Affibody molecules targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor for tumor imaging applications

Tumor targeting and molecular imaging of protein markers specific for or overexpressed in tumors can add useful information in deciding upon treatment and assessing the response to treatment for a cancer patient. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one such tumor-associated receptor, which expression is abnormal or upregulated in various cancers and associated with a poor patient prognosis. It is therefore considered a good target for imaging and therapy. Monoclonal antibodies and recently also antibody fragments have been investigated for in vivo medical applications, like therapy and imaging. In molecular imaging a small sized targeting agent is favorable to give high contrast and therefore, antibody fragments and lately also small affinity proteins based on a scaffold structure constitute promising alternatives to monoclonal antibodies. Affbody molecules are such affinity proteins that are developed by combinatorial protein engineering of the 58 amino acid residue Z-domain scaffold, derived from protein A. In this thesis, novel Affibody molecules specific for the EGFR have been selected from a combinatorial library using phage display technology. Affibody molecules with moderate high affinity demonstrated specific binding to native EGFR on the EGFR-expressing epithelial carcinoma A431 cell line. Further cellular assays showed that the EGFR-binding Affibody molecules could be labeled with radiohalogens or radiometals with preserved specific binding to EGFR-expressing cells. In vitro, the Affibody molecule demonstrated a high uptake and good retention to EGFR-expressing cells and was found to internalize. Furthermore, successful imaging of tumors in tumor-bearing mice was demonstrated. Low nanomolar or subnanomolar affinities are considered to be desired for successful molecular imaging and a directed evolution to increase the affinity was thus performed. This resulted in an approximately 30-fold improvement in affinity, yielding EGFR-binding Affibody molecules with KD´s in the 5-10 nM range, and successful targeting of A431 tumors in tumor-bearing mice. To find a suitable format and labeling, monomeric and dimeric forms of one affinity matured binder were labeled with 125I and 111In. The radiometal-labeled monomeric construct, 111In-labeled-ZEGFR:1907, was found to provide the best tumor-to-organ ratio due to good tumor localization and tumor retention. The tumor-to-blood ratio, which is often used as a measure of contrast, was 31±8 at 24 h post injection and the tumor was clearly visualized by gamma-camera imaging. Altogether, the EGFR-binding Affibody molecule is considered a promising candidate for further development of tumor imaging tracers for EGFR-expressing tumors and metastases. This could simplify the stratification of patients for treatment and the assessment of the response of treatment in patients.QC 2010072

Affibody molecules targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor for tumor imaging applications

Tumor targeting and molecular imaging of protein markers specific for or overexpressed in tumors can add useful information in deciding upon treatment and assessing the response to treatment for a cancer patient. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one such tumor-associated receptor, which expression is abnormal or upregulated in various cancers and associated with a poor patient prognosis. It is therefore considered a good target for imaging and therapy. Monoclonal antibodies and recently also antibody fragments have been investigated for in vivo medical applications, like therapy and imaging. In molecular imaging a small sized targeting agent is favorable to give high contrast and therefore, antibody fragments and lately also small affinity proteins based on a scaffold structure constitute promising alternatives to monoclonal antibodies. Affbody molecules are such affinity proteins that are developed by combinatorial protein engineering of the 58 amino acid residue Z-domain scaffold, derived from protein A. In this thesis, novel Affibody molecules specific for the EGFR have been selected from a combinatorial library using phage display technology. Affibody molecules with moderate high affinity demonstrated specific binding to native EGFR on the EGFR-expressing epithelial carcinoma A431 cell line. Further cellular assays showed that the EGFR-binding Affibody molecules could be labeled with radiohalogens or radiometals with preserved specific binding to EGFR-expressing cells. In vitro, the Affibody molecule demonstrated a high uptake and good retention to EGFR-expressing cells and was found to internalize. Furthermore, successful imaging of tumors in tumor-bearing mice was demonstrated. Low nanomolar or subnanomolar affinities are considered to be desired for successful molecular imaging and a directed evolution to increase the affinity was thus performed. This resulted in an approximately 30-fold improvement in affinity, yielding EGFR-binding Affibody molecules with KD´s in the 5-10 nM range, and successful targeting of A431 tumors in tumor-bearing mice. To find a suitable format and labeling, monomeric and dimeric forms of one affinity matured binder were labeled with 125I and 111In. The radiometal-labeled monomeric construct, 111In-labeled-ZEGFR:1907, was found to provide the best tumor-to-organ ratio due to good tumor localization and tumor retention. The tumor-to-blood ratio, which is often used as a measure of contrast, was 31±8 at 24 h post injection and the tumor was clearly visualized by gamma-camera imaging. Altogether, the EGFR-binding Affibody molecule is considered a promising candidate for further development of tumor imaging tracers for EGFR-expressing tumors and metastases. This could simplify the stratification of patients for treatment and the assessment of the response of treatment in patients.QC 2010072

