
correspond to positions 2-10; 1,3-10; 1,2,4-10, continued through
positions 1-9, respectively. Therefore, the resultant population
will contain species that represent all single position
changes.
[0047] Similarly, double, triple and quadruple amino acid position
changes can be generated for each set of positions without altering
the remain amino acid positions within the CDR. For example, a
population of double position changes will contain at each set of
two positions the varied amino acid residues while leaving the
remaining positions as donor CDR residues. The sets will correspond
to, for example, positions 1 and 2, 1 and 3, 1 and 4, through the
set corresponding to the first and last position of the CDR. The
population will also contain sets corresponding to positions 2 and
3, 2 and 4, 2 and 5, through the set corresponding to the second an
last position of the CDR. Likewise, the population will contain
sets of double position changes corresponding to all pairs of
position changes beginning with position three of the CDR. Similar
pairs of position changes are made with the remaining sets CDR
amino acid positions. Therefore, the population will contain
species that represent all pairwise combinations of amino acid
position changes. In a simialar fashion, populations corresponding
to sets of changes representing all triple and quadruplet changes
along a CDR can similarly be targeted for grafting into the
variable region frameworks using the methods of the invention.
[0048] The above populations of CDR variant species can be targeted
for any or all of the CDRs which constitute the binding pocket of a
variable region. Therefore, an acceptor variable region framework
targeted for relevant amino acid positions changes as described
previously, can be targeted for the simultaneous incorporation of
donor CDR variant populations at one, two or all three recipient
CDR locations. The choice of which CDR or the number of CDRs to
target with amino acid position changes will depend on, for
example, if a full CDR grafting into an acceptor is desired or
whether the method is being performed for optimization of binding
affinity. Many grafting procedures will generally employ the
grafting of all three CDRS, where at least one of the CDRs will
contain amino acid positions changes. Generally however, all of the
donor CDRs will be populations containing amino acid position
changes. Converesly, and as described further below, optimization
procedures can employ CDR variant populations corresponding to any
or all of the CDRs within a variable region.
[0049] Another approach for selecting donor CDR amino acids to
change for conferring donor CDR binding affinity onto an antibody
acceptor variable region framework is to select known or readily
identifiable CDR positions that are highly variable. For example,
the variable region CDR 3 is generally highly variable due to
genetic recombination. This region therefore can be selectively
targeted for amino acid position changes during grafting procedures
to ensure binding affinity reacquisition or augmentation when made
together with relevant acceptor variable framework changes as
described previously.
[0050] In contrast, CDR residues that appear conserved or have been
empirically determined to be non-mutable by functional criteria
will generally be avoided when selecting residues in the CDR to
target for change. It should be noted however, that apparent
non-mutable residues can nevertheless be successfully changed using
the methods of the invention because the populations of altered
variable regions contain from a few to many amino acid position
changes in both the framework regions and in the CDR regions. As
such, the CDR grafted variable regions identified by binding
affinity are a result of the all the changes and therefore, all the
interactions of residues introduced into a particular species.
Therefore, suboptimal residues incorporated at, for example, an
apparent non-mutable position can be counteracted and even
augmented by amino acid substitutions elsewhere in the framework
regions or in other CDRs.
[0051] Similarly, because the methods of the invention for CDR
grafting, affinity reacquisition and affinity optimization employ
the production and screening of diverse populations of variable
region species generated from an acceptor framework and donor CDR
variants, there are numerous effects on binding affinity that will
occur due to the combined interactions of two or more amino acid
changes within a single variable region species. For example, the
affect of amino acid changes in either a framework region or CDR
that are inherently beneficial can be masked or neutralized due to
surrounding authentic parent residues or due to their context in a
heterologous region of a grafted antibody. However, second site
changes in the surrounding residues or the heterologous regions can
unveil the beneficial characteristics of the latent residue or
residues. Such second site changes can occur, for example, in both
proximal and distal heterologous or homologous region
sequences.
[0052] For example, if the beneficial residue is in a grafted CDR
region, the proximal heterologous sequences would be the adjacent
framework regions whereas distal heterologous regions would be
framework regions separated by an adjacent CDR. In this specific
example, a proximal homologous region would be the surrounding
residues within the grafted CDR harboring the beneficial change
whereas the remaining CDRs are examples of distal homologous
regions. By analogy, the opposite would be true for a inherently
beneficial residue in a framework region. Specifically, proximal
homologous region sequences would be located in the same framework
region and distal homologous sequences would be in any of the other
framework regions. Proximal heterologous region sequences would be
in the adjacent CDR or CDRs whereas nonadjacent CDRs constitute
distal heterologous region sequences. Such second site effects can
occur, for example, through the translation of conformational
changes to the CDR binding pocket or to the framework regions.
[0053] Other effects on binding affinity that will occur due to the
combined interactions of two or more amino acid changes within a
single variable region species include, for example, the
neutralization or augmentation of inherently detrimental changes
and the augmentation of beneficial amino acid changes or the
augmentation of parent residues. As with the unveiling of
beneficial changes and the ability to counteract changes in
apparently non-mutable residues, the neutralization and
augmentation of amino acid changes within the grafted CDRs or
framework region by second site changes can occur, for example, by
imparting or translating conformational changes from the second
site changes to the CDR binding pocket or to the framework regions.
The second site changes can occur in any of the framework regions,
including for example, framework regions 1 through 4 as well as in
any of the three CDR regions. An advantage of the methods of the
invention is that no prior information is required to assess which
amino acid positions or changes can be inherently beneficial or
detrimental, or which positions or changes can be further augmented
by second site changes. Instead, by selecting relevant amino acid
positions or subsets thereof in the acceptor variable region
framework and CDRs, and generating a diverse population containing
amino acid variants at these positions, combinations of beneficial
changes occurring at the selected positions will be identified by
screening for increased or optimized binding affinity of the CDR
graft variable region. Such beneficial combinations will include
the unveiling of inherently beneficial residues, neutralization of
inherently detrimental residues and the augmentation of parent
residues or functionally neutral changes.
[0054] Following selection of relevant amino acid positions in the
framework regions and in the donor CDRs as described previously,
amino acid changes at some or all of the selected positions are
incorporated into encoding nucleic acids for the acceptor variable
region framework and donor CDRs, respectively. Simultaneous with
incorporating the encoding amino acid changes at the selected
positions, the encoding nucleic acids sequences for each of the
donor CDRs, including selected changes, are also incorporated into
the acceptor variable region framework encoding nucleic acid to
generate a population of altered variable region encoding nucleic
acids.
[0055] An altered variable region of the invention will contain at
least one framework position which variably incorporates different
amino acid residues and at least one CDR position which variably
incorporates different amino acid residues as described previously.
The variability at any or all of the altered positions can range
from a few to a plurality of different amino acid residues,
including all twenty naturally occurring amino acids or functional
equivalents and analogues thereof. The different species of the
altered variable region containing the variable amino acid residues
at one or more positions within the framework and CDR regions will
make up the population for which to screen for an altered variable
region having binding affinity substantially the same or greater
than the donor CDR variable region.
