Modulation of complement-dependent cytotoxicity by modification of the C-terminus of antibody heavy chains.

Abstract

The present invention provides antibody variants with reduced or enhanced ability to mediate complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) due to modifications to the C-terminus of the heavy chain, methods for producing such antibodies, and nucleotide constructs and host cells suitable for producing the antibodies. [Solution] A method for producing an antibody comprising at least a heavy chain in a host cell, comprising the following steps: (a) providing a nucleotide construct encoding the heavy chain, wherein the construct does not encode a lysine residue at the C-terminus of the heavy chain; (b) expressing the nucleotide construct in a host cell, wherein the host cell is not a CHO cell or a moss cell; and (c) recovering the antibody from a cell culture of the host cell.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD OF THEINVENTION The present invention relates to antibodies and their ability to induce complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). Antibody variants are provided that have altered CDC-mediation capabilities due to modifications at the C-terminus of the heavy chain. Furthermore, the present invention provides methods for producing such antibodies, as well as nucleotide constructs and host cells suitable for producing the antibodies. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Background of the Invention Monoclonal antibodies have become successful therapeutic molecules in recent years, especially for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. Effector functions mediated by the Fc region of antibodies, such as antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), are often important mechanisms for the clinical efficacy of monoclonal antibodies.

[0003] Antibody-induced CDC is mediated through proteins of the classical complement cascade. This cascade is triggered by the binding of the complement protein C1q to antibodies. C1q is composed of a bundle of six heterotrimeric subunits with a globular head and a collagen-like tail. It is known that the binding of C1q to the Fc region of an antibody requires the CH2 region of the antibody (Duncan and Winter (1988) Nature 332:738). Furthermore, the carbohydrate moiety of the Fc region is known to affect the binding of C1q (Raju (2008) Curr Opin Immunol 20:471).

[0004] Monoclonal antibodies are complex molecules that can undergo many types of enzymatic and nonenzymatic post-translational modifications, including disulfide bond formation, glycosylation, glycation, N-terminal glutamine cyclization, C-terminal lysine processing (removal), deamidation, isomerization, oxidation and peptide bond cleavage (for a review of these modifications, see Liu et al. (2008) J Pharm Sci 97: 2426).

[0005] Removal of C-terminal lysines from heavy chains by carboxypeptidases is a common antibody modification, both in recombinant expression of antibodies in mammalian cells and in vivo in human serum (Cai et al. (2010) Biotechnol. Bioeng. Sep 9). Removal is often partial, resulting in a mixed population of antibodies with zero (K0), one (K1) or two (K2) C-terminal lysines (i.e., in the case of K2, one C-terminal lysine in each heavy chain of the antibody). Specifically, B-cell hybridomas produce a mixture of K0, K1 and K2 molecules (Dick et al. (2008) Biotech. Bioeng. 100: 1132).

[0006] WO 2009027471 describes that deletion of the codon for the C-terminal lysine of an antibody heavy chain can result in higher antibody titers upon expression in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells.

[0007] WO 2008006554 describes an antibody preparation produced in Δxyl-t / Δfuc-t moss cells that contains N-glycan structures without fucose and xylose and lacks a C-terminal lysine residue. The ADCC mediation ability of this preparation was less inhibited by serum than that of the same antibody preparation produced in mouse Sp2 / 0 cells. On the other hand, complement-mediated lytic activity was reduced. Removal of the C-terminal lysine residue has been proposed to enhance ADCC, but the effect of this modification alone has not been tested.

[0008] The thinking in the art is that C-terminal lysine has little or no effect on antibody function; see, e.g., Cai et al. (2010) supra, who concluded that activity was not attributable to C-terminal lysine, or the literature review by Harris (2005) Dev Biol (Basel) 122: 127, who stated that the presence or absence of heavy chain Lys residues does not affect antigen binding and is unlikely to affect Fc effector functions, clearance or any other biological properties.

[0009] Antes et al. (2007) J Chromatogr. B 852: 250 (Non-Patent Document 7) describes the study of the effect of C-terminal lysine on CDC. Antibody preparations were made in Sp2 / 0 cells that contained a significant subpopulation of antibody molecules that contained C-terminal lysine. Proteolytic removal of C-terminal lysine did not affect the ability of these antibody preparations to mediate CDC. The authors concluded, for example, that both truncated and non-truncated antibody variants elicited the same efficacy in complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) assays, demonstrating that truncation of IGN311 lysine does not impair Fc-mediated effector function. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0010] [Patent Document 1] WO 2009027471 [Patent Document 2] WO 2008006554 [Non-patent literature]

[0011] [Non-Patent Document 1] Duncan and Winter (1988) Nature 332:738 [Non-Patent Document 2] Raju (2008) Curr Opin Immunol 20:471 [Non-Patent Document 3] Liu et al. (2008) J Pharm Sci 97: 2426 [Non-Patent Document 4] Cai et al. (2010) Biotechnol. Bioeng. Sep 9 [Non-Patent Document 5] Dick et al. (2008) Biotech. Bioeng. 100: 1132 [Non-Patent Document 6] Harris (2005) Dev Biol (Basel) 122: 127 [Non-Patent Document 7] Antes et al. (2007) J Chromatogr. B 852: 250 Summary of the Invention

[0012] It has now been surprisingly found that lysine and other charged amino acid residues at the C-terminus of an antibody's heavy chain do indeed have a profound effect on its ability to mediate CDC.

[0013] Without being bound by any particular theory, it is hypothesized that this was previously undetected because pure preparations of the K0, K1 and K2 forms had not been compared.

[0014] The discovery of the relationship between the presence of C-terminal charged residues and the potency to mediate CDC, as described in the Examples herein, provides the basis for novel antibody products with altered CDC properties, and novel methods for producing antibodies.

[0015] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for producing an antibody, such as an antibody with enhanced CDC, in a host cell, the antibody comprising at least a heavy chain, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a nucleotide construct encoding said heavy chain, said construct encoding no lysine residue at the C-terminus of said heavy chain; (b) expressing the nucleotide construct in a host cell, with the proviso that the host cell is not a CHO cell or a moss cell; and (c) recovering the antibody from the cell culture of the host cells. The method includes:

[0016] In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for enhancing the ability of an antibody to mediate CDC, the method comprising removing a C-terminal lysine residue from the heavy chain of the antibody.

[0017] The product of the above method is a population of antibody molecules that have enhanced ability to mediate CDC compared to corresponding antibody molecules that contain a C-terminal lysine residue. Such antibodies are useful for several purposes (e.g., therapeutic purposes) where killing of target cells is desired. This may be desired, for example, in the treatment of cancer.

[0018] In a further aspect, the present invention provides an antibody variant comprising a heavy chain comprising at least one charged amino acid residue in the C-terminal region that is not susceptible to proteolytic removal.

[0019] This antibody variant has reduced CDC mediation ability compared to the corresponding antibody molecule that lacks one or both C-terminal lysine residues.Such antibodies are useful in applications where only target silencing is desired (e.g., therapeutic applications).This may be advantageous, for example, in the treatment of autoimmune disease or inflammation.

[0020] In a further aspect, the invention relates to methods, nucleotide constructs and host cells for producing antibody variants having at least one charged amino acid residue in the C-terminal region of the heavy chain that is not susceptible to proteolytic removal.

[0021] In a further aspect, the invention relates to mammalian cells that have been genetically engineered to eliminate the activity of a carboxypeptidase capable of removing a C-terminal lysine from a heavy chain.

[0022] In yet a further aspect, the present invention provides compositions of antibodies modified to enhance intermolecular interactions between antibody molecules to enhance their ability to mediate effector functions such as CDC. In one such aspect, the present invention relates to an antibody mixture comprising a subpopulation of antibody variant molecules comprising a heavy chain having at least one positively charged amino acid residue in its C-terminal region, and a subpopulation of antibody variant molecules comprising a heavy chain having at least one negatively charged amino acid residue in its C-terminal region, wherein the positively charged amino acid residue and the negatively charged amino acid residue are less susceptible to proteolytic removal.

