Improvement in affinity and thermostability of a fully human antibody against interleukin-17A by yeast-display technology and CDR grafting

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are widely used in many fields due to their high specificity and ability to recognize a broad range of antigens. IL-17A can induce a rapid inflammatory response both alone and synergistically with other proinflammatory cytokines. Accumulating evidence suggests that therapeutic intervention of IL-17A signaling offers an attractive treatment option for autoimmune diseases and cancer. Here, we present a combinatorial approach for optimizing the affinity and thermostability of a novel anti-hIL-17A antibody. From a large naïve phage-displayed library, we isolated the anti-IL-17A mAb 7H9 that can neutralize the effects of recombinant human IL-17A. However, the modest neutralization potency and poor thermostability limit its therapeutic applications. affinity optimization was then used to generate 8D3 by using yeast-displayed random mutagenesis libraries. This resulted in four key amino acid changes and provided an approximately 15-fold potency increase in a cell-based neutralization assay. Complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of 8D3 were further grafted onto the stable framework of the huFv 4D5 to improve thermostability. The resulting hybrid antibody 9NT/S has superior stabilization and affinities beyond its original antibody. Human fibrosarcoma cell-based assays and analyses in mice indicated that the anti-IL-17A antibody 9NT/S efficiently inhibited the secretion of IL-17A-induced proinflammatory cytokines. Therefore, this lead anti-IL-17A mAb might be used as a potential best-in-class candidate for treating IL-17A related diseases.

Advances and challenges in therapeutic monoclonal antibodies drug development

The use of serum containing polyclonal antibodies from animals immunized with toxins marked the beginning of the application of antibody-based therapy in late nineteenth century. Advances in basic research led to the development of the hybridoma technology in 1975. Eleven years later, the first therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb) was approved, and since then, driven by technological advances, the development of mAbs has played a prominent role in the pharmaceutical industry. In this review, we present the developments to circumvent problems of safety and efficacy arising from the murine origin of the first mAbs and generate structures more similar to human antibodies. As of October 2017, there are 61 mAbs and 11 Fc-fusion proteins in clinical use. An overview of all mAbs currently approved is provided, showing the development of sophisticated mAbs formats that were engineered based on the challenges posed by therapeutic indications, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) and glycoengineered mAbs. In the field of immunotherapy, the use of immunomodulators, bispecific mAbs and CAR-T cells are highlighted. As an example of promising therapy to treat infectious diseases, we discuss the generation of neutralizing monoclonal-oligoclonal antibodies obtained from human B cells. Scientific and technological advances represent mAbs successful translation to the clinic