A Conjugate Based on Anti-HER2 Diaffibody and Auristatin E Targets HER2-Positive Cancer Cells.

Abstract

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have recently emerged as efficient and selective cancer treatment therapeutics. Currently, alternative forms of drug carriers that can replace monoclonal antibodies are under intensive investigation. Here, a cytotoxic conjugate of an anti-HER2 (Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2) diaffibody with monomethyl-auristatin E (MMAE) is proposed as a potential anticancer therapeutic. The anti-HER2 diaffibody was based on the ZHER2:4 affibody amino acid sequence. The anti-HER2 diaffibody has been expressed as a His-tagged protein in E. coli and purified by Ni-nitrilotriacetyl (Ni-NTA) agarose chromatography. The molecule was properly folded, and the high affinity and specificity of its interaction with HER2 was confirmed by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and flow cytometry, respectively. The (ZHER2:4)₂DCS-MMAE conjugate was obtained by coupling the maleimide group linked with MMAE to cysteines, which were introduced in a drug conjugation sequence (DCS). Cytotoxicity of the conjugate was evaluated using the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide MTT assay and the xCELLigence Real-Time Cell Analyzer. Our experiments demonstrated that the conjugate delivered auristatin E specifically to HER2-positive tumor cells, which finally led to their death. These results indicate that the cytotoxic diaffibody conjugate is a highly potent molecule for the treatment of various types of cancer overexpressing HER2 receptors.

• Authors: Anna M Serwotka-Suszczak, Alicja M Sochaj-Gregorczyk, Jerzy Pieczykolan, Daniel Krowarsch, Filip Jelen, Jacek Otlewski
• Journal: International journal of molecular sciences (Int J Mol Sci) Vol. 18 Issue 2 (Feb 14 2017) ISSN: 1422-0067 [Electronic] Switzerland
• PMID: 28216573 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Aminobenzoates
• Antibodies, Monoclonal
• Immunoconjugates
• Oligopeptides
• auristatin
• Receptor, ErbB-2

Topics

• Aminobenzoates (chemistry, pharmacology)
• Animals
• Antibodies, Monoclonal (chemistry, isolation & purification, pharmacology)
• Antibody Specificity
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Cell Survival (drug effects)
• Disease Models, Animal
• Humans
• Immunoconjugates (chemistry, pharmacology)
• Molecular Targeted Therapy
• Neoplasms (drug therapy, metabolism, pathology)
• Oligopeptides (chemistry, pharmacology)
• Protein Binding
• Protein Stability
• Receptor, ErbB-2 (antagonists & inhibitors, metabolism)
• Thermodynamics
• Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays