There is growing interest in the fast and robust engineering of protein pH-sensitivity that aims to reduce binding at acidic pH, compared to neutral pH. Here, we describe a novel strategy for the incorporation of pH-sensitive antigen binding functions into antibody variable domains using combinatorial histidine scanning libraries and yeast surface display. The strategy allows simultaneous screening for both, high affinity binding at pH 7.4 and pH-sensitivity, and excludes conventional negative selection steps. As proof of concept, we applied this strategy to incorporate pH-dependent antigen binding into the complementary-determining regions of adalimumab. After 3 consecutive rounds of separate heavy and light chain library screening, pH-sensitive variants could be isolated. Heavy and light chain mutations were combined, resulting in 3 full-length antibody variants that revealed sharp, reversible pH-dependent binding profiles. Dissociation rate constants at pH 6.0 increased 230- to 780-fold, while high affinity binding at pH 7.4 in the sub-nanomolar range was retained. Furthermore, binding to huFcRn and thermal stability were not affected by histidine substitutions. Overall, this study emphasizes a generalizable strategy for engineering pH-switch functions potentially applicable to a variety of antibodies and further proteins-based therapeutics.

a b s t r a c tIn recent years, several cell-based screening technologies for the isolation of antibodies with prescribed properties emerged. They rely on the multi-copy display of antibodies or antibody fragments on a cell surface in functional form followed by high through put screening and isolation of cell clones that carry an antibody variant with the desired affinity, specificity, and stability. Particularly yeast surface display in combination with high-throughput fluorescence-activated cell sorting has proven successful in the last fifteen years as a very powerful technology that has some advantages over classical generation of monoclonals using the hybridoma technology or bacteriophage-based antibody display and screening. Cell-based screening harbours the benefit of single-cell online and real-time analysis and characterisation of individual library candidates. Moreover, when using eukaryotic expression hosts, intrinsic quality control machineries for proper protein folding and stability exist that allow for co-selection of high-level expression and stability simultaneously to the binding functionality. Recently, promising technologies emerged that directly rely on antibody display on higher eukaryotic cell lines using lentiviral transfection or direct screening on B-cells. The combination of immunisation, B-cell screening and next generation sequencing may open new avenues for the isolation of therapeutic antibodies with prescribed physicochemical and functional characteristics.

Bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have already demonstrated benefits for the treatment of cancer in several clinical studies, showing improved drug selectivity and efficacy. In particular, simultaneous targeting of prominent cancer antigens, such as EGF receptor (EGFR) and c-MET, by bsAbs has raised increasing interest for potentially circumventing receptor cross-talk and c-MET-mediated acquired resistance during anti-EGFR monotherapy. In this study, we combined the selectivity of EGFR × c-MET bsAbs with the potency of cytotoxic agents via bispecific antibody-toxin conjugation. Affinity-attenuated bispecific EGFR × c-MET antibody-drug conjugates demonstrated high in vitro selectivity toward tumor cells overexpressing both antigens and potent anti-tumor efficacy. Due to basal EGFR expression in the skin, ADCs targeting EGFR in general warrant early safety assessments. Reduction in EGFR affinity led to decreased toxicity in keratinocytes. Thus, the combination of bsAb affinity engineering with the concept of toxin conjugation may be a viable route to improve the safety profile of ADCs targeting ubiquitously expressed antigens.

Bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) pave the way for novel therapeutic modes of action along with potential benefits in several clinical applications. However, their generation remains challenging due to the necessity of correct pairings of two different heavy and light chains and related manufacturability issues. We describe a generic approach for the generation of fully human IgG-like bsAbs. For this, heavy chain repertoires from immunized transgenic rats were combined with either a randomly chosen common light chain or a light chain of an existing therapeutic antibody and screened for binders against tumor-related targets CEACAM5 and CEACAM6 by yeast surface display. bsAbs with subnanomolar affinities were identified, wherein each separate binding arm mediated specific binding to the respective antigen. Altogether, the described strategy represents a combination of in vivo immunization with an in vitro selection method, which allows for the integration of existing therapeutic antibodies into a bispecific format.

Bispecific IgG-like antibodies can simultaneously interact with two epitopes on the same or on different antigens. Therefore, these molecules facilitate novel modes of action, which cannot be addressed by conventional monospecific IgGs. However, the generation of such antibodies still appears to be demanding due to their specific architecture comprising four different polypeptide chains that need to assemble correctly. This review focusses on different strategies to circumvent this issue or to enforce a correct chain association with a focus on common-chain bispecific antibodies.

Anti-idiotypic binders which specifically recognize the variable region of monoclonal antibodies have proven to be robust tools for pharmacokinetic studies of antibody therapeutics and for the development of cancer vaccines. In the present investigation, we focused on the identification of anti-idiotypic, shark-derived IgNAR antibody variable domains (vNARs) targeting the therapeutic antibodies matuzumab and cetuximab for the purpose of developing specific capturing ligands. Using yeast surface display and semi-synthetic, CDR3-randomized libraries, we identified several highly specific binders targeting both therapeutic antibodies in their corresponding variable region, without applying any counter selections during screening. Importantly, anti-idiotypic vNAR binders were not cross-reactive towards cetuximab or matuzumab, respectively, and comprised good target recognition in the presence of human and mouse serum. When coupled to magnetic beads, anti-idiotypic vNAR variants could be used as efficient capturing tools. Moreover, a two-step procedure involving vNAR-functionalized beads was employed for the enrichment of potentially bispecific cetuximab × matuzumab antibody constructs. In conclusion, semi-synthetic and CDR3-randomized vNAR libraries in combination with yeast display enable the fast and facile identification of anti-idiotypic vNAR domains targeting monoclonal antibodies primarily in an anti-idiotypic manner.

We describe a novel approach named REAL-Select for the non-covalent display of IgG-molecules on the surface of yeast cells for the purpose of antibody engineering and selection. It relies on the capture of secreted native full-length antibodies on the cell surface via binding to an externally immobilized ZZ domain, which tightly binds antibody Fc. It is beneficial for high-throughput screening of yeast-displayed IgG-libraries during antibody discovery and development. In a model experiment, antibody-displaying yeast cells were isolated from a 1∶1,000,000 mixture with control cells confirming the maintenance of genotype-phenotype linkage. Antibodies with improved binding characteristics were obtained by affinity maturation using REAL-Select, demonstrating the ability of this system to display antibodies in their native form and to detect subtle changes in affinity by flow cytometry. The biotinylation of the cell surface followed by functionalization with a streptavidin-ZZ fusion protein is an approach that is independent of the genetic background of the antibody-producing host and therefore can be expected to be compatible with other eukaryotic expression hosts such as P. pastoris or mammalian cells.

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