[0023] In another such aspect, the invention provides an antibody comprising a heavy chain with a variant C-terminal region that contains one or more amino acid modifications that favor intermolecular C-terminal interactions between antibody molecules. [The present invention 1001] A method for producing an antibody comprising at least a heavy chain in a host cell, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a nucleotide construct encoding said heavy chain, said construct encoding no lysine residue at the C-terminus of said heavy chain; (b) expressing the nucleotide construct in a host cell, with the proviso that the host cell is not a CHO cell or a moss cell; and (c) recovering the antibody from the cell culture of the host cells. [The present invention 1002] The method of claim 10, wherein said host cell further expresses a construct encoding a light chain. [The present invention 1003] The method of any one of claims 1001 to 1002, wherein the host cell is capable of Asn-linked glycosylation of proteins. [The present invention 1004] The method according to any one of claims 1001 to 1003, wherein the host cell is a non-human cell genetically engineered to produce a glycoprotein that is human-like or human glycosylated. [The present invention 1005] Any of the aforementioned methods of the invention, wherein the host cell is a host cell that is unable to efficiently remove C-terminal lysine residues from antibody heavy chains. [The present invention 1006] The method of claim 1005, wherein the host cell is a host cell that produces an antibody preparation in which more than 10% of the antibody molecules are of the K2 isoform, such as more than 30% when expressing a construct comprising a C-terminal lysine. [The present invention 1007] Any of the methods of the invention, wherein the host cell is selected from the group consisting of: (a) yeast cells, such as Pichia pastoris or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Hansenula polymorpha and Ogataea minuta; (b) Filamentous fungal cells, such as Aspergillus awamori, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus oryzea, Trichoderma reesi, (c) a plant cell, such as an Arabidopsis cell, a duckweed cell, a Nicotiana benthamiana (tobacco), an oilseed crop (Brassica napus), a soybean, a rice, a corn (Zea mays) or a carrot cell, (d) NS0 cells, Sp2 / 0 cells, and PER.C6 cells. [The present invention 1008] Any of the methods of the invention, wherein the nucleotide construct provided in step (a) is derived from or designed based on an original heavy chain sequence having a codon for a C-terminal lysine residue, e.g., the nucleotide construct comprises a deletion or substitution of a codon for a C-terminal lysine residue compared to the original heavy chain sequence. [The present invention 1009] Any of the aforementioned methods of the invention, wherein the construct encoding the heavy chain does not encode a lysine or arginine at the C-terminus of the heavy chain, and preferably, the construct encoding the heavy chain does not encode a charged amino acid residue at the C-terminus of the heavy chain. [The present invention 1010] Any of the aforementioned methods of the invention, wherein the nucleotide construct encodes a heavy chain of an IgG1 or IgG2 isotype, except for the C-terminal modification. [The present invention 1011] Any of the aforementioned methods of the present invention, wherein the C-terminal codon of the nucleotide construct encodes a Pro or Gly residue. [The present invention 1012] An isolated antibody obtained or obtainable by any of the methods of the invention. [The present invention 1013] A host cell that cannot efficiently remove C-terminal lysine residues from antibody heavy chains, said host cell comprising a nucleotide construct encoding a heavy chain lacking a C-terminal lysine. [The present invention 1014] A host cell of the present invention 1013, which is one of the types specified in the present invention 1007. [The present invention 1015] 13. A method for enhancing the ability of an antibody to mediate complement dependent cytotoxicity, comprising removing a C-terminal lysine residue from the heavy chain of the antibody. [The present invention 1016] The method of claim 1015, wherein said lysine residue is cleaved by enzymatic cleavage, for example with a carboxypeptidase. [The present invention 1017] The method of any one of claims 1015 to 1016, wherein said antibody is purified prior to removal of the C-terminal lysine residue. [The present invention 1018] The method of any of claims 1015 to 1017, wherein the antibody is of the IgG1 or IgG2 isotype. [The present invention 1019] A method for testing a plurality of antibody-producing cell cultures, e.g., hybridoma cell cultures, for a desired property, the method comprising treating a sample of the hybridoma culture with any of the methods of the present inventions 1015 to 1018, and testing the treated sample for the desired property. [The present invention 1020] The method of claim 1019, wherein said desired property is cell lysis or cell death. [The present invention 1021] An isolated antibody variant comprising a heavy chain having at least one charged amino acid residue in its C-terminal region that is not susceptible to proteolytic removal. [The present invention 1022] The antibody variant of the invention 1021, further comprising a light chain. [The present invention 1023] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1022 of the present invention, which has a reduced ability to mediate complement-dependent cytotoxicity as compared with an antibody lacking the charged amino acid residues. [The present invention 1024] The antibody variant of any of the antibodies according to the present inventions 1021 to 1023, wherein the charged amino acid residues are resistant to removal by proteases derived from mammals, preferably resistant to removal by proteases derived from CHO, HEK-293, PER.C6, NS0 or Sp2 / 0, more preferably resistant to removal by proteases active in the secretory pathway of CHO, HEK-293, PER.C6, NS0 or Sp2 / 0 cells. [The present invention 1025] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1024, wherein the charged amino acid residues are resistant to removal by human proteases, preferably resistant to removal by human proteases that can act on proteins in circulation. [The present invention 1026] The antibody variant of any of the present inventions 1021 to 1025, wherein the charged amino acid is among the six most C-terminal amino acid residues, for example among the five most C-terminal amino acid residues of the heavy chain, for example among the four most C-terminal amino acid residues of the heavy chain, for example among the three most C-terminal amino acid residues of the heavy chain, for example among the two most C-terminal amino acid residues of the heavy chain, for example the charged amino acid is the most C-terminal amino acid residue of the heavy chain. [The present invention 1027] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1026, wherein the heavy chain comprises a CH3 sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1, 2, 3 or 5, and the charged amino acids are located between positions 325 and 330, 321 and 326, 372 and 377, and 325 and 330, respectively. [The present invention 1028] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1027, wherein the heavy chain comprises the entire constant region sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1, 2, 3 or 5, and the charged amino acids are located between positions 325 to 330, 321 to 326, 372 to 377, and 325 to 330, respectively. [The present invention 1029] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1028, wherein the charged amino acid is a positively charged amino acid residue, preferably a lysine residue. [The present invention 1030] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1028 of the present invention, wherein the charged amino acid is a negatively charged amino acid residue, preferably a glutamic acid residue. [The present invention 1031] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1030, wherein the charged amino acid residue is less susceptible to proteolytic removal due to an amino acid modification at a position C-terminal to the charged amino acid residue. [The present invention 1032] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1031, wherein the charged amino acid residue is less susceptible to proteolytic removal due to the presence of a proline residue at the C-terminus of the charged amino acid residue, preferably the proline residue is located immediately C-terminal to the charged amino acid residue, and more preferably the charged amino acid residue and the proline residue are the two most C-terminal amino acid residues of the heavy chain. [The present invention 1033] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1032, wherein the heavy chain comprises two or more charged amino acid residues, for example, two, three, four or five charged amino acid residues, in the C-terminal region, and the charged amino acid residues preferably have either all positive charges or all negative charges. [The present invention 1034] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1033, wherein the specified amino acid modification is the result of an amino acid substitution. [The present invention 1035] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1034, wherein the specified amino acid modification is the result of a C-terminal amino acid addition. [The present invention 1036] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1035 of the present invention, wherein the antibody is a human antibody, preferably a human IgG1 antibody or a human IgG3 antibody. [The present invention 1037] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1036, wherein the antibody heavy chain is an IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 or IgG4 heavy chain having a proline residue added to the C-terminus. [The present invention 1038] The antibody variant of any of claims 1021 to 1037, wherein the antibody is not linked at the C-terminus. [The present invention 1039] The antibody of any one of 1021 to 1038 of the present invention for use as a medicine. [The present invention 1040] A nucleotide construct encoding a heavy chain having a charged amino acid residue in the C-terminal region that is less susceptible to proteolytic removal. [The present invention 1041] A nucleotide construct according to claim 1040 having the further feature of any of claims 1022 to 1038. [The present invention 1042] A host cell capable of producing any one of the antibody variants of the present invention Nos. 1021 to 1038. [The present invention 1043] A host cell genetically engineered to eliminate the activity of a carboxypeptidase capable of removing the C-terminal lysine from the heavy chain. [The present invention 1044] The host cell of the present invention 1043, which is a CHO, HEK-293, PER.C6, NS0 or Sp2 / 0 cell. [The present invention 1045] A method for producing an antibody variant of any of the present inventions 1021 to 1038, comprising the steps of culturing a host cell of the present inventions 1042 to 1044, and recovering the antibody from the cell culture. [The present invention 1046] The method of claim 1045, wherein said host cell is a CHO or HEK cell comprising a nucleotide construct encoding a heavy chain having a negatively charged amino acid residue at the C-terminus or a positively charged amino acid residue followed by a proline residue at the C-terminus. [The present invention 1047] 1. An antibody mixture comprising a subpopulation of antibody variant molecules comprising heavy chains having at least one positively charged amino acid residue in their C-terminal region and a subpopulation of antibody variant molecules comprising heavy chains having at least one negatively charged amino acid residue in their C-terminal region, wherein the positively charged amino acid residue and the negatively charged amino acid residue are not susceptible to removal by proteolysis. [The present invention 1048] An antibody mixture according to the invention 1047, wherein each of said subpopulations constitutes at least 10% of said mixture, such as at least 20%, such as at least 30% of said mixture. [The present invention 1049] The antibody mixture of the present invention 1047 or 1048, wherein said antibody molecules have the properties specified in any one or more of the present inventions 1022 to 1038. [The present invention 1050] The antibody mixture of any of claims 1047 to 1049, wherein the antibody molecules in each of the two subpopulations comprise two identical heavy chains. [The present invention 1051] The antibody mixture of any of claims 1047 to 1050 of the present invention for use as a medicine, preferably for use in the treatment of cancer. [The present invention 1052] An isolated antibody comprising a heavy chain having a mutated C-terminal region comprising one or more amino acid modifications that favor intermolecular C-terminal interactions between antibody molecules. [The present invention 1053] The antibody of the present invention, 1052, which has an enhanced ability to mediate complement-dependent cytotoxicity compared to an antibody lacking said amino acid modification. [The present invention 1054] The antibody of the invention 1052, which comprises two non-identical heavy chains. [The present invention 1055] The antibody of the invention 1052, wherein one heavy chain comprises a negatively charged amino acid residue in the C-terminal region and the other heavy chain comprises a positively charged amino acid residue in the C-terminal region, said charged amino acid residues being less susceptible to removal by proteolysis. [The present invention 1056] The antibody according to any one of claims 1052 to 1055 of the present invention, which is a monospecific antibody. [The present invention 1057] The antibody according to any one of claims 1052 to 1055 of the present invention, which is a bispecific antibody. [The present invention 1058] The antibody according to any one of claims 1052 to 1057 of the present invention for use as a medicine. [The present invention 1059] A method for producing any one of the antibodies of the present invention 1052 to 1057, comprising culturing a host cell containing a nucleotide construct encoding the heavy chain, and recovering the antibody from a cell culture of the host cell. [The present invention 1060] The method of claim 1059, wherein the host cell is a CHO or HEK cell. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] CIEX profiles, cIEF and SDS-PAGE analysis of multiple C-terminal lysine isoforms of anti-CD20 and anti-CD38 antibodies. CIEX profiles of anti-CD20 (a) and anti-CD38 (b). cIEF profiles of unfractionated antibodies (unfractionated) and recovered isoforms (K0, K1 and K2) containing 0, 1 or 2 C-terminal lysines per IgG molecule of anti-CD20 (c) and anti-CD38 (d). SDS PAGE analysis of unfractionated antibodies and recovered isoforms of anti-CD20 (e) and anti-CD38 (f). Samples were analyzed untreated (-) or after carboxypeptidase B treatment (+) (c-f). [Diagram 2] Binding curves and CDC induction by multiple C-terminal lysine isoforms of anti-CD20 and anti-CD38 antibodies. Binding of unfractionated (unfractionated) and recovered K2 isoforms of anti-CD20 and anti-CD38 antibodies with and without carboxypeptidase B (CPB) treatment to Daudi cells as determined by FACS analysis (upper panel). Data shown are mean fluorescence intensity (MFI). CDC induction of Daudi cells by unfractionated and recovered K2 isoforms of anti-CD20 and anti-CD38 antibodies with and without carboxypeptidase B treatment as measured using propidium iodide staining (lower panel). Data shown are percentage of lysis. [Diagram 3] Efficacy of C1q utilization by multiple C-terminal lysine isoforms of anti-CD38 antibodies. CDC induction of Daudi cells by unfractionated and recovered K2 isoforms of anti-CD38 antibodies with and without carboxypeptidase B (CPB) treatment measured using propidium iodide staining. Cells were incubated with fixed antibody concentrations (10 μg / mL). Titrated amounts of C1q were added to the assay as a complement source. Data shown are the mean lysis percentage ± SEM of triplicate experiments. [Figure 4]cIEF analysis, binding and CDC induction by anti-CD38 antibodies and mutants. cIEF analysis of anti-CD38 antibodies and mutants (a). Binding of anti-CD38 antibodies and mutants to Daudi cells analyzed by FACS analysis (b). Data shown are mean fluorescence intensity (MFI). CDC induction of Daudi cells by anti-CD38 antibodies and mutants measured by PI staining (c). Data shown are percentage of lysis. [Diagram 5] Figure 1. CDC induction by mixtures of anti-CD38 antibody variants. K0 and K4 (a) or K0 and E2 (b) variants were mixed in different ratios as indicated and CDC induction of Daudi cells was measured by propidium iodide staining. Total IgG concentration was 10 μg / mL. CDC induction by a 1:1 mixture of K4 variants, E2 variants or both (c). Total IgG concentrations were titrated from 10 μg / mL to 0.016 μg / mL. K0 is shown as a positive control. CDC induction by a mixture of E2:K4 variants at different ratios and two total IgG concentrations (10 μg / mL and 0.25 μg / mL) (d). Data shown (a-d) are the percentage of (maximal) lysis. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Detailed Description of the Invention definition The term "immunoglobulin" refers to a class of structurally related glycoproteins consisting of two pairs of polypeptide chains, one pair of low molecular weight light (L) chains and one pair of heavy (H) chains, all four of which are interconnected by disulfide bonds. The structure of immunoglobulins has been well characterized. See, for example, Fundamental Immunology Ch. 7 (Paul, W., ed., 2nd ed. Raven Press, NY (1989)). Briefly, each heavy chain typically consists of a heavy chain variable region (abbreviated herein as VH) and a heavy chain constant region. The heavy chain constant region typically consists of three domains, CH1, CH2, and CH3. The heavy chains are interconnected by disulfide bonds in the so-called "hinge region". Each light chain typically consists of a light chain variable region (abbreviated herein as VL) and a light chain constant region. The light chain constant region typically consists of one domain, CL. Typically, the numbering of amino acid residues in the constant region is done according to the EU index as described in Kabat et al., Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, 5th Ed. Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. (1991). The VH and VL regions can be further subdivided into regions of hypervariability (or hypervariable regions that may be hypervariable in the form of sequence and / or structurally defined loops), also called complementarity determining regions (CDRs), and intervening more conserved regions called framework regions (FRs). Each VH and VL is typically composed of three CDRs and four FRs, arranged from amino-terminus to carboxy-terminus in the following order: FR1, CDR1, FR2, CDR2, FR3, CDR3, FR4 (see also Chothia and Lesk J. Mol. Biol. 196, 901 917 (1987)).