Genomic Medicine Sweden – initiativ för brett införande

The Genomic Medicine Sweden (GMS) initiative aims to strengthen precision medicine across the country. This will be accomplished through the implementation of large-scale sequencing techniques in Swedish healthcare. With a patient-centered view, initial efforts will focus on rare diseases, cancer, pharmacogenomics, and infectious diseases, and subsequently extend to complex diseases. GMS is being implemented as a broad collaborative project involving healthcare, universities with medical faculty, SciLifeLab, industry and patient organizations. To deliver top tier diagnostics, regional genomic medicine centers (GMC) are currently under establishment together with a national informatics infrastructure for data sharing. GMS will also offer a unique resource for research that could pave the way for the development of novel drugs, and enhance collaboration with industry. In summary, GMS provides Sweden with an opportunity to take an international forefront position in the field of precision medicine

Affibody-mediated retention of the epidermal growth factor receptor in the secretory compartments leads to inhibition of phosphorylation in the kinase domain

Vernet E, Lundberg E, Friedman M, et al. Affibody-mediated retention of the epidermal growth factor receptor in the secretory compartments leads to inhibition of phosphorylation in the kinase domain. New Biotechnology. 2009;25(6):417-423.Abnormal activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is associated with various cancer-related processes and motivates the search for strategies that can selectively block EGFR signalling. In this study, functional knockdown of EGFR was achieved through expression of an affibody construct, (ZEGFR:1907)(2-)KDEL, with high affinity for EGFR and extended with the amino acids KDEL to make it resident in the secretory compartments. Expression of (ZEGFR:1907)(2-)KDEL resulted in 80% reduction ofthe cell surface level of EGFR, and fluorescent staining for EGFR and the (ZEGFR:1907)(2-)KDEL construct showed overlapping intracellular localisation. Immunocapture of EGFR from cell lysates showed that an intracellular complex between EGFR and the affibody construct had been formed, further indicating aspecific interaction between the affibody construct and EGFR. Surface depletion of EGFR led to a dramatic decrease in the amount of kinase domain phosphorylated EGFR, coincident with a significant decrease in the proliferation rate

Protein tag-mediated conjugation of oligonucleotides to recombinant affinity binders for proximity ligation

While antibodies currently play a dominant role as affinity reagents in biological research and for diagnostics, a broad range of recombinant proteins are emerging as promising alternative affinity reagents in detection assays and quantification. DNA-mediated affinity-based assays, such as immuno-PCR and proximity ligation assays (PLA), use oligonucleotides attached to affinity reagents as reporter molecules. Conjugation of oligonucleotides to affinity reagents generally employs chemistries that target primary amines or cysteines. Because of the random nature of these processes neither the number of oligonucleotides conjugated per molecule nor their sites of attachment can be accurately controlled for affinity reagents with several available amines and cysteines. Here, we present a straightforward and convenient approach to functionalize recombinant affinity reagents for PLA by expressing the reagents as fusion partners with SNAP protein tags. This allowed us to conjugate oligonucleotides in a site-specific fashion, yielding precisely one oligonucleotide per affinity reagent. We demonstrate this method using designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) recognizing the tumor antigen HER2 and we apply the conjugates in different assay formats. We also show that SNAP or CLIP tags, expressed as fusion partners of transfected genes, allow oligonucleotide conjugations to be performed in fixed cells, with no need for specific affinity reagents. The approach is used to demonstrate induced interactions between the fusion proteins FKBP and FRB by allowing the in situ conjugated oligonucleotides to direct the production of templates for localized rolling circle amplification reactions

