Enrichment strategy and initial characterization of heterodimers enriched from a co-formulated cocktail of therapeutic antibodies against SARS-COV-2.

Co-formulation of multiple drug products is an efficient and convenient approach to simultaneously deliver multiple biotherapeutics with the potentially added benefit of a synergistic therapeutic effect. However, co-formulation also increases the risk of heteromeric interactions, giving rise to unique impurities with unknown efficacy and immunogenicity. Therefore, it is critical to develop methods to evaluate the risk of heteromers as an impurity that could affect potency, efficacy, and/or immunogenicity. The most direct strategy to evaluate antibody heteromers is via specific enrichment. However, the fact that antibody heterodimers generated from the co-formulated cocktail share highly similar molar mass and size properties as homodimers natively present in each individual antibody drug product poses a unique purification challenge. Here, we report the path to successful enrichment of heterodimers from co-formulated REGEN-COVⓇ and discuss its potential impacts on drug quality.

A High-Throughput Genetic Complementation Assay in Yeast Cells Identified Selective Inhibitors of Sphingosine Kinase 1 Not Found Using a Cell-Free Enzyme Assay.

Sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) is a lipid kinase that phosphorylates sphingosine to produce the bioactive sphingolipid, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), and therefore represents a potential drug target for a variety of pathological processes such as fibrosis, inflammation, and cancer. We developed two assays compatible with high-throughput screening to identify small-molecule inhibitors of SphK1: a purified component enzyme assay and a genetic complementation assay in yeast cells. The biochemical enzyme assay measures the phosphorylation of sphingosine-fluorescein to S1P-fluorescein by recombinant human full-length SphK1 using an immobilized metal affinity for phosphochemicals (IMAP) time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer format. The yeast assay employs an engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in which the human gene encoding SphK1 replaced the yeast ortholog and quantitates cell viability by measuring intracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) using a luciferase-based luminescent readout. In this assay, expression of human SphK1 was toxic, and the resulting yeast cell death was prevented by SphK1 inhibitors. We optimized both assays in a 384-well format and screened ∼10(6) compounds selected from the Boehringer Ingelheim library. The biochemical IMAP high-throughput screen identified 5,561 concentration-responsive hits, most of which were ATP competitive and not selective over sphingosine kinase 2 (SphK2). The yeast screen identified 205 concentration-responsive hits, including several distinct compound series that were selective against SphK2 and were not ATP competitive.

G protein-coupled bile acid receptor 1 stimulation mediates arterial vasodilation through a K(Ca)1.1 (BK(Ca))-dependent mechanism.

Bile acids (BAs) and BA receptors, including G protein-coupled bile acid receptor 1 (GPBAR1), represent novel targets for the treatment of metabolic and inflammatory disorders. However, BAs elicit myriad effects on cardiovascular function, although this has not been specifically ascribed to GPBAR1. This study was designed to test whether stimulation of GPBAR1 elicits effects on cardiovascular function that are mechanism based that can be identified in acute ex vivo and in vivo cardiovascular models, to delineate whether effects were due to pathways known to be modulated by BAs, and to establish whether a therapeutic window between in vivo cardiovascular liabilities and on-target efficacy could be defined. The results demonstrated that the infusion of three structurally diverse and selective GPBAR1 agonists produced marked reductions in vascular tone and blood pressure in dog, but not in rat, as well as reflex tachycardia and a positive inotropic response, effects that manifested in an enhanced cardiac output. Changes in cardiovascular function were unrelated to modulation of the levothyroxine/thyroxine axis and were nitric oxide independent. A direct effect on vascular tone was confirmed in dog isolated vascular rings, whereby concentration-dependent decreases in tension that were tightly correlated with reductions in vascular tone observed in vivo and were blocked by iberiotoxin. Compound concentrations in which cardiovascular effects occurred, both ex vivo and in vivo, could not be separated from those necessary for modulation of GPBAR1-mediated efficacy, resulting in project termination. These results are the first to clearly demonstrate direct and potent peripheral arterial vasodilation due to GPBAR1 stimulation in vivo through activation of large conductance Ca(2+) activated potassium channel K(Ca)1.1.

Antibacterial activity and mechanism of action of a novel anilinouracil-fluoroquinolone hybrid compound.

