Chemical modifications in the seed region of miRNAs 221/222 increase the silencing performances in gastrointestinal stromal tumor cells.

Most GastroIntestinal Stromal Tumors (GISTs) are characterized by KIT gene overexpression, which in turn is regulated by levels of microRNA 221 and microRNA 222. GISTs can also be distinguished by their miRNAs expression profile in which miRNAs 221/222 result reduced in comparison with GI normal tissues. In this paper, to restore normal miRNAs levels and to improve the silencing performances of miRNAs 221/222, new miRNA mimics in which guide strands are modified by Phosphorothioate (PS) and/or 2'-O-methyl RNA (2'-OMe) inside and outside the seed region, were synthesized and tested in GIST48 cells. We evaluated the positional effect of the chemical modifications on the miRNAs silencing activity, compared to natural and several commercial miRNA mimics. Our results show that chemically modified miRNAs 221/222 with alternating 2'-OMe-PS and natural nucleotides in the seed region are effective inhibitors of KIT gene expression and exhibit increased stability in rat plasma. Besides, their transfection in GIST 48 cells showed significant effects on different cellular processes in which KIT plays a functional role for tumor development (such as migration, cell proliferation, and apoptosis). Therefore, modified miRNAs 221/222 may provide an alternative therapeutic option for GIST treatment also aimed to overcome drug resistance concerns.

Preclinical and clinical phase I studies of a new recombinant Filgrastim (BK0023) in comparison with Neupogen®.

BACKGROUND: Filgrastim or methionyl-granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (Met-G-CSF), is a recombinant therapeutic protein widely used to treat severe neutropenia caused by myelosuppressive drugs in patients with nonmyeloid malignancies. In addition to its role in the regulation of granulopoiesis, treatment with G-CSF is considered the standard approach to mobilize CD34 positive (CD34+) mononuclear cells for reconstituting hemopoietic ability for bone marrow transplantation. An intended biosimilar filgrastim (coded BK0023) was produced in GMP conditions by E.coli fermentation according to an original recombinant process and showed physico-chemical properties and purity profile similar to Neupogen®, a commercial preparation of filgrastim. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the comparability of BK0023 to Neupogen® in terms of both in vitro biological activities and in vivo toxicology, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. METHODS: Cell proliferation and radioligand binding assays were conducted in NFS-60 cells to compare the biological activity and functional interaction with the G-CSF receptor in vitro, while preclinical in vivo studies, including pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics after repeated dose were performed in normal and neutropenic rats. A phase I study was carried out in healthy male volunteers treated by multiple-dose subcutaneous administration of BK0023 and Neupogen® to evaluate their pharmacodynamic effects as well as their pharmacokinetic and safety profile and to demonstrate their pharmacodynamic equivalence and pharmacokinetic bioequivalence. RESULTS: The results reported in this work demonstrate that BK0023 is comparable in terms of biological activity, efficacy and safety to Neupogen®. CONCLUSIONS: BK0023 has the same pharmacokinetic profile, efficacy and safety as the reference commercial filgrastim Neupogen® and therefore could be further developed to become a convenient option to treat neutropenia in oncological patients.

Recombinant human LCAT normalizes plasma lipoprotein profile in LCAT deficiency.

Lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) is the enzyme responsible for cholesterol esterification in plasma. Mutations in the LCAT gene leads to two rare disorders, familial LCAT deficiency and fish-eye disease, both characterized by severe hypoalphalipoproteinemia associated with several lipoprotein abnormalities. No specific treatment is presently available for genetic LCAT deficiency. In the present study, recombinant human LCAT was expressed and tested for its ability to correct the lipoprotein profile in LCAT deficient plasma. The results show that rhLCAT efficiently reduces the amount of unesterified cholesterol (-30%) and promotes the production of plasma cholesteryl esters (+210%) in LCAT deficient plasma. rhLCAT induces a marked increase in HDL-C levels (+89%) and induces the maturation of small preß-HDL into alpha-migrating particles. Moreover, the abnormal phospholipid-rich particles migrating in the LDL region were converted in normally sized LDL.

A new site-specific monoPEGylated filgrastim derivative prepared by enzymatic conjugation: Production and physicochemical characterization.

We describe the preparation and characterization of a new monoPEGylated derivate of a recombinant form of filgrastim (methionyl human granulocite colony stimulating factor, rh-Met-G-CSF), BK0026, prepared by enzymatic site-specific 20kDa PEG conjugation to glutamine 135 residue by microbial transglutaminase catalyzed reaction. BK0026 was purified to a clinical grade by a single cation exchange chromatography step and characterized by using a panel of physicochemical analyses. NH(2)-terminal sequence and peptide mapping demonstrated no differences between the primary structure of BK0026 and the non-PEGylated filgrastim. The circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy showed the preservation of high order protein structure. The single conjugation site on glutamine 135 was identified by endoproteinase Glu-C peptide mapping combined with mass spectrometry analysis and NH(2)-terminal sequence of the PEGylated peptides. BK0026 purity as well as product- and process-related contaminants was determined by several analytical methods, which showed that BK0026 is stable for more than 2 years when stored at 4-8°C. The advantages of enzymatic PEGylation of filgrastim are the absolute specificity of glutamine 135 conjugation combined with high PEGylation yields under very mild reaction conditions. The new site specific monoPEGylated filgrastim is a promising candidate for preclinical and clinical studies aimed at developing a long-lasting treatment of neutropenia in oncological patients under chemotherapy treatments.

