1. 'Redirecting an anti-IL-1β antibody to bind a new, unrelated and computationally predicted epitope on hIL-17A'
- Author
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Sharon Fischman, Itay Levin, Jean-Michel Rondeau, Marek Štrajbl, Sylvie Lehmann, Thomas Huber, Guy Nimrod, Régis Cebe, Dotan Omer, Jiri Kovarik, Shmuel Bernstein, Yehezkel Sasson, Alik Demishtein, Tomer Shlamkovich, Olga Bluvshtein, Noam Grossman, Reut Barak-Fuchs, Michael Zhenin, Yair Fastman, Shir Twito, Tal Vana, Nevet Zur, and Yanay Ofran
- Subjects
Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 - Abstract
Abstract Antibody engineering technology is at the forefront of therapeutic antibody development. The primary goal for engineering a therapeutic antibody is the generation of an antibody with a desired specificity, affinity, function, and developability profile. Mature antibodies are considered antigen specific, which may preclude their use as a starting point for antibody engineering. Here, we explore the plasticity of mature antibodies by engineering novel specificity and function to a pre-selected antibody template. Using a small, focused library, we engineered AAL160, an anti-IL-1β antibody, to bind the unrelated antigen IL-17A, with the introduction of seven mutations. The final redesigned antibody, 11.003, retains favorable biophysical properties, binds IL-17A with sub-nanomolar affinity, inhibits IL-17A binding to its cognate receptor and is functional in a cell-based assay. The epitope of the engineered antibody can be computationally predicted based on the sequence of the template antibody, as is confirmed by the crystal structure of the 11.003/IL-17A complex. The structures of the 11.003/IL-17A and the AAL160/IL-1β complexes highlight the contribution of germline residues to the paratopes of both the template and re-designed antibody. This case study suggests that the inherent plasticity of antibodies allows for re-engineering of mature antibodies to new targets, while maintaining desirable developability profiles.
- Published
- 2023
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