The cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs) are the dominant enzyme system responsible for xenobiotic detoxification and drug metabolism. Several CYP isoforms exhibit non-Michaelis-Menten, or "atypical," steady state kinetic patterns. The allosteric kinetics confound prediction of drug metabolism and drug-drug interactions, and they challenge the theoretical paradigms of allosterism. Both homotropic and heterotropic ligand effects are now widely documented. It is becoming apparent that multiple ligands can simultaneously bind within the active sites of individual CYPs, and the kinetic parameters change with ligand occupancy. In fact, the functional effect of any specific ligand as an activator or inhibitor can be substrate dependent. Divergent approaches, including kinetic modeling and X-ray crystallography, are providing new information about how multiple ligand binding yields complex CYP kinetics.

Human cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 catalyzes the oxygen-dependent metabolism of greater than 60% of known drugs. CYP3A4 binds multiple ligands simultaneously, and this contributes to complex allosteric kinetic behavior. Substrates that bind to this enzyme change the ferric spin state equilibrium of the heme, which can be observed by optical absorbance and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The ligand-dependent spin state equilibrium has not been quantitatively understood for any ligands that exhibit multiple binding. The CYP3A4 substrate testosterone (TST) has been shown previously by absorbance spectroscopy to induce spin state changes that are characteristic of a low spin to high spin conversion. Here, EPR was used to examine the equilibrium binding of TST to CYP3A4 at [CYP3A4] > K(D), which allows for characterization of the singly occupied state (i.e., CYP3A4.TST). We also have used absorbance spectroscopy to examine equilibrium binding, where [CYP3A4] < K(D), which allows for determination of K(D)'s. The combination of absorbance and EPR spectroscopy at different CYP3A4 concentrations relative to K(D) and curve fitting of the resultant equilibrium binding titration curves to the Adair-Pauling equations, and modifications of it, reveals that the first equivalent of TST binds with higher affinity than the second equivalent of TST and its binding is positively cooperative with respect to ligand-dependent spin state conversion. Careful analysis of the EPR and absorbance spectral results suggests that the binding of the second TST induces a shift to the high spin state and thus that the second TST binding causes displacement of the bound water. A model involving six thermodynamic states is presented and this model is related to the turnover of the enzyme.

Keywords: antibody(s) antibody drug(s) antibody drug conjugate(s) (ADC) physicochemical properties pharmacokinetics monoclonal antibody(s) immunotherapy IgG antibody(s) drug design developability a b s t r a c t Antibody-based proteins have become an important class of biologic therapeutics, due in large part to the stability, specificity, and adaptability of the antibody framework. Indeed, antibodies not only have the inherent ability to bind both antigens and endogenous immune receptors but also have proven extremely amenable to protein engineering. Thus, several derivatives of the monoclonal antibody format, including bispecific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, and antibody fragments, have demonstrated efficacy for treating human disease, particularly in the fields of immunology and oncology. Reviewed here are considerations for the design of antibody-based therapeutics, including immunological context, therapeutic mechanisms, and engineering strategies. First, characteristics of antibodies are introduced, with emphasis on structural domains, functionally important receptors, isotypic and allotypic differences, and modifications such as glycosylation. Then, aspects of therapeutic antibody design are discussed, including identification of antigen-specific variable regions, choice of expression system, use of multispecific formats, and design of antibody derivatives based on fragmentation, oligomerization, or conjugation to other functional moieties. Finally, strategies to enhance antibody function through protein engineering are reviewed while highlighting the impact of fundamental biophysical properties on protein developability.

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Cytosolic glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) play a critical role in xenobiotic binding and metabolism, as well as in modulation of oxidative stress. Here, the high-resolution X-ray crystal structures of homodimeric human GSTA1-1 in the apo form and in complex with S-hexyl glutathione (two data sets) are reported at 1.8, 1.5, and 1.3A respectively. At this level of resolution, distinct conformations of the alkyl chain of S-hexyl glutathione are observed, reflecting the nonspecific nature of the hydrophobic substrate binding site (H-site). Also, an extensive network of ordered water, including 75 discrete solvent molecules, traverses the open subunit-subunit interface and connects the glutathione binding sites in each subunit. In the highest-resolution structure, three glycerol moieties lie within this network and directly connect the amino termini of the glutathione molecules. A search for ligand binding sites with the docking program Molecular Operating Environment identified the ordered water network binding site, lined mainly with hydrophobic residues, suggesting an extended ligand binding surface for nonsubstrate ligands, the so-called ligandin site. Finally, detailed comparison of the structures reported here with previously published X-ray structures reveal a possible reaction coordinate for ligand-dependent conformational changes in the active site and the C-terminus.