Enzymatic mono-pegylation of glucagon-like peptide 1 towards long lasting treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a physiological gastrointestinal peptide with glucose-dependent insulinotropic effects which is therefore considered an interesting antidiabetic agent. However, after in vivo administration, exogenous GLP-1 does not exert its physiological action due to the combination of rapid proteolytic degradation by ubiquitous dipeptidyldipeptidase IV (DPP IV) enzyme and renal clearance resulting in an extremely short circulating half-life. In this work we describe the conjugation of GLP-1-(7-36)-amide derivatives with polyethylene glycol (PEG) by enzymatic site-specific transglutamination reaction as an approach to reduce both the proteolysis and the renal clearance rates. The compound GLP-1-(7-36)-amide-Q(23)-PEG 20 kDa monopegylated on the single glutamine residue naturally present in position 23 maintained the ability to activate the GLP-1 receptor expressed in the rat ß-cell line RIN-m5F with nanomolar potency along with an increased in vitro resistance to DDP IV and a circulating half-life of about 12 h after subcutaneous administration in rats. These properties enabled GLP-(7-36)-amide-Q(23)-PEG 20 kDa to exert a glucose-stabilizing effect for a period as long as 8 h, as demonstrated by a single subcutaneous injection to diabetic mice concomitantly challenged with an oral glucose load. The results reported in this work indicate that GLP-(7-36)-amide-Q(23)-PEG 20 kDa could be a lead compound for the development of long-lasting anti-diabetic agents useful in the treatment of type 2 diabetes affected patients.

Efficient bacterial expression of fusion proteins and their selective processing by a recombinant Kex-1 protease.

A secreted, soluble variant of the Kex-1 endopeptidase from Kluyveromyces lactis has been produced and studied as a novel cleavage enzyme exhibiting high specificity for the Lys-Arg peptide. This highly selective, efficient enzyme is particularly adapted for use in manufacturing when a recombinant therapeutic protein, possessing its native N-terminus, has to be released in vitro from a bacterially-expressed fusion protein. In this paper, we describe the preparation of a Kex-1 variant using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its application in the production of important therapeutic recombinant proteins such as human growth hormone, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and interferon-alpha-2b.

Characterization of Escherichia coli uridine phosphorylase by single-site mutagenesis.

The Escherichia coli udp gene encodes uridine phosphorylase (UP), which catalyzes the reversible phosphorolysis of uridine to uracil and ribose-1-phosphate. The X-ray structure of E. coli UP resolved by two different groups produced conflicting results. In order to cast some light on the E. coli UP catalytic site, we mutagenized several residues in UP and measured by RP-HPLC the phosphorolytic activity of the mutant UP proteins in vitro. Mutations Thr94Ala, Phe162Ala, and Tyr195Gly caused a drastic decrease in UP activity. These three residues were suggested to be involved in the nucleoside binding site. However, surprisingly, Tyr195Ala caused a relative increase in enzymatic activity. Both Met197Ala and Met197Ser conserved low activity, suggesting a minor role for this residue in the UP active site. Glu196Ala completely lost UP activity, whereas the more conservative Glu196Asp mutation was still partially active, confirming the importance of maintaining the correct charge in the surroundings of this position. Glu198 was mutated to either Gly, Asp and Gln. All three substitutions caused complete loss of enzymatic activity suggesting an important role of Glu198 both in ribose binding and in interaction with phosphate ions. Arg30Ala and Arg91Ala eliminated UP activity, whereas Arg30Lys and Arg91Lys presented a very low activity, confirming that these residues might interact with and stabilize the phosphate ions. Ile69Ala did not decrease UP activity, whereas His8Ala lowered the activity to about 20%. Both amino acids were suggested to take part in subunit interactions. Our results confirm the structural similarity between E. coli UP and E. coli purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP).

FT-IR study of heterologous protein expression in recombinant Escherichia coli strains.

Two recombinant Escherichia coli strains expressing different levels of an interferon fusion protein as inclusion bodies have been studied by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy. A marker band at 1628 cm(-1) allowed monitoring of the protein expression by direct analysis of cell pellets in a rapid, non-invasive and quantitative way. The results demonstrate that FT-IR microspectroscopy is a technique of potential biotechnological interest for studying inclusion body formation.