[0026] The term "antibody" (Ab) in the context of the present invention refers to an immunoglobulin molecule, a fragment of an immunoglobulin molecule, or a derivative of either thereof, having a half-life of a significant period of time, such as at least about 30 minutes, at least about 45 minutes, at least about 1 hour, at least about 2 hours, at least about 4 hours, at least about 8 hours, at least about 12 hours (h), about 24 hours or more, about 48 hours or more, about 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 days or more, or any other relevant functionally defined period of time (such as a time sufficient to induce, promote, enhance, and / or modulate a physiological response associated with antibody binding to an antigen and / or a time sufficient for the antibody to recruit effector activity), and having the ability to specifically bind to an antigen under typical physiological conditions. The variable regions of the heavy and light chains of an immunoglobulin molecule contain the binding domains that interact with an antigen. The constant region of an antibody may mediate the binding of the immunoglobulin to host tissues or factors, including various cells of the immune system (such as effector cells) and components of the complement system, such as C1q, the first component of the classical pathway of complement activation. An antibody may also be a bispecific antibody, a diabody, or a similar molecule. The term "bispecific antibody" refers to an antibody having specificity for at least two different, typically non-overlapping, epitopes. As stated above, the term antibody herein includes fragments of antibodies that retain the ability to specifically bind to an antigen, unless otherwise specified or clearly contradicted by the context. Such fragments can be provided by any known technique, such as enzymatic cleavage, peptide synthesis, and recombinant expression techniques. It has been shown that the antigen-binding function of an antibody can be performed by fragments of a full-length antibody. The term antibody should also be understood to include polyclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibodies, and antibody-like polypeptides, such as chimeric and humanized antibodies, unless otherwise specified. The antibody thus generated may have any isotype. In one embodiment of the invention, the antibody is isolated and / or purified.

[0027] As used herein, "isotype" refers to the immunoglobulin class (e.g., IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgD, IgA, IgE, or IgM) that is encoded by heavy chain constant region genes.

[0028] Unless otherwise specified, the term "C-terminal lysine residue" refers to the lysine residue at the C-terminus of the heavy chain (ie, the C-terminus of the CH3 region).

[0029] Unless otherwise specified, the term "C-terminal region" refers to the C-terminal region of an antibody heavy chain consisting of the six C-terminal most amino acids of the heavy chain polypeptide.

[0030] As used herein, the term "full length antibody" refers to an antibody that contains all the heavy and light chain constant and variable domains normally found in an antibody of that isotype.

[0031] The term "human antibody" as used herein is intended to include antibodies having variable and constant regions derived from human germline immunoglobulin sequences. The human antibodies of the present invention may contain amino acid residues not encoded by human germline immunoglobulin sequences (e.g., mutations introduced by in vitro random or site-specific mutagenesis or by in vivo somatic mutation). However, the term "human antibody" as used herein is not intended to include antibodies in which CDR sequences derived from the germline of another mammalian species, such as a mouse, are grafted onto human framework sequences.

[0032] As used herein, the term "heavy chain antibody" refers to an antibody that consists of only two heavy chains and lacks the two light chains normally found in antibodies. For example, naturally occurring heavy chain antibodies in camelids are capable of binding to antigens despite only having a VH domain, see, for example, Hamers-Casterman (1993) Nature 363:446.

[0033] As used herein, the term "binding" in the context of binding of an antibody to a given antigen typically refers to a binding rate of about 10, as determined, for example, by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology in a BIAcore 3000 instrument using the antigen as the ligand and the antibody as the analyte. -6 M or less, e.g. 10 -7 M or less, e.g., about 10 -8 M or less, e.g., about 10 -9 M or less, about 10 -10 M or less, or about 10 -11 M or even less than that K D and the K is at least 10 times lower, e.g., at least 100 times lower, e.g., at least 1000 times lower, e.g., at least 10,000 times lower, e.g., at least 100,000 times lower, e.g., at least 100,000 times lower, than the affinity of binding to a non-specific antigen other than the given antigen or a closely related antigen (e.g., BSA, casein). D The amount of the antibody that binds to a given antigen with an affinity corresponding to the K D and therefore the K D If the affinity for an antigen is very low (i.e., the antibody is highly specific), the amount by which the affinity for the antigen is lower than the affinity for a non-specific antigen may be at least 10,000 times. D The term "" (M) refers to the dissociation equilibrium constant of a particular antibody-antigen interaction.

[0034] As used herein, an "isolated antibody" means that the material has been removed from its original environment (e.g., the natural environment if naturally occurring, or the host cell if recombinantly expressed). It is also convenient for the antibody to be in a purified form. The term "purified" does not require absolute purity, but rather is intended as a relative definition indicating an increase in antibody concentration relative to the concentration of contaminants in the composition when compared to the starting material.

[0035] The term "host cell" as used herein is intended to refer to a cell into which a recombinant nucleotide construct or expression vector, such as a nucleotide construct or expression vector encoding an antibody of the invention, has been introduced. Recombinant host cells include, for example, transfectomas, such as CHO cells, HEK293 cells, NS0 cells or lymphocytic cells, or plant cells, fungal cells, such as yeast cells or prokaryotic cells.

[0036] Further aspects and embodiments of the present invention As mentioned above, in a first aspect the invention relates to a method for enhancing the ability of an antibody to mediate CDC by reducing the number of charged amino acid residues in the C-terminal region of the heavy chain. Antibody products with enhanced CDC mediation capacity can be obtained by post-translational proteolytic removal of charged residues from the heavy chain or by recombinant production of the antibody from a nucleotide construct lacking codons for charged amino acids, such as lysine, in the region encoding the C-terminus.

[0037] Thus, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for producing an antibody in a host cell, said antibody comprising at least a heavy chain, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a nucleotide construct encoding said heavy chain, said construct not encoding a C-terminal lysine residue of said heavy chain; (b) expressing the nucleotide construct in a host cell, with the proviso that the host cell is not a CHO cell or a moss cell. and (c) recovering the antibody from the cell culture of the host cells. The method includes:

[0038] Typically, a heavy chain comprises a constant region comprising at least a CH3 domain, at least a CH2 and a CH3 domain, or all of the CH1, CH2 and CH3 domains. In one embodiment, a heavy chain comprises at least a CH2 and a CH3 domain.

[0039] In some embodiments, the antibody is a heavy chain antibody. However, in most embodiments, the antibody will also include a light chain, and thus the host cell will further express a construct encoding a light chain, either on the same or a different vector.

[0040] Suitable host cells for recombinant expression of antibodies are well known in the art. In one embodiment, the host cell is a cell capable of Asn-linked glycosylation of proteins, such as a eukaryotic cell, such as a mammalian cell, such as a human cell. In a further embodiment, the host cell is a non-human cell that has been genetically engineered to produce glycoproteins with human-like or human glycosylation. Examples of such cells are genetically engineered Pichia pastoris [Hamilton et al., Science 301 (2003) 1244-1246; Potgieter et al., J. Biotechnology 139 (2009) 318-325] and genetically engineered Lemna minor [Cox et al., Nature Biotechnology 12 (2006) 1591-1597].

[0041] In one embodiment, the host cell is unable to efficiently remove C-terminal lysine residues from antibody heavy chains. For example, Table 2 in Liu et al. (2008) J Pharm Sci 97: 2426 (hereby incorporated by reference) describes several such antibody production systems, such as Sp2 / 0, NS0 or transgenic mammary gland (goat), in which only partial removal of C-terminal lysine is achieved.

[0042] More specifically, such a host cell may be a cell that produces an antibody preparation in which more than 10%, e.g., more than 30%, of the antibody molecules are K2 isoforms when expressing a construct that includes a C-terminal lysine. Table 1 shows the expected amounts of K0, K1 and K2 depending on the C-terminal truncation. Thus, in other words, a preferred host cell is one in which more than 30% of the heavy chains remain uncleaved at the C-terminus, e.g., more than 60% of the heavy chains remain uncleaved at the C-terminus of the heavy chain.

[0043] Table 1 TIFF0007655886000001.tif99128

[0044] In a further embodiment of the invention, the host cell is selected from the group consisting of: (i) yeast cells, such as Pichia pastoris or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Hansenula polymorpha and Ogataea minuta, and (ii) filamentous fungal cells, such as Aspergillus awamori, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus oryzea, Trichoderma reesi, and (iii) plant cells, such as Arabidopsis cells, duckweed, Nicotiana benthamiana (tobacco), oilseed crops (Brassica napus), soybean, rice, corn (Zea mays) or carrot cells, and (iv) NS0 cells, Sp2 / 0 cells, or PER.C6 cells.

[0045] Recombinant production of antibodies in yeast and filamentous fungi has been described and reviewed, for example, by Joosten et al. (2003) Microbial Cell Factories 2:1 and Gasser and Mattanovich (2007) Biotech Lett 29: 201. For production of antibodies in plant cells, see, for example, Cox et al. (2006) Nat Biotechnol 24: 1591, Decker and Reski (2007) Curr Opin Biotechnol 18: 393, Giritch et al. (2006) Proc Natl Acad Sc USA 103: 14701 or Hood et al. (2002) Curr Opin Biotechnol 13: 630. Expression of antibodies in NS0 cell lines is described, for example, by Dempsey et al. (2003) Biotechnol. Prog. 19: 175. In particular, Jones et al. (2003) Biotechnol Prog 19: 163 describe the production of antibodies in human PER.C6 cells. For antibody production in Sp2 / 0 cells, see, for example, Yang et al. (2007) Biotechnol Bioeng. 98: 141.

[0046] In a further embodiment, the construct encoding the heavy chain does not encode a lysine or arginine at the C-terminus of the heavy chain, preferably the construct encoding the heavy chain does not encode a charged amino acid residue at the C-terminus of the heavy chain, more preferably the construct encoding the heavy chain does not contain any codons for charged amino acid residues among the codons encoding the six most C-terminal amino acids.

