Discovering Molecules That Regulate Efferocytosis Using Primary Human Macrophages and High Content Imaging.

Defective clearance of apoptotic cells can result in sustained inflammation and subsequent autoimmunity. Macrophages, the "professional phagocyte" of the body, are responsible for efficient, non-phlogistic, apoptotic cell clearance. Controlling phagocytosis of apoptotic cells by macrophages is an attractive therapeutic opportunity to ameliorate inflammation. Using high content imaging, we have developed a system for evaluating the effects of antibody treatment on apoptotic cell uptake in primary human macrophages by comparing the Phagocytic Index (PI) for each antibody. Herein we demonstrate the feasibility of evaluating a panel of antibodies of unknown specificities obtained by immunization of mice with primary human macrophages and show that they can be distinguished based on individual PI measurements. In this study ~50% of antibodies obtained enhance phagocytosis of apoptotic cells while approximately 5% of the antibodies in the panel exhibit some inhibition. Though the specificities of the majority of antibodies are unknown, two of the antibodies that improved apoptotic cell uptake recognize recombinant MerTK; a receptor known to function in this capacity in vivo. The agonistic impact of these antibodies on efferocytosis could be demonstrated without addition of either of the MerTK ligands, Gas6 or ProS. These results validate applying the mechanism of this fundamental biological process as a means for identification of modulators that could potentially serve as therapeutics. This strategy for interrogating macrophages to discover molecules regulating apoptotic cell uptake is not limited by access to purified protein thereby increasing the possibility of finding novel apoptotic cell uptake pathways.

Three-dimensional lung tumor microenvironment modulates therapeutic compound responsiveness in vitro--implication for drug development.

Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture is gaining acceptance in response to the need for cellular models that better mimic physiologic tissues. Spheroids are one such 3D model where clusters of cells will undergo self-assembly to form viable, 3D tumor-like structures. However, to date little is known about how spheroid biology compares to that of the more traditional and widely utilized 2D monolayer cultures. Therefore, the goal of this study was to characterize the phenotypic and functional differences between lung tumor cells grown as 2D monolayer cultures, versus cells grown as 3D spheroids. Eight lung tumor cell lines, displaying varying levels of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and cMET protein expression, were used to develop a 3D spheroid cell culture model using low attachment U-bottom plates. The 3D spheroids were compared with cells grown in monolayer for 1) EGFR and cMET receptor expression, as determined by flow cytometry, 2) EGFR and cMET phosphorylation by MSD assay, and 3) cell proliferation in response to epidermal growth factor (EGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). In addition, drug responsiveness to EGFR and cMET inhibitors (Erlotinib, Crizotinib, Cetuximab [Erbitux] and Onartuzumab [MetMab]) was evaluated by measuring the extent of cell proliferation and migration. Data showed that EGFR and cMET expression is reduced at day four of untreated spheroid culture compared to monolayer. Basal phosphorylation of EGFR and cMET was higher in spheroids compared to monolayer cultures. Spheroids showed reduced EGFR and cMET phosphorylation when stimulated with ligand compared to 2D cultures. Spheroids showed an altered cell proliferation response to HGF, as well as to EGFR and cMET inhibitors, compared to monolayer cultures. Finally, spheroid cultures showed exceptional utility in a cell migration assay. Overall, the 3D spheroid culture changed the cellular response to drugs and growth factors and may more accurately mimic the natural tumor microenvironment.

An engineered Fc variant of an IgG eliminates all immune effector functions via structural perturbations.

