The Bispecific Tumor Antigen-Conditional 4-1BB x 5T4 Agonist, ALG.APV-527, Mediates Strong T-Cell Activation and Potent Antitumor Activity in Preclinical Studies.

4-1BB (CD137) is an activation-induced costimulatory receptor that regulates immune responses of activated CD8 T and natural killer cells, by enhancing proliferation, survival, cytolytic activity, and IFNγ production. The ability to induce potent antitumor activity by stimulating 4-1BB on tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells makes 4-1BB an attractive target for designing novel immuno-oncology therapeutics. To minimize systemic immune toxicities and enhance activity at the tumor site, we have developed a novel bispecific antibody that stimulates 4-1BB function when co-engaged with the tumor-associated antigen 5T4. ALG.APV-527 was built on the basis of the ADAPTIR bispecific platform with optimized binding domains to 4-1BB and 5T4 originating from the ALLIGATOR-GOLD human single-chain variable fragment library. The epitope of ALG.APV-527 was determined to be located at domain 1 and 2 on 4-1BB using X-ray crystallography. As shown in reporter and primary cell assays in vitro, ALG.APV-527 triggers dose-dependent 4-1BB activity mediated only by 5T4 crosslinking. In vivo, ALG.APV-527 demonstrates robust antitumor responses, by inhibiting growth of established tumors expressing human 5T4 followed by a long-lasting memory immune response. ALG.APV-527 has an antibody-like half-life in cynomolgus macaques and was well tolerated at 50.5 mg/kg. ALG.APV-527 is uniquely designed for 5T4-conditional 4-1BB-mediated antitumor activity with potential to minimize systemic immune activation and hepatotoxicity while providing efficacious tumor-specific responses in a range of 5T4-expressing tumor indications as shown by robust activity in preclinical in vitro and in vivo models. On the basis of the combined preclinical dataset, ALG.APV-527 has potential as a promising anticancer therapeutic for the treatment of 5T4-expressing tumors.

Structural Evidence of a Major Conformational Change Triggered by Substrate Binding in DapE Enzymes: Impact on the Catalytic Mechanism.

The X-ray crystal structure of the dapE-encoded N-succinyl-l,l-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase from Haemophilus influenzae (HiDapE) bound by the products of hydrolysis, succinic acid and l,l-DAP, was determined at 1.95 Å. Surprisingly, the structure bound to the products revealed that HiDapE undergoes a significant conformational change in which the catalytic domain rotates ∼50° and shifts ∼10.1 Å (as measured at the position of the Zn atoms) relative to the dimerization domain. This heretofore unobserved closed conformation revealed significant movements within the catalytic domain compared to that of wild-type HiDapE, which results in effectively closing off access to the dinuclear Zn(II) active site with the succinate carboxylate moiety bridging the dinculear Zn(II) cluster in a µ-1,3 fashion forming a bis(µ-carboxylato)dizinc(II) core with a Zn-Zn distance of 3.8 Å. Surprisingly, His194.B, which is located on the dimerization domain of the opposing chain ∼10.1 Å from the dinuclear Zn(II) active site, forms a hydrogen bond (2.9 Å) with the oxygen atom of succinic acid bound to Zn2, forming an oxyanion hole. As the closed structure forms upon substrate binding, the movement of His194.B by more than ∼10 Å is critical, based on site-directed mutagenesis data, for activation of the scissile carbonyl carbon of the substrate for nucleophilic attack by a hydroxide nucleophile. Employing the HiDapE product-bound structure as the starting point, a reverse engineering approach called product-based transition-state modeling provided structural models for each major catalytic step. These data provide insight into the catalytic reaction mechanism and also the future design of new, potent inhibitors of DapE enzymes.

MOR209/ES414, a Novel Bispecific Antibody Targeting PSMA for the Treatment of Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