[0056] Selection of the number and location of the amino acid
positions to vary is flexible and can depend on the intended use
and desired efficiency for identification of the altered variable
region having substantially the same or greater binding affinity
compared to the donor variable region. In this regard, the greater
the number of changes that are incorporated into a altered variable
region population, the more efficient it is to identify at least
one species that exhibits substantially the same or greater binding
affinity as the donor. Alternatively, where the user has empirical
or actual data to the affect that certain amino acid residues or
positions contribute disproportionally to binding affinity, then it
can be desirable to produce a limited population of altered
variable regions which focuses on changes within or around those
identified residues or positions.
[0057] For example, if CDR grafted variable regions are desired, a
large, diverse population of altered variable regions can include
all the non-identical framework region positions between the donor
and acceptor framework and all single CDR amino acid position
changes. Alternatively, a population of intermediate diversity can
include subsets, for example, of only the proximal non-identical
framework positions to be incorporated together with all single CDR
amino acid position changes. The diversity of the above populations
can be further increased by, for example, additionally including
all pairwise CDR amino acid position changes. In contrast,
populations focusing on predetermined residues or positions which
incorporate variant residues at as few as one framework and one CDR
amino acid position can similarly be constructed for screening and
identification of an altered antibody variable region of the
invention. As with the above populations, the diversity of such
focused populations can be further increased by additionally
expanding on the positions selected for change to include other
relevant positions in either or both of the framework and CDR
regions. There are numerous other combinations ranging from few
changes to many changes in either or both of the framework regions
and CDRs that can additionally be employed, all of which will
result in a population of altered variable regions that can be
screened for the identification of at least one CDR grafted altered
variable region of the invention. Those skilled in the art will
know, or can determine, which selected residue positions in the
framework or donor CDRs, or subsets thereof, can be varied to
produce a population for screening and identification of a altered
antibody of the invention given the teachings and guidance provided
herein.
[0058] Simultaneous incorporation of all of the CDR encoding
nucleic acids and all of the selected amino acid position changes
can be accomplished by a variety of methods known to those skilled
in the art, including for example, recombinant and chemical
synthesis. For example, simultaneous incorporation can be
accomplished by, for example, chemically synthesizing the
nucleotide sequence for the acceptor variable region, fused
together with the donor CDR encoding nucleic acids, and
incorporating at the positions selected for harboring variable
amino acid residues a plurality of corresponding amino acid
codons.
[0059] One such method well known in the art for rapidly and
efficiently producing a large number of alterations in a known
amino acid sequence or for generating a diverse population of
variable or random sequences is known as codon-based synthesis or
mutagenesis. This method is the subject matter of U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,264,563 and 5,523,388 and is also described in Glaser et al. J.
Immunology 149:3903 (1992). Briefly, coupling reactions for the
randomization of, for example, all twenty codons which specify the
amino acids of the genetic code are performed in separate reaction
vessels and randomization for a particular codon position occurs by
mixing the products of each of the reaction vessels. Following
mixing, the randomized reaction products corresponding to codons
encoding an equal mixture of all twenty amino acids are then
divided into separate reaction vessels for the synthesis of each
randomized codon at the next position. For the synthesis of equal
frequencies of all twenty amino acids, up to two codons can be
synthesized in each reaction vessel.
[0060] Variations to these synthesis methods also exist and include
for example, the synthesis of predetermined codons at desired
positions and the biased synthesis of a predetermined sequence at
one or more codon positions. Biased synthesis involves the use of
two reaction vessels where the predetermined or parent codon is
synthesized in one vessel and the random codon sequence is
synthesized in the second vessel. The second vessel can be divided
into multiple reaction vessels such as that described above for the
synthesis of codons specifying totally random amino acids at a
particular position. Alternatively, a population of degenerate
codons can be synthesized in the second reaction vessel such as
through the coupling of NNG/T nucleotides where N is a mixture of
all four nucleotides. Following synthesis of the predetermined and
random codons, the reaction products in each of the two reaction
vessels are mixed and then redivided into an additional two vessels
for synthesis at the next codon position.
[0061] A modification to the above-described codon-based synthesis
for producing a diverse number of variant sequences can similarly
be employed for the production of the variant populations described
herein. This modification is based on the two vessel method
described above which biases synthesis toward the parent sequence
and allows the user to separate the variants into populations
containing a specified number of codon positions that have random
codon changes.
[0062] Briefly, this synthesis is performed by continuing to divide
the reaction vessels after the synthesis of each codon position
into two new vessels. After the division, the reaction products
from each consecutive pair of reaction vessels, starting with the
second vessel, is mixed. This mixing brings together the reaction
products having the same number of codon positions with random
changes. Synthesis proceeds by then dividing the products of the
first and last vessel and the newly mixed products from each
consecutive pair of reaction vessels and redividing into two new
vessels. In one of the new vessels, the parent codon is synthesized
and in the second vessel, the random codon is synthesized. For
example, synthesis at the first codon position entails synthesis of
the parent codon in one reaction vessel and synthesis of a random
codon in the second reaction vessel. For synthesis at the second
codon position, each of the first two reaction vessels is divided
into two vessels yielding two pairs of vessels. For each pair, a
parent codon is synthesized in one of the vessels and a random
codon is synthesized in the second vessel. When arranged linearly,
the reaction products in the second and third vessels are mixed to
bring together those products having random codon sequences at
single codon positions. This mixing also reduces the product
populations to three, which are the starting populations for the
next round of synthesis. Similarly, for the third, fourth and each
remaining position, each reaction product population for the
preceding position are divided and a parent and random codon
synthesized.
[0063] Following the above modification of codon-based synthesis,
populations containing random codon changes at one, two, three and
four positions as well as others can be conveniently separated out
and used based on the need of the individual. Moreover, this
synthesis scheme also allows enrichment of the populations for the
randomized sequences over the parent sequence since the vessel
containing only the parent sequence synthesis is similarly
separated out from the random codon synthesis.
[0064] Other methods well known in the art for producing a large
number of alterations in a known amino acid sequence or for
generating a diverse population of variable or random sequences
include, for example, degenerate or partially degenerate
oligonucleotide synthesis. Codons specifying equal mixtures of all
four nucleotide monomers, represented as NNN, results in degenerate
synthesis. Whereas partially degenerate synthesis can be
accomplished using, for example, the NNG/T codon described
previously. Other method well know in the art can alternatively be
used such as the use of statistically predetermined, or varigated,
codon synthesis which is the subject matter of U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,223,409 and 5,403,484.
[0065] Once the populations of altered variable region encoding
nucleic acids have been constructed as described above, they can be
expressed to generate a population of altered variable region
polypeptides that can be screened for binding affinity. For
example, the altered variable region encoding nucleic acids can be
cloned into an appropriate vector for propagation, manipulation and
expression. Such vectors are known or can be constructed by those
skilled in the art and should contain all expression elements
sufficient for the transcription, translation, regulation, and if
desired, sorting and secretion of the altered variable region
polypeptides. The vectors also can be for use in either procaryotic
or eukaryotic host systems so long as the expression and regulatory
elements are of compatible origin. The expression vectors can
additionally included regulatory elements for inducible or cell
type-specific expression. One skilled in the art will know which
host systems are compatible with a particular vector and which
regulatory or functional elements are sufficient to achieve
expression of the polypeptides in soluble, secreted or cell surface
forms.
