Cyclic peptide ligand with high binding capacity for affinity purification of immunoglobulin G.

The rapidly increasing implementation of antibodies in therapeutic and diagnostic applications has necessitated the development of antibody production and purification technologies for both academic and industrial usage. Bacterial Protein A and Protein G are known to bind antibodies with high affinity and have facilitated the isolation and purification thereof. Recently, small peptide ligands (i.e. IgG Fc domain-binding peptides, FcBP) that specifically bind to the Fc-domain of antibodies were reported. In the present study we describe the development of a reusable high affinity column for antibody purification utilizing immobilized FcBP, comprising 13 amino acids residues, on a sepharose resin. In addition to FcBP, Cys to Ser substituted FcBP (FcBP-Ser), reduced FcBP (FcBP-Red), commercial Protein A and Protein G resins, packed into columns, were evaluated for antibody purification. All these columns except the FcBP-Ser one showed good binding capacity for a humanized IgG (trastuzumab) and a chimeric IgG (cetuximab). The column packed with FcBP-Red allowed antibody purification at a less acidic pH (pH 4.8) than was required for the other ligand affinity columns used in our experiments (i.e., pH 3.2 for Protein G and FcBP columns, and pH 3.5 for Protein A column, respectively). Utilizing the FcBP column, antibodies from swine human sera were isolated with a purity of 95%. Interestingly, the FcBP column could be easily regenerated and operated without loss of efficiency for up to 60 runs, the maximum number of runs performed in the present study.

Fc-Binding Ligands of Immunoglobulin G: An Overview of High Affinity Proteins and Peptides.

The rapidly increasing application of antibodies has inspired the development of several novel methods to isolate and target antibodies using smart biomaterials that mimic the binding of Fc-receptors to antibodies. The Fc-binding domain of antibodies is the primary binding site for e.g., effector proteins and secondary antibodies, whereas antigens bind to the Fab region. Protein A, G, and L, surface proteins expressed by pathogenic bacteria, are well known to bind immunoglobulin and have been widely exploited in antibody purification strategies. Several difficulties are encountered when bacterial proteins are used in antibody research and application. One of the major obstacles hampering the use of bacterial proteins is sample contamination with trace amounts of these proteins, which can invoke an immune response in the host. Many research groups actively develop synthetic ligands that are able to selectively and strongly bind to antibodies. Among the reported ligands, peptides that bind to the Fc-domain of antibodies are attractive tools in antibody research. Besides their use as high affinity ligands in antibody purification chromatography, Fc-binding peptides are applied e.g., to localize antibodies on nanomaterials and to increase the half-life of proteins in serum. In this review, recent developments of Fc-binding peptides are presented and their binding characteristics and diverse applications are discussed.

Novel benzidine and diaminofluorene prolinamide derivatives as potent hepatitis C virus NS5A inhibitors.

Our study describes the discovery of a series of highly potent hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5A inhibitors based on symmetrical prolinamide derivatives of benzidine and diaminofluorene. Through modification of benzidine, l-proline, and diaminofluorene derivatives, we developed novel inhibitor structures, which allowed us to establish a library of potent HCV NS5A inhibitors. After optimizing the benzidine prolinamide backbone, we identified inhibitors embedding meta-substituted benzidine core structures that exhibited the most potent anti-HCV activities. Furthermore, through a battery of studies including hERG ligand binding assay, CYP450 binding assay, rat plasma stability test, human liver microsomal stability test, and pharmacokinetic studies, the identified compounds 24, 26, 27, 42, and 43 are found to be nontoxic, and are expected to be effective therapeutic anti-HCV agents.