The maleimide motif is widely used for the selective chemical modification of cysteine residues in proteins. Despite widespread utilization, there are some potential limitations, including the irreversible nature of the reaction and, hence, the modification and the number of attachment positions. We conceived of a new class of maleimide which would address some of these limitations and provide new opportunities for protein modification. We report herein the use of mono- and dibromomaleimides for reversible cysteine modification and illustrate this on the SH2 domain of the Grb2 adaptor protein (L111C). After initial modification of a protein with a bromo- or dibromomaleimide, it is possible to add an equivalent of a second thiol to give further bioconjugation, demonstrating that bromomaleimides offer opportunities for up to three points of attachment. The resultant protein−maleimide products can be cleaved to regenerate the unmodified protein by addition of a phosphine or a large excess of a thiol. Furthermore, dibromomaleimide can insert into a disulfide bond, forming a maleimide bridge, and this is illustrated on the peptide hormone somatostatin. Fluorescein-labeled dibromomaleimide is synthesized and inserted into the disulfide to construct a fluorescent somatostatin analogue. These results highlight the significant potential for this new class of reagents in protein modification.
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) comprise antibodies covalently attached to highly potent drugs using a variety of conjugation technologies. As therapeutics, they combine the exquisite specificity of antibodies, enabling discrimination between healthy and diseased tissue, with the cell-killing ability of cytotoxic drugs. This powerful and exciting class of targeted therapy has shown considerable promise in the treatment of various cancers with two US Food and Drug Administration approved ADCs currently on the market (Adcetris and Kadcyla) and approximately 40 currently undergoing clinical evaluation. However, most of these ADCs exist as heterogeneous mixtures, which can result in a narrow therapeutic window and have major pharmacokinetic implications. In order for ADCs to deliver their full potential, sophisticated site-specific conjugation technologies to connect the drug to the antibody are vital. This Perspective discusses the strategies currently used for the site-specific construction of ADCs and appraises their merits and disadvantages.
Although recent methods for the engineering of antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) have gone some way to addressing the challenging issues of ADC construction, significant hurdles still remain. There is clear demand for the construction of novel ADC platforms that offer greater stability, homogeneity and flexibility. Here we describe a significant step towards a platform for next-generation antibody-based therapeutics by providing constructs that combine site-specific modification, exceptional versatility and high stability, with retention of antibody binding and structure post-modification. The relevance of the work in a biological context is also demonstrated in a cytotoxicity assay and a cell internalization study with HER2-positive and -negative breast cancer cell lines.
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