| 1. |
- Jönsson, Malin, et al.
(författare)
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CaRA – A multi-purpose phage display library for selection of calcium-regulated affinity proteins
- 2022
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Ingår i: New Biotechnology. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 1871-6784 .- 1876-4347. ; 72, s. 159-167
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Protein activity regulated by interactions with metal ions can be utilized for many different purposes, including biological therapies and bioprocessing, among others. Calcium ions are known to interact with the frequently occurring EF-hand motif, which can alter protein activity upon binding through an induced conformational change. The calcium-binding loop of the EF-hand motif has previously been introduced into a small protein domain derived from staphylococcal Protein A in a successful effort to render antibody binding dependent on calcium. Presented here, is a combinatorial library for calcium-regulated affinity, CaRA, based on this domain. CaRA is the first alternative scaffold library designed to achieve novel target specificities with metal-dependent binding. From this library, several calcium-dependent binders could be isolated through phage display campaigns towards a set of unrelated target proteins (IgE Cε3-Cε4, TNFα, IL23, scFv, tPA, PCSK9 and HER3) useful for distinct applications. Overall, these monomeric CaRA variants showed high stability and target affinities within the nanomolar range. They displayed considerably higher melting temperatures in the presence of 1 mM calcium compared to without calcium. Further, all discovered binders proved to be calcium-dependent, with the great majority showing complete lack of target binding in the absence of calcium. As demonstrated, the CaRA library is highly capable of providing protein-binding domains with calcium-dependent behavior, independent of the type of target protein. These binding domains could subsequently be of great use in gentle protein purification or as novel therapeutic modalities.
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| 2. |
- Scheffel, Julia
(författare)
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Calcium-dependent Affinity Domains for the Purification of Antibodies and Antibody Fragments
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Antibodies are essential proteins in both our bodies and biotechnological research, and hold outstanding therapeutic value. The market for antibody-based therapeutics has grown exponentially during the last decades, owing to several advantages over small molecule drugs, such as fewer undesirable side effects associated with a higher target specificity. To keep up with the increasing amounts of antibodies that are on demand, emphasis has been on the optimization of upstream processes for antibody production while the advances in downstream processing and the purification of antibodies have been limited. In the downstream process, the gold standard for the primary capture step is Protein A affinity chromatography. However, elution of the antibodies from the Protein A ligand is accomplished at a low pH, which can lead to antibody aggregation and impaired biological activity. The purification procedure therefore hinders the development of new antibodies that are acid-sensitive, despite promising therapeutic potential, and may pose a threat to the increasingly popular bispecific antibodies that tend to be more aggregation prone. Further, acidic elution conditions may be an even bigger concern in the purification of antibody fragments, which also represent promising therapeutic candidates, providing several advantages over full-length antibodies in certain applications.The work in this thesis aimed to enable the purification of a more diverse group of antibodies and antibody fragments, regardless of their stability in a highly acidic environment. Efforts were also made to reduce the high antibody manufacturing costs to make these antibody therapeutics more easily accessible to patients. In order to elute the antibodies in the Protein A capture step under milder conditions, the protein ligand ZCa was developed. ZCa was isolated from a phage display library based on a Protein A domain with a grafted calcium-binding loop, and permits the calcium-dependent elution of antibodies at close to neutral pH by adding sodium chloride. The domain provides the foundation for this thesis, and was extensively optimized to achieve a high-capacity resin and an inexpensive purification strategy, yielding exceptional recoveries of pure antibody. Most importantly, ZCa was able to entirely prevent the formation of aggregates of an antibody through mild elution. Moreover, the optimized ZCa resin was applied in an integrated continuous biomanufacturing process, designed to entirely avoid the use of low pH. The implementation of the process at pilot scale for 17 days demonstrated the robustness of the novel resin along with many other promising process attributes. High productivity and yields were obtained in addition to negligible aggregate formation and low levels of residual DNA and host cell proteins, comparable to established processes.Finally, this thesis presents a combinatorial library for calcium-regulated affinity constructed from ZCa, from which numerous binders with novel target specificities were isolated. The calcium-dependent binders to single chain variable fragments (scFvs) could be used to selectively capture and elute scFv at neutral pH. Binding analysis and optimization efforts indicated potential as a platform approach for the mild and efficient purification of different scFvs.In conclusion, the purification strategies proposed in this thesis considerably improve the purification of antibodies and scFvs, and may encourage the future innovation of a wider range of antibody-based therapeutics. The continuous process supports the applicability of ZCa in a state-of-the-art commercial manufacturing process, and contributes to the more efficient manufacturing of antibodies, which can make them more affordable and accessible to the patients in need.
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| 3. |
- Scheffel, Julia, et al.
(författare)
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Design of an integrated continuous downstream process for acid-sensitive monoclonal antibodies based on a calcium-dependent Protein A ligand
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Chromatography A. - : Elsevier BV. - 0021-9673 .- 1873-3778. ; 1664, s. 462806-462806
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) are used as therapeutics and for diagnostics of a variety of diseases, and novel antibodies are continuously being developed to find treatments for new diseases. Therefore, the manufacturing process must accommodate a range of mAb characteristics. Acid-sensitive mAbs can severely compromise product purity and yield in the purification process due to the potential formation of aggregates. To address this problem, we have developed an integrated downstream process for the purification of pH-sensitive mAbs at mild conditions. A calcium-dependent Protein A-based ligand, called ZCa, was used in the capture step in a 3-column periodic counter-current chromatography operation. The binding of ZCa to antibodies is regulated by calcium, meaning that acidic conditions are not needed to break the interaction and elute the antibodies. Further, the virus inactivation was achieved by a solvent/detergent method, where the pH could remain unchanged. The polishing steps included a cation and an anion exchange chromatography step, and screening of the capture and polishing steps was performed to allow for a seamless integration of the process steps. The process was implemented at laboratory scale for 9 days obtaining a high yield, and a consistently pure drug substance, including high reduction values of the host cell protein and DNA concentrations, as well as aggregate levels below the detection limit, which is attributed to the mild conditions used in the process.
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| 4. |
- Schwarz, Hubert, et al.
(författare)
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Integrated continuous biomanufacturing on pilot scale for acid-sensitive monoclonal antibodies
- 2022
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Ingår i: Biotechnology and Bioengineering. - : Wiley. - 0006-3592 .- 1097-0290.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, we demonstrated the first, to our knowledge, integrated continuous bioprocess (ICB) designed for the production of acid-sensitive monoclonal antibodies, prone to aggregate at low pH, on pilot scale. A high cell density perfusion culture, stably maintained at 100 × 106 cells/ml, was integrated with the downstream process, consisting of a capture step with the recently developed Protein A ligand, ZCa; a solvent/detergent-based virus inactivation; and two ion-exchange chromatography steps. The use of a mild pH in the downstream process makes this ICB suitable for the purification of acid-sensitive monoclonal antibodies. Integration and automation of the downstream process were achieved using the Orbit software, and the same equipment and control system were used in initial small-scale trials and the pilot-scale downstream process. High recovery yields of around 90% and a productivity close to 1 g purified antibody/L/day were achieved, with a stable glycosylation pattern and efficient removal of impurities, such as host cell proteins and DNA. Finally, negligible levels of antibody aggregates were detected owing to the mild conditions used throughout the process. The present work paves the way for future industrial-scale integrated continuous biomanufacturing of all types of antibodies, regardless of acid stability.
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