The recent uptick in the approval of ex vivo cell therapies highlights the relevance of lentivirus (LV) as an enabling viral vector of modern medicine. As labile biologics, however, LVs pose critical challenges to industrial biomanufacturing. In particular, LV purification—currently reliant on filtration and anion-exchange or size-exclusion chromatography—suffers from long process times and low yield of transducing particles, which translate into high waiting time and cost to patients. Seeking to improve LV downstream processing, this study introduces peptides targeting the enveloped protein Vesicular stomatitis virus G (VSV-G) to serve as affinity ligands for the chromatographic purification of LV particles. An ensemble of candidate ligands was initially discovered by implementing a dual-fluorescence screening technology and a targeted in silico approach designed to identify sequences with high selectivity and tunable affinity. The selected peptides were conjugated on Poros resin and their LV binding-and-release performance was optimized by adjusting the flow rate, composition, and pH of the chromatographic buffers. Ligands GKEAAFAA and SRAFVGDADRD were selected for their high product yield (50%–60% of viral genomes; 40%–50% of HT1080 cell-transducing particles) upon elution in PIPES buffer with 0.65 M NaCl at pH 7.4. The peptide-based adsorbents also presented remarkable values of binding capacity (up to 3·109 TU per mL of resin, or 5·1011 vp per mL of resin, at the residence time of 1 min) and clearance of host cell proteins (up to a 220-fold reduction of HEK293 HCPs). Additionally, GKEAAFAA demonstrated high resistance to caustic cleaning-in-place (0.5 M NaOH, 30 min) with no observable loss in product yield and quality.
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Rational design and experimental evaluation of peptide ligands for the purification of adeno‐associated viruses via affinity chromatography
Adeno‐associated viruses (AAVs) have acquired a central role in modern medicine as delivery agents for gene therapies targeting rare diseases. While new AAVs with improved tissue targeting, potency, and safety are being introduced, their biomanufacturing technology is lagging. In particular, the AAV purification pipeline hinges on protein ligands for the affinity‐based capture step. While featuring excellent AAV binding capacity and selectivity, these ligands require strong acid (pH <3) elution conditions, which can compromise the product's activity and stability. Additionally, their high cost and limited lifetime has a significant impact on the price tag of AAV‐based therapies. Seeking to introduce a more robust and affordable affinity technology, this study introduces a cohort of peptide ligands that (i) mimic the biorecognition activity of the AAV receptor (AAVR) and anti‐AAV antibody A20, (ii) enable product elution under near‐physiological conditions (pH 6.0), and (iii) grant extended reusability by withstanding multiple regenerations. A20‐mimetic CYIHFSGYTNYNPSLKSC and AAVR‐mimetic CVIDGSQSTDDDKIC demonstrated excellent capture of serotypes belonging to distinct clones/clades – namely, AAV1, AAV2, AAV5, AAV6, AAV8, and AAV9. This corroborates the in silico models documenting their ability to target regions of the viral capsid that are conserved across all serotypes. CVIDGSQSTDDDKIC‐Toyopearl resin features binding capacity (≈1014vp mL−1) and product yields (≈60%–80%) on par with commercial adsorbents, and purifies AAV2 from HEK293 and Sf9 cell lysates with high recovery (up to 78%), reduction of host cell proteins (up to 700‐fold), and high transduction activity (up to 65%).
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10485925
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Biotechnology Journal
- Volume:
- 19
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1860-6768
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Gene therapies have shown great promise for the potential treatment of a broad range of diseases. Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are popular gene vectors because of their ability to target specific tissues, and they have demonstrated high transduction efficiencies in multiple neurological targets. While these therapeutics hold great promise, their biomanufacturing has limited potential cost-reduction and more widespread adoption. Herein, we report the preliminary development of an immunosensor for measuring the titer of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2), which may be deployed for rapid quantification of product yield during AAV biomanufacturing. We functionalized an interdigitated electrode array with anti-AAV2 antibodies, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was employed to investigate the response to AAV2 titer. A Faradaic sensing principle was utilized, in which the charge transfer resistance (Rct) of an electrochemical reporter was monitored after capture of AAV2 on the surface of the sensor. A linear response was measured over titers 1012 - 1013 capsids/mL.more » « less
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Abstract Protein A chromatography has been identified as a potential bottleneck in the monoclonal antibody production platform, leading to increased interest in non‐chromatographic capture technologies. Affinity precipitation using environmentally responsive, Z‐domain‐elastin‐like polypeptide (Z‐ELP) fusion proteins has been shown to be a promising alternative. However, elevated temperature and salt concentrations necessary for precipitation resulted in decreased antibody monomer content and reduced purification capacity. To improve upon the existing technology, we reported an enhanced affinity precipitation of antibodies by conjugating Z‐ELP to a 25 nm diameter, self‐assembled E2 protein nanocage (Z‐ELP‐E2). The enlarged scale of aggregate formation and IgG‐triggered crosslinking through multi‐valent binding significantly outperformed traditional Z‐ELP‐based methods. In the current work, we sought to develop an affinity precipitation process capable of purifying industrial monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) at ambient temperature with minimal added salt. We discovered that the mAb‐nanocage complex aggregated within 10 min at room temperature without the addition of salt due to the enhanced multi‐valent cross‐linking. After precipitating out of solution, the complex remained insoluble under all wash buffers tested, and only resolubilized after a low pH elution. Through optimization of key process steps, the affinity precipitation yield and impurity clearance met or exceeded protein A chromatography performance with 95% yield, 3.7 logs host cell protein reduction, and >5 logs of DNA reduction from mAb cell culture. Because of the operational flexibility afforded by this one‐step affinity capture and precipitation process, the Z‐ELP‐E2 based approach has the potential to be a viable alternative to platform mAb purification.
