Prevention of hepatitis C virus infection and spread in human liver chimeric mice by an anti-CD81 monoclonal antibody.

UNLABELLED: CD81 is a required receptor for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection of human hepatocytes in vitro. We generated several high-affinity anti-human CD81 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that demonstrated potent, specific, and cross-genotype inhibition of HCV entry. One of these mAbs, K04, was administered to human liver chimeric mice before or after HCV infection to determine its ability to prevent HCV infection or spread of HCV infection, respectively. All vehicle control mice established HCV infection, reaching steady-state levels of serum HCV RNA by day 21. Pretreatment of mice with K04 prevented HCV infection in all mice (n = 5). Treatment of mice with mAb K04 every 3 days for 21 days, starting at 6 hours postinfection, resulted in effective inhibition of virus spread. In 3 mice that were sacrificed on day 24, serum HCV levels remained detectable, below the limit of quantification (LOQ), indicating that infection was established, but virus spread was blocked, by the anti-CD81 mAb. In 5 additional mice that were followed for a longer time, virus remained detectable, below LOQ, until days 24 and 30 in 4 of 5 mice. In the fifth mouse, viral load was quantifiable, but reduced to 64-fold below the mean viral load in vehicle control at day 24. In addition, 2 of 5 mice cleared the infection by day 30 and 1 mouse had undetectable virus load from day 6 onward. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that CD81 is required for HCV infection and virus spread in vivo, and that anti-CD81 antibodies such as K04 may have potential as broad-spectrum antiviral agents for prevention and treatment of HCV infection.

Target-mediated drug disposition and prolonged liver accumulation of a novel humanized anti-CD81 monoclonal antibody in cynomolgus monkeys.

CD81 is an essential receptor for hepatitis C virus (HCV). K21 is a novel high affinity anti-CD81 antibody with potent broad spectrum anti-HCV activity in vitro. The pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics and liver distribution of K21 were characterized in cynomolgus monkeys after intravenous (i.v.) administration of K21. Characteristic target-mediated drug disposition (TMDD) was shown based on the PK profile of K21 and a semi-mechanistic TMDD model was used to analyze the data. From the TMDD model, the estimated size of the total target pool at baseline (V(c) • R(base)) is 16 nmol/kg and the estimated apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (KM) is 4.01 nM. A simulation using estimated TMDD parameters indicated that the number of free receptors remains below 1% for at least 3 h after an i.v. bolus of 7 mg/kg. Experimentally, the availability of free CD81 on peripheral lymphocytes was measured by immunostaining with anti-CD81 antibody JS81. After K21 administration, a dose- and time-dependent reduction in free CD81 on peripheral lymphocytes was observed. Fewer than 3% of B cells could bind JS81 3 h after a 7 mg/kg dose. High concentrations of K21 were found in liver homogenates, and the liver/serum ratio of K21 increased time-dependently and reached ~160 at 168 h post-administration. The presence of K21 bound to hepatocytes was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The fast serum clearance of K21 and accumulation in the liver are consistent with TMDD. The TMDD-driven liver accumulation of the anti-CD81 antibody K21 supports the further investigation of K21 as a therapeutic inhibitor of HCV entry.

Targeted delivery of interferon-α to hepatitis B virus-infected cells using T-cell receptor-like antibodies.

UNLABELLED: During antiviral therapy, specific delivery of interferon-α (IFNα) to infected cells may increase its antiviral efficacy, trigger a localized immune reaction, and reduce the side effects caused by systemic administration. Two T-cell receptor-like antibodies (TCR-L) able to selectively bind hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected hepatocytes of chronic hepatitis B patients and recognize core (HBc18-27) and surface (HBs183-91) HBV epitopes associated with different human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A*02 alleles (A*02:01, A*02:02, A*02:07, A*02:11) were generated. Each antibody was genetically linked to two IFNα molecules to produce TCR-L/IFNα fusion proteins. We demonstrate that the fusion proteins triggered an IFNα response preferentially on the hepatocytes presenting the correct HBV-peptide HLA-complex and that the mechanism of the targeted IFNα response was dependent on the specific binding of the fusion proteins to the HLA/HBV peptide complexes through the TCR-like variable regions of the antibodies. CONCLUSION: TCR-L antibodies can be used to target cytokines to HBV-infected hepatocytes in vitro. Fusion of IFNα to TCR-L decreased the intrinsic biological activity of IFNα but preserved the overall specificity of the protein for the cognate HBV peptide/HLA complexes. This induction of an effective IFNα response selectively in HBV-infected cells might have a therapeutic advantage in comparison to the currently used native or pegylated IFNα.