Yeast surface display libraries of human IgG1 Fc regions were prepared in which loop sequences at the C-terminal tip of the CH3 domain were randomized. A high percentage of these library members bound to soluble CD64 and Protein A indicating that the randomization step did not grossly interfere with the overall structure of the displayed Fc. Sorting these libraries by FACS for binders against HER2/neu yielded antigen-specific Fc binders (Fcab; Fc antigen binding) of which one was affinity matured, resulting in Fcab clone H10-03-6 which showed >10-fold improvement in antigen-binding activity versus the parental clone. Pre-equilibrium surface plasmon resonance experiments revealed a K_D value of 69 nM. H10-03-6 did not react with other members of the HER family and specifically interacted with HER2-positive but not with HER2-negative cells. Importantly, Fcab H10-03-6 elicited potent antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity in vitro. Finally, the in vivo half-life in mice was similar to wild-type Fc indicating that the amino acid changes in the CH3 domain did not affect the pharmacokinetic behavior of the recombinant Fc. Our data demonstrate that the Fcab scaffold combines all features of normal antibodies in a small 50 kD homodimeric protein: antigen binding, effector functions and long half-life in vivo.

We report the stabilization of the human IgG1 Fc fragment by engineered intradomain disulfide bonds. One of these bonds, which connects the N-terminus of the CH3 domain with the F-strand, led to an increase of the melting temperature of this domain by 10°C as compared to the CH3 domain in the context of the wild-type Fc region. Another engineered disulfide bond, which connects the BC loop of the CH3 domain with the D-strand, resulted in an increase of T_m of 5°C. Combined in one molecule, both intradomain disulfide bonds led to an increase of the T_m of about 15°C. All of these mutations had no impact on the thermal stability of the CH2 domain. Importantly, the binding of neonatal Fc receptor was also not influenced by the mutations. Overall, the stabilized CH3 domains described in this report provide an excellent basic scaffold for the engineering of Fc fragments for antigen-binding or other desired additional or improved properties. Additionally, we have introduced the intradomain disulfide bonds into an IgG Fc fragment engineered in C-terminal loops of the CH3 domain for binding to Her2/neu, and observed an increase of the T_m of the CH3 domain for 7.5°C for CysP4, 15.5°C for CysP2 and 19°C for the CysP2 and CysP4 disulfide bonds combined in one molecule.

Significance: The broadly neutralizing anti–HIV-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) PG9 requires multiple posttranslational modifications to exhibit its full biological activity, including properN-glycosylation and tyrosine sulfation. We now describe a technology that permits the controlled synthesis of these modifications inNicotiana benthamiana. This technology allowed us to show that sulfated PG9 neutralizes HIV-1 with much higher potency than unsulfated antibody. We also found that glycooptimized mAb versions made in plants are superior to PG9 produced in mammalian cells with respect to mediating antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, an important mAb effector function. Because effector functions are of key importance for antibody-mediated immune control of HIV-1 infections, our results can instruct the development of improved immunotherapeutics for the treatment of AIDS patients.

The research of extracellular vesicles (EVs) has boomed in the last decade, with the promise of them functioning as target‐directed drug delivery vehicles, able to modulate proliferation, migration, differentiation, and other properties of the recipient cell that are vital for health of the host organism. To enhance the ability of their targeted delivery, we employed an intrinsically overrepresented protein, CD81, to serve for recognition of the desired target antigen. Yeast libraries displaying mutant variants of the large extracellular loop of CD81 have been selected for binders to human placental laminin as an example target. Their specific interaction with laminin was confirmed in a mammalian display system. Derived sequences were reformatted to full‐length CD81 and expressed in EVs produced by HeLa cells. These EVs were examined for the presence of the recombinant protein and were shown to exhibit an enhanced uptake into laminin‐secreting mammalian cell lines. For the best candidate, the specificity of antigen interaction was demonstrated with a competition experiment. To our knowledge, this is the first example of harnessing an EV membrane protein as mediator of de novo target antigen recognition via in vitro molecular evolution, opening horizons to a broad range of applications in various therapeutic settings.

Antigen-binding Fc fragments (Fcab) are generated by engineering the C-terminal loop regions in the CH3 domain of human immunoglobulin G class 1-crystallizable fragment (IgG1-Fc). For an optimum library design with high percentage of well-folded clones for efficient binder selection, information about the correlation between primary structure and stability is needed. Here, we present a rapid method that allows determination of the overall stability of whole libraries of IgG1-Fc on the surface of yeast by flow cytometry. Libraries of IgG1-Fc mutants with distinct regions in AB-, CD- and EF-loops of the CH3 domains randomized or carrying therein insertions of five additional residues were constructed, incubated at increasing temperatures and probed for residual binding of generic Fc ligands. Calculated temperatures of half-maximal irreversible denaturation of the libraries gave a clear hierarchy of tolerance to randomization of distinct loop positions. Experimental data were evaluated by a computational approach and are discussed with respect to the structure of IgG1-Fc and variation in sequence and length of these loops in homologous Fc proteins. Generally, the described method allows for quick assessment of the effects of randomization of distinct regions on the foldability and stability of a yeast-displayed protein library.