[0066] Appropriate host cells, include for example, bacteria and
corresponding bacteriophage expression systems, yeast, avian,
insect and mammalian cells. Methods for recombinant expression,
screening and purification of populations of altered variable
regions or altered variable region polypeptides within such
populations in various host systems are well known in the art and
are described, for example, in Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning:
A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York (1992)
and in Ansubel et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John
Wiley and Sons, Baltimore, Md. (1998). The choice of a particular
vector and host system for expression and screening of altered
variable regions will be known by those skilled in the art and will
depend on the preference of the user. A specific example of the
expression of recombinant altered variable region polypeptides is
additionally described below in the Examples. Moreover, expression
of diverse populations of hetereomeric receptors in either soluble
or cell surface form using filamentous bacteriophage vector/host
systems is well known in the art and is the subject matter of U.S.
Pat. No. 5,871,974.
[0067] The expressed population of altered variable region
polypeptides can be screened for the identification of one or more
altered variable region species exhibiting binding affinity
substantially the same or greater than the donor CDR variable
region. Screening can be accomplished using various methods well
known in the art for determining the binding affinity of a
polypeptide or compound. Additionaly, methods based on determining
the relative affinity of binding molecules to their partner by
comparing the amount of binding between the altered variable region
polypeptides and the donor CDR variable region can similarly be
used for the identification of species exhibiting binding affinity
substantially the same or greater than the donor CDR variable
region. All of such methods can be performed, for example, in
solution or in solid phase. Moreover, various formats of binding
assays are well known in the art and include, for example,
immobilization to filters such as nylon or nitrocellulose;
two-dimensional arrays, enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA),
radioimmune assay (RIA), panning and plasmon resonance. Such
methods can be found described in, for example, Sambrook et al.,
supra, and Ansubel et al.
[0068] For the screening of populations of polypeptides such as the
altered variable region populations produced by the methods of the
invention, immobilization of the populations of altered variable
regions to filters or other solid substrate is particularly
advantageous because large numbers of different species can be
efficiently screened for antigen binding. Such filter lifts will
allow for the identification of altered variable regions that
exhibit substantially the same or greater binding affinity compared
to the donor CDR variable region. Alternatively, if the populations
of altered variable regions are expressed on the surface of a cell
or bacteriophage, for example, panning on immobilized antigen can
be used to efficiently screen for the relative binding affinity of
species within the population and for those which exhibit
substantially the same or greater binding affinity than the donor
CDR variable region.
[0069] Another affinity method for screening populations of altered
variable regions polypeptides is a capture lift assay that is
useful for identifying a binding molecule having selective affinity
for a ligand (Watkins et. al., (1997)). This method employs the
selective immobilization of altered variable regions to a solid
support and then screening of the selectively immobilized altered
variable regions for selective binding interactions against the
cognate antigen or binding partner. Selective immobilization
functions to increase the sensitivity of the binding interaction
being measured since initial immobilization of a population of
altered variable regions onto a solid support reduces non-specific
binding interactions with irrelevant molecules or contaminants
which can be present in the reaction.
[0070] Another method for screening populations or for measuring
the affinity of individual altered variable region polypeptides is
through surface plasmon resonance (SPR). This method is based on
the phenomenon which occurs when surface plasmon waves are excited
at a metal/liquid interface. Light is directed at, and reflected
from, the side of the surface not in contact with sample, and SPR
causes a reduction in the reflected light intensity at a specific
combination of angle and wavelength. Biomolecular binding events
cause changes in the refractive index at the surface layer, which
are detected as changes in the SPR signal. The binding event can be
either binding association or disassociation between a
receptor-ligand pair. The changes in refractive index can be
measured essentially instantaneously and therefore allows for
determination of the individual components of an affinity constant.
More specifically, the method enables accurate measurements of
association rates (k.sub.on) and disassociation rates
(k.sub.off).
[0071] Measurements of k.sub.on and k.sub.off values can be
advantageous because they can identify altered variable regions or
optimized variable regions that are therapeutically more
efficacious. For example, an altered variable region, or
heteromeric binding fragment thereof, can be more efficacious
because it has, for example, a higher k.sub.on valued compared to
variable regions and heteromeric binding fragments that exhibit
similar binding affinity. Increased efficacy is conferred because
molecules with higher k.sub.on values can specifically bind and
inhibit their target at a faster rate. Similarly, a molecule of the
invention can be more efficacious because it exhibits a lower
k.sub.off value compared to molecules having similar binding
affinity. Increased efficacy observed with molecules having lower
k.sub.off rates can be observed because, once bound, the molecules
are slower to dissociate from their target. Although described with
reference to the altered variable regions and optimized variable
regions of the invention including, heteromeric variable region
binding fragments thereof, the methods described above for
measuring associating and disassociation rates are applicable to
essentially any antibody or fragment thereof for identifying more
effective binders for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes.
[0072] Methods for measuring the affinity, including association
and disassociation rates using surface plasmon resonance are well
known in the arts and can be found described in, for example,
Jonsson and Malmquist, Advances in Biosnsors, 2:291-336 (1992) and
Wu et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 95:6037-6042 (1998).
Moreover, one apparatus well known in the art for measuring binding
interactions is a BIAcore 2000 instrument which is commercially
available through Pharmacia Biosensor, (Uppsala, Sweden).
[0073] Using any of the above described screening methods, as well
as others well known in the art, an altered variable region having
binding affinity substantially the same or greater than the donor
CDR variable region is identified by detecting the binding of at
least one altered variable region within the population to its
antigen or cognate ligand. Additionally, the above methods can
alternatively be modified by, for example, the addition of
substrate and reactants, to identify using the methods of the
invention, altered variable regions having catalytic activity
substantially the same or greater that the donor CDR variable
region within the populations. Comparision, either independently or
simultaneously in the same screen, with the donor variable region
will identify those binders that have substantially the same or
greater binding affinity as the donor. Those skilled in the art
will know, or can determine using the donor variable region,
binding conditions which are sufficient to identify selective
interactions over non-specific binding.
[0074] Detection methods for identification of binding species
within the population of altered variable regions can be direct or
indirect and can include, for example, the measurement of light
emission, radioisotopes, calorimetric dyes and fluorochromes.
Direct detection includes methods that operate without
intermediates or secondary measuring procedures to assess the
amount of bound antigen or ligand. Such methods generally employ
ligands that are themselves labeled by, for example, radioactive,
light emitting or fluorescent moieties. In contrast, indirect
detection includes methods that operate through an intermediate or
secondary measuring procedure. These methods generally employ
molecules that specifically react with the antigen or ligand and
can themselves be directly labeled or detected by a secondary
reagent. For example, a antibody specific for a ligand can be
detected using a secondary antibody capable of interacting with the
first antibody specific for the ligand, again using the detection
methods described above for direct detection. Indirect methods can
additionally employ detection by enzymatic labels. Moreover, for
the specific example of screening for catalytic antibodies, the
disappearance of a substrate or the appearance of a product can be
used as an indirect measure of binding affinity or catalytic
activity.
[0075] Isolated variable regions exhibit binding affinity as single
chains, in the absence of assembly into a heteromeric structure
with their respective V.sub.H or V.sub.L subunits. As such,
populations of V.sub.H and V.sub.L altered variable regions
polypeptides can be expressed alone and screened for binding
affinity having substantially the same or greater binding affinity
compared to the CDR donor V.sub.H or V.sub.L variable region.
