Engineered antibody fragments for immuno-PET imaging of endogenous CD8 + T cells in vivo

The noninvasive detection and quantification of CD8+ T cells in vivo are important for both the detection and staging of CD8+ lymphomas and for the monitoring of successful cancer immunotherapies, such as adoptive cell transfer and antibody-based immunotherapeutics. Here, antibody fragments are constructed to target murine CD8 to obtain rapid, high-contrast immuno-positron emission tomography (immuno-PET) images for the detection of CD8 expression in vivo. The variable regions of two anti-murine CD8-depleting antibodies (clones 2.43 and YTS169.4.2.1) were sequenced and reformatted into minibody (Mb) fragments (scFv-CH3). After production and purification, the Mbs retained their antigen specificity and bound primary CD8+ T cells from the thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, and peripheral blood. Importantly, engineering of the parental antibodies into Mbs abolished the ability to deplete CD8+ T cells in vivo. The Mbs were subsequently conjugated to S-2-(4-isothiocyanatobenzyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononane- 1,4,7-triacetic acid for 64Cu radiolabeling. The radiotracers were injected i.v. into antigen-positive, antigen-negative, immunodeficient, antigenblocked, and antigen-depleted mice to evaluate specificity of uptake in lymphoid tissues by immuno-PET imaging and ex vivo biodistribution. Both 64Cu-radiolabeled Mbs produced high-contrast immuno-PET images 4 h postinjection and showed specific uptake in the spleen and lymph nodes of antigen-positive mice

Engineered antibody fragments for immuno-PET imaging of endogenous CD8 + T cells in vivo

The noninvasive detection and quantification of CD8 T cells in vivo are important for both the detection and staging of CD8 lymphomas and for the monitoring of successful cancer immunotherapies, such as adoptive cell transfer and antibody-based immunotherapeutics. Here, antibody fragments are constructed to target murine CD8 to obtain rapid, high-contrast immuno-positron emission tomography (immuno-PET) images for the detection of CD8 expression in vivo. The variable regions of two anti-murine CD8-depleting antibodies (clones 2.43 and YTS169.4.2.1) were sequenced and reformatted into minibody (Mb) fragments (scFv-C 3). After production and purification, the Mbs retained their antigen specificity and bound primary CD8 T cells from the thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, and peripheral blood. Importantly, engineering of the parental antibodies into Mbs abolished the ability to deplete CD8 T cells in vivo. The Mbs were subsequently conjugated to S-2-(4-isothiocyanatobenzyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononane- 1,4,7-triacetic acid for Cu radiolabeling. The radiotracers were injected i.v. into antigen-positive, antigen-negative, immunodeficient, antigenblocked, and antigen-depleted mice to evaluate specificity of uptake in lymphoid tissues by immuno-PET imaging and ex vivo biodistribution. Both Cu-radiolabeled Mbs produced high-contrast immuno-PET images 4 h postinjection and showed specific uptake in the spleen and lymph nodes of antigen-positive mice. + + + + 64 64

A novel expression and purification system for the production of enzymatic and biological active human granzyme B

The serine protease granzyme B (grB) has previously been shown to induce perforin-independent apoptosis in membrane Hsp70 positive tumor cells in a number of in vitro experimental systems. Ongoing studies that are investigating the in vivo relevance of these findings by assessing the therapeutic potential of grB in a human xenograft tumor mouse model required the development of an expression system for the production of high yields of enzymatic and biologically active human grB. In order to maintain potentially important posttranslational modifications that occur in mammalian cells, human embryonal kidney cells (HEK293) were stably transfected with human grB. The HEK293 host cells were protected from apoptotic cell death by fusing an inactivation site coupled to a (His)(6) tag to the gene sequence of GrB. Inactive grB which was actively released from HEK293 cells by insertion of a Igκ leader sequence was purified on a nickel column utilizing the (His)(6) tag. After enterokinase digestion and heparin affinity chromatography, high yields of enzymatic and biologically active human grB were obtained. The perforin-independent interaction of grB with membrane Hsp70 positive tumor cells appeared to be associated with mammalian glycosylation and mediated by the oligosaccharide moiety of neuraminic acid (NANA)

On-demand radiosynthesis of: N -succinimidyl-4-[18F]fluorobenzoate ([18F]SFB) on an electrowetting-on-dielectric microfluidic chip for 18F-labeling of protein

An all-electronic, droplet-based batch microfluidic device, operated using the electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) mechanism was developed for on-demand synthesis of N-succinimidyl-4-[18F]fluorobenzoate ([18F]SFB), the most commonly used 18F-prosthetic group for biomolecule labeling. In order to facilitate the development of peptides, and proteins as new diagnostic and therapeutic agents, we have diversified the compact EWOD microfluidic platform to perform the three-step radiosynthesis of [18F]SFB starting from the no carrier added [18F]fluoride ion. In this report, we established an optimal microliter droplet reaction condition to obtain reliable yields and synthesized [18F]SFB with sufficient radioactivity for subsequent conjugation to the anti-PSCA cys-diabody (A2cDb) and for small animal imaging. The three-step, one-pot radiosynthesis of [18F]SFB radiochemistry was adapted to a batch microfluidic platform with a reaction droplet sandwiched between two parallel plates of an EWOD chip, and optimized. Specifically, the ratio of precursor to base, droplet volume, reagent concentration, reaction time, and evaporation time were found be to be critical parameters. [18F]SFB was successfully synthesized on the EWOD chip in 39 ± 7% (n = 4) radiochemical yield in a total synthesis time of ∼120 min ([18F]fluoride activation, [18F]fluorination, hydrolysis, and coupling reaction, HPLC purification, drying and reformulation). The reformulation and stabilization step for [18F]SFB was important to obtain a high protein labeling efficiency of 33.1 ± 12.5% (n = 3). A small-animal immunoPET pilot study demonstrated that the [18F]SFB-PSCA diabody conjugate showed specific uptake in the PSCA-positive human prostate cancer xenograft. The successful development of a compact footprint of the EWOD radiosynthesizer has the potential to empower biologists to produce PET probes of interest themselves in a standard laboratory

Anti-TNFR1 targeting in humanized mice ameliorates disease in a model of multiple sclerosis.

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) signalling is mediated via two receptors, TNF-receptor 1 (TNFR1) and TNF-receptor 2 (TNFR2), which work antithetically to balance CNS immune responses involved in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. To determine the therapeutic potential of selectively inhibiting TNFR1 in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, we used chimeric human/mouse TNFR1 knock-in mice allowing the evaluation of antagonistic anti-human TNFR1 antibody efficacy. Treatment of mice after onset of disease with ATROSAB resulted in a robust amelioration of disease severity, correlating with reduced central nervous system immune cell infiltration. Long-term efficacy of treatment was achieved by treatment with the parental mouse anti-human TNFR1 antibody, H398, and extended by subsequent re-treatment of mice following relapse. Our data support the hypothesis that anti-TNFR1 therapy restricts immune cell infiltration across the blood-brain barrier through the down-regulation of TNF-induced adhesion molecules, rather than altering immune cell composition or activity. Collectively, we demonstrate the potential for anti-human TNFR1 therapies to effectively modulate immune responses in autoimmune disease