Treatment of metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains a highly unmet medical need and current therapies ultimately result in disease progression. Immunotherapy is a rapidly growing approach for treatment of cancer but has shown limited success to date in the treatment of mCRPC. We have developed a novel humanized bispecific antibody, MOR209/ES414, built on the ADAPTIR (modular protein technology) platform, to redirect T-cell cytotoxicity toward prostate cancer cells by specifically targeting T cells through CD3ε to prostate cancer cells expressing PSMA (prostate-specific membrane antigen). In vitro cross-linking of T cells with PSMA-expressing tumor cells by MOR209/ES414 triggered potent target-dependent tumor lysis and induction of target-dependent T-cell activation and proliferation. This activity occurred at low picomolar concentrations of MOR209/ES414 and was effective at low T-effector to tumor target cell ratios. In addition, cytotoxic activity was equivalent over a wide range of PSMA expression on target cells, suggesting that as few as 3,700 PSMA receptors per cell are sufficient for tumor lysis. In addition to high sensitivity and in vitro activity, MOR209/ES414 induced limited production of cytokines compared with other bispecific antibody formats. Pharmacokinetic analysis of MOR209/ES414 demonstrated a serum elimination half-life in NOD/SCID γ (NSG) mice of 4 days. Administration of MOR209/ES414 in murine xenograft models of human prostate cancer significantly inhibited tumor growth, prolonged survival, and decreased serum prostate-specific antigen levels only in the presence of adoptively transferred human T cells. On the basis of these preclinical findings, MOR209/ES414 warrants further investigation as a potential therapeutic for the treatment of CRPC. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(9); 2155-65. ©2016 AACR.

A novel highly potent therapeutic antibody neutralizes multiple human chemokines and mimics viral immune modulation.

Chemokines play a key role in leukocyte recruitment during inflammation and are implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of autoimmune diseases. As such, inhibiting chemokine signaling has been of keen interest for the development of therapeutic agents. This endeavor, however, has been hampered due to complexities in the chemokine system. Many chemokines have been shown to signal through multiple receptors and, conversely, most chemokine receptors bind to more than one chemokine. One approach to overcoming this complexity is to develop a single therapeutic agent that binds and inactivates multiple chemokines, similar to an immune evasion strategy utilized by a number of viruses. Here, we describe the development and characterization of a novel therapeutic antibody that targets a subset of human CC chemokines, specifically CCL3, CCL4, and CCL5, involved in chronic inflammatory diseases. Using a sequential immunization approach, followed by humanization and phage display affinity maturation, a therapeutic antibody was developed that displays high binding affinity towards the three targeted chemokines. In vitro, this antibody potently inhibits chemotaxis and chemokine-mediated signaling through CCR1 and CCR5, primary chemokine receptors for the targeted chemokines. Furthermore, we have demonstrated in vivo efficacy of the antibody in a SCID-hu mouse model of skin leukocyte migration, thus confirming its potential as a novel therapeutic chemokine antagonist. We anticipate that this antibody will have broad therapeutic utility in the treatment of a number of autoimmune diseases due to its ability to simultaneously neutralize multiple chemokines implicated in disease pathogenesis.

ProteinTracker: an application for managing protein production and purification.

BACKGROUND: Laboratories that produce protein reagents for research and development face the challenge of deciding whether to track batch-related data using simple file based storage mechanisms (e.g. spreadsheets and notebooks), or commit the time and effort to install, configure and maintain a more complex laboratory information management system (LIMS). Managing reagent data stored in files is challenging because files are often copied, moved, and reformatted. Furthermore, there is no simple way to query the data if/when questions arise. Commercial LIMS often include additional modules that may be paid for but not actually used, and often require software expertise to truly customize them for a given environment. FINDINGS: This web-application allows small to medium-sized protein production groups to track data related to plasmid DNA, conditioned media samples (supes), cell lines used for expression, and purified protein information, including method of purification and quality control results. In addition, a request system was added that includes a means of prioritizing requests to help manage the high demand of protein production resources at most organizations. ProteinTracker makes extensive use of existing open-source libraries and is designed to track essential data related to the production and purification of proteins. CONCLUSIONS: ProteinTracker is an open-source web-based application that provides organizations with the ability to track key data involved in the production and purification of proteins and may be modified to meet the specific needs of an organization. The source code and database setup script can be downloaded from http://sourceforge.net/projects/proteintracker. This site also contains installation instructions and a user guide. A demonstration version of the application can be viewed at http://www.proteintracker.org.

The dapE-encoded N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase from Haemophilus influenzae contains two active-site histidine residues.

