Chemical Synthesis of Mirror-Image VHHs and Evaluation of Their Immunogenicity
摘要
The author investigated the preparation protocols of mirror-image proteins of the variable domain of the heavy chain of the heavy chain antibody (d-VHHs) and their biological properties, including stereoselective target binding and immunogenicity. Initially, the author established a facile synthetic process of two model VHHs [anti-GFP VHH and PMP12A2h1 (monomeric VHH of caplacizumab)] and their mirror-image proteins by three-step native chemical ligations (NCLs) from four peptide segments. The folded synthetic VHHs (l-anti-GFP VHH and l-PMP12A2h1) bound to the target proteins (EGFP and vWF-A1 domain, respectively), while their mirror-image proteins (d-anti-GFP VHH and d-PMP12A2h1) showed no binding to the native proteins. Comparative assessment of the immunogenicity responses revealed that d-VHH-induced levels of anti-drug antibody (ADA) generation were significantly lower than those of native VHH, regardless of the peptide sequences and administration routes. The resulting scaffold investigated should be applicable in the design of d-VHHs with various C-terminal CDR3 sequences, which can be identified by screening using display technologies.