[0047] In one embodiment, the antibody is a human antibody comprising a human heavy chain. The antibody may be of any isotype, including, but not limited to, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgD, IgA, IgE, and IgM. In one embodiment, the antibody is of an IgG isotype, such as an isotype selected from IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and optionally IgG4. Specific wild-type heavy chain constant sequences are provided below in SEQ ID NOs: 1-5. However, different allotypes of each isotype are known in the art and are described in Jefferies and Lefranc (2009), mAbs 1:4, 1-7, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0048] In a further embodiment of the above method of the invention, the nucleotide construct provided in step (a) is derived from or designed based on an original heavy chain sequence having a codon for a C-terminal lysine residue. For example, the original heavy chain sequence may comprise a C-terminal sequence which is residues 325-330 of SEQ ID NO:1 (IgG1m(az) allotypes) or SEQ ID NO:5 (IgG1m(f) allotypes), or residues 321-326 of SEQ ID NO:4, as described below. Thus, said nucleotide construct may comprise a deletion or substitution of a codon for a C-terminal lysine (k) residue compared to said original heavy chain sequence. Thus, in one embodiment, the nucleotide construct comprises a C-terminal sequence which comprises or consists of residues 325-329 of SEQ ID NO:1 or 5. In one embodiment, the nucleotide construct comprises a C-terminal sequence which comprises or consists of residues 321-325 of SEQ ID NO:4.

[0049] In one embodiment, the nucleotide construct encodes a heavy chain comprising a constant region sequence comprising at least a CH3 domain, at least a CH2 and a CH3 domain, or a CH1, a CH2 and a CH3 domain, of an IgG1 isotype, optionally an IgG1m (f) allotype, except for the C-terminal modification. In one embodiment, the nucleotide construct encodes a heavy chain comprising a constant region sequence comprising at least a CH3 domain, at least a CH2 and a CH3 domain, or a CH1, a CH2 and a CH3 domain, of an IgG2 isotype, except for the C-terminal modification. In one embodiment, the nucleotide construct encodes a heavy chain comprising a constant region sequence comprising at least a CH3 domain, at least a CH2 and a CH3 domain, or a CH1, a CH2 and a CH3 domain, of an IgG3 isotype, except for the C-terminal modification. In one embodiment, the nucleotide construct encodes a heavy chain comprising a constant region sequence comprising at least a CH3 domain, at least a CH2 and a CH3 domain, or a CH1, a CH2 and a CH3 domain, of an IgG4 isotype, except for the C-terminal modification. In one embodiment, the heavy chain comprises a sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs:1-5, excluding the C-terminal lysine residue.

[0050] In yet a further embodiment, the nucleotide construct encodes a heavy chain of an IgG1 or IgG2 isotype except for the C-terminal modification, i.e. has a constant region sequence that is identical in sequence to the IgG1 or IgG2 constant region except for the C-terminal modification. In one embodiment, the nucleotide construct encodes a heavy chain of an IgG1 or IgG3 isotype except for the C-terminal modification, i.e. has a constant region sequence that is identical in sequence to the IgG1 or IgG3 constant region except for the C-terminal modification. In a further embodiment, the C-terminal codon of the nucleotide construct encodes a Pro or Gly residue, e.g. a -Pro-Gly-Lys sequence at the C-terminus of an IgG1 or IgG2 heavy chain will be cleaved to -Pro-Gly or -Pro only.

[0051] In a further aspect, the present invention relates to an antibody obtained or obtainable by the method of the invention described above.

[0052] In yet a further aspect, the present invention relates to said host cell which is unable to efficiently remove C-terminal lysine residues from an antibody heavy chain, said host cell comprising a nucleotide construct encoding a heavy chain lacking a C-terminal lysine. Preferably, the host cell is not a moss or a CHO. More preferably, said host cell is of one of the types specified above under (i) to (iv).

[0053] In a still further aspect, the present invention relates to a method for enhancing the ability of an antibody to mediate CDC, comprising removing a C-terminal lysine residue from the heavy chain of the antibody. In a preferred embodiment, the lysine residue is cleaved by enzymatic cleavage, for example with a carboxypeptidase such as carboxypeptidase B or carboxypeptidase N (Cia et al. (2010) supra). In one embodiment, the antibody is purified prior to removal of the C-terminal lysine residue.

[0054] As mentioned above, a certain cell type, e.g., a hybridoma, produces a heterogeneous population of antibody molecules, some of which contain one or two C-terminal lysines and some of which do not. As is evident from the present study that C-terminal lysines affect the ability of antibodies to mediate CDC, such C-terminal heterogeneity may be undesirable when comparing different antibodies from multiple samples, since there may be differences between different hybridomas in terms of the degree of C-terminal processing. To remove such differences, so that the properties related to the binding properties of the antibodies can be better compared, it may be advantageous to remove the C-terminal lysines from the antibody samples before the comparative test.

[0055] Thus, in a further aspect, the present invention relates to a method for testing a plurality of antibody-producing cell cultures, such as hybridoma cell cultures, for a desired property, comprising treating a sample of the culture to remove the C-terminal lysine as described above, and testing the treated sample for the desired property. In some embodiments, it may be advantageous to remove the cells and / or purify the antibody from the culture sample before removing the C-terminal lysine. In a preferred embodiment, the desired property tested is cell lysis or cell killing.

[0056] As explained above, in a further aspect, the present invention relates to an antibody variant comprising a heavy chain having at least one (e.g., one, two, three, four or more) charged amino acid residues in the C-terminal region that are not susceptible to proteolytic removal.

[0057] Examples of charged amino acid residues include those with a positive charge, such as lysine (K or Lys), arginine (R or Arg) and histidine (H or His), and those with a negative charge, such as glutamic acid (E or Glu) and aspartic acid (D or Asp). In one embodiment, the charged amino acid residue is selected from lysine, arginine and histidine, such as lysine and arginine, such as lysine. In one embodiment, the charged amino acid residue is selected from glutamic acid and aspartic acid, such as glutamine.

[0058] Such variants typically have a reduced ability to mediate CDC compared to a corresponding antibody lacking the charged residues. Such variants may be useful, for example, in therapeutic applications where reduced CDC is desired, such as applications where silencing a target antigen without killing the target cell is desired.

[0059] In some embodiments, the antibody is a heavy chain antibody, however, in most embodiments, the antibody further comprises a light chain.

[0060] In one embodiment, the charged amino acid residues are resistant to removal by mammalian derived proteases, preferably resistant to removal by CHO, HEK-293, PER.C6, NS0 or Sp2 / 0 derived proteases, more preferably resistant to removal by proteases (e.g. carboxypeptidases) active in the secretory pathway of CHO, HEK-293, PER.C6, NS0 or Sp2 / 0 cells.

[0061] In a further embodiment, said charged amino acid residues are not susceptible to removal by human proteases, preferably not susceptible to removal by human proteases that can act on proteins in the circulation (eg in the blood).

[0062] In one embodiment said charged amino acid is among the most C-terminal 6 amino acid residues, such as among the most C-terminal 5 amino acid residues of said heavy chain, such as among the most C-terminal 4 amino acid residues of said heavy chain, such as among the most C-terminal 3 amino acid residues of said heavy chain, such as among the most C-terminal 2 amino acid residues of said heavy chain, e.g. said charged amino acid is the most C-terminal amino acid residue of said heavy chain.

[0063] In further embodiments, the heavy chain comprises a CH3 sequence as set forth herein below in SEQ ID NO:1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, modified such that the charged amino acid is located within the six most C-terminal amino acid residues, i.e., at positions 325-330, 321-326, 372-377, 321-326 or 325-330, respectively. SEQ ID NO:1 : Amino acid sequence of the IgG1 constant region (Accession No. P01857; IgGm (za) allotype) (CH3 sequence is underlined) TIFF0007655886000002.tif42128 SEQ ID NO:2: Amino acid sequence of the IgG2 constant region (Accession No. P01859) (CH3 sequence is underlined) TIFF0007655886000003.tif37128 SEQ ID NO:3: Amino acid sequence of the IgG3 constant region (Accession No. P1860) (CH3 sequence is underlined) TIFF0007655886000004.tif41128 SEQ ID NO:4: Amino acid sequence of the IgG4 constant region (CH3 sequence is underlined) TIFF0007655886000005.tif36128 SEQ ID NO:5: Amino acid sequence of the IgG1m(f) allotype constant region (CH3 sequence is underlined) TIFF0007655886000006.tif36128

[0064] In further embodiments, the heavy chain comprises the entire constant region sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, and the charged amino acids are located within the six most C-terminal amino acid residues, i.e., positions 325-330, 321-326 or 372-377, respectively.

[0065] In one embodiment, the charged amino acid is a positively charged amino acid residue, preferably a lysine residue.Since C-terminal lysine is usually susceptible to proteolytic removal, the variant comprises one or more amino acid modifications, such as addition or substitution, at the position C-terminal to the lysine.For example, in one embodiment, the charged amino acid residue is less susceptible to proteolytic removal due to the presence of a proline residue C-terminal to the charged amino acid residue, where the proline residue is preferably located immediately C-terminal to the charged amino acid residue, and more preferably, where the charged amino acid residue and the proline residue are the two most C-terminal amino acid residues of the heavy chain.For example, the antibody heavy chain can be an IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 or IgG4 heavy chain with a proline residue added to the C-terminus.

[0066] In another embodiment, the charged amino acid is a negatively charged amino acid residue, preferably a glutamic acid residue. Negatively charged C-terminal residues are typically less susceptible to proteolytic removal upon expression in mammalian cells, and thus in some embodiments such variants do not include further amino acid modifications.

[0067] In a further embodiment, the heavy chain comprises two or more charged amino acid residues in the C-terminal region, such as two, three, four or five charged amino acid residues, preferably having either all positive charges or all negative charges, and optionally comprising a further amino acid modification C-terminal to the charged residue, such as a proline residue C-terminal to the charged residue.

[0068] In some embodiments, the designated amino acid modification is the result of an amino acid substitution, hi other embodiments, the designated amino acid modification is the result of a C-terminal amino acid addition.

[0069] In one embodiment, the heavy chain comprises: It contains a C-terminal sequence selected from TIFF0007655886000007.tif11159.

[0070] In one embodiment, the antibody is a human antibody, preferably a human IgG1 antibody or a human IgG3 antibody.

[0071] In another embodiment, the antibody is not conjugated at the C-terminus, e.g., not conjugated to another molecule, such as a toxin or label. In a further embodiment, the antibody is not conjugated at the C-terminus, but is conjugated at another position on the molecule, e.g., the antibody can be linked at another site to a compound selected from the group consisting of a toxin (including a radioisotope), a prodrug, or a drug. Such a compound can make the killing of target cells more effective, e.g., in cancer therapy. The obtained antibody is thus an immunoconjugate.

[0072] In a further aspect, the present invention relates to the antibody of the present invention described above for use as a medicament, in particular for use as a medicament for treating diseases or disorders in which it is desirable to silence (i.e. inhibit) a target antigen without killing the target cell. Examples of such diseases and disorders include autoimmune diseases and inflammation.

[0073] In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a nucleotide construct encoding a heavy chain having charged amino acid residues in the C-terminal region that are not susceptible to proteolytic removal, in a further embodiment, said nucleotide construct has any one or more of the additional characteristics described above for the antibody of the present invention.

[0074] In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a host cell capable of producing the antibody variant of the present invention. Such a host cell may be a cell transformed or transfected with a nucleotide construct of the present invention or a host cell genetically modified to eliminate the activity of a carboxypeptidase capable of removing the C-terminal lysine from the heavy chain. Examples of host cells include CHO, HEK-293, PER.C6, NS0 and Sp2 / 0.

