Therapeutic pegylated interferon-␣s (IFN-␣) are mixtures of positional isomers that have been monopegylated at specific sites on the core IFN-␣ molecule. The pegylation results in lower in vitro specific activity associated with the core IFN-␣ molecule that is related to the site of pegylation and size of polyethylene glycol (PEG) attached. We prepared purified, homogeneous, positional pegylation isomers of IFN-␣2b that were monopegylated using 5-30-kDa linear PEG molecules attached at 7 primary reactive amino acid residues: Chronic hepatitis C is considered one of the major causes of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma and is the most common reason for liver transplantation in the United States (1). It is estimated that there are 3 million chronically infected individuals in the United States and over 170 million worldwide (1). Treatment of hepatitis C has evolved from the use of interferon-␣ (IFN-␣), 1 either alone or in combination with ribavirin, to the newer pegylated interferons (PEGIFNs), which have provided a dramatic increase in virological response, especially in combination with ribavirin. Standard IFN-␣ therapy has a short (Ͻ12-h) half-life that requires subcutaneous injection three times weekly to maintain effective levels in the blood (2). The short half-life of IFN-␣ has led to the development of longer lasting preparations achieved by the attachment of a large polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecule directly to IFN-␣. Two different commercial preparations of PEG-IFN-␣ have been developed for clinical use, PEG-IFN-␣2b (PEG-INTRON®) and PEG-IFN-␣2a (Pegasys®); both have long half-lives (40 and 80 h, respectively) that permit once weekly administration (3). Both of these preparations have been demonstrated to be effective for the treatment of patients with hepatitis C (4), and clinical trial results have shown further that both of the pegylated molecules produce sustained viral response rates superior to those achieved with their respective standard IFN-␣s (5-7).Whereas pegylation has proven to be highly effective for slowing the clearance of biological molecules, including IFN-␣, and thus increasing serum half-life, it has been shown to also modify in vitro biological activity (8). For instance, we have reported that pegylation of IFN-␣2b with a 12-kDa linear PEG molecule results in a preparation that has a specific activity of 28% relative to IFN-␣2b; the loss in activity was not due to structural perturbation of the core IFN-␣2b core protein (9). Other groups have reported that pegylation of IFN-␣2a with a 40-kDa branched PEG molecule results in a preparation that contains from 1 to 7% relative specific activity compared with IFN-␣2a (10, 11). These two pegylated interferon-␣s (PEG-IFN␣s) differ substantially in their postpegylation constituent properties. PEG-IFN-␣2b has a 12-kDa linear PEG molecule attached using succinimidyl carbonate polyethylene glycol (SC-PEG) chemistry via a covalent urethane-like bond to the IFN␣2b protein (12). The pegylation linkage process results...
A monomeric form of human interleukin 10 (IL-10M1) has been engineered for detailed structure-function studies on IL-10 and its receptor complexes. Wild type IL-10 (wtIL-10) is a domain swapped dimer whose structural integrity depends on the intertwining of two peptide chains. wtIL-10 was converted to a monomeric isomer by inserting 6 amino acids into the loop connecting the swapped secondary structural elements. Characterization of IL-10M1 by mass spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography, cross-linking, and circular dichroism shows that IL-10M1 is a stable ␣-helical monomer at physiological pH whose three-dimensional structure closely resembles one domain of wtIL-10. As previously reported, incubation of wtIL-10 with a soluble form of the IL-10R␣ (sIL-10R␣) generates a complex that consists of 2 wtIL-10 molecules and 4 sIL-10R␣s. In contrast, IL-10M1 forms a 1:1 complex with the sIL-10R␣. Characterization of the interaction using isothermal titration calorimetry confirmed the 1:1 stoichiometry and yielded a dissociation constant of 30 nM with an apparent binding enthalpy of ؊12.2 kcal/mol. Despite forming a 1:1 complex, IL-10M1 is biologically active in cellular proliferation assays. These results indicate that the 1:1 interaction between IL-10M1 and IL-10R␣ is sufficient for recruiting the signal transducing receptor chain (IL-10R) into the signaling complex and eliciting IL-10 cellular responses.
This report describes the development and the biology of Sch 55700, a humanized monoclonal antibody to human IL-5 (hIL-5). Sch 55700 was synthesized using CDR (complementarity determining regions) grafting technology by incorporating the antigen recognition sites for hIL-5 onto consensus regions of a human IgG4 framework. In vitro, Sch 55700 displays high affinity (Kd = 20 pmol/l) binding to hIL-5, inhibits the binding of hIL-5 to Ba/F3 cells (IC50 = 0.5 nmol/l) and blocks IL-5 mediated proliferation of human erythroleukemic TF-1 cells. In allergic mice, Sch 55700 (0.1-10 mg/kg, i.p. or i.m.) inhibits the influx of eosinophils in the lungs, demonstrates long duration of activity and the anti-inflammatory activity of this compound is additive with oral prednisolone. In allergic guinea pigs, Sch 55700 (0.03-30 mg/kg i.p.) inhibits both the pulmonary eosinophilia and airway hyperresponsiveness and at 30 mg/kg, i.p. inhibited allergic, but not histamine-induced bronchoconstriction. In allergic rabbits, Sch 55700 blocks cutaneous eosinophilia. Sch 55700 (0.1-1 mg/kg i.p.) also blocks the pulmonary eosinophilia and neutrophilia caused by tracheal injection of hIL-5 in guinea pigs. In allergic cynomolgus monkeys, a single dose of Sch 55700 (0.3 mg/kg i.v.) blocks the pulmonary eosinophilia caused by antigen challenge for up to six months. Sch 55700 is, therefore, a potent antibody against IL-5 in vitro and in a variety of species in vivo that could be used to establish the role of IL-5 in human eosinophilic diseases such as asthma.
Replication-deficient adenoviral vectors have been developed for the delivery of DNA sequences encoding a variety of proteins intended for the management of disease through gene therapy. One concern is the occurrence of replication-competent adenovirus (RCA) in the population of replication-deficient adenoviral vectors as a result of recombination or contamination. To address this concern, it is necessary to determine the frequency of occurrence and to fully characterize the molecular structure and biological infectivity of RCA. rAd/p53 is a pIX-deleted p53 gene therapy vector that is designed to lower the RCA occurrence and to deliver the tumor suppressor gene p53 for treatment of various cancers. Multiple preparations of the replication-deficient adenoviral vector rAd/p53 were tested for the presence of RCA, employing a sensitive biological assay. Single plaques from RCA-positive preparations of rAd/p53 were isolated for molecular characterization. All of the RCA isolates displayed a single unique structure that contains the complete E1 sequence of adenovirus type 5 but lacks the p53 sequence. The detailed sequence analysis of the RCA suggests that it is most likely generated as a result of recombination events between the rAd/p53 DNA and the 293 host adenoviral sequence. Results from viral infectivity analysis by flow cytometry demonstrate no substantial difference in infectivity of RCA, rAd/p53, and wild-type adenovirus type 5 in 293 cells.
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