Preserving the chemical and structural integrity of therapeutic antibodies during manufacturing and storage is a major challenge during pharmaceutical development. Oxidation of Fc methionines Met252 and Met428 is frequently observed, which leads to reduced affinity to FcRn and faster plasma clearance if present at high levels. Because oxidation occurs in both positions simultaneously, their individual contribution to the concomitant changes in pharmacokinetic properties has not been clearly established. A novel pH-gradient FcRn affinity chromatography method was applied to isolate three antibody oxidation variants from an oxidized IgG1 preparation based on their FcRn binding properties. Physico-chemical characterization revealed that the three oxidation variants differed predominantly in the number of oxMet252 per IgG (0, 1, or 2), but not significantly in the content of oxMet428. Corresponding to the increase in oxMet252 content, stepwise reduction of FcRn affinity in vitro, as well as faster clearance and shorter terminal half-life, in huFcRn-transgenic mice were observed. A single Met252 oxidation per antibody had no significant effect on pharmacokinetics (PK) compared with unmodified IgG. Importantly, only molecules with both heavy chains oxidized at Met252 exhibited significantly faster clearance. In contrast, Met428 oxidation had no apparent negative effect on PK and even led to somewhat improved FcRn binding and slower clearance. This minor effect, however, seemed to be abrogated by the dominant effect of Met252 oxidation. The novel approach of functional chromatographic separation of IgG oxidation variants followed by physico-chemical and biological characterization has yielded the first experimentally-backed explanation for the unaltered PK properties of antibody preparations containing relatively high Met252 and Met428 oxidation levels.

Therapeutic performance of recombinant antibodies relies on two independent mechanisms: antigen recognition and Fc-mediated antibody effector functions. Interaction of Fc-fragment with different FcR triggers antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and complement-dependent cytotoxicity and determines longevity of the antibody in serum. In context of therapeutic antibodies FcγRs play the most important role. It has been demonstrated that the Fc-attached sugar moiety is essential for IgG effector functionality, dictates its affinity to individual FcγRs and determines binding to different receptor classes: activating or inhibitory. In this study, we systematically analyze effector functions of monoclonal IgG1 and its eight enzymatically engineered glycosylation variants. The analysis of interaction of glycovariants with FcRs was performed for single, as well as for antigen-bound antibodies and IgGs in a form of immune complex. In addition to functional properties we addressed impact of glycosylation on the structural properties of the tested glycovariants. We demonstrate a clear impact of glycosylation pattern on antibody stability and interaction with different FcγRs. Consistent with previous reports, deglycosylated antibodies failed to bind all Fcγ-receptors, with the exception of high affinity FcγRI. The FcγRII and FcγRIIIa binding activity of IgG1 was observed to depend on the galactosylation level, and hypergalactosylated antibodies demonstrated increased receptor interaction. Sialylation did not decrease the FcγR binding of the tested IgGs; in contrast, sialylation of antibodies improved binding to FcγRIIa and IIb. We demonstrate that glycosylation influences to some extent IgG1 interaction with FcRn. However, independent of glycosylation pattern the interaction of IgG1 with a soluble monomeric target surprisingly resulted in an impaired receptor binding. Here, we demonstrate, that immune complexes (IC), induced by multimeric ligand, compensated for the decreased affinity of target bound antibody towards FcRs, showing the importance of the IC-formation for the FcR- mediated effector functions.

The pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of therapeutic antibodies directly affect efficacy, dose and dose intervals, application route and tissue penetration. In indications where health-care providers and patients can choose between several efficacious and safe therapeutic options, convenience (determined by dosing interval or route of application), which is mainly driven by PK properties, can affect drug selection. Therapeutic antibodies can have greatly different PK even if they have identical Fc domains and show no target-mediated drug disposition. Biophysical properties like surface charge or hydrophobicity, and binding to surrogates for high abundant off-targets (e.g., baculovirus particles, Chinese hamster ovary cell membrane proteins) were proposed to be responsible for these differences. Here, we used heparin chromatography to separate a polyclonal mix of endogenous human IgGs (IVIG) into fractions that differ in their PK properties. Heparin was chosen as a surrogate for highly negatively charged glycocalyx components on endothelial cells, which are among the main contributors to nonspecific clearance. By directly correlating heparin retention time with clearance, we identified heparin chromatography as a tool to assess differences in unspecific cell–surface interaction and the likelihood for increased pinocytotic uptake and degradation. Building on these results, we combined predictors for FcRn-mediated recycling and cell–surface interaction. The combination of heparin and FcRn chromatography allow identification of antibodies with abnormal PK by mimicking the major root causes for fast, non-target-mediated, clearance of therapeutic, Fc-containing proteins.

Therapeutic antibodies can undergo a variety of chemical modification reactions in vitro. Depending on the site of modification, either antigen binding or Fc-mediated functions can be affected. Oxidation of tryptophan residues is one of the post-translational modifications leading to altered antibody functionality. In this study, we examined the structural and functional properties of a therapeutic antibody construct and 2 affinity matured variants thereof. Two of the 3 antibodies carry an oxidation-prone tryptophan residue in the complementarity-determining region of the VL domain. We demonstrate the differences in the stability and bioactivity of the 3 antibodies, and reveal differential degradation pathways for the antibodies susceptible to oxidation.

