Fc galactosylation follows consecutive reaction kinetics and enhances immunoglobulin G hexamerization for complement activation.

Fc galactosylation is a critical quality attribute for anti-tumor recombinant immunoglobulin G (IgG)-based monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapeutics with complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) as the mechanism of action. Although the correlation between galactosylation and CDC has been known, the underlying structure-function relationship is unclear. Heterogeneity of the Fc N-glycosylation produced by Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture biomanufacturing process leads to variable CDC potency. Here, we derived a kinetic model of galactose transfer reaction in the Golgi apparatus and used this model to determine the correlation between differently galactosylated species from CHO cell culture process. The model was validated by a retrospective data analysis of more than 800 historical samples from small-scale and large-scale CHO cell cultures. Furthermore, using various analytical technologies, we discovered the molecular basis for Fc glycan terminal galactosylation changing the three-dimensional conformation of the Fc, which facilitates the IgG1 hexamerization, thus enhancing C1q avidity and subsequent complement activation. Our study offers insight into the formation of galactosylated species, as well as a novel three-dimensional understanding of the structure-function relationship of terminal galactose to complement activation in mAb therapeutics.

Development of a rapid reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method for total free thiol quantitation in protein therapeutics.

Free thiols, or unpaired cysteines, are important product quality attributes in the therapeutic proteins due to their potential impact on the protein structure, bioactivity and stability. While many free thiol quantitation methods were developed for specific therapeutic formats, an unmet need still exists for a multiproduct, high-throughput method for free thiol quantitation. In this study, a workflow was established that combines N-cyclohexylmaleimide (NcHM) derivatization and high-throughput reversed-phase ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-UHPLC) separation with superficially porous particle (SPP) column for quantitating total free thiols in monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), fragment antigen-binding (Fab), and bispecific antibodies (BsAbs). The NcHM derivatization increases the hydrophobicity of the free thiol variants and allows the further separation and quantitation with RP-UHPLC. A thorough evaluation of sample preparation, column selection, chromatographic condition and LC-MS peak identification was performed to optimize and characterize the method outputs. Method optimization resulted in a 42-minute total analysis time. Method qualification demonstrated suitable accuracy, precision, linearity, specificity and robustness. This high-throughput method is not only used for quantitation of total free thiols for both in-process testing and drug substance/drug product batch testing, but also for provide the positional distribution of the free thiols in the protein.

Native Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography Hyphenated to Mass Spectrometry for Characterization of Monoclonal Antibody Minor Variants.

Conventionally, hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) uses mobile phases with high salt concentration that are not compatible with mass spectrometry (MS). Here we describe development of an HIC method coupled with MS detection (HIC-MS) utilizing an aqueous mobile phase with a low concentration of a volatile salt for characterizing recombinant monoclonal antibody (mAb) post-translational modifications (PTMs). The ability of HIC to separate the oxidation and free thiol variants of the mAbs enables their isolation and rapid characterization of these attributes under native conditions, an important step toward understanding the role they play.

Reversed-phase chromatography with large pore superficially porous particles for high throughput immunoglobulin G2 disulfide isoform separation.

Reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) has been commonly used in IgG2 disulfide isoforms analysis. Recently, the columns packed with large pore superficially porous particles (SPP) have become available commercially. This work explores the application of this SPP technology in IgG2 disulfide isoforms separation. A high throughput and improved resolution RPLC method is developed with the optimization of column selection, gradient, temperature and flow rate. Compared with the small particles RP-UHPLC columns, large pore SPP columns provide unique selectivity and several new peaks were resolved and identified to be the free thiol variants of the IgG2 disulfide isoforms. The optimized method enables the detailed characterization of cysteines related variants in a single and fast method.

Glycation of antibodies: Modification, methods and potential effects on biological functions.

Glycation is an important protein modification that could potentially affect bioactivity and molecular stability, and glycation of therapeutic proteins such as monoclonal antibodies should be well characterized. Glycated protein could undergo further degradation into advance glycation end (AGE) products. Here, we review the root cause of glycation during the manufacturing, storage and in vivo circulation of therapeutic antibodies, and the current analytical methods used to detect and characterize glycation and AGEs, including boronate affinity chromatography, charge-based methods, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and colorimetric assay. The biological effects of therapeutic protein glycation and AGEs, which ranged from no affect to loss of activity, are also discussed.

Domain-specific free thiol variant characterization of an IgG1 by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

Measurement of free thiols in antibody therapeutics is important for product development and assessment of critical quality attributes. Earlier studies demonstrated fast separation of free thiol variants of IgG1 using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with diphenyl resin. Here, we report using N-tert-butylmaleimide (NtBM) alkylation followed by RP-HPLC and online mass spectrometry for rapid total and domain-specific free thiol characterization of IgG1. By increasing hydrophobicity, NtBM alkylation improves separation of free thiol variants from disulfide-linked main peak species. The unique mass shift by NtBM alkylation offers unambiguous characterization of free thiol variants by online mass spectrometry. Variant peaks separated by RP-HPLC were antibody molecules containing two NtBM-alkylated cysteines, corresponding to IgG1 containing two free thiols before alkylation. Further characterization of the collected fractions of variants by peptide mapping revealed that each variant contained unpaired cysteines located in specific IgG1 domains (CH1, CH3, VH and VL domains). Total molecular-level and domain-specific free thiol content measured by this method correlate well with orthogonal differential alkylation peptide mapping analysis, which measures free thiol level at individual cysteine residues. This method provides high throughput quantitation of total and domain-specific free thiol content in IgG1 molecules, facilitating rapid, comprehensive product and manufacturing process characterization.