[0075] In a still further aspect, the present invention relates to a method for producing an antibody variant according to the invention, comprising culturing a host cell according to the invention and recovering said antibody from the cell culture. In one embodiment, said host cell is a CHO or HEK cell comprising a nucleotide construct encoding a heavy chain having a negatively charged amino acid residue at the C-terminus or having a positively charged amino acid residue followed by a proline residue at the C-terminus.

[0076] In one aspect, the present invention relates to a method for reducing the ability of an antibody to mediate complement-dependent cytotoxicity, comprising adding at least one charged amino acid residue, a proline residue, or both to the C-terminal region of the heavy chain of an antibody. In one embodiment, a positively charged amino acid is inserted N-terminal to a proline residue already present in the C-terminal region. In one embodiment, a proline residue is added C-terminal to a lysine residue already present in the C-terminal region. In one embodiment, a positively charged amino acid and a proline are added to the C-terminus, where the positively charged amino acid is added N-terminal to a proline residue. In such an embodiment, the positively charged amino acid can be selected from lysine, arginine and histidine, such as lysine or arginine, such as lysine.

[0077] In one embodiment, a positively charged amino acid is added to the C-terminal region. In such an embodiment, the positively charged amino acid may be selected from glutamic acid and aspartic acid.

[0078] In one embodiment, the method comprises adding one or more additional charged amino acids to the C-terminal region.

[0079] As explained above, in a further aspect, the present invention relates to an antibody mixture comprising a subpopulation of antibody variant molecules comprising heavy chains having a positively charged amino acid residue in their C-terminal region and a subpopulation of antibody variant molecules comprising heavy chains having a negatively charged amino acid residue in their C-terminal region, wherein said positively charged amino acid residues and said negatively charged amino acid residues are not susceptible to proteolytic removal.

[0080] Without being bound by any particular theory, it is hypothesized that electrostatic interactions between oppositely charged residues strengthen intermolecular antibody interactions, thus promoting activation of the complement system.

[0081] In one embodiment, each of said subpopulations constitutes at least 10% of said mixture, such as at least 20%, such as at least 30% of said mixture.

[0082] In another embodiment, the antibody molecules in each of the two subpopulations comprise two identical heavy chains.In a further aspect, the present invention relates to an antibody mixture according to the invention for use as a medicament, preferably for use in the treatment of cancer.

[0083] As explained above, in a further aspect, the present invention relates to an antibody comprising a heavy chain having a mutated C-terminal region that comprises one or more amino acid modifications that favor intermolecular C-terminal interactions between antibody molecules. Without being bound by any particular theory, it is believed that strengthening the intermolecular interactions between antibody molecules promotes the activation of the complement system, thus resulting in an enhanced ability to mediate CDC compared to antibody products without amino acid modifications.

[0084] In one embodiment, the antibody comprises two non-identical heavy chains. In this particularly interesting embodiment, one heavy chain of the antibody comprises a negatively charged amino acid residue in the C-terminal region, and the other heavy chain of the same antibody comprises a positively charged amino acid residue in the C-terminal region, where the charged amino acid residue is not susceptible to proteolytic removal. Such an antibody will form a multimer that comprises a positively charged heavy chain and a negatively charged heavy chain, thus comprising strong antibody-antibody molecule interactions that favor CDC activation through the alignment of oppositely charged heavy chains between antibody molecules.

[0085] In one embodiment, such an antibody is a monospecific antibody. In another embodiment, it is a bispecific antibody.

[0086] In a further aspect, the present invention relates to an antibody according to the invention as described above for use as a medicament, preferably for use in the treatment of cancer.

[0087] In a still further aspect, the present invention relates to a method for producing such an antibody comprising culturing a host cell comprising a nucleotide construct encoding two different heavy chains and recovering the antibody from the cell culture of said host cell. Such a host cell may for example be a CHO or HEK cell.

[0088] As mentioned above, the present invention relates to the modification of antibodies, inter alia, to remove or to add and / or protect charged amino acid residues at the C-terminus of the heavy chain. The antibodies used as starting material for the present invention before modification may be produced by the hybridoma method, for example, first described by Kohler et al., Nature 256, 495 (1975), or may be produced by recombinant DNA methods. Monoclonal antibodies may also be isolated from phage antibody libraries, for example, using the techniques described in Clackson et al., Nature 352, 624 628 (1991) and Marks et al., J. Mol. Biol. 222, 581 597 (1991). Monoclonal antibodies may be obtained from any suitable source. Thus, for example, monoclonal antibodies may be obtained from hybridomas prepared from mouse splenic B cells obtained from mice immunized with the antigen of interest, for example, in the form of cells expressing the antigen on their surface, or in the form of nucleic acid encoding the antigen of interest. Monoclonal antibodies may also be obtained from hybridomas derived from antibody-expressing cells of immunized humans or non-human mammals such as rats, dogs, primates, etc.

[0089] The antibody used as starting material of the present invention may be, for example, a chimeric antibody or a humanized antibody. In another embodiment, the antibody is a human antibody. Human monoclonal antibodies can be generated using transgenic or transchromosomic mice, such as HuMAb mice, that carry parts of the human immune system rather than the mouse immune system. HuMAb mice contain human immunoglobulin gene minilocuses that encode unrearranged human heavy chain (μ and γ) and κ light chain immunoglobulin sequences, with targeted mutations that inactivate endogenous μ and κ chain loci (Lonberg, N. et al., Nature 368, 856 859 (1994)). Thus, the mice exhibit reduced expression of mouse IgM or κ, and in response to immunization, the introduced human heavy and light chain transgenes undergo class switching and somatic mutation to generate high affinity human IgG, κ monoclonal antibodies (Lonberg, N. et al. (1994), supra: Lonberg, N. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology 113, 49-101 (1994); Lonberg, N. and Huszar, D., Intern. Rev. Immunol. Vol. 13 65-93 (1995); and Harding, F. and Lonberg, N. Ann. NY Acad. Sci 764 536-546 (1995)). The preparation of HuMAb mice is described in detail in Taylor, L. et al., Nucleic Acids Research 20, 6287-6295 (1992); Chen, J. et al., International Immunology 5, 647-656 (1993); Tuaillon et al., J. Immunol. 152, 2912-2920 (1994); Taylor, L. et al., International Immunology 6, 579-591 (1994); Fishwild, D. et al., Nature Biotechnology 14, 845-851 (1996).See also US 5,545,806, US 5,569,825, US 5,625,126, US 5,633,425, US 5,789,650, US 5,877,397, US 5,661,016, US 5,814,318, US 5,874,299, US 5,770,429, US 5,545,807, WO 98 / 24884, WO 94 / 25585, WO 93 / 1227, WO 92 / 22645, WO 92 / 03918, and WO 01 / 09187. Splenocytes from these transgenic mice can be used to generate hybridomas secreting human monoclonal antibodies by well known techniques.

[0090] Furthermore, human antibodies of the invention or antibodies of the invention derived from other species can be identified by display-type technologies, including but not limited to phage display, retroviral display, ribosome display, mammalian display, and other techniques, using techniques well known in the art, and the resulting molecules can be subjected to further maturation, such as affinity maturation, as such maturation techniques are well known in the art.

[0091] Target diseases and antigens The antibodies of the present invention without the C-terminal lysine or other charged amino acid residues can be used for many different purposes, such as those in which enhanced cell killing via CDC is desired. Examples of suitable diseases include, but are not limited to, various forms of cancer. Examples of antigen targets suitable for such antibodies include, but are not limited to, tumor erbB1 (EGFR), erbB2 (HER2), erbB3, erbB4, MUC-1, CD4, CD19, CD20, CD25, CD32, CD37, CD38, CD74, CD138, CXCR5, c-Met, HERV-envelope protein, periostin, Bigh3, SPARC, BCR, CD79, EGFrvIII, IGFr, L1-CAM, AXL, tissue factor (TF), EpCAM and MRP3. Preferred antigens include CD20, HER2, EGFR, CD38, IGFR, CD25 and CD32. Exemplary antibodies include HuMAb 7D8, HuMAb 2F2 (described in WO2004035607) and HuMAb 005 (described in WO 2006099875).

[0092] Antibodies of the invention that include a C-terminal lysine or other charged amino acid residue may be used in applications where CDC is not preferred as a mechanism of action, for example, in the treatment of autoimmune disease or inflammation. Examples of suitable antigen targets include, but are not limited to, TNF-α, IL-1, VEGF, IL-6 and IL-8.

[0093] Compositions and Uses In a further main aspect, the present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising an antibody according to the invention as described herein and a pharma- ceutically acceptable carrier.

[0094] Pharmaceutical compositions can be formulated according to conventional techniques, such as those disclosed in Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, 19th Edition, Gennaro, Ed., Mack Publishing Co., Easton, PA, 1995. Pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention can include, for example, diluents, bulking agents, salts, buffers, surfactants (e.g., non-ionic surfactants such as Tween-20 or Tween-80), stabilizers (e.g., sugars or non-protein amino acids), preservatives, isotonicity agents, antioxidants, tissue fixatives, solubilizers, and / or other materials suitable for inclusion in pharmaceutical compositions. Examples of suitable aqueous and non-aqueous carriers that can be utilized in pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention include water, saline, phosphate buffered saline, ethanol, dextrose, polyols (e.g., glycerol, propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol).

[0095] Pharmaceutical compositions can be administered by any suitable route and mode.In one embodiment, pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention are administered parenterally.As used herein, "administered parenterally" refers to the mode of administration other than enteral and topical administration, usually by injection, including epidermal, intravenous, intramuscular, intraarterial, intrathecal, intracapsular, intraorbital, intracardiac, intradermal, intraperitoneal, intratendinous, transtracheal, subcutaneous, subcuticular, intraarticular, subcapsular, subarachnoid, intraspinal, intracranial, intrathoracic, epidural and intrasternal injection and infusion.

[0096] Efficient dosages and dosing regimens for antibodies depend on the disease or condition being treated and can be determined by one of skill in the art. Exemplary, non-limiting ranges of therapeutically effective amounts of antibodies of the invention are about 0.1-100 mg / kg, such as about 0.1-50 mg / kg, such as about 0.1-20 mg / kg, such as about 0.1-10 mg / kg, such as about 0.5 mg / kg, such as about 0.3 mg / kg, about 1 mg / kg, about 3 mg / kg, about 5 mg / kg, or about 8 mg / kg.

