• SGN-CD33A is a novel antibody-drug conjugate, consisting of an engineered anti-CD33 mAb conjugated to a potent DNA cross-linking cytotoxin.• SGN-CD33A is highly active in a broad panel of preclinical AML models and, in contrast to GO, is active despite MDR or poor-risk cytogenetics.Outcomes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remain unsatisfactory, and novel treatments are urgently needed. One strategy explores antibodies and their drug conjugates, particularly those targeting CD33. Emerging data with gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO) demonstrate target validity and activity in some patients with AML, but efficacy is limited by heterogeneous drug conjugation, linker instability, and a high incidence of multidrug resistance. We describe here the development of SGN-CD33A, a humanized anti-CD33 antibody with engineered cysteines conjugated to a highly potent, synthetic DNA cross-linking pyrrolobenzodiazepine dimer via a proteasecleavable linker. The use of engineered cysteine residues at the sites of drug linker attachment results in a drug loading of approximately 2 pyrrolobenzodiazepine dimers per antibody. In preclinical testing, SGN-CD33A is more potent than GO against a panel of AML cell lines and primary AML cells in vitro and in xenotransplantation studies in mice. Unlike GO, antileukemic activity is observed with SGN-CD33A in AML models with the multidrug-resistant phenotype. Mechanistic studies indicate that the cytotoxic effects of SGN-CD33A involve DNA damage with ensuing cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death. Together, these data suggest that SGN-CD33A has CD33-directed antitumor activity and support clinical testing of this novel therapeutic in patients with

The reprogramming of DNA-binding specificity is an important challenge for computational protein design that tests current understanding of protein-DNA recognition, and has considerable practical relevance for biotechnology and medicine [1][2][3][4][5][6] . Here we describe the computational redesign of the cleavage specificity of the intron-encoded homing endonuclease I-MsoI 7 using a physically realistic atomic-level forcefield 8,9 . Using an in silico screen, we identified single basepair substitutions predicted to disrupt binding by the wild-type enzyme, and then optimized the identities and conformations of clusters of amino acids around each of these unfavourable substitutions using Monte Carlo sampling 10 . A redesigned enzyme that was predicted to display altered target site specificity, while maintaining wild-type binding affinity, was experimentally characterized. The redesigned enzyme binds and cleaves the redesigned recognition site ~10,000 times more effectively than does the wild-type enzyme, with a level of target discrimination comparable to the original endonuclease. Determination of the structure of the redesigned nuclease-recognition site complex by X-ray crystallography confirms the accuracy of the computationally predicted interface. These results suggest that computational protein design methods can have an important role in the creation of novel highly specific endonucleases for gene therapy and other applications.The nucleotide sequence specificity of DNA-binding proteins can not be deduced directly from amino acid sequence because the packing, hydrogen-bonding and electrostatic interactions responsible for nucleotide-specific recognition are dependent on the threedimensional structure of the protein-DNA complex 11,12 . While a number of canonical amino acid-nucleotide interaction motifs are observed in protein-DNA interfaces 13 , they areCorrespondence and requests for materials should be addressed to J.A. (ashwortj@u.washington.edu) or D.B. (dabaker@u.washington.edu). Supplementary Information is linked to the online version of the paper at www.nature.com/nature. Author Contributions J.J.H. and C.M.D. developed the original protein-DNA interface design methods and code. J.A. made further code and method developments, generated and assessed the computational predictions, and performed mutagenesis, biochemical characterization, and crystallization. D.S. collected and processed the crystallographic data, and aided in protein purification and structure refinement. I-MsoI, which belongs to the LAGLIDADG family of homing endonucleases, is a 170-residue homodimeric enzyme that cleaves long target sites (20-24 base pairs (bp)) with considerable specificity 7,15,16 . The homing endonucleases provide an excellent model system for understanding protein-DNA interaction specificity, as well as starting points for engineering of novel specificities for targeted genomics applications, including gene therapy 4,5 . Crystal structures of the enzymes bound to their recognition sites reveal a rich ...

A highly cytotoxic DNA cross-linking pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) dimer with a valine-alanine dipeptide linker was conjugated to the anti-CD70 h1F6 mAb either through endogenous interchain cysteines or, site-specifically, through engineered cysteines at position 239 of the heavy chains. The h1F6239C-PBD conjugation strategy proved to be superior to interchain cysteine conjugation, affording an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) with high uniformity in drug-loading and low levels of aggregation. In vitro cytotoxicity experiments demonstrated that the h1F6239C-PBD was potent and immunologically specific on CD70-positive renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) cell lines. The conjugate was resistant to drug loss in plasma and in circulation, and had a pharmacokinetic profile closely matching that of the parental h1F6239C antibody capped with N-ethylmaleimide (NEM). Evaluation in CD70-positive RCC and NHL mouse xenograft models showed pronounced antitumor activities at single or weekly doses as low as 0.1 mg/kg of ADC. The ADC was tolerated at 2.5 mg/kg. These results demonstrate that PBDs can be effectively used for antibody-targeted therapy.