Elevated Serum GAD65 and GAD65-GADA Immune Complexes in Stiff Person Syndrome

Glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) and autoantibodies specific for GAD65 (GADA) are associated with autoimmune diseases including Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) and Type 1 diabetes (T1D). GADA is recognized as a biomarker of value for clinical diagnosis and prognostication in these diseases. Nonetheless, it remains medically interesting to develop sensitive and specific assays to detect GAD65 preceding GADA emergence, and to monitor GADA-GAD65 immune complexes in blood samples. In the present study, we developed a highly sensitive proximity ligation assay to measure serum GAD65. This novel assay allowed detection of as little as 0.65 pg/ml GAD65. We were also able to detect immune complexes involving GAD65 and GADA. Both free GAD65 and GAD65-GADA levels were significantly higher in serum samples from SPS patients compared to healthy controls. The proximity ligation assays applied for detection of GAD65 and its immune complexes may thus enable improved diagnosis and better understanding of SPS

Elevated Serum GAD65 and GAD65-GADA Immune Complexes in Stiff Person Syndrome

Glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) and autoantibodies specific for GAD65 (GADA) are associated with autoimmune diseases including Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) and Type 1 diabetes (T1D). GADA is recognized as a biomarker of value for clinical diagnosis and prognostication in these diseases. Nonetheless, it remains medically interesting to develop sensitive and specific assays to detect GAD65 preceding GADA emergence, and to monitor GADA-GAD65 immune complexes in blood samples. In the present study, we developed a highly sensitive proximity ligation assay to measure serum GAD65. This novel assay allowed detection of as little as 0.65 pg/ml GAD65. We were also able to detect immune complexes involving GAD65 and GADA. Both free GAD65 and GAD65-GADA levels were significantly higher in serum samples from SPS patients compared to healthy controls. The proximity ligation assays applied for detection of GAD65 and its immune complexes may thus enable improved diagnosis and better understanding of SPS

Elevated Serum GAD65 and GAD65-GADA Immune Complexes in Stiff Person Syndrome

Glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) and autoantibodies specific for GAD65 (GADA) are associated with autoimmune diseases including Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) and Type 1 diabetes (T1D). GADA is recognized as a biomarker of value for clinical diagnosis and prognostication in these diseases. Nonetheless, it remains medically interesting to develop sensitive and specific assays to detect GAD65 preceding GADA emergence, and to monitor GADA-GAD65 immune complexes in blood samples. In the present study, we developed a highly sensitive proximity ligation assay to measure serum GAD65. This novel assay allowed detection of as little as 0.65 pg/ml GAD65. We were also able to detect immune complexes involving GAD65 and GADA. Both free GAD65 and GAD65-GADA levels were significantly higher in serum samples from SPS patients compared to healthy controls. The proximity ligation assays applied for detection of GAD65 and its immune complexes may thus enable improved diagnosis and better understanding of SPS. Autoantibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) are found in a majority of patients with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) Detection of GAD65 and GAD65-GADA complexes in blood may enable earlier diagnosis, as well as monitoring of the ongoing destruction of targeted cells, provided sufficiently sensitive assays can be developed. In recent years, several relatively sensitive methods have been developed in attempts to detect endogenous GAD65 in blood. The most sensitive immunoassay allowed detection of GAD65 in human plasma spiked with as little as 31 pg/ml recombinant human GAD6