An experimental approach probing the conformational transitions and energy landscape of antibodies: a glimmer of hope for reviving lost therapeutic candidates using ionic liquid
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Published version
OA Location
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Understanding protein folding in different environmental conditions is fundamentally important for predicting protein structures and developing innovative antibody formulations. While the thermodynamics and kinetics of folding and unfolding have been extensively studied by computational methods, experimental methods for determining antibody conformational transition pathways are lacking. Motivated to fill this gap, we prepared a series of unique formulations containing a high concentration of a chimeric immunoglobin G4 (IgG4) antibody with different excipients in the presence and absence of the ionic liquid (IL) choline dihydrogen phosphate. We determined the effects of different excipients and IL on protein thermal and structural stability by performing variable temperature circular dichroism and bio-layer interferometry analyses. To further rationalise the observations of conformational changes with temperature, we carried out molecular dynamics simulations on a single antibody binding fragment from IgG4 in the different formulations, at low and high temperatures. We developed a methodology to study the conformational transitions and associated thermodynamics of biomolecules, and we showed IL-induced conformational transitions. We showed that the increased propensity for conformational change was driven by preferential binding of the dihydrogen phosphate anion to the antibody fragment. Finally, we found that a formulation containing IL with sugar, amino acids and surfactant is a promising candidate for stabilising proteins against conformational destabilisation and aggregation. We hope that ultimately, we can help in the quest to understand the molecular basis of the stability of antibodies and protein misfolding phenomena and offer new candidate formulations with the potential to revive lost therapeutic candidates.
Date Issued
2021-06-22
Date Acceptance
2021-05-26
Citation
Chemical Science, 2021, 12 (27), pp.9528-9545
ISSN
2041-6520
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Start Page
9528
End Page
9545
Journal / Book Title
Chemical Science
Volume
12
Issue
27
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.
License URL
Identifier
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/SC/D1SC02520A#!divAbstract
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chemistry
MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS
MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY
ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE
FORCE-FIELD
AGGREGATION
BINDING
PROTEINS
STABILITY
EXCIPIENTS
IMMUNOGLOBULIN
03 Chemical Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-06-22