ABSTRACT
The pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently the biggest healthcare issue worldwide. This study aimed to develop a monoclonal antibody against SARS-CoV-2 from B cells of recovered COVID-19 patients, which might have beneficial therapeutic purposes for COVID-19 patients. We successfully generated human monoclonal antibodies (hmAbs) against the receptor binding domain (RBD) protein of SARS-CoV-2 using developed hybridoma technology. The isolated hmAbs against the RBD protein (wild-type) showed high binding activity and neutralized the interaction between the RBD and the cellular receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein. Epitope binning and crystallography results displayed target epitopes of these antibodies in distinct regions beneficial in the mix as a cocktail. The 3D2 binds to conserved epitopes among multi-variants. Pseudovirion-based neutralization results revealed that the antibody cocktail, 1D1 and 3D2, showed high potency in multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In vivo studies showed the ability of the antibody cocktail treatment (intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration) to reduce viral load (Beta variant) in blood and various tissues. While the antibody cocktail treatment (intranasal (i.n.) administration) could not significantly reduce the viral load in nasal turbinate and lung tissue, it could reduce the viral load in blood, kidney, and brain tissue. These findings revealed that the efficacy of the antibody cocktail, 1D1 and 3D2, should be further studied in animal models in terms of timing of administration, optimal dose, and efficacy to mitigate inflammation in targeted tissue such as nasal turbinate and lung.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Animals , Humans , Antibodies, Neutralizing , Antibodies, Viral/therapeutic use , Antibodies, Monoclonal , Epitopes , Spike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusABSTRACT
We report the development of a platform of dual targeting Fab (DutaFab) molecules, which comprise two spatially separated and independent binding sites within the human antibody CDR loops: the so-called H-side paratope encompassing HCDR1, HCDR3 and LCDR2, and the L-side paratope encompassing LCDR1, LCDR3 and HCDR2. Both paratopes can be independently selected and combined into the desired bispecific DutaFabs in a modular manner. X-ray crystal structures illustrate that DutaFabs are able to bind two target molecules simultaneously at the same Fv region comprising a VH-VL heterodimer. In the present study, this platform is applied to generate DutaFabs specific for VEGFA and PDGF-BB, which show high affinities, physico-chemical stability and solubility, as well as superior efficacy over anti-VEGF monotherapy in vivo. These molecules exemplify the usefulness of DutaFabs as a distinct class of antibody therapeutics, which is currently being evaluated in patients.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Bispecific/pharmacology , Choroidal Neovascularization/drug therapy , Drug Development/methods , Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments/pharmacology , Protein Engineering , Amino Acid Sequence/genetics , Animals , Antibodies, Bispecific/genetics , Antibodies, Bispecific/therapeutic use , Antibodies, Bispecific/ultrastructure , Becaplermin/antagonists & inhibitors , Binding Sites, Antibody/genetics , Crystallography, X-Ray , Disease Models, Animal , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Humans , Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments/genetics , Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments/therapeutic use , Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments/ultrastructure , Inhibitory Concentration 50 , Intravitreal Injections , Male , Models, Molecular , Proof of Concept Study , Protein Conformation , Rats , Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/antagonists & inhibitorsABSTRACT
Antibiotics that inhibit multiple bacterial targets offer a promising therapeutic strategy against resistance evolution, but developing such antibiotics is challenging. Here we demonstrate that a rational design of balanced multitargeting antibiotics is feasible by using a medicinal chemistry workflow. The resultant lead compounds, ULD1 and ULD2, belonging to a novel chemical class, almost equipotently inhibit bacterial DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV complexes and interact with multiple evolutionary conserved amino acids in the ATP-binding pockets of their target proteins. ULD1 and ULD2 are excellently potent against a broad range of gram-positive bacteria. Notably, the efficacy of these compounds was tested against a broad panel of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical strains. Antibiotics with clinical relevance against staphylococcal infections fail to inhibit a significant fraction of these isolates, whereas both ULD1 and ULD2 inhibit all of them (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] ≤1 µg/mL). Resistance mutations against these compounds are rare, have limited impact on compound susceptibility, and substantially reduce bacterial growth. Based on their efficacy and lack of toxicity demonstrated in murine infection models, these compounds could translate into new therapies against multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Drug Design , Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial/drug effects , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Bacterial Proteins/chemistry , Bacterial Proteins/genetics , Directed Molecular Evolution , Disease Models, Animal , Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology , Hep G2 Cells , Humans , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , MCF-7 Cells , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Mutation/genetics , Skin/drug effects , Skin/microbiology , Staphylococcal Infections/drug therapy , Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects , Toxicity TestsABSTRACT
We report the synthesis of linear and branched (1â4)-d-galactans. Four tetrasaccharides and one pentasaccharide were accessed by adopting a procedure of regioselective ring opening of a 4,6-O-naphthylidene protecting group followed by glycosylation using phenyl thioglycoside donors. The binding of the linear pentasaccharide with galectin-3 is also investigated by the determination of a co-crystal structure. The binding of the (1â4)-linked galactan to Gal-3 highlights the oligosaccharides of pectic galactan, which is abundant in the human diet, as putative Gal-3 ligands.
