Practical considerations in the production, purification, and formulation of monoclonal antibodies for immunoscintigraphy and immunotherapy.

Issues associated with the large-scale production of monoclonal antibodies for pharmaceutical applications are examined. The development of a commercial monoclonal antibody production process involves much more than just scaling-up the laboratory process and making it cost-effective. It involves establishing the hybridoma cell bank with cells that are free of adventitious agents such as viruses and mycoplasma, that have stability in continuous culture for antibody-production rate and cell viability, and that do not have unusual or expensive media requirements. The style and mode of operation of the bioreactor used to produce the antibody must be explored. The antibody-based product must be processed to high levels of purity, and specific contaminants such as DNA and endotoxin must be reduced to extremely low levels. Appropriate labeling or drug conjugation chemistries must also be developed. The product must be formulated so that it has performance characteristics that are stable over a reasonable period of time. Adequate test procedures must be developed to assure product purity, activity, stability, and safety on a lot-to-lot-basis. Compliance with federal regulations, guidelines, and procedures must be guaranteed. In the coming decade, it is likely that the two arms of biotechnology, hybridoma technology and recombinant DNA technology, will be used together to generate unique protein molecules. These new reagents will face the same practical considerations summarized in this review.

Efficacy of type-specific and cross-reactive murine monoclonal antibodies directed against endotoxin during experimental sepsis.

To study the role of antibodies in promoting survival during gram-negative bacterial sepsis, we have developed several murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). One MAb (5B10) reacted in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with only a single organism (Escherichia coli 0111:B4), while the other (8A1) reacted to all gram-negative whole-cell and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigens examined. Either 5B10 MAb, 8A1 MAb, or sterile saline solution was administered intravenously to outbred male Swiss-Webster mice immediately before one of three challenges: (1) viable bacteria intravenously, (2) viable bacteria with hemoglobin intraperitoneally, or (3) intravenous actinomycin D plus LPS. 5B10 MAb provided significant protection against either an E. coli 0111:B4 bacterial or LPS challenge but not against any other organism or type of LPS. 8A1 MAb provided protection against several challenge bacteria (intravenously or intraperitoneally) and against all types of LPS studied except Pseudomonas aeruginosa LPS. A higher dose (2 mg) of cross-reactive antibody (8A1 MAb) was required to produce protection when compared with the type-specific protection produced with 5B10 MAb (0.1 mg). Although ideal antibody therapy would consist of directing a specific MAb against a single microorganism, the acute nature of the disease process and time required to prepare reagents may preclude the use of type-specific MAbs. We believe that the cross-reactive and cross-protective capacity of 8A1 MAb or a similar MAb may be useful in averting the lethal effects of clinical gram-negative bacterial sepsis and warrants testing in the clinical setting.

Enhanced survival during murine gram-negative bacterial sepsis by use of a murine monoclonal antibody.

We developed a murine monoclonal antibody (5B10 MAb) that reacted in vitro specifically to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) obtained from Escherichia coli 0111:B4. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) titers to a variety of gram-negative bacterial whole cell and LPS antigens demonstrated that this antibody may react with the O antigen portion of 0111:B4 LPS. We then examined the ability of this antibody to protect mice in vivo against a challenge of either viable bacteria or purified LPS. One milligram of 5B10 MAb was administered intraperitoneally (IP) and protected against a lethal challenge of either viable E coli 0111:B4 or 0111:B4 LPS, but no other type of bacterial or LPS challenge. Protection occurred in an antibody dose-dependent manner, and as little as 0.01 mg of 5B10 MAb enhanced survival. We concluded that IP pretreatment with a single MAb would protect against lethal sepsis or endotoxemia in this animal model and that anti-LPS specificity was a sufficient condition for an antibody to protect during bacteremia, confirming the importance of LPS in the pathogenesis of gram-negative bacterial sepsis.