[0097] The antibody of the present invention can also be administered in combination therapy, i.e., combined with other therapeutic agents suitable for the disease or condition to be treated.Thus, in one embodiment, the medicament containing the antibody is for combination with one or more additional therapeutic agents, such as cytotoxic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or angiogenesis inhibitors.Such combined administration can be simultaneous, separate or sequential.In a further embodiment, the present invention provides a method for treating or preventing a disease, such as cancer, comprising administering to a subject in need thereof a therapeutically effective amount of the antibody of the present invention in combination with radiation therapy and / or surgery. EXAMPLES

[0098] Example 1: Cation exchange chromatography (CIEX) profile, capillary isoelectric focusing (cIEF) and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis of anti-CD20 C-terminal lysine variants and anti-CD38 C-terminal lysine variants Anti-CD20 (2F2, described in WO 2004035607 (Genmab)) and anti-CD38 (005, described in WO 2006099875 (Genmab)) antibodies were isolated from hybridoma supernatants and subjected to preparative cation exchange chromatography (CIEX). CIEX was performed on an AKTA Purifier system using a ProPac® WCX 10 (9 mm×250 mm) preparative column. Mobile phases A and B were 25 mM sodium chloride in 10 mM sodium phosphate, pH 7.2 and 10 mM sodium phosphate, pH 7.0. Antibodies were dialyzed overnight before injection. A linear gradient from 0% to 12% B in 60 min (anti-CD20) and a linear gradient from 8% to 13% B in 25 min (anti-CD38) were used. The flow rate for both antibody separations was 4 mL / min, and concentrations were determined by absorbance at 280 nm. For each antibody, six consecutive injections were performed and the K0, K1 and K2 isoforms (containing 0, 1 or 2 heavy chain C-terminal lysines per antibody) were pooled separately, concentrated (Sartorius, Vivaspin, 10,000 Da MWCO) and the separation buffer exchanged into PBS buffer. Pooled fractions were biochemically analyzed by cIEF and SDS PAGE either without treatment or after carboxypeptidase B (CPB) treatment (500 μL [450 μg / mL] of antibody in 20 mM sodium phosphate [pH 7.2] was mixed with 10 μL of 0.05 IU / μL CPB [Calbiochem] and incubated for 4 h at 37°C). Samples were stored at -80°C until further use. For cIEF analysis, antibody samples were diluted to 5 μg / mL and 20 μL was loaded onto a precast cIEF FocusGel 6-11 24S (ETC, Kirchentellinsfurt, Germany) together with a high pI Kit and pH 7.65 and 10.0 markers (Amersham, Piscataway, USA). The gel was prefocused for 30 min at 500 V, 30 mA and 10 W, followed by focusing for 90 min at 1500 V, 18 mA and 20 W and for 30 min at 2000 V, 15 mA and 25 W.Gels were fixed in 20% (w / v) trifluoroacetic acid at 30°C for 45 min. Band detection was performed using an ammoniacal silver staining procedure recommended by the FocusGel supplier. cIEF gels were digitally imaged using a GeneGenius Imaging System (Synoptics, Cambridge, UK). All other reagents and equipment used for cIEF were from GE Healthcare (Uppsala, Sweden). Non-reducing SDS-PAGE was performed on 4-12% NuPAGE Bis-Tris SDS-PAGE gels (Invitrogen, Breda, The Netherlands). SDS-PAGE gels were digitally imaged using a GeneGenius Imaging System (Synoptics, Cambridge, UK).

[0099] Figure 1 shows the CIEX profiles for anti-CD20 (a) and anti-CD38 (b) antibodies. cIEF analysis (Fig. 1c and 1d) reveals the presence of three IgG charge variants (K0, K1 and K2) containing 0, 1 or 2 C-terminal lysines per IgG molecule in unfractionated anti-CD20 and anti-CD38 antibody preparations. The variants could be separated by CIEX as shown in the cIEF profiles of the recovered isoforms. SDS PAGE analysis (Fig. 1e and 1f) shows that structural integrity was maintained after CIEX fractionation. After treatment of unfractionated anti-CD20 and anti-CD38 preparations and recovered isoforms with carboxypeptidase B (CPB), only the K0 isoform was present (Fig. 1c and 1d).

[0100] Example 2: Binding ability and induction of complement-mediated cytotoxicity (CDC) by C-terminal lysine isoforms of anti-CD20 and anti-CD38 antibodies Antibody preparations and recovered isoforms, with or without carboxypeptidase B (CPB) treatment, were obtained by preparative CIEX as described previously. Binding of antibody samples to Daudi cells expressing both CD20 and CD38 was analyzed by FACS analysis. 10 cells were cultured in 50 μL in a polystyrene 96-well round-bottom plate (Greiner bio-one 650101). 5 The cells were incubated for 30 min at 4°C with serial dilutions of antibody preparations ranging from 0.04 μg / mL to 10 μg / mL in RPMI1640 / 0.2% BSA. After washing twice in RPMI / 0.2% BSA, the cells were incubated for 30 min at 4°C with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated rabbit anti-human IgG (F0056, Dako, Glostrup, Denmark). The cells were washed twice in RPMI / 0.2% BSA, resuspended in RPMI / 0.2% BSA, and analyzed on a FACS Calibur (BD Biosciences). Binding curves were analyzed by non-linear regression (sigmoidal dose-response curves with variable slope) using GraphPad Prism V5.01 software (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA). To investigate the induction of CDC, Daudi cells (2 × 10 cells) were incubated with 100 μg / mL of antibody preparations (2 × 10 cells). 6 Cells / mL) were incubated with serial dilutions of antibody preparations for 15 min at RT. Normal human serum (NHS; M0008, Sanquin, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) was added as a complement source (final concentration 20% [v / v]). After 45 min of incubation at 37°C in round-bottom 96-well plates (Nunc, Rochester, NY), the reaction was stopped by placing the samples on ice. Cell lysis was determined by FACS analysis using propidium iodide (PI, Sigma Aldrich, Zwijndrecht, The Netherlands) staining. The percentage of lysis was determined as follows: percentage of lysis = (number of PI-positive cells / total number of cells) × 100%.

[0101] [Table 1] Table 1 - Induction of CDC by anti-CD20 and anti-CD38 antibodies. Data shown show the effect of anti-CD20 and anti-CD38 antibodies on the induction of CDC in Daudi cells by unfractionated and recovered K2 isoforms, with and without carboxypeptidase B (CPB) treatment. 50 Values ​​are [μg / mL].

[0102] The top left panel of Figure 2 shows that the binding of unfractionated and recovered K2 isoforms of anti-CD20 antibodies to Daudi cells is comparable with and without carboxypeptidase B treatment. The top right panel shows that the same is true for anti-CD38. The bottom left panel and Table 1 show that the induction of CDC is less efficient (approximately 2-fold lower) with the recovered K2 isoform of anti-CD20 antibodies. The ability to induce CDC was restored after carboxypeptidase B treatment of the recovered K2 isoform of anti-CD20. The bottom right panel and Table 1 show that the same is true for anti-CD38 antibodies. Carboxypeptidase B treatment partially restored the CDC-inducing ability of the K2 isoform. These data suggest that the presence of a C-terminal lysine negatively impacts the CDC-inducing ability of antibodies.

[0103] Carboxypeptidase B treatment did not affect the CDC-inducing ability of unfractionated anti-CD20 or anti-CD38 antibodies. Unfractionated antibody preparations contain C-terminal lysine isoforms (K1 and K2), as shown in Figure 1. However, the fraction of isoforms containing C-terminal lysine in unfractionated antibody preparations is probably too small to affect CDC-inducing ability.

[0104] Example 3: Efficacy of C1q utilization by unfractionated and recovered K2 isoform of anti-CD38 antibody Antibody preparations and recovered K2 isoforms with or without carboxypeptidase B (CPB) treatment were obtained as described above. To examine the efficacy of C1q utilization, Daudi cells (2 × 10 cells) were cultured with 100 mM NaCl and 100 mM NaCl.6 Cells (cells / mL) were incubated with a fixed concentration (10 μg / mL) of antibody preparation in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum for 15 min at room temperature. C1q-depleted serum (Quidel, San Diego, CA) supplemented with 1 mM MgCl2 and 1 mM CaCl2 and a low concentration of C1q (Complement Technologies, Tyler, TX) were added as a complement source (final concentration 50% [v / v]). CDC assays were performed as described above.

[0105] [Table 2] Table 2 - Efficacy of C1q utilization by unfractionated and recovered K2 isoform of anti-CD38 antibody. Data shown are the EC20C of C1q requirement for induction of CDC in Daudi cells by unfractionated and recovered K2 isoforms of anti-CD38 antibodies with and without CPB treatment. 50 Values ​​are [μg / mL].

[0106] Figure 3 and Table 2 show that the amount of C1q required to induce CDC of Daudi cells was significantly enhanced (>3.5-fold) in the case of the salvaged K2 isoform of anti-CD38. The efficacy of C1q utilization was fully restored by carboxypeptidase B treatment. Carboxypeptidase B treatment of unfractionated anti-CD38 antibody only slightly improved (<2-fold) the efficacy of C1q utilization.

[0107] Example 4: Binding and CDC induction by HEK-produced anti-CD38 antibodies and mutants containing one, two or three C-terminal lysines or C-terminal glutamic acids per heavy chain To further verify that the presence of C-terminal lysines was indeed responsible for the reduced potency of CDC induction by the recovered K2 isoform compared to unfractionated antibody preparations, mutants were constructed containing 0, 1, 2 or 3 C-terminal lysines in each heavy chain. Additionally, mutants were constructed with a negative charge (glutamic acid; E) at the C-terminal position. The mutants are described in the table below. Amino acid P445 in EU numbering corresponds to proline at position 328 in SEQ ID NOs: 1 and 5 (IgG1m (za) and IgG1m(f) allotype Fc sequences, respectively).

[0108] [Table 3] Table 3 - Anti-CD38 antibody variants. The pI values ​​were determined by cIEF analysis (Figure 4a).

[0109] Mammalian expression vectors for the expression of anti-CD38 antibody 005 (described in WO 2006099875 (Genmab)) were constructed by cloning the coding regions of the human IgG1 (allotype f) heavy and kappa light chains of the antibody into pcDNA3.3 (Invitrogen). Using PCR, the C-terminal heavy chain extensions -KP, -KKP, -KKKP and -E were introduced into the heavy chain expression vector. Proline was introduced to prevent cleavage of the added C-terminal lysine. All anti-CD38 antibody variants were produced under serum-free conditions using Freestyle medium (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) by transiently co-transfecting the relevant heavy and light chain expression vectors into HEK293F cells (Invitrogen) using 293fectin (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Antibodies were purified by Protein A affinity chromatography (MabSelect SuRe, GE Healthcare, Uppsala, Sweden), dialyzed overnight against PBS, and filter-sterilized through a 0.2 μM dead-end filter. The concentration of purified C-terminal IgG1 variants was determined by absorbance at 280 nm. Anti-CD38 antibodies and anti-CD38 antibody variants were analyzed by cIEF, binding to Daudi cells was analyzed by FACS analysis, and induction of CDC was tested in a CDC assay using Daudi cells. All assays were performed as described above.

[0110] [Table 4] a) It was not possible to decide. Table 4 - CDC induction by anti-CD38 antibodies and mutants. The data shown are from EC 50 Values ​​are (μg / mL) and percentage of lysis induced by the maximum concentration (4 μg / mL) of test antibody.

[0111] Figure 4a shows that all antibody mutants migrated with the calculated pI based on the amino acids introduced, suggesting that the mutants were stable and that the additional amino acids at the C-terminus were not cleaved. Figure 4b shows that the binding of anti-CD38 antibodies to Daudi cells was not affected by the introduction of C-terminal lysine or glutamic acid and was comparable for all mutants. Figure 4c and Table 4 show that CDC induction of Daudi cells was similar for anti-CD38 antibodies and PG mutants. The introduction of one positively charged C-terminal lysine per heavy chain reduced the ability to induce CDC, which was reflected in a lower maximum lysis rate induced (approximately 30% reduction). The introduction of two C-terminal lysines (KK) per heavy chain completely abolished the ability to induce CDC. The mutants containing three C-terminal lysines per heavy chain were slightly more efficient in inducing CDC than the mutants containing two C-terminal lysines. The mutants containing C-terminal glutamic acid were similarly inefficient in inducing CDC.

