• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.420-427
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• 2020

A repebody, an artificial non-immunoglobulin protein scaffold, is expected to be a solution in the search for faster, cheaper, and customizable antibodies. However, the production of medical repebodies remains difficult due to their low yield and the complex purification processes required. The Pseudomonas fluorescens ABC transporter system has been suggested as an efficient and cost-effective method for repebody production, but the total yield is low because of the secreted protein's positive charge; thus, a repebody with a high isoelectric point needs to be changed into a more negatively charged protein for better secretion. To achieve this, we first attached oligo-aspartic acids to the N- and C-terminals of the repebody, but secretion efficiency was not enhanced significantly. Subsequently, we devised an alternative method for improved secretion efficiency by engineering fifteen positively charged amino acids to aspartic acid in the non-antigen binding sites of the repebody to give a high net negative charge. As a result, secretion efficiency was greatly enhanced from 21.2% (wildtype) to 58.5% (negatively supercharged). The negatively supercharged repebody was succussfully produced extracellularly by ABC transporter secretion system in P. fluorescens.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.83-88
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• 2019

In order to understand the in vivo biodistribution of repebody protein (RB), an efficient and simple radiolabeling method for the protein is needed. We demonstrate a detailed protocol for the radiosynthesis of an ¹¹¹In radiolabeled tetrazine prosthetic group and its application to the efficient radiolabeling of trans-cyclooctene-group conjugated repebody protein using inverse-electron-demand Diels-Alder reaction. First, 1,2,4,5-tetrazine (Tz) conjugated with a DOTA chelator, was used for preparing the radiolabeled DOTA complex with ¹¹¹In. Second, the trans-cyclooctene (TCO) functionalized repebody protein was synthesized which allows for the preparation of radiolabeled proteins by copper-free click chemistry. Following incubation with the ¹¹¹In-radiolabeled DOTA complex (¹¹¹In-Tz), the TCO-functionalized RB (TCO-RB) was radiolabeled successfully with ¹¹¹In, with a high radiochemical yield (69.5%) and radiochemical purity (>99%). The radiolabeling of repebody protein by copper-free click chemistry was accomplished within 20 min, with great efficiency in aqueous conditions. These results clearly indicate that the present radiolabeling method will be useful for the efficient and convenient radiolabeling of trans-cyclooctene-group containing biomolecules.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.11-17
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• 2019

Recently, antibody-like scaffold proteins have received a great deal of interest in diagnosis and therapy applications because of their intrinsic features that are often required for tumor imaging and therapy. Intrinsic issues that are associated with therapeutic application of antibody-like scaffold proteins, particularly in cancer treatment, include an efficient and straightforward radiolabeling for understanding in vivo biodistribution and excretion route, and monitoring therapeutic responses. Herein, we report an efficient and straightforward method for radiolabeling of antibody-like scaffold proteins with the $[^{99m}Tc(OH_2)_3(CO)_3]^+$ ($^{99m}Tc$-tricarbonyl) by using a site-specific direct labeling method via hexahistidine-tag, which is a widely used for general purification of recombinant proteins with His-affinity chromatography. Repebody is a new class of antibody-like scaffold protein that consists of highly diverse leucine-rich repeat (LRR) modules. Although all possible biomedical applications with repebody are ongoing, it's in vivo biodistribution and excretion pathway has not yet been explored. In this study, hexahistidine ($His_6$)-tag bearing repebody (rEgH9) was labeled with [$^{99m}Tc$]-tricarbonyl. Repebody protein was radiolabeled with high radiolabeling efficiency (>90%) and radiolabeled compound was more than 99% pure after purification. These results clearly demonstrate that the present radiolabeling method will be useful molecular imaging study.