The crystallizable fragment (Fc) of immunoglobulin G (IgG) activates key immunological responses by interacting with Fc gamma receptors (FcɣR). FcɣRIIIb contributes to neutrophil activation and is involved in antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP). These processes present important mechanisms-of-actions of therapeutic antibodies. The very low affinity of IgG toward FcɣRIIIb (K D ~ 10 µM) is a technical challenge for interaction studies. Additionally, the interaction is strongly dependent on IgG glycosylation, a major contributor to proteoform heterogeneity. We developed an affinity chromatography–mass spectrometry (AC-MS) assay for analyzing IgG-FcɣRIIIb interactions in a proteoform-resolved manner. This proved to be well suited to study low-affinity interactions. The applicability and selectivity of the method were demonstrated on a panel of nine different IgG monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), including no-affinity, low-affinity and high-affinity Fc-engineered or glycoengineered mAbs. Thereby, we could reproduce reported affinity rankings of different IgG glycosylation features and IgG subclasses. Additional post-translational modifications (IgG1 Met252 oxidation, IgG3 hinge-region O -glycosylation) showed no effect on FcɣRIIIb binding. Interestingly, we observed indications of an effect of the variable domain sequence on the Fc-binding that deserves further attention. Our new AC-MS method is a powerful tool for expanding knowledge on structure–function relationships of the IgG-FcɣRIIIb interaction. Hence, this assay may substantially improve the efficiency of assessing critical quality attributes of therapeutic mAbs with respect to an important aspect of neutrophil activation.

Aim:The neonatal Fc-receptor (FcRn) mediates long serum half-life of therapeutic IgG-type antibodies. This interaction represents a critical quality attribute in terms of pharmacokinetics and should be covered by respective quality control strategies. Antibodies are taken up by cells unspecifically and can bind to FcRn in early endosomes preventing lysosomal degradation and allowing release back into circulation. Reflecting this complex cycle in an in vitro assay strategy represents a challenging task. Methodology: We report the qualification of an FcRn affinity chromatographic method and, for the first time, establish a noncriticality window. We analyzed different IgG-type antibodies, subtypes, glycoforms as well as mutants. Conclusion: The FcRn affinity chromatographic method allows the assessment of mAb samples with respect to their pH-dependent FcRn interaction. Furthermore, the method's capabilities and current limitations are discussed.

The impact of antibody glycoforms on FcγRIIa activation and immune responses is poorly understood. Yet, glycoform binding assessment remains one of the major analytical challenges requiring long enrichment or glycoengineering steps. Here, we developed and applied an affinity capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry approach to selectively assess the binding of different antibody glycoforms to the FcγIIa receptor without the need of glycoengineering. The approach required only low microgram amounts of antibody and receptor and enables assessing the binding of high and low-abundance glycoforms. The approach indicated clear differences in binging between doubly-, hemi-glycosylated and non-glycosylated antibodies as well as for mutated (Leu234Ala, Leu235Ala – Pro329-Gly (LALA-PG)) IgG1 antibodies silenced for Fcγ binding. The LALA-PG mutated antibody showed no binding to the FcγIIa receptor (excluding potential non-specific binding effects) while the non-glycosylated IgG1 showed a strongly reduced, but still minor binding. The highest binding affinity was for the antibody carrying two complex-type glycans. Man5 glycans resulted in decreased binding compared to complex-type glycans, with the lowest binding for the IgG containing two Man5. For complex-type glycans, galactosylation showed a subtle increase in binding to the FcγIIa receptor, and sialylation showed an increase in binding for lower sialylated species. Fucosylation did not influence binding to the FcγIIa receptor. Finally, the assay was evaluated for the two variants of the FcγRIIa receptor (allotypes H131 and R131) showing highly comparable glycoform selectivity. Overall, the proposed approach allows the direct comparison of binding affinities of different antibody species in mixtures promising a fast establishment of their structure-function relationships.

Monoclonal antibody (mAb) pharmaceuticals consist of a plethora of different proteoforms with different functional characteristics, including pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, requiring their individual assessment. Current binding techniques do not distinguish between coexisting proteoforms requiring tedious production of enriched proteoforms. Here, we have developed an approach based on mobility shift-affinity capillary electrophoresis−mass spectrometry (ACE−MS), which permitted us to determine the binding of coexisting mAb proteoforms to Fc receptors (FcRs). For high-sensitivity MS analysis, we used a sheathless interface providing adequate mAb sensitivity allowing functional characterization of mAbs with a high sensitivity and dynamic range. As a model system, we focused on the interaction with the neonatal FcR (FcRn), which determines the half-life of mAbs. Depending on the oxidation status, proteoforms exhibited different electrophoretic mobility shifts in the presence of FcRn, which could be used to determine their affinity. We confirmed the decrease of the FcRn affinity with antibody oxidation and observed a minor glycosylation effect, with higher affinities for galactosylated glycoforms. Next to relative binding, the approach permits the determination of individual K D values in solution resulting in values of 422 and 139 nM for double-oxidized and non-oxidized variants. Hyphenation with native MS provides unique capabilities for simultaneous heterogeneity assessment for mAbs, FcRn, and complexes formed. The latter provides information on binding stoichiometry revealing 1:1 and 1:2 for antibody/FcRn complexes. The use of differently engineered Fc-only constructs allowed distinguishing between symmetric and asymmetric binding. The approach opens up unique possibilities for proteoform-resolved antibody binding studies to FcRn and can be extended to other FcRs and protein interactions.