The in vitro potency of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) increases with the drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR); however, ADC plasma clearance also increases with DAR, reducing exposure and in vivo efficacy. Here we show that accelerated clearance arises from ADC hydrophobicity, which can be modulated through drug-linker design. We exemplify this using hydrophilic auristatin drug linkers and PEGylated ADCs that yield uniform, high-DAR ADCs with superior in vivo performance.

The contribution of environmental factors is important as we consider reasons that underlie differential susceptibility to influenza virus. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation by the pollutant dioxin during influenza virus infection decreases survival, which correlates with a 4-fold increase in pulmonary IFN-γ levels. We report here that the majority of IFN-γ-producing cells in the lung are neutrophils and macrophages not lymphocytes, and elevated IFN-γ is associated with increased pulmonary inducible NO synthase (iNOS) levels. Moreover, we show that even in the absence of dioxin, infection with influenza virus elicits IFN-γ production by B cells, γδ T cells, CD11c+ cells, macrophages and neutrophils, as well as CD3+ and NK1.1+ cells in the lung. Bone marrow chimeric mice reveal that AhR-mediated events external to hemopoietic cells direct dioxin-enhanced IFN-γ production. We also show that AhR-mediated increases in IFN-γ are dependent upon iNOS, but elevated iNOS in lung epithelial cells is not driven by AhR-dependent signals from bone marrow-derived cells. Thus, the lung contains important targets of AhR regulation, which likely influence a novel iNOS-mediated mechanism that controls IFN-γ production by phagocytic cells. This suggests that AhR activation changes the response of lung parenchymal cells, such that regulatory pathways in the lung are cued to respond inappropriately during infection. These findings also imply that environmental factors may contribute to differential susceptibility to influenza virus and other respiratory pathogens.

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Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis. Uptake of homocysteine induces oxidative stress in macrophages. Antioxidant response elements (AREs) are regulatory elements within promoters of genes, which protect cells against oxidative stress. The current study investigated whether homocysteine induces transcription of glutamate-cysteine ligase (Gcl), via ARE driven gene expression in mouse macrophages. Gcl is the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of glutathione, an important endogenous antioxidant. Gcl is heterodimeric and the genes encoding the subunits of Gcl contain several AREs within their 5′-promoter regions. Treatment of mouse macrophages with d-/l-homocysteine (50 µM) induced depletion of intracellular glutathione and a compensatory increase in Gcl activity. Electro mobiliy shift assays demonstrated increased binding of nuclear proteins to ARE-containing oligonucleotides. Real-time RT-PCR revealed increased mRNA-expression of the catalytic subunit of Gcl (Gclc) after treatment with homocysteine, and this occurred via increased transcription as demonstrated with luciferase promoter reporter constructs for Gclc. Additional site directed mutagenesis demonstrated that ARE4 plays a direct role in mediating induction of Gclc by homocysteine. Supershift analysis and Western blotting revealed that Nrf2 signalling is critical in homocysteine-induced activation of ARE4. Inhibition of MAP kinase activity reduced binding of nuclear proteins to the AREs, nuclear expression of Nrf2 and mRNA expression of Gclc. Western blotting demonstrated phosporylation of ERK1/2 in homocysteine treated macrophages. These data suggest that ARE-driven gene expression of Gclc via a MEK/Nrf2 pathway could help to protect macrophages from oxidative stress due to hyperhomocysteinemia.

Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) can cause single strand DNA breaks (ssDNA) in cells when the mechanisms normally in place to reduce it are overwhelmed. Such mechanisms include catalase, glutathione peroxidases (GPx), and peroxiredoxins. The relative importance of these enzymes in H 2 O 2 reduction varies with cell and tissue type. The role of the GPx cofactor glutathione (GSH) in oxidative defense can be further understood by modulating its synthesis. The first and rate-limiting enzyme in GSH synthesis is glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCL), which has a catalytic subunit (Gclc) and a modifier subunit (Gclm). Using mouse hepatoma cells we evaluated the effects of GCL over expression on H 2 O 2 -induced changes in GSH and ssDNA break formation with the single cell gel electrophoresis assay (SCG or comet assay), and the acridine orange DNA unwinding flow cytometry assay (AO unwinding assay). Cells over expressing GCL had higher GSH content than control cells, and both SCG and AO unwinding assays revealed that cells over expressing GCL were significantly more resistant to H 2 O 2 -induced ssDNA break formation. Furthermore, using the AO unwinding assay, the prevalence of H 2 O 2 -induced breaks in different phases of the cell cycle was not different, and the degree of protection afforded by GCL over expression was also not cell cycle phase dependant. Our results support the hypothesis that GCL over expression enhanced GSH biosynthesis and protected cells from H 2 O 2 -induced DNA breaks. These results also suggest that genetic polymorphisms that affect GCL expression may be important determinants of oxidative DNA damage and cancer. '