Effect of trastuzumab interchain disulfide bond cleavage on Fcγ receptor binding and antibody-dependent tumour cell phagocytosis.

The Fc domain of human IgG1 binds to Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) to induce effector functions such as phagocytosis. There are four interchain disulfide bonds between the H and L chains. In this study, the disulfide bonds within the IgG1 trastuzumab (TRA), which is specific for HER2, were cleaved by mild S-sulfonation or by mild reduction followed by S-alkylation with three different reagents. The cleavage did not change the binding activities of TRA to HER2-bearing SK-BR-3 cells. The binding activities of TRA to FcγRIIA and FcγRIIB were greatly enhanced by modification with mild reduction and S-alkylation with ICH2CONH2 or N-(4-aminophenyl) maleimide, while the binding activities of TRA to FcγRI and FcγRIIIA were decreased by any of the four modifications. However, the interchain disulfide bond cleavage by the different modifications did not change the antibody-dependent cell-mediated phagocytosis (ADCP) of SK-BR-3 cells by activated THP-1 cells. The order of FcγR expression levels on the THP-1 cells was FcγRII > FcγRI > FcγRIII and ADCP was inhibited by blocking antibodies against FcγRI and FcγRII. These results imply that the effect of the interchain disulfide bond cleavage on FcγRs binding and ADCP is dependent on modifications of the cysteine residues and the FcγR isotypes.

Enhanced antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis by chimeric monoclonal antibodies with tandemly repeated Fc domains.

We previously reported that chimeric monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with tandemly repeated Fc domains, which were developed by introducing tandem repeats of Fc domains downstream of 2 Fab domains, augmented binding avidities for all Fcγ receptors, resulting in enhanced antibody (Ab)-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. Here we investigated regarding Ab-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) mediated by these chimeric mAbs, which is considered one of the most important mechanisms that kills tumor cells, using two-color flow cytometric methods. ADCP mediated by T3-Ab, a chimeric mAb with 3 tandemly repeated Fc domains, was 5 times more potent than that by native anti-CD20 M-Ab (M-Ab hereafter). Furthermore, T3-Ab-mediated ADCP was resistant to competitive inhibition by intravenous Ig (IVIG), although M-Ab-mediated ADCP decreased in the presence of IVIG. An Fcγ receptor-blocking study demonstrated that T3-Ab mediated ADCP via both FcγRIA and FcγRIIA, whereas M-Ab mediated ADCP exclusively via FcγRIA. These results suggest that chimeric mAbs with tandemly repeated Fc domains enhance ADCP as well as ADCC, and that Fc multimerization may significantly enhance the efficacy of therapeutic Abs.