Immunoprotective murine monoclonal antibodies specific for the outer-core polysaccharide and for the O-antigen of Escherichia coli 0111:B4 lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

The antigen specificity of two immunoprotective monoclonal antibodies derived from mice immunized with Escherichia coli 0111:B4 bacteria and boosted with purified lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were investigated. One of the antibodies, B7, was shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunostaining to bind to the O-antigen containing LPS species, whereas the other antibody, 5B10, reacted with both O-antigen containing homologs and the O-antigen-deficient LPS. 5B10 did not bind to LPS from E. coli J5, an Rc mutant of E. coli 0111:B4 that lacks both the O-antigen and outer core sugars. 5B10 did not cross-react with LPS from several other E. coli strains. Thus 5B10 appeared to recognize a type-specific epitope in the outer core of LPS exclusive of Rc determinants. The monoclonal antibody specific for the polymeric O-antigen is of the IgG3 subclass, and the monoclonal antibody 5B10 specific for the outer core of LPS is an IgG2a. Although B7 and 5B10 were equally able to protect mice from a lethal challenge of E. coli 0111:B4 organisms, the outer core-specific IgG2a antibody was much more efficient at mediating the binding of human complement C3 than the O-antigen-specific IgG3 monoclonal antibody.

A Ser162/Gly162 polymorphism in Japanese quail ovomucoid.

Japanese quail ovomucoid exists in two polymorphic forms. One has serine, the other glycine at position 162. The tryptic peptide corresponding to positions 160 to 164 was purified from ovomucoids isolated from egg whites of eggs laid by 11 different hens and subjected to amino acid analysis. The quantitative distribution of serine and glycine in this pentapeptide is consistent with the interpretation that the ovomucoid gene exists in two codominant allelic forms at one locus. Even though the gene product is apparently expressed only in the female, these results indicate that the ovomucoid structural gene is transmitted as a simple Mendelian character which is neither sex-linked nor shows dominance. Intact third domains (positions 131 to 186) isolated from the two allelic forms of ovomucoid interact with bovine beta-trypsin in a similar but not identical manner; the complex with the glycine form dissociates more rapidly. Evidence is presented which suggests that glycine is the ancestral residue at position 162; yet, the serine form is the more frequent phenotype.

Isolation and characterization of murine monoclonal antibodies specific for gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide: association of cross-genus reactivity with lipid A specificity.

Somatic cell hybrids secreting monoclonal antibodies against the core-glycolipid portion of enterobacterial endotoxin were derived from mice immunized with Escherichia coli J5 or Salmonella minnesota R595 heat-killed organisms or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Eight antibodies were selected for their ability to cross-react with several members of a panel of gram-negative bacterial antigens in a radioimmunoassay. This panel represented five genera and two families of organisms: E. coli O111:B4, E. coli O55:B5, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella minnesota, and Serratia marcescens. The binding sites for six of the antibodies were unequivocally localized within the lipid A moiety of the endotoxin molecule by using the radioimmunoassay on LPS and free lipid A. The anti-lipid A antibodies were further characterized for their ability to interact with LPS variants by using a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunostaining procedure. The monoclonal antibodies bound almost exclusively to the low-molecular-weight species of LPS on the polyacrylamide gel. These components corresponded to LPS isolated from rough strains of organisms (strains which lack O-specific carbohydrate). These results suggested that the cross-reactive component of antisera raised against rough mutants of gram-negative bacteria contain antibodies of lipid A specificity. Moreover, the determinant within the lipid A moiety of LPS may have been accessible to the monoclonal antibodies only in those endotoxin molecules on the outer membrane surface which lack the O-specific carbohydrate.

Monoclonal anti-lipid A IgM antibodies HA-1A and E-5 recognize distinct epitopes on lipopolysaccharide and lipid A.

Specific binding of two monoclonal IgM antibodies previously investigated as therapeutic agents for treating gram-negative septic shock, HA-1A and E5, was assessed with respect to lipid A and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Both antibodies bound to lipid A; however, binding of HA-1A was significantly greater than that of E5 to LPS derived from rough strains of bacteria. Reciprocal competitive inhibition experiments supported the concept that HA-1A and E5 bind to distinct epitopes on lipid A. Further, competitive inhibition studies using a monoclonal anti-idiotype antibody with specificity for the variable region of HA-1A suggested that HA-1A and E5 do not share a common idiotype. Finally, studies using double-stranded DNA as antigen indicated that E5 but not HA-1A will bind to DNA. Collectively, these data indicate that HA-1A and E5 are different lipid A-specific antibodies that bind to distinct epitopes on lipid A.