The catalytic and structural properties of the H67A and H349A dapE-encoded N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE) from Haemophilus influenzae were investigated. On the basis of sequence alignment with the carboxypeptidase from Pseudomonas sp. strain RS-16, both H67 and H349 were predicted to be Zn(II) ligands. The H67A DapE enzyme exhibited a decreased catalytic efficiency (180-fold) compared with wild-type (WT) DapE towards N-succinyldiaminopimelic acid. No catalytic activity was observed for H349A under the experimental conditions used. The electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and electronic absorption data indicate that the Co(II) ion bound to H349A-DapE is analogous to that of WT DapE after the addition of a single Co(II) ion. The addition of 1 equiv of Co(II) to H67A DapE provides spectra that are very different from those of the first Co(II) binding site of the WT enzyme, but that are similar to those of the second binding site. The EPR and electronic absorption data, in conjunction with the kinetic data, are consistent with the assignment of H67 and H349 as active-site metal ligands for the DapE from H. influenzae. Furthermore, the data suggest that H67 is a ligand in the first metal binding site, while H349 resides in the second metal binding site. A three-dimensional homology structure of the DapE from H. influenzae was generated using the X-ray crystal structure of the DapE from Neisseria meningitidis as a template and superimposed on the structure of the aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica (AAP). This homology structure confirms the assignment of H67 and H349 as active-site ligands. The superimposition of the homology model of DapE with the dizinc(II) structure of AAP indicates that within 4.0 A of the Zn(II) binding sites of AAP all of the amino acid residues of DapE are nearly identical.

The high-resolution structures of the neutral and the low pH crystals of aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica.

The aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica (AAP) contains two zinc ions in the active site and catalyzes the degradation of peptides. Herein we report the crystal structures of AAP at 0.95-A resolution at neutral pH and at 1.24-A resolution at low pH. The combination of these structures allowed the precise modeling of atomic positions, the identification of the metal bridging oxygen species, and insight into the physical properties of the metal ions. On the basis of these structures, a new putative catalytic mechanism is proposed for AAP that is likely relevant to all binuclear metalloproteases.

Kinetic and spectroscopic characterization of the E134A- and E134D-altered dapE-encoded N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase from Haemophilus influenzae.

Glutamate-134 (E134) is proposed to act as the general acid/base during the hydrolysis reaction catalyzed by the dapE-encoded N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE) from Haemophilus influenzae. To date, no direct evidence has been reported for the role of E134 during catalytic turnover by DapE. In order to elucidate the catalytic role of E134, altered DapE enzymes were prepared in which E134 was substituted with an alanine and an aspartate residue. The Michaelis constant (K (m)) does not change upon substitution with aspartate but the rate of the reaction changes drastically in the following order: glutamate (100% activity), aspartate (0.09%), and alanine (0%). Examination of the pH dependence of the kinetic constants k (cat) and K (m) for E134D-DapE revealed ionizations at pH 6.4, 7.4, and approximately 9.7. Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments revealed a significant weakening in metal K (d) values of E134D-DapE. D134 and A134 perturb the second divalent metal binding site significantly more than the first, but both altered enzymes can still bind two divalent metal ions. Structural perturbations of the dinuclear active site of DapE were also examined for two E134-substituted forms, namely E134D-DapE and E134A-DapE, by UV-vis and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. UV-vis spectroscopy of Co(II)-substituted E134D-DapE and E134A-DapE did not reveal any significant changes in the electronic absorption spectra, suggesting that both Co(II) ions in E134D-DapE and E134A-DapE reside in distorted trigonal bipyramidal coordination geometries. EPR spectra of [Co_(E134D-DapE)] and [Co_(E1341A-DapE] are similar to those observed for [CoCo(DapE)] and somewhat similar to the spectrum of [Co(H(2)O)(6)](2+) which typically exhibit E/D values of approximately 0.1. Computer simulation returned an axial g-tensor with g ((x,y))=2.24 and E/D=0.07; g ( z ) was only poorly determined, but was estimated as 2.5-2.6. Upon the addition of a second Co(II) ion to [Co_(E134D-DapE)] and [Co_(E134A-DapE)], a broad axial signal was observed; however, no signals were observed with B (0)||B (1) ("parallel mode"). On the basis of these data, E134 is intrinsically involved in the hydrolysis reaction catalyzed by DapE and likely plays the role of a general acid and base.

Spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic characterization of bestatin bound to the aminopeptidase from Aeromonas (Vibrio) proteolytica.