Alternatively, populations of V.sub.H and V.sub.L altered variable
regions polypeptides can be coexpressed so that they self-assemble
into heteromeric altered variable region binding fragments. The
heteromeric binding fragment population can then be screened for
species exhibiting binding affinity substantially the same or
greater than the CDR donor variable region binding fragment. A
specific example of the coexpression and self-assembly of
populations V.sub.H and V.sub.L altered variable regions into
hetermeric populations is described further below in the
Examples.
[0076] Therefore, the invention provides a method of simultaneously
grafting and optimizing the binding affinity of a variable region
binding fragment. The method consists of: (a) constructing a
population of altered heavy chain variable region encoding nucleic
acids consisting of an acceptor variable region framework,
containing donor CDRs and a plurality of different amino acids at
one or more framework region and CDR amino acid positions; (b)
coexpressing the populations of heavy and light chain variable
region encoding nucleic acids to produce diverse combinations of
heteromeric variable region binding fragments, and (c) identifying
one or more heteromeric variable region binding fragments having
affinity substantially the same or greater than the donor CDR
heteromeric variable region binding fragment.
[0077] The invention additionally provides a method of optimizing
the binding affinity of an antibody variable region. The consists
of: (a) constructing a population of antibody variable region
encoding nucleic acids, said population comprising two or more CDRs
containing a plurality of different amino acids at one or more CDR
amino acid positions; (b) expressing said population of variable
region encoding nucleic acids, and (c) identifying one or more
variable regions having binding affinity substantially the same or
greater than the donor CDR variable region.
[0078] The methods described above, for conferring donor CDR
binding affinity onto an antibody acceptor variable region
framework and for simultaneously grafting and optimizing the
binding affinity of a heteromeric variable region binding fragment,
can additionally be employed to modify or optimize the binding
affinity of a variable region or a heteromeric variable region
binding fragment. Similar to the previously described methods, the
method for modifying or optimizing binding affinity involves the
selection of relevant amino acid positions and the construction,
expression and screening of variable region populations containing
variable amino acid residues at all or a fraction of the selected
positions. However, for optimization of binding affinity it is not
necessary to vary amino acid positions in the framework regions.
Instead, all that is required is to alter one or more amino acid
positions in two or more CDR regions. Changing the CDR amino acid
residues directly effects the binding affinity. Once a population
containing variable amino acid residues incorporated in two or more
CDRs is produced, all that is necessary is to screen the population
for species that contain the desired binding affinity modification.
All of the criteria for selecting relevant amino acid positions
described previously are applicable for use in this mode of the
method. Therefore, the methods for modifying or optimizing the
binding affinity of a variable region or a heteromeric variable
region binding fragment by altering one or more amino acid
positions in two or more CDR regions are applicable to essentially
any variable region, grafted variable region as well as applicable
to the altered and optimized variable regions of the invention.
[0079] Moreover, by incorporating variable amino acid residues in
two or more CDRs when employing the methods conferring donor CDR
binding affinity onto an acceptor framework, this method of
modifying binding affinity is therefore useful for simultaneously
optimizing the binding affinity of a grafted antibody. Employing
the methods for simultaneously grafting and optimizing, or for
optimizing, it is possible to generate heteromeric variable region
binding fragments having increases in affinities of greater than
5-, 8- and 10-fold. In particular, heteromeric variable region
binding fragments can be generated having increases in affinities
of greater than 12-, 15-20- and 25-fold as well as affinities
greater than 50-, 100- and 1000-fold compared to the donor or
parent molecule.
[0080] Additionally, the methods described herein for optimizing
are also are applicable for producing catalytic heteromeric
variable region fragments or for optimizing their catalytic
activity. Catalytic activity can be optimized by changing, for
example, the on or off rate, the substrate binding affinity, the
transition state binding affinity, the turnover rate (kcat) or the
Km. Methods for measuring these characteristics are well known in
the art. Such methods can be employed in the screening steps of the
methods described above when used for optimizing the catalytic
activity of a heteromeric variable region binding fragment.
[0081] The methods for conferring donor CDR binding affinity onto
an antibody acceptor variable region framework described previously
are applicable for use with essentially any distinguishable donor
and acceptor pair. Many applications of the methods will be for the
production and optimization of variable region binding fragments
having human acceptor frameworks due to the therapeutic importance
of such molecules in the treatment of human diseases. However, the
method are applicable for conferring donor CDR binding affinity
onto an acceptor originating from the same or a divergent species
as the CDR donor variable region so long as the framework regions
between the donor and acceptor variable regions are distinct.
Therefore, the invention included altered variable regions having
acceptor frameworks derived from human, mouse, rat, rabbit, goat
and chicken, for example.
[0082] Additionally, the methods for conferring donor CDR binding
affinity onto an antibody acceptor variable region framework are
applicable for grafting CDRs as described by Kabat et al., supra,
Chothia et al., supra or MacCallum et al., supra. The methods
similarly can be used for grafting into an acceptor framework
overlapping regions or combinations of CDR as described by these
authors. Generally, the methods will graft variable region CDRs by
identifying the boundries described by one of the CDR definitions
known in the art and set forth herein. However, because the methods
are directed to constructing and screening populations of CDR
grafted altered variable regions which incorporate relevant amino
acid position changes in both the framework and CDR regions, and
such variations can, for example, compensate or augment amino acid
changes elsewhere in the variable region, the exact boundry of a
particular CDR or set of variable region CDRs can be varied.
Therefore, the exact CDR region to graft, whether it is the region
described by Kabat et al., Chothia et al. or MacCallum et al., or
any combination thereof, will essentially depend on the preference
of the user.
[0083] Similarly, the methods described previously for optimizing
the binding affinity of an antibody also are applicable for use
with essentially any variable region for which an encoding nucleic
acid is, or can be made available. As with the methods for
conferring donor CDR binding affinity, many applications of the
methods for optimizing binding affinity will be for modifying the
binding affinity of CDR grafted variable regions having human
frameworks. Again, such molecules are significantly less antigenic
in human patients and therefore therapeutically valuable in the
treatment of human diseases. However, the methods of the invention
for optimizing the binding affinity of a variable region are
applicable to all species of variable regions. Therefore, the
invention includes binding affiity optimization of variable regions
derived from human, mouse, rat, rabbit, goat and chicken, for
example.
[0084] The methods of the invention have been described with
reference to variable regions and heteromic variable region binding
fragments. Given these descriptions and teaching herein, those
skilled in the art will understand that all of such methods are
applicable to whole antibodies and functional fragments thereof as
well as to regions and functional domains other than the antigen
binding variable region of antibodies. Moreover, the methods
described herein are further applicable to molecules other than
antibodies, variable regions and other antibody functional domains.
Given the teachings of the invention, those skilled in the art will
know how to apply the methods of simultaneously constructing hybrid
molecules and maintaining or optimizing the binding affinity or
catalytic activity of a target molecule, as well as how to apply
the methods of optimizing the binding affinity or catalytic
activity to a variety of different types and classes of
polypeptides and proteins.
[0085] It is understood that modifications which do not
substantially affect the activity of the various embodiments of
this invention are also included within the definition of the
invention provided herein. Accordingly, the following examples are
intended to illustrate but not limit the present invention.
EXAMPLE I
Simultaneous Humanization and Affinity Maturation of an Anti-CD40
Antibody
[0086] This example shows the simultaneous humanization and
affinity maturation of the murine mAb 40.2.220, directed against
the CD40 receptor.
