Trimming Crystallizable Fragment (Fc) Glycans Enables the Direct Enzymatic Transfer of Biomacromolecules to Antibodies as Therapeutics

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2023 Sep 4;62(36):e202308174. doi: 10.1002/anie.202308174. Epub 2023 Jul 24.

Abstract

Glycoengineering has provided powerful tools to construct site-specific antibody conjugates. However, only small-molecule payloads can be directly transferred to native or engineered antibodies using existing glycoengineering strategies. Herein, we demonstrate that reducing the complexity of crystallizable fragment (Fc) glycans could dramatically boost the chemoenzymatic modification of immunoglobulin G (IgG) via an engineered fucosyltransferase. In this platform, antibodies with Fc glycans engineered to a simple N-acetyllactosamine (LacNAc) disaccharide are successfully conjugated to biomacromolecules, such as oligonucleotides and nanobodies, in a single step within hours. Accordingly, we synthesized an antibody-conjugate-based anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/ cluster of differentiation 3 (CD3) bispecific antibody and used it to selectively destroy patient-derived cancer organoids by reactivating endogenous T lymphocyte cells (T cells) inside the organoid. Our results highlight that this platform is a general approach to construct antibody-biomacromolecule conjugates with translational values.

Keywords: Antibody-Biomacromolecule Conjugates; Chemical Bispecific Antibody; Monoantennary LacNAc; Multispecific Drugs; Unnatural Glycosylation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Glycosylation
  • Humans
  • Immunoconjugates* / metabolism
  • Immunoglobulin Fc Fragments
  • Immunoglobulin G / metabolism
  • Neoplasms*
  • Polysaccharides / metabolism

Substances

  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Polysaccharides
  • Immunoconjugates
  • Immunoglobulin Fc Fragments