Identification and characterisation of monoclonal antibodies that impair the activation of human thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor through different mechanisms.

Thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) forms a molecular link between coagulation and fibrinolysis and is a putative target to develop profibrinolytic drugs. Out of a panel of monoclonal antibodies (MA) raised against TAFI-ACIIYQ, we selected MA-TCK11A9, MA-TCK22G2 and MA-TCK27A4, which revealed high affinity towards human TAFI-TI-wt. MA-TCK11A9 was able to inhibit mainly plasmin-mediated TAFI activation, MA-TCK22G2 inhibited plasmin- and thrombin-mediated TAFI activation and MA-TCK27A4 inhibited TAFI activation by plasmin, thrombin and thrombin/thrombomodulin (T/TM) in a dose-dependent manner. These MA did not interfere with TAFIa activity. Using an eight-fold molar excess of MA over TAFI, all three MA were able to reduce clot lysis time significantly, i.e. in the presence of exogenous TM, MA-TCK11A9, MA-TCK22G2 and MA-TCK27A4 reduced clot lysis time by 47 ± 9.1%, 80 ± 8.6% and 92 ± 14%, respectively, compared to PTCI. This effect was even more pronounced in the absence of TM i.e. MA-TCK11A9, MA-TCK22G2 and MA-TCK27A4 reduced clot lysis time by 90 ± 14%, 140 ± 12% and 147 ± 29%, respectively, compared to PTCI. Mutagenesis analysis revealed that residues at position 268, 272 and 276 are involved in the binding of MA-TCK11A9, residues 147 and 148 in the binding of MA-TCK22G2 and residue 113 in the binding of MA-TCK27A4. The present study identified three MA, with distinct epitopes, that impair the activation of human TAFI and demonstrated that MA-TCK11A9 which mainly impairs plasmin-mediated TAFI activation can also reduce significantly clot lysis time in vitro.

Comparative study of inhibitory antibody derivatives towards thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor.

Thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) attenuates fibrinolysis and is considered as an attractive drug target. We generated two different antibody fragments, an antigen-binding fragment (Fab) and a single-chain variable fragment (scFv), derived from three distinct monoclonal antibodies (MAs) that inhibit the activation of TAFI by the thrombin/thrombomodulin complex (T/TM) and plasmin (MA-T1C10 and MA-T94H3) or by T/TM alone (MA-T12D11). The Fabs were obtained by papain digestion of the purified MAs, whereas the scFvs were cloned and subsequently expressed in bacteria. All antibody fragments revealed similar or slightly decreased affinities compared to those of the respective MAs, except scFv-T94H3. In the presence of a 16-fold molar excess of all antibody fragments, activation of TAFI by T/TM was completely blocked. Furthermore, Fab and scFv-derivatives from MA-T1C10 and MA-T94H3 were capable of interfering with the plasmin-mediated activation of TAFI. Addition of 850 nM of MA, Fab or scFv to an in-vitro clot lysis assay caused a significant reduction of clot lysis time (except for scFv-T94H3) and this effect was comparable to that of potato tuber carboxypeptidase inhibitor, a well-known TAFIa inhibitor. Dose-response experiments with the antibody (derivatives) in clot lysis and chromogenic assay revealed that the inhibitory capacity of the Fabs was comparable to that of the MAs, whereas the scFvs had a more reduced potency. In conclusion, these highly specific TAFI inhibitors are interesting tools to further evaluate the concept of TAFI inhibition in various in-vitro and in-vivo models.

Differential accumulation of hypericin in spheroids composed of T-24 transitional cell carcinoma cells expressing different levels of E-cadherin.

PURPOSE: To obtain unambiguous evidence for the putative role of E-cadherin in the selective accumulation of hypericin after intravesical instillation in humans we investigated the accumulation of hypericin in spheroids from 3 clones of the human bladder carcinoma cell line T-24 that express different levels of E-cadherin, as determined by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clones of T-24 cells transfected with the E-cadherin gene were analyzed for E-cadherin expression and 3 cell lines with different expression levels were selected. Spheroids of these cell lines were incubated with 10 microM hypericin in cell culture medium supplemented or not with fetal calf serum for 2 hours. After the incubation period centrally cut sections were examined by fluorescence microscopy. An imaging software system was used to measure average fluorescence in concentric layers from rim to center. RESULTS: Data showed that in the presence of serum the accumulation of hypericin in spheroids was inversely associated with the level of E-cadherin expressed by the T-24 transfectants used, whereas in the absence of serum differential accumulation of the compound was completely abolished. CONCLUSIONS: Spheroids composed of cancer cell lines expressing variable levels of E-cadherin represent an excellent model in which to study the role of intercellular adhesion in bladder cancer. The outcome of this study strongly suggests that E-cadherin is the key mediator in the selective accumulation of hypericin in superficial bladder cancer after intravesical instillation in humans.