[0087] The CD40 receptor is a potential therapeutic target for
several diseases. For example, the interaction of the CD40 receptor
and its ligand, gp39, serves a critical role in both humoral and
cell-mediated immune responses (Foy et. al., (1996)). Immunological
rejection of organs from genetically non-identical individuals,
termed graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), is mediated through T
cell-dependent mechanisms. In vivo administration of an anti-gp39
mAb blocks GVHD in mice and inhibits many of the GVHD-associated
phenomena (Durie et. al., 1994)), providing evidence that the
CD40/gp39 interaction plays a critical role in the development of
GVHD. More recently, inhibition of the CD40/gp39 interaction in
vivo in hyperlipidemic mice fed a high cholesterol diet limited
atherosclerosis, suggesting that CD40 signalling may also play a
role in atherogenesis (Mach et. al., (1998)). In addition, the CD40
receptor is overexpressed on hematologic malignancies (Uckun et.
al., 1990)) and certain carcinomas (Stamenkovic et. al., (1989))
and thus, may serve as a target for cytotoxic agents. An anti-CD40
single chain antibody-toxin fusion was cytotoxic against
CD40-expressing malignant cells in vitro (Francisco et. al.,
(1995)) and was efficacious in treating human non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma xenografted SCID mice (Francisco et. al., (1997)).
[0088] Codon-based mutagenesis (Glaser et. al., (1992)) was used to
create libraries of LCDR3, HCDR3 and framework region variants of
mAb 40.2.220 sequences. Libraries composed of framework region
variants alone and in combination with HCDR3 variants and with
HCDR3 and LCDR3 variants together were screened for high affinity
variants. It was demonstrated that in combination higher affinity
variants were obtained than those obtained when codon-based
mutagenesis was applied independently thus showing (1) higher
affinity variants that could only be obtained by the use of
codon-based mutagenesis simultaneously on disparate regions of the
mAb and (2) the use of codon-based mutagenesis to uncover potential
direct interactions between disparate regions of a mAb.
[0089] A vector for the production of a chimeric anti-CD40 murine
mAb 40.2.220 was constructed. Based on the sequence of anti-CD40
murine mAb 40.2.220 (provided by Dr. D. Hollenbaugh, Bristol-Myers
Squibb, Princeton, N.J.) overlapping oligonucleotides encoding
V.sub.H and V.sub.L (69-75 bases in length) were synthesized and
purified. The variable H and L domains were synthesized separately
by combining 25 pmol of each of the overlapping oligonucleotides
with Pfu DNA polymerase (Stratagene) in a 50 .mu.l PCR reaction
consisting of 5 cycles of: denaturing at 94.degree. C. for 20 sec,
annealing at 50.degree. C. for 30 sec, ramping to 72.degree. C.
over 1 min, and maintaining at 72.degree. C. for 30 sec.
Subsequently, the annealing temperature was increased to 55.degree.
C. for 25 cycles. A reverse primer and a biotinylated forward
primer were used to further amplify 1 .mu.l of the fusion product
in a 100 .mu.l PCR reaction using the same program. The products
were purified by agarose gel electrophoresis, electroeluted, and
phosphorylated by T4 polynucleotide kinase (Boehringer Mannheim)
and were then incubated with streptavidin magnetic beads
(Boehringer Mannheim) in 5 mM Tris-Cl, pH 7.5, 0.5 mM EDTA, 1 M
NaCl, and 0.05% Tween 20 for 15 min at 25.degree. C. The beads were
washed and the non-biotinylated, minus strand DNA was eluted by
incubating with 0.15 M NaOH at 25.degree. C. for 10 min. Chimeric
anti-CD40 Fab was synthesized in a modified M131X104 phage vector
(Kristensson et. al., 1995)), termed M131X104CS, by hybridization
mutagenesis (Rosok et. al., (1996); Kunkel, (1985)) using the
V.sub.H and V.sub.L oligonucleotides in 3-fold molar excess of the
uridinylated vector template. The M131X104 vector was modified by
replacing cysteine residues at the end of the kappa and yl constant
regions with serine. The reaction was electroporated into DH10B
cells and titered onto a lawn of XL-1 Blue.
[0090] The murine anti-CD40 mAb variable region framework sequences
were used to identify the most homologous human germline sequences.
The H chain framework residues were 74% identical to human germline
VH7 (7-4.1) and JH4 sequences while the L chain was 75% identical
to the corresponding human germline VKIII (L6) and JK4 sequences.
Alignment of the H and L chain variable sequences is shown in FIG.
1. CDR residues, as defined by Kabat et. al. (1977, 1991), are
underlined and were excluded from the homology analysis.
Differences in sequence are indicated by vertical lines and
framework positions characterized in the combinatorial expression
library are marked with an asterisk. Framework residues that
differed between the murine mAb and the human templates were
assessed individually.
[0091] Based on structural and sequence analysis, antibody CDRs
with the exception of HCDR3 display a limited number of main chain
conformations termed canonical structures (Chothia & Lesk,
(1987); Chothia et. al., (1989)). Moreover, certain residues
critical for determining the main chain conformation of the CDR
loops have been identified (Chothia & Lesk, (1987); Chothia et.
al., (1989)). Canonical framework residues of murine anti-CD40 were
identified therefore, and it was determined that amino acids at all
critical canonical positions within the H and L chain frameworks of
the human templates were identical to the corresponding murine
residues.
[0092] Surface-exposed murine amino acids not normally found in
human antibodies are likely to contribute to the immunogenicity of
the humanized mAb (Padlan, (1991)). Therefore, framework residues
differing between murine anti-CD40 and the human templates were
analyzed and based on solvent exposure were predicted to be buried
or located on the surface of the antibody (Padlan, (1991)).
Solvent-exposed framework residues distal to the CDRs were not
expected to contribute to antigen binding significantly and thus,
with the exception of two H chain residues all were changed to the
corresponding human amino acid to decrease potential
immunogenicity. H chain residues 28 and 46 were predicted to be
solvent exposed. However, H28 is located within the HCDR1 region as
defined by Chothia & Lesk (1987) and potentially interacts with
the antigen. In addition, the lysine at H46 in the murine mAb is
somewhat unusual and significantly different from the glutamic acid
of the human template. Therefore, the murine and human residues at
H28 and H46 were expressed in the combinatorial library (FIG. 1,
asterisks).
[0093] The remaining differing framework residues, all predicted to
be mostly buried within the antibody, were evaluated for: (1)
proximity to CDRs, (2) potential to contact the opposite domain in
the V.sub.K-V.sub.H interface, (3) relatedness of the differing
amino acids, and (4) predicted importance in modulating CDR
activity as defined by Studnicka et. al., (1994). The majority of L
chain framework differences in buried residues were related amino
acids at positions considered not likely to be directly involved in
the conformation of the CDR. However, L49 is located adjacent to
LCDR2, potentially contacts the V.sub.H domain, is unrelated to the
human residue, and may be involved in determining the conformation
of LCDR2. For these reasons, the murine and human amino acids at
L49 were both expressed in the combinatorial framework library
(FIG. 1, asterisk).
[0094] Analysis of the murine H chain sequence and the human
template was performed. Residue H9 is a proline in the murine mAb
while the human template contains an unrelated serine residue.
Position H9 can also play a role in modulating the conformation of
the CDR and thus, was selected as a combinatorial library site
(FIG. 1, asterisks). The remaining buried framework residues that
differed between murine anti-CD40 and the H chain template were at
framework positions 38, 39, 48, and 91. Murine anti-CD40 mAb
contained glutamine and glutamic acid at H38 and H39, respectively,
while the human template contained arginine and glutamine. Residue
H38 is in proximity to the HCDR1, the glutamine.fwdarw.arginine
change is non-conserved, and expression of glutamine at this site
in murine Abs is somewhat unusual. Similarly, glutamic
acid.fwdarw.glutamine is a non-conservative difference for buried
amino acids, H39 is a potential V.sub.K contact residue, and
glutamic acid is somewhat unusual in murine mAbs. Residue H48 is in
close proximity to HCDR2 and H91 is predicted to be a high risk
site (Studnicka et. al., (1994); Harris & Bajorath, (1995))
that potentially contacts the V.sub.K domain. Thus, both murine and
human residues were expressed at H38, 39, 48, and 91 (FIG. 1,
asterisks).
[0095] The combinatorial framework library (Hu I) was synthesized
by the same method used to construct the chimeric anti-CD40, with
modifications. Overlapping oligonucleotides encoding the framework
regions of the H and L variable domains of the human template and
the murine anti-CD40 CDRs as defined by Kabat et. al. (1977, 1991)
were synthesized. Among these, degenerate oligonucleotides encoding
both the murine and the human amino acids at seven V.sub.H and one
V.sub.K framework position as selected above were synthesized (FIG.
1 residues marked with asterisk). All of these sites were
characterized by synthesizing a combinatorial library that
expressed all possible combinations of the murine and human amino
acids found at these residues. The total diversity of this library,
termed Hu I, was 2.sup.8 or 256 variants (Table I).
[0096] The Hu I combinatorial library was first screened by an
ELISA that permits the rapid assessment of the relative affinities
of the variants (Watkins et. al., (1997)). Briefly, microtiter
plates were coated with 5 .mu.g/ml goat anti-human kappa (Southern
Biotechnology) and blocked with 3% BSA in PBS. Certain Fabs were
cloned into an expression vector under the control of the
arabinose-regulated BAD promoter. In addition, a six-histidine tag
was fused to the carboxyl-terminus of the H chain to permit
purification with nickel-chelating resins. Purified Fab was
quantitated as described (Watkins et. al., 1997). Next, 50 .mu.l
Fab from the Escherichia coli culture supernatant or from the cell
lysate, was incubated with the plate 1 h at 25.degree. C., the
plate was washed three times with PBS containing 0.1% Tween 20, and
incubated with 0.1 .mu.g/ml CD40-Ig in PBS containing 1% BSA for 2
h at 25.degree. C. The plate was washed three times with PBS
containing 0.1% Tween 20 and goat anti-mouse IgG.sub.2b-alkaline
phosphatase conjugate diluted 3000-fold in PBS containing 1% BSA
was added for 1 h at 25.degree. C. The plate was washed three times
with PBS containing 0.1% Tween 20 and was developed as described
(Watkins et. al., (1997)).
[0097] Although variants that bind the target antigen with
affinities comparable to, or better than the chimeric Fab were
identified, the majority of Hu I clones screened were less active
than the chimeric anti-CD40 Fab. Approximately 6% of randomly
selected Hu I variants displayed binding activities comparable to
the chimeric Fab (data not shown). The identification of multiple
Hu I variants with activity comparable to the chimeric CD40 is
consistent with the interpretation that the most critical framework
residues were included in the combinatorial library.
[0098] The kinetic constants for the interaction between CD40 and
the anti-CD40 variants were determined by surface plasmon resonance
(BIAcore). CD40-Ig fusion protein was immobilized to a
(1-ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl]-carbodiimide hydrochloride) and
N-hydroxysuccinimide-activated sensor chip CM5 by injecting 8 .mu.l
of 10 .mu.g/ml CD40-Ig in 10 mM sodium acetate, pH 4. CD40-Ig was
immobilized at a low density (.about.150 RU) to prevent rebinding
of Fabs during the dissociation phase. To obtain association rate
constants (k.sub.on), the binding rate at six different Fab
concentrations ranging from 25-600 nM in PBS was determined at a
flow rate of 20 .mu.l/min. Dissociation rate constants (k.sub.off)
were the average of six measurements obtained by analyzing the
dissociation phase. Sensorgrams were analyzed with the
BIAevaluation 3.0 program. K.sub.d was calculated from
K.sub.d=k.sub.off/k.sub.on, Residual Fab was removed after each
measurement by prolonged dissociation.
[0099] FIG. 2A shows bacterially-expressed chimeric anti-CD40 Fab
and certain variants from each of the libraries were titrated on
immobilized antigen. Chimeric (filled circles), Hu I-19C11 (open
circles), Hu II-CW43 (open squares), Hu III-2B8 (filled triangles),
and an irrelevant (filled squares) Fab were released from the
periplasmic space of 15 ml bacterial cultures and serial dilutions
were incubated with CD40-Ig antigen immobilized on microtiter
plates. See below for description of HuII and HuIII libraries.
Antibody binding was quantitated as described above. These
measurements confirm the identification of multiple variants with
enhanced affinity. For example, clone 19C11 binds the CD40 receptor
with higher affinity than the chimeric Fab, as demonstrated by the
shift in the titration profile (compare open circles with filled
circles). DNA sequencing of 34 of the most active clones led to the
identification of 24 unique framework combinations, each containing
2-6 murine framework residues (data not shown).
[0100] LCDR3 and HCDR3 contact antigen directly, interact with the
other CDRs, and often affect the affinity and specificity of
antibodies significantly (Wilson & Stanfield, (1993); Padlan,
(1994)). In addition, the conformation of LCDR3 and HCDR3 are
determined in part by certain framework residues. Therefore, to
identify the most active antibody it could be beneficial to
construct combinatorial libraries that optimize the third CDR of
the H and L chains in conjunction with selecting the most active
framework.
[0101] Codon-based mutagenesis (Glaser et. al., (1992)) was used to
synthesize oligonucleotides that introduce mutations at every
position in HCDR3, one at a time, resulting in the expression of
all 20 amino acids at each CDR residue from Ser.sup.95-Tyr.sup.102
(FIG. 1, underlined). Briefly, for library construction, the
overlapping oligonucleotides encoding the framework library and
non-library murine CDR were combined with 25 pmol of the
oligonucleotides encoding mutated HCDR3. The pool of
oligonucleotides encoding the HCDR3 library was mixed with the
overlapping oligonucleotides encoding the combinatorial framework
and other CDRs to generate a framework/HCDR3 library. The diversity
of this library, termed Hu II, was 1.1.times.10.sup.5 (Table
I).
[0102] The CDR residues selected for mutagenesis of LCDR3 were
Gln.sup.89-Thr.sup.97 (FIG. 1, underlined). Oligonucleotides
encoding LCDR3 were designed to mutate a single CDR residue in each
clone as described above for HCDR3. Oligonucleotides encoding the
LCDR3, HCDR3, and the combinatorial framework were used to create a
framework/HCDR3/LCDR3 library, termed Hu III. The large number of
framework/CDR3 combinations resulted in a library with a complexity
of 3.1.times.10.sup.7 (Table I).