[0112] Example 5: CDC induction by a mixture of anti-CD38 antibody mutants To examine whether charge repulsion between IgG molecules is responsible for the reduced CDC activity of anti-CD38 mutants carrying lysine or glutamic acid at the C-terminus, mutants with different charges at the C-terminus were mixed and CDC assays were performed as described above.

[0113] Figure 5a shows that the addition of the K4 mutant to K0 reduced the potency of CDC induction compared to that of K0 alone, while keeping the total IgG concentration constant. Figure 5b shows that the same effect was observed with the addition of the E2 mutant. These experiments are in good agreement with our previous findings and confirm that anti-CD38 mutants with a charged residue at the C-terminal position have strongly reduced CDC activity. Figure 5c shows that mixing the negatively charged E2 mutant with the positively charged K4 mutant almost completely restored the CDC induction potency to the level of CDC induced by K0. Similar results were obtained with a mixture of E2 and K2 mutants (data not shown). Figure 5d shows that maximum lysis was obtained at an E2:K4 ratio of approximately 7:3.

[0114] This data suggests that interactions between different IgG molecules, and more specifically, Fc-Fc interactions, play an important role in the induction of CDC.

[0115] Example 6: Identification of antibody oligomerization via IgG1 mutations stimulating Fc:Fc interactions detected by CDC assay A library of mutations was generated, including mutations focused at the C-terminal position of the CH3 domain. Mutations were introduced into the IgG1 Fc region of anti-CD38 antibody 005 using the Quikchange site-directed mutagenesis kit (Stratagene, US). Briefly, for each desired mutation position, a full-length plasmid DNA template was cloned using forward and reverse primers encoding degenerate codons at the desired positions. The resulting DNA mixture was digested with DpnI to remove the source plasmid DNA and used to transform E. coli. The resulting colonies were pooled, cultured, and plasmid DNA was isolated from these pools and transformed back into E. coli to obtain clonal colonies. Mutant plasmid DNA isolated from the resulting colonies was examined by DNA sequencing (LGC genomics, Berlin, Germany). Expression cassettes were amplified from plasmid DNA by PCR, and DNA mixtures containing both mutant heavy chains and wild-type light chains of anti-CD38 antibody 005 were transiently transfected into Freestyle HEK293F cells (Invitrogen, US) using 293fectin (Invitrogen, US) essentially as described by the manufacturer. Supernatants from transfected cells containing the antibody mutants were collected.

[0116] The CDC assay was performed as follows: 0.1 × 10 Daudi or Wien 133 cells 6 The cells were preincubated with 1.0 μg / mL of unpurified antibody in a total volume of 100 μL in a round-bottom 96-well plate at RT for 15 min on a shaker. Then, 30 μL of normal human serum was added as a complement source (final concentration 30%) and incubated at 37° C. for 45 min in an incubator. The reaction was stopped by placing the plate on ice. 10 μL of propidium iodide was added and cell lysis was determined by FACS.

[0117] Mutations in the CH3 C-terminal region engineered into anti-CD38 antibodies were tested for their ability to induce CDC in Daudi cells. The lytic effect of the mutant antibodies was compared to that of the wild-type antibody, whose lysis was set to 100%. The cutoff for inhibition was set at 66% or less lysis. The results are shown in Table 5.

[0118] Mutations engineered into anti-CD38 antibody 005 were tested for their ability to enhance oligomerization as determined by CDC on Wien 133 cells. Wild-type antibody is unable to induce CDC on Wien 133 cells. Mutants showing 10% or more cell lysis were scored as enhanced. The results are shown in Table 6.

[0119] Table 5 shows that the introduction of a negative charge at the C-terminal position for the mutations P445D and P445E reduces CDC compared to IgG1 wild type, as expected. Similarly, the introduction of a positive charge, i.e. P445H and P445K, reduces CDC as expected. However, the mutation K447I clearly reduces CDC, whereas the removal of the positively charged K at the C-terminal position would be expected to have a positive effect on CDC. Furthermore, the exchange of G446 and K447 with arginine seems to have a smaller positive effect on CDC, contrary to expectations. However, this assumes that a C-terminal arginine is indeed present in the mutants. In both cases, the arginine mutants could indeed be truncated at the C-terminal position, resulting in mutants without a charge at the C-terminus (the theoretical C-terminal sequence of the K447R mutant is PGR, which can be cleaved to PG, and the theoretical C-terminal sequence of the G446R mutant is PRK, which can be cleaved to P).

[0120] [Table 5] Table 5 - CDC induction by mutants - Daudi cells. Percentage of lysis of Daudi cells in the presence of 1.0 ug / ml of point mutant anti-CD38 antibodies. The wild type antibody lysed 66% of the cells under these conditions.

[0121] [Table 6] Table 6 - CDC induction by mutants - Wien 133 cells. Percentage of lysis of Wien 133 cells in the presence of 1.0 ug / ml of point mutants of anti-CD38 antibodies. The wild type antibody lysed 3% of the cells under these conditions.

