Issue 3, 2019

A general approach for the site-selective modification of native proteins, enabling the generation of stable and functional antibody–drug conjugates

Abstract

Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) are a class of targeted therapeutics that utilize the specificity of antibodies to selectively deliver highly potent cytotoxins to target cells. Although recent years have witnessed significant interest in ADCs, problems remain with the standard linkage chemistries used for cytotoxin-antibody bioconjugation. These typically (1) generate unstable constructs, which may lead to premature cytotoxin release, (2) often give a wide variance in drug–antibody ratios (DAR) and (3) have poor control of attachment location on the antibody, resulting in a variable pharmacokinetic profile. Herein, we report a novel divinylpyrimidine (DVP) linker platform for selective bioconjugation via covalent re-bridging of reduced disulfide bonds on native antibodies. Model studies using the non-engineered trastuzumab antibody validate the utility of this linker platform for the generic generation of highly plasma-stable and functional antibody constructs that incorporate variable biologically relevant payloads (including cytotoxins) in an efficient and site-selective manner with precise control over DAR. DVP linkers were also used to efficiently re-bridge both monomeric and dimeric protein systems, demonstrating their potential utility for general protein modification, protein stabilisation or the development of other protein-conjugate therapeutics.

Graphical abstract: A general approach for the site-selective modification of native proteins, enabling the generation of stable and functional antibody–drug conjugates

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
18 okt 2018
Accepted
06 nov 2018
First published
09 nov 2018
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 694-700

A general approach for the site-selective modification of native proteins, enabling the generation of stable and functional antibody–drug conjugates

S. J. Walsh, S. Omarjee, W. R. J. D. Galloway, T. T.-L. Kwan, H. F. Sore, J. S. Parker, M. Hyvönen, J. S. Carroll and D. R. Spring, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 694 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC04645J

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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