The anilinouracils (AUs) such as 6-(3-ethyl-4-methylanilino)uracil (EMAU) are a novel class of gram-positive, selective, bactericidal antibacterials which inhibit pol IIIC, the gram-positive-specific replicative DNA polymerase. We have linked various fluoroquinolones (FQs) to the N-3 position of EMAU to generate a variety of AU-FQ "hybrids" offering the potential for targeting two distinct steps in DNA replication. In this study, the properties of a hybrid, "251D," were compared with those of representative AUs and FQs in a variety of in vitro assays, including pol IIIC and topoisomerase/gyrase enzyme assays, antibacterial, bactericidal, and mammalian cytotoxicity assays. Compound 251D potently inhibited pol IIIC and topoisomerase/gyrase, displayed gram-positive antibacterial potency at least 15 times that of the corresponding AU compound, and as expected, acted selectively on bacterial DNA synthesis. Compound 251D was active against a broad panel of antibiotic-resistant gram-positive pathogens as well as several gram-negative organisms and was also active against both AU- and FQ-resistant gram-positive organisms, demonstrating its capacity for attacking both of its potential targets in the bacterium. 251D also was bactericidal for gram-positive organisms and lacked toxicity in vitro. Although we obtained strains of Staphylococcus aureus resistant to the individual parent compounds, spontaneous resistance to 251D was not observed. We obtained 251D resistance in multiple-passage experiments, but resistance developed at a pace comparable to those for the parent compounds. This class of AU-FQ hybrids provides a promising new pharmacophore with an unusual dual mechanism of action and potent activity against antibiotic-sensitive and -resistant gram-positive pathogens.

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of 3-substituted-6-(3-ethyl-4-methylanilino)uracils.

Numerous 3-substituted-6-(3-ethyl-4-methylanilino)uracils (EMAU) have been synthesized and screened for their capacity to inhibit the replication-specific bacterial DNA polymerase IIIC (pol IIIC) and the growth of Gram+ bacteria in culture. Direct alkylation of 2-methoxy-6-amino-4-pyrimidone produced the N3-substituted derivatives, which were separated from the byproduct 4-alkoxy analogues. The N3-substituted derivatives were heated with a mixture of 3-ethyl-4-methylaniline and its hydrochloride to effect displacement of the 6-amino group and simultaneous demethylation of the 2-methoxy group to yield target compounds in good yields. Certain intermediates, e.g. the 3-(iodoalkyl) compounds, were converted to a variety of (3-substituted-alkyl)-EMAUs by displacement. Most compounds were potent competitive inhibitors of pol IIIC (K(i)s 0.02-0.5 microM), and those with neutral, moderately polar 3-substituents had potent antibacterial activity against Gram+ organisms in culture (MICs 0.125-10 microg/mL). Several compounds protected mice from lethal intraperitoneal (ip) infections with S. aureus (Smith) when given by the ip route. A water soluble derivative, 3-(4-morpholinylbutyl)-EMAU hydrochloride, given subcutaneously, prolonged the life of infected mice in a dose dependent manner.

DNA polymerase III of Enterococcus faecalis: expression and characterization of recombinant enzymes encoded by the polC and dnaE genes.

Enterococcus faecalis (Ef) dnaE and polC, the respective genes encoding the DNA replication-specific DNA polymerase III E and DNA polymerase III C, were cloned and engineered for expression in Escherichia coli as hexahistidine (his6)-tagged recombinant proteins. Each gene expressed a catalytically active DNA polymerase of the expected molecular weight. The recombinant polymerases were purified and each was characterized with respect to catalytic properties, inhibitor sensitivity, and recognition by specific antibody raised against the corresponding DNA polymerase III of the model Gram-positive (Gr(+)) organism, Bacillus subtilis (Bs). In conclusion, the properties of each Enterococcus polymerase enzymes were similar to those of the respective B. subtilis enzymes.

Low frequencies of resistance among Staphylococcus and Enterococcus species to the bactericidal DNA polymerase inhibitor N(3)-hydroxybutyl 6-(3'-ethyl-4'-methylanilino) uracil.

The 6-anilinouracils (AUs) constitute a new class of bactericidal antibiotics selective against gram-positive (Gr(+)) organisms. The AU family of compounds specifically inhibits a novel target, replicative DNA polymerase Pol IIIC. Like other antibiotics, AUs can be expected to engender the development of resistant bacteria. We have used a representative AU and clinically relevant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus to determine the frequency and mechanism(s) of resistance development. The frequency of resistance was determined by using N(3)-hydroxybutyl 6-(3'-ethyl-4'-methylanilino) uracil (HBEMAU) and commercially available antibiotics at eight times the MICs. For all five Gr(+) organisms tested, the frequency of resistance to HBEMAU ranged from 1 x 10(-8) to 3 x 10(-10). The frequencies of resistance to the antibiotics tested, including rifampin, gentamicin, and ciprofloxacin, were either greater than or equal to those for HBEMAU. In order to understand the mechanism of resistance, HBEMAU-resistant organisms were isolated. MIC assays showed that the organisms had increased resistance to AU inhibitors but not to other families of antibiotics. Inhibition studies with DNA polymerases from HBEMAU-sensitive and -resistant strains demonstrated that the resistance was associated with Pol IIIC. DNA sequence analysis of the entire polC genes from both wild-type and resistant organisms revealed that the resistant organisms had a sequence change that mapped to a single amino acid codon in all strains examined.