2TABLE I Summary of phage-expressed anti-CD40 antibody libraries.
Library Library Positions Size* Screened.sup..dagger. Hu I
framework 256 2.4 .times. 10.sup.3 Hu II framework, HCDR3 1.1
.times. 2.0 .times. 10.sup.6 10.sup.5 Hu III framework, HCDR3, 3.1
.times. 5.5 .times. 10.sup.5 LCDR3 10.sup.7 *Number of unique
clones based on DNA sequence. Thirty-two codons are used to encode
all 20 amino acids at each CDR position.
[0103] An additional library (Hu IV) was synthesized to further
optimize the best variant (clone F4) identified from the Hu III
library. Oligonucleotides encoding LCDR3, designed to mutate a
single CDR residue in each clone, were synthesized by introducing
NN(G/T) at each position (Glaser et. al., (1992)) and were annealed
to uridinylated F4 template (Kunkel, (1985)) which already
contained a .sup.96R.fwdarw.W mutation in LCDR3.
[0104] Combining mutations in LCDR3 and/or HCDR3 with the framework
library increased the potential diversity of humanized anti-CD40
variants from 256 to greater than 10.sup.7. In order to screen
these larger libraries more efficiently a modified plaque lift
assay, termed capture lift, was used (Watkins et. al., (1997)).
Briefly, nitrocellulose filters (82-mm) were coated with goat
anti-human kappa, blocked with 1% BSA, and were applied to an agar
plate containing the phage-infected bacterial lawn. In the initial
screen, phage were plated at 10.sup.5 phage/100-mm plate. After the
capture of phage-expressed anti-CD40 variant Fabs, the filters were
incubated 3 h at 25.degree. C. with 5 ng/ml CD40-Ig in PBS
containing 1% BSA. The filters were rinsed four times with PBS
containing 0.1% Tween 20 and were incubated with goat anti-mouse
IgG.sub.2b-alkaline phosphatase conjugate (Southern Biotechnology)
diluted 3000-fold in PBS containing 1% BSA for 1 h at 25.degree. C.
The filters were washed four times with PBS containing 0.1% Tween
20 and were developed as described (Watkins et. al., (1998)). To
isolate individual clones, positive plaques from the initial screen
were picked, replated at lower density (<10.sup.3 phage/100-mm
plate), and were screened by the same approach. Because the filters
were probed with antigen at a concentration substantially below the
Kd of the Fab only variants displaying enhanced affinity were
detectable. Multiple clones displaying higher affinities were
identified following the screening of >10.sup.6 variants from Hu
II and >10.sup.5 variants from the Hu III library using 82-mm
filters containing 10.sup.5 variants per filter (Table I).
Titration of the variants on immobilized CD40-Ig verified that
multiple clones displayed affinities greater than the chimeric and
humanized Fab (FIG. 2A, compare open squares, filled triangles with
circles).
[0105] The framework/CDR mutations that conferred enhanced affinity
were identified by DNA sequencing. Single-stranded DNA was isolated
and the H and L chain variable region genes were sequenced by the
fluorescent dideoxynucleotide termination method (Perkin-Elmer,
Foster City, Calif.). Unique variable region sequences were
identified in 10/13 Hu II variants and 4/5 Hu III variants. Both
the Hu II and Hu III variants contained 1-5 murine framework
residues and 0-2 CDR3 mutations. Representative examples are
summarized in Table II. The affinities of bacterially-expressed
chimeric Fab and certain variants from each of the libraries were
characterized more thoroughly using surface plasmon resonance
measurements to determine the association and dissociation rates of
purified Fab with immobilized CD40-Ig as described above.
[0106] Chimeric anti-CD40 had a dissociation constant K.sub.d=48.3
nM and, consistent with the screening results, the variants all
displayed higher affinities with K.sub.d ranging from 0.24 nM to
10.5 nM (Table II). Further optimization of LCDR3 of Hu III clone
F4 resulted in the identification of a higher affinity (K.sub.d=0.1
nM) clone, L3.17, which contained a 94 F.fwdarw.Y mutation. The
improved affinities of the anti-CD40 variants were predominantly
the result of slower dissociation rates. However, the association
rates of most variants were also enhanced, increasing by as much as
.apprxeq.3-fold (1.2 vs. 3.2.times.10.sup.6 M.sup.-1s.sup.-1 for
chimeric anti-CD40 and clone L3.17, respectively).
3TABLE II Simultaneous optimization of framework and CDR residues.
1 *The number of murine framework residues that differ from the
most homologous human germline sequence based on definition of CDRs
of Kabat et. al. (1977. 1991) are indicated in parentheses.
Differing murine framework residues retained in the humanized
versions are located predominantly on the H chain (H) at the
indicated positions. Hu I clone 1H11 and the CW43 derivative, clone
Y49K, contain # a single differing L chain (L) framework residue as
position 49. .sup..dagger.Clone Y49K was created by site-directed
mutagenesis of clone CW43. The four clones within the shaded boxed
region, 1H11, 9A3, CW43, and Y49K, were characterized to
demonstrate the co-operative interaction between L chain framework
residue tyr.sup.49 (human) and HCDR3 residue arg.sup.101.
[0107] The variants displaying enhanced affinity were tested for
their ability to block the binding of gp39 ligand to the CD40
receptor. Immulon II microtiter plates were coated with 2 .mu.g/ml
anti-murine CD8 to capture sgp39 fusion protein which expresses the
CD8 domain. The plates were rinsed once with PBS containing 0.05%
Tween 20, and were blocked with 3% BSA in PBS. The plate was washed
once with PBS containing 0.05% Tween 20 and was incubated with cell
culture media containing saturating levels of sgp39 for 2 h at
25.degree. C. Unbound sgp39 was aspirated and the plate was washed
two times with PBS containing 0.05% Tween 20. Next, 25 .mu.l of
purified variant Fabs diluted serially 3-fold in PBS was added
followed by 25 .mu.l of 4 .mu.g/ml CD40-human Ig in PBS. The plates
were incubated 2 h at 25.degree. C. and were washed three times
with PBS containing 0.05% Tween 20. Bound CD40-human Ig was
detected following a 1 h incubation at 25.degree. C. with goat
F(ab').sub.2 anti-human IgG Fc.gamma.-specific horseradish
peroxidase conjugate (Jackson) diluted 10,000-fold in PBS. The
plate was washed four times with PBS containing 0.05% Tween 20 and
binding was quantitated calorimetrically by incubating with 1 mg/ml
o-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride and 0.003% hydrogen peroxide in
50 mM citric acid, 100 mM Na.sub.2HPO.sub.4, pH 5. The reaction was
terminated by the addition of H.sub.2SO.sub.4 to a final
concentration of 0.36 M and the absorbance at 490 nm was
determined. FIG. 2B shows purified variants were tested for their
ability to inhibit sgp39 binding to CD40-Ig. The ligand for the
CD40 receptor, gp39, was captured in a microtiter plate and
subsequently, varying amounts of purified chimeric (filled
circles), Hu 11-CW43 (open squares), Hu III-2B8 (filled triangles),
Hu II/III-2B12 (open triangles), and irrelevant (filled squares)
Fab were co-incubated with 2 .mu.g/ml CD40-human Ig on the
microtiter plate. The variants all inhibited the binding of soluble
CD40-Ig fusion protein to immobilized gp39 antigen in a
dose-dependent manner that correlated with the affinity of the
Fabs. For example, one of the most potent inhibitors of ligand
binding to CD40-Ig fusion protein was variant 2B8, which was also
one of the variants with the highest affinity for CD40. Variant 2B8
displayed .apprxeq.17-fold higher affinity for CD40 than did the
chimeric Fab and inhibited ligand binding .apprxeq.7-fold more
effectively.