[0122] Sequence information SEQUENCE LISTING <110> Genmab A / S <120> MODULATION OF COMPLEMENT-DEPENDENT CYTOTOXICITY THROUGH MODIFICATIONS OF THE C-TERMINUS OF ANTIBODY HEAVY CHAINS <150> US 61 / 504,987 <151> 2011-07-06 <150> DK PA 2011 00518 <151> 2011-07-06 <160> 8 <170> PatentIn version 3.5 <210> 1 <211> 330 <212> PRT <213> homo sapiens <400> 1 Ala Ser Thr Lys Gly Pro Ser Val Phe Pro Leu Ala Pro Ser Ser Lys 1 5 10 15 Ser Thr Ser Gly Gly Thr Ala Ala Leu Gly Cys Leu Val Lys Asp Tyr 20 25 30 Phe Pro Glu Pro Val Thr Val Ser Trp Asn Ser Gly Ala Leu Thr Ser 35 40 45 Gly Val His Thr Phe Pro Ala Val Leu Gln Ser Ser Gly Leu Tyr Ser 50 55 60 Leu Ser Ser Val Val Thr Val Pro Ser Ser Ser Leu Gly Thr Gln Thr 65 70 75 80 Tyr Ile Cys Asn Val Asn His Lys Pro Ser Asn Thr Lys Val Asp Lys 85 90 95 Lys Val Glu Pro Lys Ser Cys Asp Lys Thr His Thr Cys Pro Pro Cys 100 105 110 Pro Ala Pro Glu Leu Leu Gly Gly Pro Ser Val Phe Leu Phe Pro Pro 115 120 125 Lys Pro Lys Asp Thr Leu Met Ile Ser Arg Thr Pro Glu Val Thr Cys 130 135 140 Val Val Val Asp Val Ser His Glu Asp Pro Glu Val Lys Phe Asn Trp 145 150 155 160 Tyr Val Asp Gly Val Glu Val His Asn Ala Lys Thr Lys Pro Arg Glu 165 170 175 Glu Gln Tyr Asn Ser Thr Tyr Arg Val Val Ser Val Leu Thr Val Leu 180 185 190 His Gln Asp Trp Leu Asn Gly Lys Glu Tyr Lys Cys Lys Val Ser Asn 195 200 205 Lys Ala Leu Pro Ala Pro Ile Glu Lys Thr Ile Ser Lys Ala Lys Gly 210 215 220 Gln Pro Arg Glu Pro Gln Val Tyr Thr Leu Pro Pro Ser Arg Asp Glu 225 230 235 240 Leu Thr Lys Asn Gln Val Ser Leu Thr Cys Leu Val Lys Gly Phe Tyr 245 250 255 Pro Ser Asp Ile Ala Val Glu Trp Glu Ser Asn Gly Gln Pro Glu Asn 260 265 270 Asn Tyr Lys Thr Thr Pro Pro Val Leu Asp Ser Asp Gly Ser Phe Phe 275 280 285 Leu Tyr Ser Lys Leu Thr Val Asp Lys Ser Arg Trp Gln Gln Gly Asn 290 295 300 Val Phe Ser Cys Ser Val Met His Glu Ala Leu His Asn His Tyr Thr 305 310 315 320 Gln Lys Ser Leu Ser Leu Ser Pro Gly Lys 325 330 <210> 2 <211> 326 <212> PRT <213> homo sapiens <400> 2 Ala Ser Thr Lys Gly Pro Ser Val Phe Pro Leu Ala Pro Cys Ser Arg 1 5 10 15 Ser Thr Ser Glu Ser Thr Ala Ala Leu Gly Cys Leu Val Lys Asp Tyr 20 25 30 Phe Pro Glu Pro Val Thr Val Ser Trp Asn Ser Gly Ala Leu Thr Ser 35 40 45 Gly Val His Thr Phe Pro Ala Val Leu Gln Ser Ser Gly Leu Tyr Ser 50 55 60 Leu Ser Ser Val Val Thr Val Pro Ser Ser Asn Phe Gly Thr Gln Thr 65 70 75 80 Tyr Thr Cys Asn Val Asp His Lys Pro Ser Asn Thr Lys Val Asp Lys 85 90 95 Thr Val Glu Arg Lys Cys Cys Val Glu Cys Pro Pro Cys Pro Ala Pro 100 105 110 Pro Val Ala Gly Pro Ser Val Phe Leu Phe Pro Pro Lys Pro Lys Asp 115 120 125 Thr Leu Met Ile Ser Arg Thr Pro Glu Val Thr Cys Val Val Val Asp 130 135 140 Val Ser His Glu Asp Pro Glu Val Gln Phe Asn Trp Tyr Val Asp Gly 145 150 155 160 Val Glu Val His Asn Ala Lys Thr Lys Pro Arg Glu Glu Gln Phe Asn 165 170 175 Ser Thr Phe Arg Val Val Ser Val Leu Thr Val Val His Gln Asp Trp 180 185 190 Leu Asn Gly Lys Glu Tyr Lys Cys Lys Val Ser Asn Lys Gly Leu Pro 195 200 205 Ala Pro Ile Glu Lys Thr Ile Ser Lys Thr Lys Gly Gln Pro Arg Glu 210 215 220 Pro Gln Val Tyr Thr Leu Pro Pro Ser Arg Glu Glu Met Thr Lys Asn 225 230 235 240 Gln Val Ser Leu Thr Cys Leu Val Lys Gly Phe Tyr Pro Ser Asp Ile 245 250 255 Ala Val Glu Trp Glu Ser Asn Gly Gln Pro Glu Asn Asn Tyr Lys Thr 260 265 270 Thr Pro Pro Met Leu Asp Ser Asp Gly Ser Phe Phe Leu Tyr Ser Lys 275 280 285 Leu Thr Val Asp Lys Ser Arg Trp Gln Gln Gly Asn Val Phe Ser Cys 290 295 300 Ser Val Met His Glu Ala Leu His Asn His Tyr Thr Gln Lys Ser Leu 305 310 315 320 Ser Leu Ser Pro Gly Lys 325 <210> 3 <211> 377 <212> PRT <213> homo sapiens <400> 3 Ala Ser Thr Lys Gly Pro Ser Val Phe Pro Leu Ala Pro Cys Ser Arg 1 5 10 15 Ser Thr Ser Gly Gly Thr Ala Ala Leu Gly Cys Leu Val Lys Asp Tyr 20 25 30 Phe Pro Glu Pro Val Thr Val Ser Trp Asn Ser Gly Ala Leu Thr Ser 35 40 45 Gly Val His Thr Phe Pro Ala Val Leu Gln Ser Ser Gly Leu Tyr Ser 50 55 60 Leu Ser Ser Val Val Thr Val Pro Ser Ser Ser Leu Gly Thr Gln Thr 65 70 75 80 Tyr Thr Cys Asn Val Asn His Lys Pro Ser Asn Thr Lys Val Asp Lys 85 90 95 Arg Val Glu Leu Lys Thr Pro Leu Gly Asp Thr Thr His Thr Cys Pro 100 105 110 Arg Cys Pro Glu Pro Lys Ser Cys Asp Thr Pro Pro Pro Cys Pro Arg 115 120 125 Cys Pro Glu Pro Lys Ser Cys Asp Thr Pro Pro Pro Cys Pro Arg Cys 130 135 140 Pro Glu Pro Lys Ser Cys Asp Thr Pro Pro Pro Cys Pro Arg Cys Pro 145 150 155 160 Ala Pro Glu Leu Leu Gly Gly Pro Ser Val Phe Leu Phe Pro Pro Lys 165 170 175 Pro Lys Asp Thr Leu Met Ile Ser Arg Thr Pro Glu Val Thr Cys Val 180 185 190 Val Val Asp Val Ser His Glu Asp Pro Glu Val Gln Phe Lys Trp Tyr 195 200 205 Val Asp Gly Val Glu Val His Asn Ala Lys Thr Lys Pro Arg Glu Glu 210 215 220 Gln Tyr Asn Ser Thr Phe Arg Val Val Ser Val Leu Thr Val Leu His 225 230 235 240 Gln Asp Trp Leu Asn Gly Lys Glu Tyr Lys Cys Lys Val Ser Asn Lys 245 250 255 Ala Leu Pro Ala Pro Ile Glu Lys Thr Ile Ser Lys Thr Lys Gly Gln 260 265 270 Pro Arg Glu Pro Gln Val Tyr Thr Leu Pro Pro Ser Arg Glu Glu Met 275 280 285 Thr Lys Asn Gln Val Ser Leu Thr Cys Leu Val Lys Gly Phe Tyr Pro 290 295 300 Ser Asp Ile Ala Val Glu Trp Glu Ser Ser Gly Gln Pro Glu Asn Asn 305 310 315 320 Tyr Asn Thr Thr Pro Pro Met Leu Asp Ser Asp Gly Ser Phe Phe Leu 325 330 335 Tyr Ser Lys Leu Thr Val Asp Lys Ser Arg Trp Gln Gln Gly Asn Ile 340 345 350 Phe Ser Cys Ser Val Met His Glu Ala Leu His Asn Arg Phe Thr Gln 355 360 365 Lys Ser Leu Ser Leu Ser Pro Gly Lys 370 375 <210> 4 <211> 327 <212> PRT <213> homo sapiens <400> 4 Ala Ser Thr Lys Gly Pro Ser Val Phe Pro Leu Ala Pro Cys Ser Arg 1 5 10 15 Ser Thr Ser Glu Ser Thr Ala Ala Leu Gly Cys Leu Val Lys Asp Tyr 20 25 30 Phe Pro Glu Pro Val Thr Val Ser Trp Asn Ser Gly Ala Leu Thr Ser 35 40 45 Gly Val His Thr Phe Pro Ala Val Leu Gln Ser Ser Gly Leu Tyr Ser 50 55 60 Leu Ser Ser Val Val Thr Val Pro Ser Ser Ser Leu Gly Thr Lys Thr 65 70 75 80 Tyr Thr Cys Asn Val Asp His Lys Pro Ser Asn Thr Lys Val Asp Lys 85 90 95 Arg Val Glu Ser Lys Tyr Gly Pro Pro Cys Pro Ser Cys Pro Ala Pro 100 105 110 Glu Phe Leu Gly Gly Pro Ser Val Phe Leu Phe Pro Pro Lys Pro Lys 115 120 125 Asp Thr Leu Met Ile Ser Arg Thr Pro Glu Val Thr Cys Val Val Val 130 135 140 Asp Val Ser Gln Glu Asp Pro Glu Val Gln Phe Asn Trp Tyr Val Asp 145 150 155 160 Gly Val Glu Val His Asn Ala Lys Thr Lys Pro Arg Glu Glu Gln Phe 165 170 175 Asn Ser Thr Tyr Arg Val Val Ser Val Leu Thr Val Leu His Gln Asp 180 185 190 Trp Leu Asn Gly Lys Glu Tyr Lys Cys Lys Val Ser Asn Lys Gly Leu 195 200 205 Pro Ser Ser Ile Glu Lys Thr Ile Ser Lys Ala Lys Gly Gln Pro Arg 210 215 220 Glu Pro Gln Val Tyr Thr Leu Pro Pro Ser Gln Glu Glu Met Thr Lys 225 230 235 240 Asn Gln Val Ser Leu Thr Cys Leu Val Lys Gly Phe Tyr Pro Ser Asp 245 250 255 Ile Ala Val Glu Trp Glu Ser Asn Gly Gln Pro Glu Asn Asn Tyr Lys 260 265 270 Thr Thr Pro Pro Val Leu Asp Ser Asp Gly Ser Phe Phe Leu Tyr Ser 275 280 285 Arg Leu Thr Val Asp Lys Ser Arg Trp Gln Glu Gly Asn Val Phe Ser 290 295 300 Cys Ser Val Met His Glu Ala Leu His Asn His Tyr Thr Gln Lys Ser 305 310 315 320 Leu Ser Leu Ser Leu Gly Lys 325 <210> 5 <211> 330 <212> PRT <213> homo sapiens <400> 5 Ala Ser Thr Lys Gly Pro Ser Val Phe Pro Leu Ala Pro Ser Ser Lys 1 5 10 15 Ser Thr Ser Gly Gly Thr Ala Ala Leu Gly Cys Leu Val Lys Asp Tyr 20 25 30 Phe Pro Glu Pro Val Thr Val Ser Trp Asn Ser Gly Ala Leu Thr Ser 35 40 45 Gly Val His Thr Phe Pro Ala Val Leu Gln Ser Ser Gly Leu Tyr Ser 50 55 60 Leu Ser Ser Val Val Thr Val Pro Ser Ser Ser Leu Gly Thr Gln Thr 65 70 75 80 Tyr Ile Cys Asn Val Asn His Lys Pro Ser Asn Thr Lys Val Asp Lys 85 90 95 Arg Val Glu Pro Lys Ser Cys Asp Lys Thr His Thr Cys Pro Pro Cys 100 105 110 Pro Ala Pro Glu Leu Leu Gly Gly Pro Ser Val Phe Leu Phe Pro Pro 115 120 125 Lys Pro Lys Asp Thr Leu Met Ile Ser Arg Thr Pro Glu Val Thr Cys 130 135 140 Val Val Val Asp Val Ser His Glu Asp Pro Glu Val Lys Phe Asn Trp 145 150 155 160 Tyr Val Asp Gly Val Glu Val His Asn Ala Lys Thr Lys Pro Arg Glu 165 170 175 Glu Gln Tyr Asn Ser Thr Tyr Arg Val Val Ser Val Leu Thr Val Leu 180 185 190 His Gln Asp Trp Leu Asn Gly Lys Glu Tyr Lys Cys Lys Val Ser Asn 195 200 205 Lys Ala Leu Pro Ala Pro Ile Glu Lys Thr Ile Ser Lys Ala Lys Gly 210 215 220 Gln Pro Arg Glu Pro Gln Val Tyr Thr Leu Pro Pro Ser Arg Glu Glu 225 230 235 240 Met Thr Lys Asn Gln Val Ser Leu Thr Cys Leu Val Lys Gly Phe Tyr 245 250 255 Pro Ser Asp Ile Ala Val Glu Trp Glu Ser Asn Gly Gln Pro Glu Asn 260 265 270 Asn Tyr Lys Thr Thr Pro Pro Val Leu Asp Ser Asp Gly Ser Phe Phe 275 280 285 Leu Tyr Ser Lys Leu Thr Val Asp Lys Ser Arg Trp Gln Gln Gly Asn 290 295 300 Val Phe Ser Cys Ser Val Met His Glu Ala Leu His Asn His Tyr Thr 305 310 315 320 Gln Lys Ser Leu Ser Leu Ser Pro Gly Lys 325 330 <210> 6 <211> 4 <212> PRT <213> homo sapiens <400> 6 Pro Gly Lys Pro 1 <210> 7 <211> 5 <212> PRT <213> homo sapiens <400> 7 Pro Gly Lys Lys Pro 1 5 <210> 8 <211> 6 <212> PRT <213> homo sapiens <400> 8 Pro Gly Lys Lys Lys Pro 1 5

Claims

1. An isolated IgG antibody comprising a heavy chain, the C-terminus of which consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:7, and SEQ ID NO:8, wherein the amino acid sequence inhibits proteolytic removal by mammalian proteases.

2. The antibody of claim 1 , further comprising a light chain.

3. The antibody of claim 1 , wherein the antibody induces complement dependent cytotoxicity to a lesser extent compared to an antibody lacking the amino acid sequence.

4. A nucleotide construct encoding an IgG heavy chain, wherein the C-terminus of the heavy chain consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:7, and SEQ ID NO:8, wherein the amino acid sequence inhibits proteolytic removal by mammalian proteases.

5. The nucleotide construct of claim 4, further encoding a light chain.

6. 13. An isolated recombinant host cell producing the antibody of claim 1, wherein the recombinant cell has been genetically engineered to produce a glycoprotein that has human-like or human glycosylation.

7. 11. A method for producing an IgG antibody comprising a heavy chain whose C-terminus consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:7, and SEQ ID NO:8, wherein the amino acid sequence inhibits proteolytic removal by mammalian proteases, the method comprising culturing a host cell according to claim 6 and recovering the antibody from the cell culture.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the host cell is a CHO or HEK cell.

9. The antibody of claim 1, wherein the C-terminus consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

6.

10. The antibody of claim 1, wherein the C-terminus consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

7.

11. The antibody of claim 1, wherein the C-terminus consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

8.

12. The nucleotide construct of claim 4, wherein the C-terminus consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

6.

13. The nucleotide construct of claim 4, wherein the C-terminus consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

7.

14. The nucleotide construct of claim 4, wherein the C-terminus consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

8.

15. The antibody of claim 1 , wherein other than the amino acid sequence, the IgG antibody is an isotype selected from the group consisting of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4.

16. The nucleotide construct of claim 4 , wherein other than the amino acid sequence, the antibody is of an isotype selected from the group consisting of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4.

17. The antibody of claim 1, wherein the protease is selected from a protease derived from a CHO, HEK-293, PER.C6, NS0 or Sp2 / 0 cell.

18. The antibody of claim 1 , wherein the protease is a carboxypeptidase.

19. The nucleotide construct of claim 4, wherein the protease is selected from a protease derived from a CHO, HEK-293, PER.C6, NS0 or Sp2 / 0 cell.

20. The nucleotide construct of claim 4, wherein the protease is a carboxypeptidase.

21. An isolated IgG antibody comprising a heavy chain whose C-terminus consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:7, and SEQ ID NO:8, wherein the amino acid sequence inhibits proteolytic removal by mammalian proteases, and further wherein the antibody induces complement dependent cytotoxicity to a lesser extent compared to an antibody lacking said amino acid sequence.

Images