Disulfide bond introduction for general stabilization of immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable domains

J Mol Biol. 2008 Mar 21;377(2):478-88. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2008.01.022. Epub 2008 Jan 16.

Abstract

Several antibody fragment engineering techniques aim at intrinsic stability enhancement, but are not applied in a truly generic way. Here, a strategy is proposed whereby consistent gain in stability is accomplished by introducing a specific disulfide bond between two opposite beta-strands in the hydrophobic core of the immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable domain of heavy-chain antibodies (Nanobody). Besides the rational design of a disulfide bond between residues 39 and 87, a Nanobody harboring an extra naturally occurring cystine between residues 54 and 78 was compared to an equivalent Nanobody without that cystine. Both novel disulfide cross-links were introduced in several Nanobodies in various combinations. Interestingly, only the extra naturally occurring cystine consistently increased the conformational and thermal stabilities of wild-type Nanobodies without affecting antigen binding.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Cysteine / genetics
  • Cysteine / metabolism
  • Disulfides / chemistry*
  • Disulfides / metabolism*
  • Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / chemistry*
  • Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / classification
  • Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / genetics
  • Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / metabolism*
  • Immunoglobulin Variable Region / chemistry*
  • Immunoglobulin Variable Region / classification
  • Immunoglobulin Variable Region / genetics
  • Immunoglobulin Variable Region / metabolism*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Nanostructures / chemistry
  • Protein Folding
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Sequence Alignment

Substances

  • Disulfides
  • Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains
  • Immunoglobulin Variable Region
  • Cysteine