The Fc variant of IgG2, designated as IgG2σ, was engineered with V234A/G237A /P238S/H268A/V309L/A330S/P331S substitutions to eliminate affinity for Fcγ receptors and C1q complement protein and consequently, immune effector functions. IgG2σ was compared to other previously well-characterized Fc 'muted' variants, including aglycosylated IgG1, IgG2m4 (H268Q/V309L/A330S/P331S, changes to IgG4), and IgG4 ProAlaAla (S228P/L234A/L235A) in its capacity to bind FcγRs and activate various immune-stimulatory responses. In contrast to the previously characterized muted Fc variants, which retain selective FcγR binding and effector functions, IgG2σ shows no detectable binding to the Fcγ receptors in affinity and avidity measurements, nor any detectable antibody-dependent cytotoxicity, phagocytosis, complement activity, or Fc-mediated cytokine release. Moreover, IgG2σ shows minimal immunogenic potential by T-cell epitope analysis. The circulating half-life of IgG2σ in monkeys is extended relative to IgG1 and IgG2, in spite of similar in vitro binding to recombinant FcRn. The three-dimensional structure of the Fc, needed for assessing the basis for the absence of effector function, was compared with that of IgG2 revealing a number of conformational differences near the hinge region of the CH2 domain that result from the amino acid substitutions. Modeling reveals that at least one of the key interactions with FcγRs is disrupted by a conformational change that reorients P329 to a position that prevents it from interacting with conserved W90 and W113 residues of the FcγRs. Inspection of the structure also indicated significant changes to the conformations of D270 and P329 in the CH2 domain that could negatively impact C1q binding. Thus, structural perturbations of the Fc provide a rationale for the loss of function. In toto, these properties of IgG2σ suggest that it is a superior alternative to previously described IgG variants of minimal effector function, for future therapeutic applications of non-immunostimulatory mAb and Fc-fusion platforms.

The in vitro resistance of IgG2 to proteolytic attack concurs with a comparative paucity of autoantibodies against peptide analogs of the IgG2 hinge.

The mammalian antibody repertoire comprises immunoglobulin (Ig) molecules of multiple isotypes and subclasses with varying functional properties. Among the four subclasses of the human IgG isotype, we found that IgG2 exhibits a particular resistance to human and bacterial proteases that readily cleave the IgG1 hinge region in vitro. Autoantibodies (IgGs) that recognize points of proteolytic cleavage in the IgG1 hinge are widespread in the healthy human population, suggesting that IgG1 fragmentation and the generation of cryptic antigens for host immune surveillance commonly occur in vivo. We previously reported that autoantibodies to cleaved IgG1s can restore Fc-mediated effector functions that are lost following proteolytic cleavage of the hinge. In contrast, it was not possible to demonstrate an analogous cohort of autoantibodies to IgG2 hinge epitope analogs, and there appeared to be no functional component in human serum with the ability to reconstitute Fc effector functions to a cell-bound IgG2 fragment. Thus, the results indicate that among the IgG subclasses, human IgG2 is uniquely resistant to a number of known pathological proteases and that autoimmune recognition to potential cleavage points in the IgG2 hinge appears to be absent in human circulation.

Coevolution of antibody stability and Vκ CDR-L3 canonical structure.

Antibodies recognize antigens through six hypervariable loops, five of which have a limited set of conformations known as canonical structures. For κ light chains, the majority of CDR-L3 [the third hypervariable loop of the light chain variable domain (V(L))] adopts the type 1 canonical structure (CS1), with a cis-proline at position 95. Here, we present the design and structural studies of the monoclonal antibody mAb15 and related mutants that contained a series of progressively germline mutations only in the heavy chain variable domain (V(H)) that ultimately led to an increase of more than 11°C in the melting temperature (T(m)) of the antigen-binding fragment (Fab). The all-trans CDR-L3 structure in the wild type is significantly different from any known CDR-L3 canonical structures. In the thermally stable mutants, the L94(L)-S95(L) peptide bond adopts an energetically unfavorable non-X-proline cis conformation, but the overall CDR-L3 loop converted to CS1. The stabilized V(H) appears to function as a specific molecular chaperone that facilitated the trans-cis isomerization of S95(L). Thus, it is plausible that proline is the evolutionary choice to maintain overall structure and stability for V(L). These results provide new insights into the evolution of CS1 and suggest a potential molecular switch mechanism at position 95 that links CDR-L3 structural diversity and antibody stability and will have implications for antibody engineering.