The key role played by fucose in glycoprotein and cellular function has prompted significant research toward identifying recombinant and biochemical strategies for blocking its incorporation into proteins and membrane structures. Technologies surrounding engineered cell lines have evolved for the inhibition of in vitro fucosylation, but they are not applicable for in vivo use and drug development. To address this, we screened a panel of fucose analogues and identified 2-fluorofucose and 5-alkynylfucose derivatives that depleted cells of GDPfucose, the substrate used by fucosyltransferases to incorporate fucose into protein and cellular glycans. The inhibitors were used in vitro to generate fucose-deficient antibodies with enhanced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity activities. When given orally to mice, 2-fluorofucose inhibited fucosylation of endogenously produced antibodies, tumor xenograft membranes, and neutrophil adhesion glycans. We show that oral 2-fluorofucose treatment afforded complete protection from tumor engraftment in a syngeneic tumor vaccine model, inhibited neutrophil extravasation, and delayed the outgrowth of tumor xenografts in immune-deficient mice. The results point to several potential therapeutic applications for molecules that selectively block the endogenous generation of fucosylated glycan structures.

The auristatin class of microtubule destabilizers are highly potent cytotoxic agents against several cancer cell types when delivered as antibody drug conjugates. Here we describe the high resolution structures of tubulin in complex with both monomethyl auristatin E and F and unambiguously define the trans-configuration of both ligands at the Val-Dil amide bond in their tubulin bound state. Moreover, we illustrate how peptidic vinca-site agents carrying terminal carboxylate residues may exploit an observed extended hydrogen bond network with the M-loop Arg278 to greatly improve the affinity of the corresponding analogs and to maintain the M-loop in an incompatible conformation for productive lateral tubulin-tubulin contacts in microtubules. Our results highlight a potential, previously undescribed molecular mechanism by which peptidic vinca-site agents maintain unparalleled potency as microtubule-destabilizing agents.

In this article, we describe a novel antibody-drug conjugate (ADC; SGN-LIV1A), targeting the zinc transporter LIV-1 (SLC39A6) for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. LIV-1 was previously known to be expressed by estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers. In this study, we show that LIV-1 expression is maintained after hormonal therapy in primary and metastatic sites and is also upregulated in triplenegative breast cancers. In addition to breast cancer, other indications showing LIV-1 expression include melanoma, prostate, ovarian, and uterine cancer. SGN-LIV1A consists of a humanized antibody conjugated through a proteolytically cleavable linker to monomethyl auristatin E, a potent microtubuledisrupting agent. When bound to surface-expressed LIV-1 on immortalized cell lines, this ADC is internalized and traffics to the lysozome. SGN-LIV1A displays specific in vitro cytotoxic activity against LIV-1-expressing cancer cells. In vitro results are recapitulated in vivo where antitumor activity is demonstrated in tumor models of breast and cervical cancer lineages. These results support the clinical evaluation of SGN-LIV1A as a novel therapeutic agent for patients with LIV-1-expressing cancer. Mol Cancer Ther; 13(12); 2991-3000. Ó2014 AACR.

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Anti-CD30 diabodies were engineered with two cysteine mutations for site-specific drug conjugation in each chain of these homodimeric antibody fragments. Diabodies were conjugated with f4 equivalents of the anti-tubulin drugs, monomethyl auristatin E or F, via a protease-cleavable dipeptide linker, to create the conjugates, diabody-vcE4 and diabody-vcF4, respectively. Diabody conjugation had only minor (<3-fold) effects on antigen binding. DiabodyvcF4 was potently cytotoxic against the antigen-positive cell lines, Karpas-299 (34 pmol/L IC 50 ) and L540cy (22 pmol/L IC 50 ), and was 8-and 21-fold more active than diabody-vcE4 against these cell lines, respectively. Clearance of diabody-vcF4 (99-134 mL/d/kg) was 5-fold slower than for the nonconjugated diabody in naive severe combined immunodeficient mice. Diabody-vcF4 had potent and dose-dependent antitumor activity against established Karpas-299 xenografts and gave durable complete responses at well-tolerated doses. Biodistribution experiments with diabody-[ 3 H]-vcF4 (0.72-7.2 mg/kg) in tumorbearing mice showed a dose-dependent increase in total auristatin accumulation in tumors (V520 nmol/L) and decrease in relative auristatin accumulation (V8.1 %ID/g), with peak localization at 4 to 24 h after dosing. Diabody-vcF4 had f4-fold lower cytotoxic activity than the corresponding IgG1-vcF4 conjugate in vitro. A similar potency difference was observed in vivo despite 25-to 34-fold faster clearance of diabody-vcF4 than IgG1-vcF4.