Binding of the competitive, slow-binding inhibitor bestatin ([(2S,3R)-3-amino-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutanoy]-leucine) to the aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica (AAP) was examined by both spectroscopic and crystallographic methods. Electronic absorption spectra of the catalytically competent [Co_(AAP)], [CoCo(AAP)], and [ZnCo(AAP)] enzymes recorded in the presence of bestatin revealed that both of the divalent metal ions in AAP are involved in binding bestatin. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum of the [CoCo(AAP)]-bestatin complex exhibited no observable perpendicular- or parallel-mode signal. These data indicate that the two Co(II) ions in AAP are antiferromagnetically coupled yielding an S = 0 ground state and suggest that a single oxygen atom bridges between the two divalent metal ions. The EPR data obtained for [CoZn(AAP)] and [ZnCo(AAP)] confirm that bestatin interacts with both metal ions. The X-ray crystal structure of the [ZnZn(AAP)]-bestatin complex was solved to 2.0 A resolution. Both side chains of bestatin occupy a well-defined hydrophobic pocket that is adjacent to the dinuclear Zn(II) active site. The amino acid residues ligated to the dizinc(II) cluster in AAP are identical to those in the native structure with only minor perturbations in bond length. The alkoxide oxygen of bestatin bridges between the two Zn(II) ions in the active site, displacing the bridging water molecule observed in the native [ZnZn(AAP)] structure. The M-M distances observed in the AAP-bestatin complex and native AAP are identical (3.5 A) with alkoxide oxygen atom distances of 2.1 and 1.9 A from Zn1 and Zn2, respectively. Interestingly, the backbone carbonyl oxygen atom of bestatin is coordinated to Znl at a distance of 2.3 A. In addition, the NH(2) group of bestatin, which mimics the N-terminal amine group of an incoming peptide, binds to Zn2 with a bond distance of 2.3 A. A combination of the spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic data presented herein with the previously reported mechanistic data for AAP has provided additional insight into the substrate-binding step of peptide hydrolysis as well as insight into important small molecule features for inhibitor design.

The dapE-encoded N-succinyl-l,l-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase from Haemophilus influenzae is a dinuclear metallohydrolase.

The Zn K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra, of the dapE-encoded N-succinyl-l,l-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE) from Haemophilus influenzae have been recorded in the presence of one or two equivalents of Zn(II) (i.e. [Zn_(DapE)] and [ZnZn(DapE)]). The Fourier transforms of the Zn EXAFS are dominated by a peak at ca. 2.0 A, which can be fit for both [Zn_(DapE)] and [ZnZn(DapE)], assuming ca. 5 (N,O) scatterers at 1.96 and 1.98 A, respectively. A second-shell feature at ca. 3.34 A appears in the [ZnZn(DapE)] EXAFS spectrum but is significantly diminished in [Zn_(DapE)]. These data show that DapE contains a dinuclear Zn(II) active site. Since no X-ray crystallographic data are available for any DapE enzyme, these data provide the first glimpse at the active site of DapE enzymes. In addition, the EXAFS data for DapE incubated with two competitive inhibitors, 2-carboxyethylphosphonic acid and 5-mercaptopentanoic acid, are also presented.

Substrate specificity, metal binding properties, and spectroscopic characterization of the DapE-encoded N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase from Haemophilus influenzae.

The catalytic and structural properties of divalent metal ion cofactor binding sites in the dapE-encoded N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE) from Haemophilus influenzae were investigated. Co(II)-substituted DapE enzyme was 25% more active than the Zn(II)-loaded form of the enzyme. Interestingly, Mn(II) can activate DapE, but only to approximately 20% of the Zn(II)-loaded enzyme. The order of the observed k(cat) values are Co(II) > Zn(II) > Cd(II) > Mn(II) >Ni(II) approximately equal Cu(II) approximately equal Mg(II). DapE was shown to only hydrolyze L,L-N-succinyl-diaminopimelic acid (L,L-SDAP) and was inactive toward D,L-, L,D-, and D,D-SDAP. DapE was also inactive toward several acetylated amino acids as well as D,L-succinyl aminopimelate, which differs from the natural substrate, L,L-SDAP, by the absence of the amine group on the amino acid side chain. These data imply that the carboxylate of the succinyl moiety and the amine form important interactions with the active site of DapE. The affinity of DapE for one versus two Zn(II) ions differs by nearly 2.2 x 10(3) times (K(d1) = 0.14 microM vs K(d2) = 300 microM). In addition, an Arrhenius plot was constructed from k(cat) values measured between 16 and 35 degrees C and was linear over this temperature range. The activation energy for [ZnZn(DapE)] was found to be 31 kJ/mol with the remaining thermodynamic parameters calculated at 25 degrees C being DeltaG(++) = 64 kJ/mol, DeltaH(++) = 28.5 kJ/mol, and DeltaS(++) = -119 J mol(-1) K(-1). Electronic absorption and EPR spectra of [Co_(DapE)] and [CoCo(DapE)] indicate that the first Co(II) binding site is five-coordinate, while the second site is octahedral. In addition, any spin-spin interaction between the two Co(II) ions in [CoCo(DapE)] is very weak. The kinetic and spectroscopic data presented herein suggest that the DapE from H. influenzae has similar divalent metal binding properties to the aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica (AAP), and the observed divalent metal ion binding properties are discussed with respect to their catalytic roles in SDAP hydrolysis.

The 1.20 A resolution crystal structure of the aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica complexed with tris: a tale of buffer inhibition.

The aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica (AAP) is a bridged bimetallic enzyme that removes the N-terminal amino acid from a peptide chain. To fully understand the metal roles in the reaction pathway of AAP we have solved the 1.20 A resolution crystal structure of native AAP (PDB ID = 1LOK). The high-quality electron density maps showed a single Tris molecule chelated to the active site Zn(2+), alternate side chain conformations for some side chains, a sodium ion that mediates a crystal contact, a surface thiocyanate ion, and several potential hydrogen atoms. In addition, the high precision of the atomic positions has led to insight into the protonation states of some of the active site amino acid side chains.

Hydrolysis of thionopeptides by the aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica: insight into substrate binding.

A series of L-leucine aniline analogues were synthesized that contained either a carbonyl or thiocarbonyl as a part of the amide bond. Additionally, the para-position on the phenyl ring of several substrates was altered with various electron-withdrawing or donating groups. The kinetic constants K(m) and k(cat) were determined for the hydrolysis of each of these compounds in the presence of the aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica (AAP) containing either Zn(II) or Cd(II). The dizinc(II) form of AAP ([ZnZn(AAP)]) was able to cleave both carbonyl and thiocarbonyl containing peptide substrates with similar efficiency. However, the dicadmium(II) form of AAP ([CdCd(AAP)]) was unable to cleave any of the carbonyl-containing compounds tested but was able to cleave the thionopeptide substrates. This is consistent with the borderline hard/soft nature of Zn(II) vs Cd(II). The trends observed in the K(m) values suggest that the oxygen atom of the amide bond directly interacts with the dinuclear active site of AAP. Heterodimetallic forms of AAP that contained one atom of Zn(II) and one of Cd(II) (i.e., [CdZn(AAP)] and [ZnCd(AAP)]) were also prepared. The K(m) values for the thionopeptides substrates are the smallest when Cd(II) is in the first metal binding site, suggesting that substrate binds to the first metal binding site. 1-Phenyl-2-thiourea (PTU) and urea (PU) were also examined to determine the differences between thionopeptide and peptide binding to AAP. PTU and PU were found to be competitive inhibitors of AAP with inhibition constants of 0.24 and 4.6 mM, respectively. The electronic absorption and EPR spectra of [CoCo(AAP)], [CoZn(AAP)], and [ZnCo(AAP)] were recorded in the absence and presence of both PU and PTU. Spectral changes were observed for PTU binding to [CoCo(AAP)] and [CoZn(AAP)] but not for [ZnCo(AAP)], while no spectral changes were observed for any of the Co(II)-substituted forms of AAP upon the addition of PU. These data indicate that carbonyl binding occurs only at the first metal binding site. In light of the data presented herein, the substrate binding step in the proposed mechanism of AAP catalyzed peptide hydrolysis can be further refined.

The aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica can function as an esterase.

The aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica (AAP) can catalyze the hydrolysis of L-leucine ethyl ester ( L-Leu-OEt) with a rate of 96 +/- 5 s-1 and a Km of 700 microM. The observed turnover number for L-Leu-OEt hydrolysis by AAP is similar to that observed for peptide hydrolysis, which is 67 +/- 5 s-1. The k(cat) values for the hydrolysis of L-Leu-OEt and L-leucine- p-nitroanilide ( L- pNA) catalyzed by AAP were determined at different pH values under saturating substrate concentrations. Construction of an Arrhenius plot from the temperature dependence of AAP-catalyzed ester hydrolysis indicates that the rate-limiting step does not change as a function of temperature and is product formation. The activation energy ( Ea) for the activated ES ester complex is 13.7 kJ mol-1, while the enthalpy and entropy of activation at 25 degrees C calculated over the temperature range 298-338 K are 11.2 kJ mol-1 and -175 J K-1 mol-1, respectively. The free energy of activation at 25 degrees C was found to be 63.4 kJ mol-1. The enthalpy of ionization was also measured and was found to be very similar for both peptide and ester substrates, yielding values of 20 kJ mol-1 for L-Leu-OEt and 25 kJ mol-1 for L- pNA. For peptide and L-amino acid ester cleavage reactions catalyzed by AAP, and 6.07, respectively. Proton inventory data suggest that two protons are transferred in the rate-limiting step of ester hydrolysis while only one is transferred in peptide hydrolysis. The combination of these data with the available X-ray crystallographic, kinetic, spectroscopic, and thermodynamic data for AAP provides new insight into the catalytic mechanism of AAP.