High resolution separation of recombinant monoclonal antibodies by size-exclusion ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (SE-UHPLC).

Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) is an important mode of separation used in monoclonal antibody (mAb) characterization and quality control. SEC separates mAbs into three major species: high molecular weight species, main peak (predominantly monomer), and low molecular weight species. However, mAb SEC separations have low resolution between the different sized species, and the analysis is slow with low sample throughput. The introduction of size-exclusion ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (SE-UHPLC) columns offers a new opportunity to improve both the resolution and throughput of SEC analysis. This study demonstrates that SE-UHPLC columns deliver better resolution of size variants in a shorter period of time than conventional SEC columns. For example, an SE-UHPLC column 300-mm in length produced separation of mAb Fab/c fragments in less than 10min, in comparison to a conventional SEC column output, where these fragments co-elute with the main peak. Furthermore, we observed that high back pressure does not generate HMWS under optimized mobile phase conditions for mAbs. The platform SE-UHPLC method has been demonstrated to be suitable for the analysis of multiple mAbs, with greatly improved sample throughput and peak resolution of mAb size variants.

Characterization of free thiol variants of an IgG1 by reversed phase ultra high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.

RP-HPLC has been demonstrated as a powerful tool to study antibody free thiol and disulfide variants. Recently, the introduction of UHPLC columns with wide pore size (300Å) and small particle size (1.7µm) offered the opportunity to further improve the separation of such variants. This paper describes a systematic evaluation of stationary phases, operating parameters, and mobile phases for a UHPLC based method to separate free thiol variants of a recombinant monoclonal antibody (referred as mAb A), targeting high resolution, high throughput and improved recovery. Among the four different stationary phases evaluated, UHPLC diphenyl columns were found to provide the best separation. Using an optimized UHPLC method, free thiol variants of mAb A were separated in 5min. Importantly, the UHPLC method revealed minor variants that had coeluted in an HPLC based method, and the UHPLC method is also applicable as a platform method for characterization of other mAbs as well. Furthermore, an on-line UHPLC-MS method was developed to characterize the separated variants, and this method can streamline the characterization of fully assembled monoclonal and bispecific therapeutic antibodies.

Characterization of asparagine 330 deamidation in an Fc-fragment of IgG1 using cation exchange chromatography and peptide mapping.

Deamidation is one of the most common degradation pathways for proteins and frequently occurs at "hot spots" with Asn-Gly, Asn-Ser or Asn-Thr sequences. Occasionally, deamidation may occur at other motifs if the local protein structure can participate or assist in the formation of the succinimide intermediate. Here we report the use of a chymotryptic peptide mapping method to identify and characterize a deamidated form of an IgG1 which was observed as an acidic peak in the cation exchange chromatography (CEX). The antibody was formulated in sodium acetate buffer, pH 5.3 and this deamidated form was observed mainly under thermal stress conditions. It was found that the IgG1 molecule with deamidation in the Fc region at asparagine residue 330 (in a Val-Ser-Asn-Lys motif) is the predominant form in this CEX peak, and was missed by tryptic mapping because the peptides are hydrophilic and elute near the void volume. In addition, a domain-based CEX method using papain digestion was developed to monitor the Asn 330 deamidation. These methods revealed that the Fc deamidation occurs mainly at Asn 330 in the VSNK motif at pH 5.3, whereas at pH 7.5, deamidation occurs predominantly at Asn 389 and Asn 394 in the NGQPENNYK motif.

Asparagine deamidation dependence on buffer type, pH, and temperature.

The deamidation of asparagine into aspartate and isoaspartate moieties is a major pathway for the chemical degradation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). It can affect the shelf life of a therapeutic antibody that is not formulated or stored appropriately. A new approach to detect deamidation using ion exchange chromatography was developed that separates papain-digested mAbs into Fc and Fab fragments. From this, deamidation rates of each fragment can be calculated. To generate kinetic parameters useful in setting shelf life, buffers prepared at room temperature and then placed at the appropriate stability temperatures. Solution pH was not adjusted to the same at different temperatures. Deamidation rate at 40°C was faster in acidic buffers than in basic buffers. However, this trend is reversed at 5°C, attributed to the change in hydroxide ion concentration influenced by buffer and temperature. The apparent activation energy was higher for rates generated in an acidic buffer than in a basic buffer. The rate-pH profile for mAb1 can be deconvoluted to Fc and Fab. The Fc deamidation showed a V-shaped profile: deamidation of PENNY peptide is responsible for the rate at high-pH, whereas deamidation of a new site, Asn323, may be responsible for the rate at low-pH. The profile for Fab is a straight line without curvature.