Monoclonal antibodies specific for Escherichia coli J5 lipopolysaccharide: cross-reaction with other gram-negative bacterial species.

Four monoclonal antibodies against Escherichia coli J5 were studied. Each of these monoclonal antibodies reacted with purified lipopolysaccharides from E. coli J5, the deep rough mutant Salmonella minnesota Re595, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 as well as with the purified lipid A of P. aeruginosa. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using the outer membranes from a variety of gram-negative bacteria demonstrated that these lipid A-specific monoclonal antibodies interacted with between 84 and 97% of the gram-negative bacterial species tested. One of the monoclonal antibodies, 5E4, was shown to interact with 34 of the 35 outer membrane or lipopolysaccharide antigens tested. Immunoenzymatic staining of Western electrophoretic blots of separated P. aeruginosa outer membrane components was used to demonstrate that antibody 5E4 interacted with a similar fast-migrating band, corresponding to rough lipopolysaccharide, from all 17 serotype strains and all 14 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa. Similarly, iodinated goat anti-mouse immunoglobulin was used to detect the binding of monoclonal antibody 8A1 to a fast-migrating band on Western electrophoretic blots of purified lipopolysaccharides from Klebsiella pneumoniae and both smooth and rough strains of E. coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and S. minnesota. These results suggest considerable conservation of single antigenic sites in the lipid A of gram-negative bacteria.

One- and two-dimensional NMR spectral analysis of the consequences of single amino acid replacements in proteins.

The traditional approach of using homologous sequences to elucidate the role of specific amino acid residues in protein structure and function becomes more meaningful as the number of differences is minimized, with the limit being alteration of a single residue. For small proteins in solution, NMR spectroscopy offers a means of obtaining detailed information about each residue and its response to a given change in the protein sequence. Extraction of this information has been aided by recent progress in spectrometer technology (higher magnetic fields, more sensitive signal detection, more sophisticated computers) and experimental strategies (new NMR pulse sequences including multiple-quantum and two-dimensional NMR methods). The set of avian ovomucoid third domains, which consists of the third domain proper plus a short leader (connecting peptide) and has a maximum of 56 amino acid residues, offers an attractive system for developing experimental methods for investigating sequence-structure and structure-function relationships in proteins. Our NMR results provide examples of sequence effects on pKa' values, average conformation, and internal motion of amino acid side chains.

Human monoclonal antibody HA-1A binds to endotoxin via an epitope in the lipid A domain of lipopolysaccharide.

HA-1A, a human IgM mAb, has been shown to significantly reduce mortality in septic patients with Gram-negative bacteremia, especially those with septic shock, in a controlled clinical trial. To confirm the reported specificity of this antibody for the lipid A domain of endotoxin, several assay systems were developed. These assay systems included an ELISA, which measured the binding of HA-1A to lipid A adsorbed to a solid phase; a rate nephelometry assay, which measured the ability of HA-1A to bind and aggregate lipid A in solution; and a dot-blot immunoassay, which measured the ability of HA-1A to interact with lipid A adsorbed to Immobilon-P. In all three assay systems, HA-1A bound in a dose-dependent manner to lipid A prepared from Salmonella minnesota R595 LPS, whereas negative control human IgM mAb or polyclonal antibodies did not. Several experimental approaches were employed to demonstrate the specificity of HA-1A in these assay systems. Both polymyxin B and murine IgG mAb (8A1) with a specificity for lipid A were able to competitively inhibit HA-1A reactivity with lipid A in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, a murine IgG anti-Id mAb (9B5.5) developed against HA-1A was also able to block the binding of HA-1A to lipid A in these assay formats. HA-1A reactivity with synthetic lipid A confirmed that HA-1A binding to the natural lipid A was not the result of contaminants in the latter. Finally, the reactivity of HA-1A against a variety of glucosamine-containing and fatty acid-containing compounds was assessed. Some weak interaction was seen with cardiolipin and chitin, but not with serum proteins, lipoteichoic acid, or DNA. Collectively, these results conclusively establish that HA-1A binds to the lipid A region of LPS by an interaction with the V region of the antibody.