Modification of Cysteine-Substituted Antibodies Using Enzymatic Oxidative Coupling Reactions

Bioconjug Chem. 2023 Mar 15;34(3):510-517. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.2c00576. Epub 2023 Feb 14.

Abstract

Cysteines are routinely used as site-specific handles to synthesize antibody-drug conjugates for targeted immunotherapy applications. Michael additions between thiols and maleimides are some of the most common methods for modifying cysteines, but these functional groups can be difficult to prepare on scale, and the resulting linkages have been shown to be reversible under some physiological conditions. Here, we show that the enzyme tyrosinase, which oxidizes conveniently accessed phenols to afford reactive ortho-quinone intermediates, can be used to attach phenolic cargo to cysteines engineered on antibody surfaces. The resulting linkages between the thiols and ortho-quinones are shown to be more resistant than maleimides to reversion under physiological conditions. Using this approach, we construct antibody conjugates bearing cytotoxic payloads, which exhibit targeted cell killing, and further demonstrate this method for the attachment of a variety of cargo to antibodies, including fluorophores and oligonucleotides.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents*
  • Cysteine
  • Immunoconjugates*
  • Maleimides
  • Oxidative Coupling
  • Quinones
  • Sulfhydryl Compounds

Substances

  • Cysteine
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Sulfhydryl Compounds
  • Quinones
  • Immunoconjugates
  • Maleimides