[0108] Screening of the Hu I library identified two variants that
were similar or identical in framework sequence to the Hu II clone
CW43 but displayed 5-fold lower affinities (Table II, clones 1H11
and 9A3). Clone 9A3 has an identical framework structure while 1H11
contained the murine lysine framework residue at L chain position
49. Sequence comparisons and site-directed mutagenesis studies
(data not shown) suggest that the beneficial arginine residue at
HCDR3 position 101 might interact with L chain residue tyr.sup.49.
To test this, L chain residue tyr.sup.49 of clone CW43 was mutated
to the lysine murine framework residue, resulting in a variant with
a framework identical to clone 1H11 that also contained the
beneficial arg.sup.101 residue in HCDR3. The resulting mAb, termed
Y49K, displayed 5-fold lower affinity than CW43. Thus, expression
of tyrosine at L chain framework residue 49 or expression of
arginine at HCDR3 residue 101 alone had no beneficial effect on the
mAb affinity, while the concomitant expression of tyrosine and
arginine at these sites improved the mAb affinity 5-fold. The
non-additive, or dependent nature of the mutations demonstrates
that L chain residue tyr.sup.49 and HCDR3 residue arg.sup.101
interact co-operatively to enhance the affinity of the mAb
(Schreiber & Fersht, (1995)). In addition, the co-operative
interaction that was observed between tyr.sup.49 and arg.sup.101
was also observed for variants that expressed lysine at HCDR3
position 101 (Table II).
[0109] Generally, interacting residues are spatially separated by
no more than 7 A (Schreiber & Fersht, 1995)). FIG. 3 shows
molecular modeling of anti-CD40 variant CW43. A top view of the
anti-CD40 variant CW43 variable region structure was created by
homology modeling to examine the spatial relationship of L chain
framework residue Y49 and H chain CDR3 residue R101. The L chain is
on the left and the H chain right with the H chain CDR3 loop
depicted in red. The L chain framework residue 49 is in close
proximity to the H chain CDR3 loop and is 7 .ANG. of the predicted
interacting H chain CDR3 R101 residue. Although the interacting
amino acids are located on distinct chains of the mAb, the residues
are predicted to be within a range (7 .ANG.) to permit co-operative
interaction.
[0110] Throughout this application various publications have been
referenced within parentheses. The disclosures of these
publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by
reference in this application in order to more fully describe the
state of the art to which this invention pertains.
[0111] Although the invention has been described with reference to
the disclosed embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily
appreciate that the specific experiments detailed are only
illustrative of the invention. It should be understood that various
modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the
invention. Accordingly, the invention is limited only by the
following claims.
Sequence CWU 1
1
4 1 107 PRT Mus musculus 1 Asp Ile Val Leu Thr Gln Ser Pro Ala Thr
Leu Ser Val Thr Pro Gly 1 5 10 15 Asp Arg Val Ser Leu Ser Cys Arg
Ala Ser Gln Ser Ile Ser Asp Tyr 20 25 30 Leu His Trp Tyr Gln Gln
Lys Ser His Glu Ser Pro Arg Leu Leu Ile 35 40 45 Lys Tyr Ala Ser
His Ser Ile Ser Gly Ile Pro Ser Arg Phe Ser Gly 50 55 60 Ser Gly
Ser Gly Ser Asp Phe Thr Leu Ser Ile Asn Ser Val Glu Pro 65 70 75 80
Glu Asp Val Gly Ile Tyr Tyr Cys Gln His Gly His Ser Phe Pro Arg 85
90 95 Thr Phe Gly Gly Gly Thr Lys Leu Glu Ile Lys 100 105 2 107 PRT
Homo sapiens 2 Glu Ile Val Leu Thr Gln Ser Pro Ala Thr Leu Ser Leu
Ser Pro Gly 1 5 10 15 Glu Arg Ala Thr Leu Ser Cys Arg Ala Ser Gln
Ser Val Ser Ser Tyr 20 25 30 Leu Ala Trp Tyr Gln Gln Lys Pro Gly
Gln Ala Pro Arg Leu Leu Ile 35 40 45 Tyr Asp Ala Ser Asn Arg Ala
Thr Gly Ile Pro Ala Arg Phe Ser Gly 50 55 60 Ser Gly Ser Gly Thr
Asp Phe Thr Leu Thr Ile Ser Ser Leu Glu Pro 65 70 75 80 Glu Asp Phe
Ala Val Tyr Tyr Cys Gln Gln Arg Ser Asn Trp Pro Leu 85 90 95 Thr
Phe Gly Gly Gly Thr Lys Val Glu Ile Lys 100 105 3 122 PRT Mus
musculus 3 Gln Ile Gln Leu Val Gln Ser Gly Pro Glu Leu Lys Lys Pro
Gly Glu 1 5 10 15 Thr Val Arg Ile Ser Cys Lys Ala Ser Gly Tyr Ala
Phe Thr Thr Thr 20 25 30 Gly Met Gln Trp Val Gln Glu Met Pro Gly
Lys Gly Leu Lys Trp Ile 35 40 45 Gly Trp Ile Asn Thr His Ser Gly
Val Pro Lys Tyr Val Glu Asp Phe 50 55 60 Lys Gly Arg Phe Ala Phe
Ser Leu Glu Thr Ser Ala Asn Thr Ala Tyr 65 70 75 80 Leu Gln Ile Ser
Asn Leu Lys Asn Glu Asp Thr Ala Thr Tyr Phe Cys 85 90 95 Val Arg
Ser Gly Asn Gly Asn Tyr Asp Leu Ala Tyr Phe Ala Tyr Trp 100 105 110
Gly Gln Gly Thr Leu Val Thr Val Ser Ala 115 120 4 113 PRT Homo
sapiens 4 Gln Val Gln Leu Val Gln Ser Gly Ser Glu Leu Lys Lys Pro
Gly Ala 1 5 10 15 Ser Val Lys Val Ser Cys Lys Ala Ser Gly Tyr Thr
Phe Thr Ser Tyr 20 25 30 Ala Met Asn Trp Val Arg Gln Ala Pro Gly
Gln Gly Leu Glu Trp Met 35 40 45 Gly Trp Ile Asn Thr Asn Thr Gly
Asn Pro Thr Tyr Ala Gln Gly Phe 50 55 60 Thr Gly Arg Phe Val Phe
Ser Leu Asp Thr Ser Val Ser Thr Ala Tyr 65 70 75 80 Leu Gln Ile Ser
Ser Leu Lys Ala Glu Asp Thr Ala Val Tyr Tyr Cys 85 90 95 Ala Arg
Tyr Phe Asp Tyr Trp Gly Gln Gly Thr Leu Val Thr Val Ser 100 105 110
Ser
* * * * *