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Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) has potent effects on normalizing glucose, lipid, and energy homeostasis, and represents an attractive novel therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity. Approaches to improve the pharmacokinetic properties of FGF21, such as conjugation with polyethylene glycol, have been explored for therapeutic development. However, not only is there room for further pharmacokinetic improvements, additional re-engineering approaches to improve the potency and stability of FGF21 have not been reported. Here, we describe a novel approach to modify and improve the function of FGF21 by altering its C-terminal βKlotho interaction domain. We first identified Avimer proteins that are capable of binding βKlotho. Then we explored replacing the C-terminal βKlotho interaction domain of FGF21 with a βKlotho-binding Avimer protein. Such a βKlotho-binding Avimer protein was able to fully complement the C-terminal domain function of FGF21. The resulting FGF21-Avimer fusion is functionally indistinguishable from wild type FGF21, and more tolerant of C-terminal modification. These results demonstrate a viable strategy to modulate the affinity, potency, and engineering of FGF21, paving the way for further improvements of FGF21 as a therapeutic.

The pfk gene encoding phosphofructokinase (Pfk) from the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 was cloned and sequenced. The gene was identified in a plasmid library by complementation of an E. coli pfk mutant and by the ability to amplify a fragment by PCR using primers based on homologous regions of Pfk from other microorganisms. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed a coding region for a 319-aa protein homologous to Pfks from other organisms. Enzyme assay and ability to complement the growth defects of E. coli pfk mutants confirmed the expression of the clostridial pfk gene. The pyruvate kinase (pyk) gene was identified adjacent to pfk. Such an arrangement for the genes encoding key regulators of glycolytic flux had not yet been described in a strict anaerobe. This gene arrangement has been found in other Gram-positive organisms, but not in Gram-negative organisms.

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a promising drug candidate for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, the use of wild type native FGF21 is challenging due to several limitations. Among these are its short half-life, its susceptibility to in vivo proteolytic degradation and its propensity to in vitro aggregation. We here describe a rationale-based protein engineering approach to generate a potent long-acting FGF21 analog with improved resistance to proteolysis and aggregation. A recombinant Fc-FGF21 fusion protein was constructed by fusing the Fc domain of human IgG1 to the N-terminus of human mature FGF21 via a linker peptide. The Fc positioned at the N-terminus was determined to be superior to the C-terminus as the N-terminal Fc fusion retained the βKlotho binding affinity and the in vitro and in vivo potency similar to native FGF21. Two specific point mutations were introduced into FGF21. The leucine to arginine substitution at position 98 (L98R) suppressed FGF21 aggregation at high concentrations and elevated temperatures. The proline to glycine replacement at position 171 (P171G) eliminated a site-specific proteolytic cleavage of FGF21 identified in mice and cynomolgus monkeys. The derived Fc-FGF21(RG) molecule demonstrated a significantly improved circulating half-life while maintaining the in vitro activity similar to that of wild type protein. The half-life of Fc-FGF21(RG) was 11 h in mice and 30 h in monkeys as compared to 1-2 h for native FGF21 or Fc-FGF21 wild type. A single administration of Fc-FGF21(RG) in diabetic mice resulted in a sustained reduction in blood glucose levels and body weight gains up to 5-7 days, whereas the efficacy of FGF21 or Fc-FGF21 lasted only for 1 day. In summary, we engineered a potent and efficacious long-acting FGF21 analog with a favorable pharmaceutical property for potential clinical development.

High levels of translational errors, both truncation and misincorporation in an Fc-fusion protein were observed. Here, we demonstrate the impact of several commercially available codon optimization services, and compare to a targeted strategy. Using the targeted strategy, only codons known to have translational errors are modified. For an Fc-fusion protein expressed in Escherichia coli, the targeted strategy, in combination with appropriate fermentation conditions, virtually eliminated misincorporation (proteins produced with a wrong amino acid sequence), and reduced the level of truncation. The use of full optimization using commercially available strategies reduced the initial errors, but introduced different misincorporations. However, truncation was higher using the targeted strategy than for most of the full optimization strategies. This targeted approach, along with monitoring of translation fidelity and careful attention to fermentation conditions is key to minimizing translational error and ensuring high-quality expression. These findings should be useful for other biopharmaceutical products, as well as any other transgenic constructs where protein quality is important.

The Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 DNA containing the 3' end of a PriA homolog, deformylase (def), and the 5' end of formyltransferase (fmt) has been cloned, sequenced, and used to complement an Escherichia coli mutant. While def and fmt have been found sharing an operon in other organisms, the presence of a third gene within a putative operon has not previously been found.

Fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF21) signaling requires the presence of β-Klotho, a co-receptor with a very short cytoplasmic domain. Here we show that FGF21 binds directly to β-Klotho through its C-terminus. Serial C-terminal truncations of FGF21 weakened or even abrogated its interaction with β-Klotho in a Biacore assay, and led to gradual loss of potency in a luciferase reporter assay but with little effect on maximal response. In contrast, serial N-terminal truncations of FGF21 had no impact on β-Klotho binding. Interestingly, several of them exhibited characteristics of partial agonists with minimal effects on potency. These data demonstrate that the C-terminus of FGF21 is critical for binding to β-Klotho and the N-terminus is critical for fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) activation.Structured summaryMINT-6799939: FGFR1c (uniprotkb:P11362) binds (MI:0407) to β-Klotho (uniprotkb: Q86Z14) by surface plasmon resonance (MI:0107)MINT-6799907, MINT-6799922: FGF21 (uniprotkb: Q9NSA1) binds (MI:0407) to β-Klotho (uniprotkb: Q86Z14) by surface plasmon resonance (MI:0107)