Title of Invention

"A FACTOR VIII POLYPEPTIDE"

Abstract The present invention discloses a Factor VIII polypeptide comprising an internal deletion of amino acids from residue 741 to residue 1688, with reference to full-length human Factor V11I amino acid sequence of SEQ IDNO.l.
Full Text FACTOR VIII POLYPEPTIDE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION:
The present invention relates to Factor VIII polypeptides that are more stable than full-length
Factor VIII. The present invention also relates to a method of administering the Factor VIII
polypeptide to a subject to treat a blood disorder. The invention further relates to a nucleic acid
construct including DNA encoding the Factor VIII polypeptide. The invention relates to a
method of expressing Factor VIII in a mammal by administering the gene construct to the
subject. The invention is further related to antibodies specific for the Factor VIII polypeptide.
General Background and State of the Art:
Hemophilia A results from the quantitative or qualitative deficiency of Factor VIII (FVIII),
necessitating exogenous replacement by either plasma- or recombinant-derived FVIII
preparations. FVIII has a domain organization of A1-A2-B-A3-C1-C2 and is synthesized as a
2,351-amino acid single-chain glycoprotein of 280 kDa (Eaton, D. et al., 1986, Biochemistry 25:
505-512; Tdole, J. J. et al., 1984, Nature 312: 342; Vehar, G. A. et al., 1984, Nature 312: 337).
Whereas the A and C domains exhibit 35-40% amino acid identity to each other and to the A and
C domains of coagulation factor V, the B domain is not homologous to any known protein.
Intracellular, proteolytic processing after residue Arg-1648 within the B domain generates an 80-
kDa light chain (domains A3-C1-C2) and a heterogeneous-sized heavy chain of 90-200 kDa
(domains A1-A2-B). The heavy and light chains are associated as a heterodimer through a
divalent metal-ion-dependent linkage between the Al and A3 domains. In plasma, FVIII
circulates in an inactive form bound to von Willebrand factor (vWF) and requires proteolytic
cleavage by thrombin or Factor Xa for activation (Eaton, D., et al., 1986, Biochemistry 25: 505-
512; Girma, J. P. et al., 1987, Blood 70: 605-611; Koedam, J. A. et al., 1990, Eur. J. Biochem.
189: 229-234). Thrombin cleavage after Arg (R) residues 372, 740, and 1689 activates FVIII
coagulant activity, resulting in the complete removal of the B domain. The resulting FVilla
heterotrimer retains the metal ion-dependent linkage between the Al and A3-C1-C2 subunits,
whereas A2 is associated with a weak affinity by electrostatic interactions (Eaton, D. et al., 1986,
Biochemistry 25: 505-512; Fay, P. J. et al., 1991, J. Biol. Chem. 266: 8957-8962; Pittman, D. D.
& Kaufman, R. J. 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85: 2429-2433).
With an increased understanding of the biosynthesis, structure, and function of FVin, studies
have attempted to produce improved FVIII molecules for replacement therapy for patients with
hemophilia A. Strategies investigated thus far have included the deletion or modification of
FVIII sequences, resulting in more efficient expression. Previous studies on the requirements for
functional activity of FVIII demonstrated that cleavage after Arg residues 372 and 1689 both
were required for activation of FVIII and that the B domain was not required for functional
activity (Eaton, D. L. et al., 1986, Biochemistry 25: 8343; Burke, R.L. et al., 1986, J. Biol. Chem
261: 12574; Toole, J. J. et al., 1986, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83: 5939). In order to test this
hypothesis, several approaches such as the deletion, in the complementary DNA (cDNA), of
large DNA fragments corresponding to domain B, giving shorter FVIII derivatives (Eaton, D. L.
et al., 1986, Biochemistry 25: 8343; Burke, R.L. et al., 1986, J. Biol. Chem 261: 12574) were
conducted and tested for their coagulation activity.
PCT application WO 86/06101 discloses that recombinant FVIII proteins with deletions of up to
880 amino acids in the central region still exhibit FVIII activity. In addition, Eaton et al., 1986,
Biochemistry 25:8343-8347, disclose that a polypeptide in which 766 amino acids (797 through
1562) have been deleted from the central B domain region also retains FVIII activity. These Bdomain-
deleted FVIII derivatives retained a site for intracellular proteolytic processing within
the B domain after residue Arg-1648, which results in generation of heterogenous FVIII
derivatives comprising single chain or a complex of two proteolytic cleavage products of FVIII,
a 90 kDa (domains A1-A2) and an 80 kDa (domains A3-C1-C2) polypeptide. Moreover,
mammalian cells transformed with a vector containing DNA encoding this deletion polypeptide
had a higher production level than cells transformed with a vector containing DNA encoding the
full length polypeptide. However, these B-domain deleted FVIII derivatives exhibit faster and
higher activation rates by thrombin than full-length FVIII by unknown mechanisms (Eaton et al.,
1986, Biochemistry 25:8343-8347; Fay et al., 1986, Biochem. Biophys. Acta 871:268-278).
U. S. Patent No. 5,112,950 describes a FVIII derivative in which a human FVIII derivative
consisting essentially of the amino acid sequence alanine-1 through aspartate-770 is linked to
threonine-1667 through tyrosine-2332, wherein aspartate-770 is covalently bonded by a peptide
bond to threonine-1667. A number of studies indicate that tyrosine residues at positions 346,
718, 719, 723, 1664, and 1680 are required for full activation and procoagulant activity of FVIII
(Donath M.J. et al., 1995, Biochem. J. 312: 49-55; Michnick D.A. et al., 1994, J. Biol. Chem.
269:20095-200102). FVIII circulating in the plasma is combined with vWF, which appears to
stabilize it; in effect, the half-life of FVIII in vivo decreases very rapidly in the absence of vWF
(Brinkhous, K. M. et al., 1985, Proc. Natl. Acad. Set. USA 82: 8752-8756). These studies
strongly suggest that B-domain deleted Factor VIII analogs (described in U. S. Patent No.
5,112,950, in particular), with structural alterations around 1664-1680 in the A3 region, may
have potential drawbacks in terms of full activation and in vivo stability due to interference with
vWF interaction. As described in U. S. Patent No. 5,610,278, the co-expression of heavy and
light chains in mammalian cells results in detectable production of FVIII. However, the
combination of the two chains is inefficient, thereby decreasing the activity of the molecule
(Burke, R. L. et al., 1986, J. Biol. Chem. 261, 12574; Pavirani A. et al., 1987, Biochem Biophys
Res Commun. 145:234). The strategy of coexpression of heavy and light chains as a gene
therapy approach in animals or humans is found to be inappropriate (Burton M et al., 1999, Proc
Natl Acad Sci USA 96:12725).
U. S. Patent Nos. 5,422,260 and 5,451,521 relate to variants of FVIII, wherein one or more of
the Factor Xa, APC and thrombin cleavage sites are modified to render such sites less labile to
specific proteolysis, for example, wherein one or both of the amino acids defining the cleavage
site, preferably at least the arginine residues at R-740 or R-1648, is replaced by a different amino
acid; and wherein the protein with deletion of amino acids from S-741 through R-1648 (fusing
R-740 of the 90 IcD site to E-1649 of the 80 kD site) is described but its coagulation activity was
not revealed. The potential disadvantage of this modification at cleavage sites with a different
amino acid is that the resultant protein would have a new epitope to potentially provoke an
immunologic response. In addition, the references do not provide specified variants with internal
deletion of amino acids between R-740 and R-1689 except for the one having internal deletion of
amino acids from S-741 through R-1648.
Recent studies (Chiang GG et al., 1999, Human Gene Therapy 10: 61-76) show that the Bdomain
deleted FVIII that is generated by deletion of amino acids from S-743 through R-1648
(fusing F-742 of N-terminal of B domain to E-1649 of the 80 kD site) which is similar to the one
described in U. S. Patent Nos. 5,422,260 and 5,451,521 exhibited only -50% biological activity
and less specific activity and was therefore considered less suitable for therapeutic application.
The reason why such a B-domain deleted FVIII possesses less biological and specific activity
remains unknown. However, it is assumed that the nature of single chain FVIII with a deletion
of amino acids from S-743 through R-1648 may have a different tertiary structural configuration
probably due to the absence of spatial requirements between heavy chain (A1-A2) and light
chain (A3-C1-C2) or to undesirable length or composition between heavy chain (A1-A2) and
light chain (A3-C1-C2).
In summary, these previous strategies, although offering potential for more efficient
manufacturing of recombinant protein, have not been successful. This lack of success is possibly
due to their molecular characteristics such as heterogenous population of FVIII molecules,
structural instability, and different thrombin activation profiles compared with that of full-length
human FVIII (rh FVIII), dB761, dB782, dB761,-739F, and dB782-739F. FIGURE 7B shows thrombin activation kinetics for recombinant human FVIII (rh FVIII), dBN(57-50), dBN(45-53), dBN(57-56), dBN(64-50), dBN(64-53), and dBN(64-56).
STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a Factor VIII polypeptide comprising an internal deletion of amino acids from residue 741 to residue 1688, which comprises an internal deletion in B-domain from amino acid 741 to 1648 and in A3-domain from amino acid 1649 to 1688 with reference to full-length human Factor VIII amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO.1, wherein the internal deletion is from amino acids positions 746 to 1649, 746 to 1652, 746 to 1655, 758 to 1649, 758 to 1652, 758 to 1655, 765 to 1649, 765 to 1652, 765 to 1655, 748 to 1658, 755 to 1658, 762 to 1658, 769 to 1658, 776 to 1658, or 783 to 1658.
or
783 to 1658. The Factor VIII polypeptide may be a single chain. In addition, in another
embodiment, proline at position 739 may be replaced by another amino acid.
In another aspect of the invention, the Factor VIII polypeptide of the invention may have
introduced into it a tripeptide sequence (Asn-X-Thr or Asn-X-Ser) encompassing fusion sites
between Asn amino acid at positions 745, 757, or 764, and Thr or Ser amino acid at positions
1651,1654, or 1657, with reference to full-length human Factor VIII amino acid sequence (SEQ
IDNO:1).
The present invention is also directed to a Factor VIII polypeptide represented by following
formula with the following linked domains:
H-S-L
wherein
H domain represents a polypeptide sequence comprising substantially Ala-1 through Arg-740 of
human Factor VIII according to SEQ ID NO: 1;
S domain represents a polypeptide spacing linker comprising up to about 60 amino acids,
wherein the N-terminal end of the S domain is about residue 740, and the C-terminal of the S
domain ends at about residue 1688 of human Factor VIII according to SEQ ID N0:l; and
L domain represents a polypeptide sequence, which comprises substantially Arg-1689 through
Tyr-2332 of human Factor VIII according to SEQ ID NO:1.
The invention is also directed to a Factor VIII polypeptide according to the above, wherein the S
domain comprises amino acid sequence, which is substantially similar to a consecutive sequence
from about Ser-741 through Asn-745, Arg-747, Lys-754, Asn-757, Ile-761, Asn-764, Lys-768,
His-775, or Ile-782. In another embodiment, in the Factor VIII polypeptide above, the S domain
comprises amino acid sequence substantially similar to a consecutive sequence from about Glu-
1649 through Pro-1688. In another aspect of the invention, the S domain may comprise amino
acid sequence substantially similar to a consecutive sequence from about Ile-1650, Thr-1653,
Gln-1656 or Gln-1659, through Pro-1688. In another aspect of the invention, in the S domain,
amino acids 746 to 1649, 746 to 1652, 746 to 1655, 758 to 1649, 758 to 1652, 758 to 1655, 765
to 1649, 765 to 1652, 765 to 1655, 748 to 1658, 755 to 1658, 762 to 1658, 769 to 1658, 776 to
1658, or 783 to 1658 may be deleted, wherein the residue numbers are with reference to SEQ ID
NO:1.
The invention is directed to a pharmaceutical composition comprising the Factor VIII
polypeptide described above and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier thereof. The invention is
also directed to a lyophilized composition comprising the above-described Factor VIII
polypeptide.
The invention is also directed to a method of clotting blood in a subject, comprising contacting a
clotting effective amount of the Factor VIII polypeptide described above. The invention is
further directed to a method of treating Hemophilia A in a patient, comprising administering a
clotting effective amount of the Factor VIII polypeptide described above to a person in need
thereof.
The invention is directed to an isolated nucleic acid encoding the Factor VIII polypeptide
described above. Further, the invention is directed to an expression vector comprising the nucleic
acid encoding the Factor VIII polypeptide described above, operably linked to a promoter. And
further, the invention is directed to a host cell comprising the expression vector. Related to this,
the invention is directed to a method of making the Factor VIII polypeptide described above,
comprising culturing the cell in conditions suitable for the vector to express the polypeptide, and
isolating the polypeptide.
The invention is directed to a method of clotting blood in a subject comprising:
a) generating a recombinant viral or plasmid vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding
the Factor VIII polypeptide described above;
b) transfecting in vitro a population of cultured cells with said recombinant vector, resulting in a
population of transfected cells; and
c) administering the cells to a mammalian host, such that expression of said nucleic acid
sequence within said host results in clotting of blood.
The invention is also directed to a purified antibody specific for the Factor VIII polypeptide
described above.
These and other objects of the invention will be more fully understood from the following
description of the invention, the referenced drawings attached hereto and the claims appended
hereto.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given
herein below, and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and
thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein;
FIGURES 1A and IB show the amino acid sequence of full-length FVIII.
FIGURE 2 shows a schematic representation of the full-length FVIII and various B-domain
deleted FVIII derivatives dB747 and dBN(45-50) .
FIGURE 3 shows a cDNA construction scheme for full-length FVIII.
FIGURE 4 shows a DNA construction scheme for FVIII derivatives in mammalian vector.
FIGURES 5A-5C show synthesis, secretion, and thrombin cleavage of FVIII derivatives
expressed in HEK293 cells.
FIGURE 5A - stable transfected HEK293 cells were pulse-labeled with [35S]methionine for
30 min. Duplicate labeled cells were chased for 6 hr in medium containing excess unlabeled
methionine, and then cell extracts (C) and conditioned medium (M) were harvested. Equal
volumes of cell extract and conditioned medium were immunoprecipated with anti-FVIIIspecific
antibody, and equal aliquots were analyzed by SDS/PAGE. All of the derivatives were
recovered from cell extracts (lanes 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17) and the chase-conditioned
medium (lanes 4,6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18) as single-chain species. HEK293 indicates
HEK293 cells that did not possess exogenous DNA plasmid DNA.
FIGURE 5B - HEK293 cell lines expressing FVIII derivatives were grown in DMEM
supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and antibiotics. When monolayer grew to around 70-
80% confluence, culture media was replaced with fresh DMEM. Cells were incubated for about
24 hrs and culture supernatant was harvested, concentrated approximately 100-fold using
Centricon 50,000 MWCO, and stored at -80°C. FVIII concentration was measured using ELISA
method. Concentrates were then separated by SDS-PAGE and analyzed by immunoblotting
using a monoclonal antibody (ESH-8). ESH-8 antibody used in Western blotting detected a
major protein, migrating to approximately 170 kDa (indicated by arrow).
FIGURE 5C - 35S-methionine labeled FVIII derivatives were immunoprecipitated from the chase
conditioned medium of stably expressing HEK293 cells, and were divided into equal aliquots
and incubated in the absence (lanes 1, 3, 5, and 7) or presence (lanes 2, 4, 6, and 8) of thrombin
(1 U/mL) for 30 min at 37°C. Reactions were terminated with SDS-PAGE sample buffer and
protein fragments were separated by 10% SDS-PAGE. FVIII protein forms are indicated at the
right as follows: SC, single chain; Al, and A2, thrombin-cleaved heavy chain fragments; LC,
thrombin-cleaved light chain. Analysis of the radiolabeled protein after thrombin digestion
indicated a normal appearance of the 73 kD, and 50 and 40 kD fragments corresponding to the
molecular sizes of thrombin-cleaved light chain, Al and A2 domains, respectively. The names of
each FVIII derivatives are indicated on the top. Molecular mass markers are shown on the left of
each image.
FIGURE 6 shows DNA construction scheme for FVIII polypeptide in a mammalian vector.
FIGURES 7A and 7B show comparison of thrombin activation kinetics of recombinant human
FVIII and FVIII polypeptides. FIGURE 7A shows thrombin activation kinetics for recombinant
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\human FVIII (rh FVIII), dB761, dB782, dB761,-739F, and dB782-739F. FIGURE 7B shows thrombin activation kinetics for recombinant human FVIII (rh FVIII), dBN(57-50), dBN(45-53), dBN(57-56), dBN(64-50), dBN(64-53), and dBN(64-56).
STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a Factor VIII polypeptide comprising an internal deletion of amino acids from residue 741 to residue 1688, with reference to full-length human Factor VIII amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO.l.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the present application, "a" and "an" are used to refer to both single and a plurality of objects. As used herein, "about" or "substantially" generally provides leeway from being limited to an exact number. For example, as used in the context of the length or position of a polypeptide sequence, 'about" or "substantially" indicates that the polypeptide is not to be limited to the exact recited number or position as that which is indicated, so long as the function and result achieved is the same. A few amino acid positions may be inserted, deleted, or added or deleted from the "N- or C- terminal ends so long as the functional activity ascribed to such amino acid positions, such as thrombin cleavage and protease cleavage functions are either maintained or inactivated through deletion or mutation of the various amino acids pertaining to site of function. Furthermore, as used herein, "substantially similar" sequence of nucleic acid or amino acid sequence refers to one having 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100% sequence homology to the indicated reference sequence.
As used herein, "amino acid" and "amino acids" refer to all naturally occurring L-α-amino acids. This definition is meant to include norleucine, ornithine, and homocysteine. As used herein, in general, the term "amino acid sequence variant" refers to molecules with some differences in their amino acid sequences as compared to a reference (e.g. native Factor VIII sequence) polypeptide. The amino acid alterations may be substitutions, insertions, deletions or any desired combinations of such changes in a native amino acid sequence. Substitutional variants are those that have at least one amino acid residue in a native sequence removed and a different amino acid inserted in its place at the same position. The substitutions may be single, where only one amino acid in the molecule has been substituted, or they may be multiple, where two or more amino acids have been substituted in the same molecule. Substitutes for an amino acid within the sequence may be selected from other members of the class to which the amino acid belongs. For example, the nonpolar (hydrophobic) amino acids include alanine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, proline, phenylalanine, tryptophan and methionine.

The polar neutral amino acids include glycine, serine, threonine, cysteine, tyrosine, asparagine
and glutamine. The positively charged (basic) amino acids include arginine, lysine and histidine.
The negatively charged (acidic) amino acids include aspartic acid and glutamic acid. Also
included within the scope of the invention are proteins or fragments or derivatives thereof which
exhibit the same or similar biological activity and derivatives which are differentially modified
during or after translation, e.g., by glycosylation, proteolytic cleavage, linkage to an antibody
molecule or other cellular ligand, and so on.
Insertional variants are those with one or more amino acids inserted immediately adjacent to an
amino acid at a particular position in a native amino acid sequence. Immediately adjacent to an
amino acid means connected to either the a-carboxy or a-amino functional group of the amino
acid.
Deletional variants are those with one or more amino acids in the native amino acid sequence
removed. Ordinarily, deletional variants will have one or two amino acids deleted in a particular
region of the molecule.
In one aspect, the polypeptide variant of the present invention may contain any number of amino
acids or alterations of amino acids in the FVIII non-critical region, including substitutions and/or
insertions and/or deletions in any other region of the polypeptide molecule, so long as the
polypeptide variant includes a sequence that is at least about 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%,
96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to about 1-740 and/or 1689-2332 polypeptide sequence of SEQ
ID NO:1, and the presence of the variations do not hinder the variant FVIII activity.
The amino acid symbols used in the present application include the following:
Either single or three letter abbreviations for the amino acids are used throughout the application,
and may be used interchangeably, and have the following meaning: A or Ala = alanine; R or Arg
= arginine; N or Asn = asparagine; D or Asp = aspartic acid; C or Cys = cysteine; Q Gin =
glutamine; E or Glu = glutamic acid; G or Gly = glycine; H or His = histidine; I or lie =
isoleucine; L or Leu = leucine; K or Lys - lysine; M or Met = methionine; F or Phe =
phenylalanine; P or Pro = proline; S or Ser = serine; T or Thr = threonine; W or Trp =
tryptophan; Y or Tyr = tyrosine; and V or Val = valine.
As used herein, "Factor VIII derivative", "Factor VIII variant", or "Factor VIII polypeptide"
refers to a polypeptide that has coagulation activity, higher specific activity and similar thrombin
activation profile compared with full-length human Factor VIII, and has at least about 70%, 75%,
80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100% identity to the 1-740 and 1689-2332
regions of the polypeptide sequence represented by SEQ ID NO:1. In particular, it is understood
that various mutations and conservative amino acid changes are tolerable, as well as certain nonconservative
amino acid changes, so long as the variant Factor VIII has coagulation activity.
Fragments and certain glycosylations are also permitted, and preferred, indeed any change at all
to the Factor VIII polypeptide is permitted so long as the polypeptide retains its specific activity.
Applicants for the first time discovered that Factor VIII derivatives, which has either deleted or
varied B region in which the thrombin cleavage regions at 740 and 1689 are kept in tact, but
much of the area between 740 and 1689 may be deleted, including 1648, without causing any
negative effect on the specific activity of the variant Factor VIII. Thus, it would be within the
purview of a person of skill in the art to make certain variations to the sequence, which retains
the specific activity of Factor VIII.
As used herein, the term "capable of hybridizing under high stringency conditions" means
annealing a strand of DMA complementary to the DNA of interest under highly stringent
conditions. Likewise, "capable of hybridizing under low stringency conditions" refers to
annealing a strand of DNA complementary to the DNA of interest under low stringency
conditions. "High stringency conditions" for the annealing process may involve, for example,
high temperature and/or low salt content, which disfavor hydrogen-bonding contacts among
mismatched base pairs. "Low stringency conditions" would involve lower temperature, and/or
higher salt concentration than that of high stringency conditions. Such conditions allow for two
DNA strands to anneal if substantial, though not near complete complementarity exists between
the two strands, as is the case among DNA strands that code for the same protein but differ in
sequence due to the degeneracy of the genetic code. Appropriate stringency conditions which
promote DNA hybridization, for example, 6x SSC at about 45°C, followed by a wash of 2x SSC
at 50°C are known to those skilled in the art or can be found in Current Protocols in Molecular
Biology, John Wiley & Sons, N.Y. (1989), 6.31-6.3.6. For example, the salt concentration in the
wash step can be selected from a low stringency of about 2x SSC at 50°C to a high stringency of
about 0.2x SSC at 50°C. In addition, the temperature in the wash step can be increased from low
stringency at room temperature, about 22°C, to high stringency conditions, at about 75"C. Other
stringency parameters are described in Maniatis, T., et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory
Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring N,Y., (1982), at pp. 387-389; see
also Sambrook J. et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Second Edition, Volume 2,
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring, N.Y. at pp. 8.46-8.47 (1989).
As used herein, "carriers" include pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, excipients, or stabilizers
which are nontoxic to the cell or mammal being exposed thereto at the dosages and
concentrations employed. Often the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is an aqueous pH
buffered solution. Examples of pharmaceutically acceptable carriers include without limitation
buffers such as phosphate, citrate, and other organic acids; antioxidants including ascorbic acid;
low molecular weight (less than about 10 residues) polypeptide; proteins, such as serum albumin,
gelatin, or immunoglobulins; hydrophilic polymers such as polyvinylpyrrolidone; amino acids
such as glycine, glutamine, asparagine, arginine or lysine; monosaccharides, disaccharides, and
other carbohydrates including glucose, mannose, or dextrins; chelating agents such as EDTA;
sugar alcohols such as mannitol or sorbitol; salt-forming counterions such as sodium; and/or
nonionic surfactants such as TWEEN®, polyethylene glycol (PEG), and PLURONICS®.
As used herein, "covalent derivatives" include modifications of the polypeptide or a fragment
thereof with an organic proteinaceous or non-proteinaceous derivatizing agent, and posttranslational
modifications. Covalent modifications are traditionally introduced by reacting
targeted amino acid residues with an organic derivatizing agent that is capable of reacting with
selected sides or terminal residues, or by harnessing mechanisms of post-translational
modifications that function in selected recombinant host cells. Certain post-translational
modifications are the result of the action of recombinant host cells on the expressed polypeptide.
Glutaminyl and asparaginyl residues are frequently post-translationally deamidated to the
corresponding glutamyl and aspartyl residues. Alternatively, these residues are deamidated under
mildly acidic conditions. Either form of these residues may be present in the Factor VIII
polypeptides of the present invention. Other post-translational modifications include
glycosylation, hydroxylation of proline and lysine, phosphorylation of hydroxyl groups of seryl,
tyrosine or threonyl residues, methylation of the a-amino groups of lysine, arginine, and
histidine side chains (T. E. Creighton, Proteins: Structure and Molecular Properties, W. H.
Freeman & Co., San Francisco, pp. 79-86 (1983)).
As used herein, "effective amount" is an amount sufficient to effect beneficial or desired clinical
or biochemical results. An effective amount can be administered one or more times. For
purposes of this invention, an effective amount of an inhibitor compound is an amount that is
sufficient to palliate, ameliorate, stabilize, reverse, slow or delay the progression of the disease
state. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the "effective amount" is defined as an amount
of compound capable of effecting coagulation of blood.
As used herein, "fragment" refers to a part of a polypeptide, which retains usable and functional
characteristics. For example, as used within the context of the present invention, the Factor
polypeptide fragment has the function of coagulating blood.
As used herein, "host cell" includes an individual cell or cell culture, which can be or has been a
recipient of a vector of this invention. Host cells include progeny of a single host cell, and the
progeny may not necessarily be completely identical (in morphology or in total DNA
complement) to the original parent cell due to natural, accidental, or deliberate mutation and/or
change. A host cell includes cells transfected or infected in vivo with a vector comprising a
polynucleotide encoding an angiogenic factor.
As used herein, "mammal" for purposes of treatment refers to any animal classified as a mammal,
including humans, domestic and farm animals, and zoo, sports, or pet animals, such as dogs, cats,
cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and so on. Preferably, the mammal is human.
As used herein, "purified" or "isolated" molecule refers to biological molecules that are removed
from their natural environment and are isolated or separated and are free from other components
with which they are naturally associated.
As used herein, "sample" or "biological sample" is referred to in its broadest sense, and includes
any biological sample obtained from an individual, body fluid, cell line, tissue culture, or other
source, In addition, a "biological sample" obtained from a patient can be referred to either as a
"biological sample" or a "patient sample."
As used herein, "sequence identity", is defined as the percentage of amino acid residues in a
candidate sequence that are identical with the amino acid residues in a native polypeptide
sequence after aligning the sequences and introducing gaps, if necessary, to achieve the
maximum percent sequence identity, and not considering any conservative substitutions as part
of the sequence identity. The % sequence identity values are generated by the NCBI BLAST2.0
software as defined by Altschul et al., (1997), "Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST: a new
generation of protein database search programs", Nucleic Acids Res., 25:3389-3402. The
parameters are set to default values, with the exception of the Penalty for mismatch, which is set
to-1.
As used herein, the term "specific activity" or "specific biological activity" of FVIII polypeptide
refers to the quantitative measurement of functional FVIII molecules with coagulation activity
present in total FVIII molecules which is represented by the ratio of FVIII coagulation activity to
the amount of FVIII antigen associated with Factor VIII polypeptides. Specific activity or
specific biological activity is affected by multiple factors such as the potency of coagulation
activity, thrombin activation profile, structural stability, and structural conformation, compared
with full-length human Factor VIII.
As used herein, "subject" is a vertebrate, preferably a mammal, more preferably a human.
As used herein, "treatment" is an approach for obtaining beneficial or desired clinical results. For
purposes of this invention, beneficial or desired clinical results include, but are not limited to,
alleviation of symptoms, diminishment of extent of disease, stabilized (i.e., not worsening) state
of disease, delay or slowing of disease progression, amelioration or palliation of the disease state,
and remission (whether partial or total), whether detectable or undetectable. "Treatment" can
also mean prolonging survival as compared to expected survival if not receiving treatment.
"Treatment" refers to both therapeutic treatment and prophylactic or preventative measures.
Those in need of treatment include those already with the disorder as well as those in which the
disorder is to be prevented. "Palliating" a disease means that the extent and/or undesirable
clinical manifestations of a disease state are lessened and/or the time course of the progression is
slowed or lengthened, as compared to a situation without treatment.
As used herein, "vector", "polynucleotide vector", "construct" and "polynucleotide construct" are
used interchangeably herein. A polynucleotide vector of this invention may be in any of several
forms, including, but not limited to, RNA, DNA, RNA encapsulated in a retroviral coat, DNA
encapsulated in an adenovirus coat, DNA packaged in another viral or viral-like form (such as
herpes simplex, and adeno-associated virus (AAV)), DNA encapsulated in liposomes, DNA
complexed with polylysine, complexed with synthetic polycationic molecules, complexed with
compounds such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) to immunologically "mask" the molecule and/or
increase half-life, or conjugated to a non-viral protein. Preferably, the polynucleotide is DNA.
As used herein, "DNA" includes not only bases A, T, C, and G, but also includes any of their
analogs or modified forms of these bases, such as methylated nucleotides, internucleotide
modifications such as uncharged linkages and thioates, use of sugar analogs, and modified
and/or alternative backbone structures, such as polyamides.
Factor VIII Polypeptides
Novel DNA constructs and novel compositions comprising host cells producing polypeptides
having FVIII activity are provided. The polypeptides having FVIII activity include deletion
mutant proteins of FVIII in which a substantial part of the central region or "B domain" is
deleted. Plasmid constructs comprised of DNA sequences encoding deletion polypeptides
having FVIII activity are used to transform a host cell. The transformed host cell is then grown
to express the gene. The host cell may be either an eukaryotic or a prokaryotic cell. Human
FVIII has the sequence shown in Figures 1A and IB (SEQ ID NO:1). The numbering of the
amino acid sequence starts with A-1, the first amino acid after the 19 amino acid signal sequence.
The last amino acid of FVIII is Y-2332. This numbering scheme is used throughout the
specification.
The polypeptides of this invention include FVIII derivatives, namely compounds having at least
one amino acid sequence with sequence similarity to the amino acid sequence of the natural form
of human FVIII. The derivatives usually have a smaller number of amino acids than the natural
form of human FVIII.
With the greater understanding of the structural requirements for FVIII cleavage and activation,
we have designed a functional B domain deletion FVIII that is expressed and secreted as a single
chain polypeptide so as to increase the recovery yield during pharmaceutical preparation. We
tested the hypothesis that fusion of the N-terminal of the B domain with the amino acid
sequences (from Glu-1649 to Pro-1688) of the A3-C1-C2 light chain would yield a single
polypeptide FVIII molecule. As described in this invention, some FVIII derivatives possess
typical thrombin activation profiles indistinguishable from wild-type FVIII and superior
structural stability to wild-type FVIII as well as other B-domain deleted FVIII derivatives.
Moreover, most of the derivatives have the added advantage of being expressed more efficiently
in mammalian cells. This invention showed that a molecule devoid of most of domain B and
part of domain A3, but still retains the maturation sites corresponding to amino acids 740 and
1689 (which appear to be necessary for the activation), exhibits normal procoagulant activity.
This molecule can be activated by thrombin in the same manner as the natural human FVIII.
Novel polypeptides of interest will, for the most part, have a formula comprising an N-terminal
heavy chain region, a linking spacer region, and a C-terminal light chain region. Schematic
representation of B-domain deleted FVIII derivatives are presented in Figure 2. The N-terminal
heavy chain region is characterized as having an amino acid sequence corresponding to a
consecutive sequence found in amino acid sequence A-l through R-740 of the full-length human
FVIII.
The linking spacer polypeptides consist of a short linking group of amino acid sequences
corresponding substantially to domains B and A3-domain sequences (from S-741 to P-1688)
with an internal deletion of amino acids 746 to 1649, 746 to 1652, 746 to 1655, 758 to 1649, 758
to 1652, 758 to 1655, 765 to 1649, 765 to 1652, 765 to 1655, 748 to 1658, 755 to 1658, 762 to
1658, 769 to 1658, 776 to 1658, or 783 to 1658.
The C-terminal light chain is characterized as having an amino acid sequence similar to a
consecutive sequence of R-1689 through Y-2332 found in the sequence of FVIII. Variants of
this invention, which embody internal deletions relative to the native FVIII molecule, preferably
contain (i) an internal deletion described above; or (ii) deletions of fewer amino acids within the
regions specified in (i). Other variants of this invention embodying internal deletions may
contain deletions of one or more amino acids between R-1649 and P-1688 to fuse any amino
acid sequence in Al, A2, and B domains. Figure 2 shows the exemplary representation of
dB747 and dBN(45-50) FVIII derivatives that have an internal deletion of amino acids 748 to
1658 and 746 to 1649 respectively, as compared to human FVIII.
These B-domain-deleted FVIII derivatives do not retain a site for intracellular proteolytic
processing, such as residue Arg-1648, which results in the generation of homogenous FVIII
derivatives comprising a major population of single chain polypeptides. The removal of the 80
kDa cleavage site (R-1648) did not decrease the activity of factor VIII generated in the
conditioned media. In addition, some derivatives of this invention here showed no significant
change in the thrombin activation fold. The present results here demonstrated that the removal
of R-1648 did not affect the synthesis or secretion of the FVIII derivatives from the cell. In
addition, the predominant FVIII species produced was a single chain molecule of approximately
170kDa, the result of the loss of the intracellular processing site at the 80 kD site. The singlechain
FVIII variants may be advantageous in that they may be produced in a more homogeneous
form and may have an improved pharmacokinetic profile relative to natural human or other
recombinant FVIII.
In full-length FVIII, thrombin cleavage after Arg residues 372, 740, and 1689 activates FVIII
coagulant activity. This coincides with the generation of a FVIIIa heterotrimer consisting of the
Al subunit in a divalent-metal-ion-dependent association with the thromb in-cleaved A3-C1-C2
light chain and a free A2 subunit associated with the Al domain through an ionic interaction. In
full-length FVIII, cleavage after Arg-1689 removes an acidic amino acid rich region from R-
1648 to R-1689, and is necessary for dissociation of FVIIIa from vWF and makes FVIIIa
available for interaction with phospholipids. Analysis of the radiolabeled FVIII derivative
proteins of this invention after thrombin digestion indicated a normal appearance of the 73 kD,
and 50 and 40 kD fragments (See Figure 5C). This result demonstrated that the disclosed FVIII
derivatives can be activated by thrombin in the same manner as the complete natural molecule.
As demonstrated in this invention, these FVIII derivatives exhibit typical thrombin activation
that correlates with cleavage after Arg-372, Arg-740, and Arg-1689, generating an activated
FVIII heterotrimer that is indistinguishable from wild-type FVIII and also is subject to rapid
inactivation through dissociation of the A2 domain subunit (See Figure 7).
One aspect of the invention relates to variants wherein an artificial N-linked glycosylation site is
generated by fusing Asn amino acid in the B domain to an X-threonine or X-serine amino acid
sequence in the A3 domain in concurrence with the deletion of the internal sequence as
described above. Alternatively, a tripeptide sequence of the N-glycosylation recognition
sequence (Asn-X-Ser/Thr where X can be any amino acid) in the fusion sites can be generated
by linking the amino acids of 746, 758, and 765 located next to the Asn amino acid in the
positions of 745, 757 and 764, respectively, directly to Ser or Thr amino acids in the positions of
1651,1654, and 1657. These FVIII variants will have an internal deletion of amino acids 747 to
1650, 747 to 1653, 747 to 1656, 759 to 1650, 759 to 1653, 759 to 1656, 766 to 1650, 766 to 1653,
or 766 to 1656, as compared to human FVIII. Consensus N-linked glycosylation sites contain
tripeptide sequences of the formula asparagine-X-threonine or asparagine-X-serine, where X
may be generally any amino acid. In particular, in one aspect of the invention, X may be any
amino acid except proline. Variants of this aspect of the invention containing an engineered NIinked
glycosylation site at the fusion sites between the B and A3 domains may prevent a
potentially novel epitope sequence at the fusion site from being exposed to the immune system.
Another aspect of the invention relates to derivatives wherein one or more of the Factor Xa, APC
and thrombin cleavage sites are modified to render such sites less labile to specific proteolysis.
One subgenus of derivatives of particular interest at present includes those containing a
modification at P-739 wherein the phenylalanine is preferred at present, but can be replaced by a
different amino acid or deleted. Synthesis and secretion of the FVIII derivatives with
modification of the amino acid at 739 in the invention was not affected. These variants exhibit
higher activation rate by thrombin than full-length FVIII as well as other FVIII derivatives of
this invention (see Figure 7). The increased activity may be attributable to resistance to
inactivation by Factor Xa cleavage in the chromogenic assay. Thus, this alteration appears to
generate a more stable form of FVIII with the additional benefit of increased activity. However,
it was found that, according to U. S. Patent Nos. 5,422,260 and 5,451,521, a B-domain deleted
FVIII derivative with the mutation of the arginine to an isoleucine at position 740 possessed less
activity after the mutation.
Even though it may be assumed that all polypeptide FVIII molecules which are generated by
fusion of the N-terminal region of the B domain with the amino acid sequences (from Glu-1649
to Pro-1688) of the A3-C1-C2 light chain would yield a similar profile of procoagulant activity,
individual B-domain deleted FVIII derivatives were found to possess unique thrombin activation
profile and structural stability in this invention. Therefore, we characterized in detail the
molecular feature of individual B-domain deleted FVIII derivative in this invention to find an
active safe single chain B-domain deleted FVIII derivative with similar profiles of thrombin
activation and improved productivity.
Nucleic Acid Encoding Factor VIII Polypeptide
By "isolated" polynucleotide sequence, it is intended to encompass a nucleic acid molecule,
DNA or RNA, which has been removed from its native environment. This includes segments of
DNA encoding the FVIEI polypeptide of the present invention, and may further comprise
heterologous sequences such as vector sequences or other foreign DNA. For example,
recombinant DNA molecules contained in a vector are considered isolated for the purposes of
the present invention, which may be partially or substantially purified.
In addition, isolated nucleic acid molecules of the invention include DNA molecules, which
comprise a sequence substantially different from those described above but which, either due to
the degeneracy of the genetic code or other variability, still encode the FVIII polypeptide of the
invention. Thus, it would be routine for one skilled in the art to generate the variants described
above, for instance, to optimize codon expression or general function for a particular host.
In another aspect, the invention provides an isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a
polynucleotide which hybridizes under stringent hybridization conditions to a portion of a
polynucleotide in a nucleic acid molecule of the invention described above. Hybridizing
polynucleotides are useful as probes and primers as discussed above. Portions of a
polynucleotide which hybridize to the FVIII polypeptide encoding sequence, which may be
precisely specified by 5' and 3' base positions or by size in nucleotide bases as described above
or precisely excluded in the same manner. Similarly, portions of a polynucleotide, which
hybridize to the FVIII polypeptide, which may be used as probes and primers as well. Preferred
hybridizing polynucleotides of the present invention are those that, when labeled and used in a
hybridization assay known in the art (e.g. Southern and Northern blot analysis), display the
greatest signal strength regardless of other heterologous sequences present in equimolar amounts.
In selecting a preferred host cell for transfection by the vectors of the invention, which comprise
DNA sequences encoding both FVIII derivatives and for example, dihydrofolate reductase
(DHFR) protein, it is appropriate to select the host according to the type of DHFR protein
employed. If wild type DHFR protein is employed, it is preferable to select a host cell which is
deficient in DHFR, thus permitting the use of the DHFR coding sequence as a marker for
successful transfection in selective medium which lacks hypoxanthine, glycine, and thymidine.
On the other hand, if DHFR protein with low binding affinity for methotrexate (MTX) is used as
the regulatory sequence, it is not necessary to use DHFR resistant cells. Mutant DHFR is
resistant to MTX, therefore, MTX containing media can be used as a means of selection
provided that the host cells themselves are MTX sensitive. Alternatively, a wild type DHFR
gene may be employed as an amplification marker in a host cell which is not deficient in DHFR
provided that a second drug selectable marker is employed, such as hygromycin resistance.
Examples which are set forth describe the use of CHO cells (CHO-DBX11 cells) resistant to
MIX as host cells and expression vectors which employ the CMV and SV40 promoter as
regulatory sequences to drive the expression of FVIII derivatives and DHFR, respectively.
Variant and Mutant Polynucleotides
Such nucleic acid variants include those produced by nucleotide substitutions, deletions, or
additions. The substitutions, deletions, or additions may involve one or more nucleotides.
Alterations in the amino acid sequence may produce conservative or non-conservative amino
acid substitutions, deletions or additions. Especially preferred among these are silent
substitutions, additions and deletions, which do not alter the properties and activities of the
polypeptides of the present invention or portions thereof. Also preferred in this regard are
conservative substitutions.
The invention allows for the use of sequences in expression vectors, as well as to transfect host
cells and cell lines, be these prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells. The invention also allows for
purification of the polypeptides expressed from the expression vector. The expression vector
may contain various molecular tags for easy purification. Subsequently obtained expression
construct may be transformed into any host cell of choice. Cell lysates from the host cell is
isolated by established methods well known in the field.
Variant and Mutant Polypeptides
To improve or alter the characteristics of FVIII polypeptide of the present invention, amino acid
engineering may be employed. Recombinant DNA technology known to those skilled in the art
can be used to create novel mutant polypeptides including single or multiple amino acid
substitutions, deletions, additions, or fusion proteins. Such modified polypeptides can show, e.g.,
increased/decreased activity or increased/decreased stability. In addition, they may be purified in
higher yields and show better solubility than the corresponding natural polypeptide, at least
under certain purification and storage conditions.
Antibodies
In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to detecting presence of FVIII polypeptide
using a variety of detection methods. One way to detect Factor VIII polypeptide is to label a
ligand that specifically binds to the FVIII polypeptide. Such a ligand may be an antibody.
Purified FVIII polypeptide may be used to produce monoclonal or polyclonal antibody.
Fragments of Factor VIII polypeptide also can be used to produce monoclonal or polyclonal
antibody. Subsequently obtained monoclonal or polyclonal antibody can be used to determine
the presence of FVIII polypeptide in various samples including cells, tissues, and body fluids
such as but not limited to blood, serum, plasma, and urine. FVIII polypeptide may be assayed
using a variety of molecular biological methods, which include but are not limited to in situ
hybridization, immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence staining, Western blot analysis and so
on. One can carry out ELISA by using monoclonal antibody against FVIII polypeptide to
determine the amount of FVIII polypeptide in the biological sample, including body fluids of
human subjects believed to be suffering from a blood clotting disorder, such as hemophilia.
Antibodies of the invention include, but are not limited to, polyclonal, monoclonal, multispecific,
human, humanized or chimeric antibodies, single chain antibodies, Fab fragments, F(ab')
fragments, fragments produced by a Fab expression library, anti-idiotypic (anti-Id) antibodies
(including, e.g., anti-Id antibodies to antibodies of the invention), and epitope-binding fragments
of any of the above. The term "antibody," as used herein, refers to immunoglobulin molecules
and immunologically active portions of immunoglobulin molecules, i.e., molecules that contain
an antigen binding site that immunospecifically binds an antigen. The immunoglobulin
molecules of the invention can be of any type (e.g., IgG, IgE, IgM, IgD, IgA and IgY), class (e.g.,
IgGl, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgAl and IgA2) or subclass of immunoglobulin molecule.
The antibodies of the present invention may be monospecific, bispecific, trispecific or of greater
multispecificity. Multispecific antibodies may be specific for different epitopes of a polypeptide
of the present invention or may be specific for both a polypeptide of the present invention as
well as for a heterologous epitope, such as a heterologous polypeptide or solid support material.
Antibodies of the present invention may be described or specified in terms of the epitope(s) or
portion(s) of a polypeptide of the present invention, which they recognize or specifically bind.
The epitope(s) or polypeptide portion(s) may be specified as described herein, e.g., by the
glycosylation site, N-terminal and C-terminal positions, or by size in contiguous amino acid
residues.
Antibodies of the present invention may be used, for example, but not limited to, to purify, detect,
and target the polypeptides of the present invention, including both in vitro and in vivo
diagnostic and therapeutic methods. For example, the antibodies have use in immunoassays for
qualitatively and quantitatively measuring levels of FVIII polypeptide of the present invention in
biological samples.
As discussed in more detail below, the antibodies of the present invention may be used either
alone or in combination with other compositions. The antibodies may further be recombinantly
fused to a heterologous polypeptide at the N- or C-terminus or chemically conjugated (including
covalent and non-covalent conjugations) to polypeptides or other compositions. For example,
antibodies of the present invention may be recombinantly fused or conjugated to molecules
useful as labels in detection assays and effector molecules such as heterologous polypeptides,
drugs, radionuclides, or toxins.
The antibodies of the present invention may be generated by any suitable method known in the
art. Polyclonal antibodies to an antigen of interest can be produced by various procedures well
known in the art. For example, a polypeptide of the invention can be administered to various host
animals including, but not limited to, rabbits, mice, rats, etc. to induce the production of sera
containing polyclonal antibodies specific for the antigen. Various adjuvants may be used to
increase the immunological response, depending on the host species, and include but are not
limited to, Freund's (complete and incomplete), mineral gels such as aluminum hydroxide,
surface active substances such as lysolecithin, pluronic polyols, polyanions, peptides, oil
emulsions, keyhole limpet hemocyanins, dinitrophenol, and potentially useful human adjuvants
such as BCG (bacille Calmette-Guerin) and corynebacterium parvum. Such adjuvants are also
well known in the art.
Monoclonal antibodies can be prepared using a wide variety of techniques known in the art
including the use of hybridoma, recombinant, and phage display technologies, or a combination
thereof. For example, monoclonal antibodies can be produced using hybridoma techniques
including those known in the art. The term "monoclonal antibody" as used herein is not limited
to antibodies produced through hybridoma technology. The term "monoclonal antibody" refers
to an antibody that is derived from a single clone, including any eukaryotic, prokaryotic, or
phage clone, and not the method by which it is produced.
Methods for producing and screening for specific antibodies using hybridoma technology are
routine and well known in the art. In a non-limiting example, mice can be immunized with a
Factor VIII polypeptide or a cell expressing such entity. Once an immune response is detected,
e.g., antibodies specific for the antigen are detected in the mouse serum, the mouse spleen is
harvested and splenocytes isolated. The splenocytes are then fused by well known techniques to
any suitable myeloma cells, for example cells from cell line SP20 available from the ATCC.
Hybridomas are selected and cloned by limited dilution. The hybridoma clones are then assayed
by methods known in the art for cells that secrete antibodies capable of binding a polypeptide of
the invention or its complex with its binding partner. Ascites fluid, which generally contains high
levels of antibodies, can be generated by immunizing mice with positive hybridoma clones.
Antibodies may also be attached to solid supports, which are particularly useful for
immunoassays or purification of the target antigen. Such solid supports include, but are not
limited to, glass, cellulose, polyacrylamide, nylon, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride or
polypropylene.
Assays For Antibody Binding
The antibodies of the invention may be assayed for immunospecific binding by any method
known in the art. The immunoassays which can be used include but are not limited to
competitive and non-competitive assay systems using techniques such as Western blots,
radioimmunoassays, ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay), "sandwich" immunoassays,
immunoprecipitation assays, precipitin reactions, gel diffusion precipitin reactions,
immunodiffusion assays, agglutination assays, complement-fixation assays, immunoradiometric
assays, fluorescent immunoassays, protein A immunoassays, to name but a few. Such assays are
routine and well known in the art (see, e.g., Ausubel et al, eds, 1994, Current Protocols hi
Molecular Biology, Vol. 1, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, which is incorporated by
reference herein in its entirety). Exemplary immunoassays are described briefly below but are
not intended by way of limitation.
Immunoprecipitation protocols generally comprise lysing a population of cells in a lysis buffer
such as RIPA buffer (1% NP-40 or Triton X-100, 1% sodium deoxycholate, 0.1% SDS, 0.15 M
NaCl, 0.01 M sodium phosphate at pH 7.2,1% Trasylol) supplemented with protein phosphatase
and/or protease inhibitors (e.g., EDTA, PMSF, aprotinin, sodium vanadate), adding the antibody
of interest to the cell lysate, incubating for a period of time (e.g., 1-4 hours) at 4°C, adding
protein A and/or protein G sepharose beads to the cell lysate, incubating for about an hour or
more at 4°C, washing the beads in lysis buffer and resuspending the beads in SDS/sample buffer.
The ability of the antibody of interest to immunoprecipitate a particular antigen can be assessed
by, e.g., Western blot analysis. One of skill in the art would be knowledgeable as to the
parameters that can be modified to increase the binding of the antibody to an antigen and
decrease the background (e.g., pre-clearing the cell lysate with sepharose beads). For further
discussion regarding immunoprecipitation protocols see, e.g., Ausubel et al, eds, 1994, Current
Protocols in Molecular Biology, Vol. 1, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York at 10.16.1.
Western blot analysis generally comprises preparing protein samples, electrophoresis of the
protein samples in a polyacrylamide gel (e.g., 8%-20% SDS-PAGE depending on the molecular
weight of the antigen), transferring the protein sample from the polyacrylamide gel to a
membrane such as nitrocellulose, PVDF or nylon, blocking the membrane in blocking solution
(e.g., PBS with 3% BSA or non-fat milk), washing the membrane in washing buffer (e.g., PBSTween
20), blocking the membrane with primary antibody (the antibody of interest) diluted in
blocking buffer, washing the membrane in washing buffer, blocking the membrane with a
secondary antibody (which recognizes the primary antibody, e.g., an anti-human antibody)
conjugated to an enzymatic substrate (e.g., horseradish peroxidase or alkaline phosphatase) or
radioactive molecule (e.g., 32P or 125I) diluted in blocking buffer, washing the membrane in wash
buffer, and detecting the presence of the antigen. One of skill in the art would be knowledgeable
as to the parameters that can be modified to increase the signal detected and to reduce the
background noise. For further discussion regarding western blot protocols see, e.g., Ausubel et al,
eds, 1994, Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Vol. 1, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York
at 10.8.1.
ELISAs comprise preparing antigen, which may include a sample comprising Factor VIII
polypeptide, coating the well of a 96 well microtiter plate with the antigen, adding the antibody
of interest conjugated to a detectable compound such as an enzymatic substrate (e.g., horseradish
peroxidase or alkaline phosphatase) to the well and incubating for a period of time, and detecting
the presence of the antigen. In ELISAs the antibody of interest does not have to be conjugated to
a detectable compound; instead, a second antibody (which recognizes the antibody of interest)
conjugated to a detectable compound may be added to the well. Further, instead of coating the
well with the antigen, the antibody may be coated to the well. In this case, a second antibody
conjugated to a detectable compound may be added simultaneously or following the addition of the antigen of interest to the coated well. One of skill in the art would be knowledgeable as to the
parameters that can be modified to increase the signal detected as well as other variations of
ELISAs known in the art. For further discussion regarding ELISAs see, e.g., Ausubel et al, eds,
1994, Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Vol. 1, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York at
11.2.1.
Gene Therapy
In a specific embodiment, nucleic acids comprising sequences encoding the Factor VIII
polypeptide are administered to treat, inhibit or prevent a disease or disorder associated with
aberrant expression and/or activity of a polypeptide of the invention, by way of gene therapy.
Gene therapy refers to therapy performed by the administration to a subject of an expressed or
expressible nucleic acid. In this embodiment of the invention, the nucleic acids produce their
encoded protein that mediates a therapeutic effect.
Any of the methods for gene therapy available in the art can be used according to the present
invention. Exemplary methods are described below.
For general reviews of the methods of gene therapy, see Goldspiel et al., Clinical Pharmacy
12:488-505 (1993); Wu and Wu, Biotherapy 3:87-95 (1991); Tolstoshev, Ann. Rev. Pharmacol.
Toxicol. 32:573-596 (1993); Mulligan, Science 260:926-932 (1993); and Morgan and Anderson,
Ann. Rev. Biochem. 62:191-217 (1993); May, TIBTECH 11(5):155-215 (1993). Methods
commonly known in the art of recombinant DNA technology which can be used are described in
Ausubel et al. (eds.), Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons, NY (1993);
and Kriegler, Gene Transfer and Expression, A Laboratory Manual, Stockton Press, NY (1990).
In a preferred aspect, nucleic acid sequences may encode a Factor VIII polypeptide, in which the
nucleic acid sequences are part of expression vectors that express the polypeptides in a suitable
host. In particular, such nucleic acid sequences have promoters operably linked to the
polypeptide coding region, said promoter being inducible or constitutive, and, optionally, tissuespecific.
In another particular embodiment, nucleic acid molecules are used in which the
polypeptide coding sequences and any other desired sequences are flanked by regions that
promote homologous recombination at a desired site in the genome, thus providing for
intrachromosomal expression of the antibody encoding nucleic acids (Roller and Smithies, Proc.
Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:8932-8935 (1989); Zijlstra et al.} Nature 342:435-438 (1989).
Delivery of the nucleic acids into a patient may be either direct, in which case the patient is
directly exposed to the nucleic acid or nucleic acid- carrying vectors, or indirect, in which case,
cells are first transformed with the nucleic acids in vitro, then transplanted into the patient. These
two approaches are known, respectively, as in vivo or ex vivo gene therapy.
In a specific embodiment, the nucleic acid sequences are directly administered in vivo, where it
is expressed to produce the encoded product. This can be accomplished by any of numerous
methods known in the art, e.g., by constructing them as part of an appropriate nucleic acid
expression vector and administering them so that they become intracellular, e.g., by infection
using defective or attenuated retrovirals or other viral vectors, or by direct injection of naked
DNA, or coating with lipids or cell-surface receptors or transfecting agents, encapsulation in
liposomes, microparticles, or microcapsules, or by administering them in linkage to a peptide
which is known to enter the nucleus, by administering it in linkage to a ligand subject to
receptor-mediated endocytosis (see, e.g., Wu and Wu, J. Biol. Chem. 262:4429-4432 (1987))
(which can be used to target cell types specifically expressing the receptors) and so on. In
another embodiment, nucleic acid-ligand complexes can be formed in which the ligand
comprises a fusogenic viral peptide to disrupt endosomes, allowing the nucleic acid to avoid
lysosomal degradation. In yet another embodiment, the nucleic acid can be targeted in vivo for
cell specific uptake and expression, by targeting a specific receptor. Alternatively, the nucleic
acid can be introduced intracellularly and incorporated within host cell DNA for expression, by
homologous recombination (Roller and Smithies, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:8932-8935
(1989); Zijlstra et al., Nature 342:435-438 (1989)).
In a specific embodiment, viral vectors that contain nucleic acid sequences encoding the
polypeptide are used. The nucleic acid sequences encoding the polypeptide to be used in gene
therapy are cloned into one or more vectors, which facilitates delivery of the gene into a patient.
Retroviral vectors, adenoviral vectors and adeno-associated viruses are examples of viral vectors
that may be used. Retroviral vectors contain the components necessary for the correct packaging
of the viral genome and integration into the host cell DNA.
Another approach to gene therapy involves transferring a gene to cells in tissue culture by such
methods as electroporation, lipofection, calcium phosphate mediated transfection, or viral
infection. Usually, the method of transfer includes the transfer of a selectable marker to the cells.
The cells are then placed under selection to isolate those cells that have taken up and are
expressing the transferred gene. Those cells are then delivered to a patient.
In this embodiment, the nucleic acid is introduced into a cell prior to administration in vivo of the
resulting recombinant cell. Such introduction can be carried out by any method known in the art,
including but not limited to transfection, electroporation, microinjection, infection with a viral or
bacteriophage vector containing the nucleic acid sequences, cell fusion, chromosome-mediated
gene transfer, microcell-mediated gene transfer, spheroplast fusion and so on. Numerous
techniques are known in the art for the introduction of foreign genes into cells and may be used
in accordance with the present invention, provided that the necessary developmental and
physiological functions of the recipient cells are not disrupted. The technique should provide for
the stable transfer of the nucleic acid to the cell, so that the nucleic acid is expressible by the cell and preferably heritable and expressible by its cell progeny.
Cells into which a nucleic acid can be introduced for purposes of gene therapy encompass any
desired, available cell type, and include but are not limited to epithelial cells, endothelial cells,
keratinocytes, fibroblasts, muscle cells, hepatocytes; blood cells such as T-lymphocytes, Blymphocytes,
monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, eosinophils, megakaryocytes, granulocytes;
various stern or progenitor cells, in particular hematopoietic stem or progenitor cells, e.g., as
obtained from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, peripheral blood, fetal liver, and so on.
In a preferred embodiment, the cell used for gene therapy is autologous to the patient.
In an embodiment in which recombinant cells are used in gene therapy, nucleic acid sequences
encoding the polypeptide are introduced into the cells such that they are expressible by the cells
or their progeny, and the recombinant cells are then administered in vivo for therapeutic effect.
In a specific embodiment, stem or progenitor cells are used. Any stem and/or progenitor cells
which can be isolated and maintained in vitro can potentially be used in accordance with this
embodiment of the present invention.
In a specific embodiment, the nucleic acid to be introduced for purposes of gene therapy
comprises an inducible promoter operably linked to the coding region, such that expression of
the nucleic acid is controllable by controlling the presence or absence of the appropriate inducer
of transcription.
Therapeutic Composition
In one embodiment, the present invention relates to treatment for blood clotting diseases. In this
way, the inventive therapeutic compound may be administered to human patients who are either
suffering from, or prone to suffer from the disease by providing compounds that stimulate blood
coagulation. In particular, the disease may be hemophilia, in particular, hemophilia A.
The formulation of therapeutic compounds is generally known in the art and reference can
conveniently be made to Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 17th ed., Mack Publishing Co.,
Easton, Pa., USA. For example, from about 0.05 u.g to about 20 mg per kilogram of body weight
per day may be administered. Dosage regime may be adjusted to provide the optimum
therapeutic response. For example, several divided doses may be administered daily or the dose
may be proportionally reduced as indicated by the exigencies of the therapeutic situation. The
active compound may be administered in a convenient manner such as by the oral, intravenous
(where water soluble), intramuscular, subcutaneous, intra nasal, intradermal or suppository
routes or implanting (eg using slow release molecules by the intraperitoneal route or by using
cells e.g. monocytes or dendrite cells sensitised in vitro and adoptively transferred to the
recipient). Depending on the route of administration, the peptide may be required to be coated in
a material to protect it from the action of enzymes, acids and other natural conditions which may
inactivate said ingredients.
For example, the low lipophilicity of the peptides will allow them to be destroyed in the
gastrointestinal tract by enzymes capable of cleaving peptide bonds and in the stomach by acid
hydrolysis. In order to administer peptides by other than parenteral administration, they will be
coated by, or administered with, a material to prevent its inactivation. For example, peptides may
be administered in an adjuvant, co-administered with enzyme inhibitors or in liposomes.
Adjuvants contemplated herein include resorcinols, non-ionic surfactants such as
polyoxyethylene oleyl ether and n-hexadecyl polyethylene ether. Enzyme inhibitors include
pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, diisopropylfluorophosphate (DEP) and trasylol. Liposomes include
water-in-oil-in-water CGF emulsions as well as conventional liposomes.
The active compounds may also be administered parenterally or intraperitoneally. Dispersions
can also be prepared in glycerol liquid polyethylene glycols, and mixtures thereof and in oils.
Under ordinary conditions of storage and use, these preparations contain a preservative to
prevent the growth of microorganisms.
The pharmaceutical forms suitable for injectable use include sterile aqueous solutions (where
water soluble) or dispersions and sterile powders for the extemporaneous preparation of sterile
injectable solutions or dispersion. In all cases the form must be sterile and must be fluid to the
extent that easy syringability exists. It must be stable under the conditions of manufacture and
storage and must be preserved against the contaminating action of microorganisms such as
bacteria and fungi. The carrier can be a solvent or dispersion medium containing, for example,
water, ethanol, polyol (for example, glycerol, propylene glycol and liquid polyethylene glycol,
and the like), suitable mixtures thereof, and vegetable oils. The proper fluidity can be maintained,
for example, by the use of a coating such as lecithin, by the maintenance of the required particle
size in the case of dispersion and by the use of superfactants. The prevention of the action of
microorganisms can be brought about by various antibacterial and antifungal agents, for example,
chlorobutanol, phenol, sorbic acid, theomersal and the like. In many cases, it will be preferable
to include isotonic agents, for example, sugars or sodium chloride. Prolonged absorption, of the
injectable compositions can be brought about by the use in the composition of agents delaying
absorption, for example, aluminium monostearate and gelatin.
Sterile injectable solutions are prepared by incorporating the active compounds in the required
amount in the appropriate solvent with various other ingredients enumerated above, as required,
followed by filtered sterilization. Generally, dispersions are prepared by incorporating the
various sterile active ingredient into a sterile vehicle which contains the basic dispersion medium
and the required other ingredients from those enumerated above. In the case of sterile powders
for the preparation of sterile injectable solutions, the preferred methods of preparation are
vacuum drying and the freeze-drying technique which yield a powder of the active ingredient
plus any additional desired ingredient from a previously sterile-filtered solution thereof.
When the peptides are suitably protected as described above, the active compound may be orally
administered, for example, with an inert diluent or with an assimilable edible carrier, or it may
be enclosed in hard or soft shell gelatin capsule, or it may be compressed into tablets, or it may
be incorporated directly with the food of the diet. For oral therapeutic administration, the active
compound may be incorporated with excipients and used in the form of ingestible tablets, buccal
tablets, troches, capsules, elixirs, suspensions, syrups, wafers, and the like. Such compositions
and preparations should contain at least 1% by weight of active compound. The percentage of
the compositions and preparations may, of course, be varied and may conveniently be between
about 5 to about 80% of the weight of the unit. The amount of active compound in such
therapeutically useful compositions is such that a suitable dosage will be obtained. Preferred
compositions or preparations according to the present invention are prepared so that an oral
dosage unit form contains between about 0.1 u,g and 2000 mg of active compound.
The tablets, pills, capsules and the like may also contain the following: A binder such as gum
tragacanth, acacia, corn starch or gelatin; excipients such as dicalcium phosphate; a
disintegrating agent such as corn starch, potato starch, alginic acid and the like; a lubricant such
as magnesium stearate; and a sweetening agent such as sucrose, lactose or saccharin may be
added or a flavoring agent such as peppermint, oil of wintergreen, or cherry flavoring. When the
dosage unit form is a capsule, it may contain, in addition to materials of the above type, a liquid
carrier. Various other materials may be present as coatings or to otherwise modify the physical
form of the dosage unit. For instance, tablets, pills, or capsules may be coated with shellac, sugar
or both. A syrup or elixir may contain the active compound, sucrose as a sweetening agent,
methyl and propylparabens as preservatives, a dye and flavoring such as cherry or orange flavor.
Of course, any material used in preparing any dosage unit form should be pharmaceutically pure
and substantially non-toxic in the amounts employed. In addition, the active compound may be
incorporated into sustained-release preparations and formulations.
As used herein "pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and/or diluent" includes any and all solvents,
dispersion media, coatings antibacterial and antifungal agents, isotonic and absorption delaying
agents and the like. The use of such media and agents for pharmaceutical active substances is
well known in the art. Except insofar as any conventional media or agent is incompatible with
the active ingredient, use thereof in the therapeutic compositions is contemplated.
Supplementary active ingredients can also be incorporated into the compositions.
It is especially advantageous to formulate parenteral compositions in dosage unit form for ease
of administration and uniformity of dosage. Dosage unit form as used herein refers to physically
discrete units suited as unitary dosages for the mammalian subjects to be treated; each unit
containing a predetermined quantity of active material calculated to produce the desired
therapeutic effect in association with the required pharmaceutical carrier. The specification for
the dosage unit forms of the invention are dictated by and directly dependent on (a) the unique
characteristics of the active material and the particular therapeutic effect to be achieved, and (b)
the limitations inherent in the art of compounding such an active material for the treatment of
disease in living subjects having a diseased condition in which bodily health is impaired.
The principal active ingredient is compounded for convenient and effective administration in
effective amounts with a suitable pharmaceutically acceptable carrier in dosage unit form. A unit
dosage form can, for example, contain the principal active compound in amounts ranging from
0.5 ug to about 2000 mg. Expressed in proportions, the active compound is generally present in
from about 0.5 ug/ml of carrier. In the case of compositions containing supplementary active
ingredients, the dosages are determined by reference to the usual dose and manner of
administration of the said ingredients.
Delivery Systems
Various delivery systems are known and can be used to administer a compound of the invention,
e.g., encapsulation in liposomes, microparticles, microcapsules, recombinant cells capable of
expressing the compound, receptor-mediated endocytosis, construction of a nucleic acid as part
of a retroviral or other vector, etc. Methods of introduction include but are not limited to
intradermal, intramuscular, intraperitoneal, intravenous, subcutaneous, intranasal, epidural, and
oral routes. The compounds or compositions may be administered by any convenient route, for
example by infusion or bolus injection, by absorption through epithelial or mucocutaneous
linings (e.g., oral mucosa, rectal and intestinal mucosa, etc.) and may be administered together
with other biologically active agents. Administration can be systemic or local. In addition, it may
be desirable to introduce the pharmaceutical compounds or compositions of the invention into
the central nervous system by any suitable route, including intraventricular and intrathecal
injection; intraventricular injection may be facilitated by an intraventricular catheter, for example,
attached to a reservoir, such as an Ommaya reservoir. Pulmonary administration can also be
employed, e.g., by use of an inhaler or nebulizer, and formulation with an aerosolizing agent.
In a specific embodiment, it may be desirable to administer the pharmaceutical compounds or
compositions of the invention locally to the area in need of treatment; this may be achieved by,
for example, and not by way of limitation, local infusion during surgery, topical application, e.g.,
in conjunction with a wound dressing after surgery, by injection, by means of a catheter, by
means of a suppository, or by means of an implant, said implant being of a porous, non-porous,
or gelatinous material, including membranes, such as sialastic membranes, or fibers. Preferably,
when administering a protein, including an antibody or a peptide of the invention, care must be
taken to use materials to which the protein does not absorb. In another embodiment, the
compound or composition can be delivered in a vesicle, in particular a liposome. In yet another
embodiment, the compound or composition can be delivered in a controlled release system. In
one embodiment, a pump may be used. In another embodiment, polymeric materials can be used.
In yet another embodiment, a controlled release system can be placed in proximity of the
therapeutic target, i.e., the brain, thus requiring only a fraction of the systemic dose.
A composition is said to be "pharmacologically or physiologically acceptable" if its
administration can be tolerated by a recipient animal and is otherwise suitable for administration
to that animal. Such an agent is said to be administered in a "therapeutically effective amount" if
the amount administered is physiologically significant. An agent is physiologically significant if
its presence results in a detectable change in the physiology of a recipient patient.
Mammalian cell culture is the preferred method of expressing exogenous DNA to produce the
functional human FVIII derivatives disclosed in this invention. In particular, common
mammalinan cells used for production of recombinant proteins, such as Chinese hamster ovary
(CHO) cell lines, Baby hamster kidney (BHK) cell line, COS cell lines, and Madin Darby canine
kidney (MDCK) cell line are of interest. Expression vectors for such cells ordinarily include (if
necessary) (an) origin(s) of replication, a promoter located in front of the gene to be expressed,
along with any necessary ribosome binding sites, RNA splice sites, polyadenylation site, and
transcriptional terminator sequences.
For use in mammalian cells, the regulatory functions on the expression vectors may be provided
by viral material. For example, commonly used promoters are derived from elongation factor-1
(EF-1), Simian Virus 40 (SV40) and most particularly Cytomegalovirus (CMV). Furthermore, it
is also possible, and often desirable, to utilize promoter or regulatory sequences normally
associated with the desired gene sequence, provided such regulatory sequences are compatible
with the host cell systems.
The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein.
Indeed, various modifications of the invention in addition to those described herein will become
apparent to theose skilled in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying figures.
Such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The following
examples are offered by way of illustration of the present invention, and not by way of limitation.
EXAMPLES
EXAMPLE 1 - Cloning of full-length FVIH cDNA
Reverse transcription was performed using gene specific primer (FSB 10,
5'AGCACAAAGGTAGAAGGCAAGC3' (SEQ ID NO:2)) which covers nucleotides 7237-
7258 of published sequence (GenBank accession number: NM 00132). Briefly, 50ug of human
liver mRNA, lul of 10X reverse transcription buffer, luM of F8B10 primer, 4mM dNTPs, 1 unit
of RNAse inhibitor, and 10 units of reverse transcriptase were added in a 9.5 ul total volume
reaction mixture. The reaction was then incubated for 90 min at 42°C. Synthesized cDNA was
amplified by a standard PCR protocol using pfu polymerase and the three sets of gene-specific
primers. The first primer set covers nucleotides 133-1997 of published sequence (GenBank
accession number: NM 00132): F8FD (FW, 5'CCTTTTGCTTCTCCAGTTGAAC3' (SEQ ID
NO:3)) and F8BD (BW, 5' TTCTCTGTGAGGTACCAGCTTC3' (SEQ ID NO:4)). The second
and third set of primers cover nucleotides 1810-4295 and 4044-7320 respectively: F8FC (FW 5'
TGCCTGACCCGCTATTACTCTA3' (SEQ ID NO:5)) and F8BB (BW,
5'TCTATCTGTGTGAGGGTGCTCG3' (SEQ ID NO:6)); F8FA (FW 5'
GGAGGAAGAAAACTTGGAAGGC3' (SEQ ID NO:7)) and F8B10 (see Figure 3). PCR was
performed using the following conditions: 1 cycle of denaturation at 95°C for 1' 30", 45 cycles
of amplification (at 95°C for 30 sec, at 56°C for 30 sec and at 68°C for 6 min) and 1 cycle of
extension at 68°C for 10 min.
As depicted schematically in Figure 3, amplified fragments were subcloned into pCR2.1 TOPO
vector. Three subcloned fragments were then joined into pCR2.1 TOPO vector using Kpnl and
Nsil as unique restriction sites. After joining the three fragments, the internal Kpnl site in the
FVIII coding region was removed by silent mutation, and the Nsil site in the pCR2.1 TOPO
multicloning site was substituted with Clal in order to remove the linked full-length FVIII cDNA
with Kpnl and Clal digestion. Two restriction enzyme sites, Xbal and NotI, were removed from
the pCR2.1 vector backbone for further cloning purposes. This modified vector was named
pCR2.1 -full-length FVIII.
EXAMPLE 2 - Construction of plasmids carrying cDNA of the FVIII derivatives which
have undergone deletions in the regions corresponding to the B and A3 domains
Example 2A - Construction of plasmids for B-domain deleted FVIII derivatives with a
spacer of various size linking the carboxy-terminus of the heavy chain to the amino
terminus of the light chain
The starting plasmid, pCR2.1-fullFVIII, contains cDNA of full-length Factor VIII, nucleotides
133 to 7320. pCR2.1-fullFVIII was digested with EcoNI to delete nucleotides 2783 to 4804
from the full length FVIII. Cohesive ends of EcoNI-digested vector were blunted by DNA
polymerase I Klenow fragment for ligation. This ligated vector was named pCR2.1-
deltaEcoNI_FVIII and used as a template for furthermore, precise, deletion mutagenesis.
Oligonucleotide primers were designed to make a series of precise in-frame deletions. Each
primer matches the sequences flanking both sides of the segments to be deleted. Delta-747,
delta-754, delta-761, delta-768, delta-775 and delta-782 primers generate the fusion sites of
Arg747-Glnl659, Lys754-Glnl659, Ile761-Glnl659, Lys768-Glnl659, His775-Glnl659 and
Ile782-Glnl659, which respectively are:
(delta-747: 5'-CTTCTCCCAGAATTCAAGACAAGAGGAAATTGACTATG-3' (SEQID
N0:8));
(delta-754: 5'-CCTAGCACTAGGCAAAAGCAAGAGGAAATTGACTATG-3' (SEQ ID
N0:9));
(delta-761: S'-CAATTTAATGCCACCACAATTCAAGAGGAAATTGACTATG-S' (SEQ ID
NO: 10));
(delta-768: S'-CAGAAAATGACATAGAGAAGCAAGAGGAAATTGACTATG-S' (SEQ ID
NO: 11));
(delta-775: 5'-GACCCTTGGTTTGCACACCAAGAGGAAATTGACTATG-3' (SEQID
NO: 12));
(delta-782:
5' GCACAC AGAACACCTATGCCTAAAATAC AAGAGGA AATTGACTATGATGATACC-
3'(SEQIDNO:13)).
In addition to the mutagenic primers described above, a selection primer (5'-
CGTGATCCATGTCGACGCCTGCTTGCC-3' (SEQ ID NO: 14)) which changes the original
unique Ncol site into Sail was used for site-directed mutagenesis with the plasmid pCR2.1-
deltaEcoNI_FVIII as a template. Restriction digestion was carried out to select positive clones,
which were further verified by sequencing. Finally verified clones were named dB747, dB754,
dB761, dB768, dB775, and dB782, respectively.
Example 2B - Generation of plasmids containing a new N-glycan sequence in the fusion
sites
To prevent exposure of a new epitope of unnatural amino acid sequence in the junction region of
the heavy chain and the light chain, we created an N-glycosylation recognition sequence (Asn-XSer/
Thr in which X can be any amino acid) in the fusion sites by linking Asn in the positions of
745, 757 and 764 of the B-domain to amino acids in the positions of 1650, 1653 and 1656
located next to Ser or Thr amino acids in the positions of 1651, 1654, and 1657, which generate
a N-l inked glycosylation site in the fusion sites. Oligonucleotide primers were designed to make
a series of precise in-frame deletions. pCR2.1-deltaEcoNI_FVIII was used as a template for
further precise deletion mutagenesis. Each primer matches the sequences flanking both sides of
the segments to be deleted. N-745-1650, N-745-1653, N-745-1656, N-757-1650, N-757-1653,
N-757-1656, N-764-1650, N-764-1653, and N-764-1656 primers generate the fusion sites of
Asn745-Ilel650, Asn745-Thrl653, Asn745-Glnl656, Asn757-Ilel650, Asn757-Thrl653,
Asn757-Glnl656, Asn764-Ilel650, Asn764-Thrl653, and Asn764-Glnl656. The nucleotide
sequences of the oligonucleotide primers are as follows:
(N-745-1650: 5'-CAAGAAGCTTCTCCCAGAAAATAACTCGTACTACTCTTC-3'(SEQ ID
NO: 15));
(N-745-1653: 5'-CAAGAAGCTTCTCCCAGAAAACTACTCTTCAGTCAGTC-3' (SEQ ID
NO: 16));
(N-745-1656: 5'-CAAGAAGCTTCTCCCAGAAACAGTCAGATCAAGAGGAAATTG-3'
(SEQ ID NO: 17));
(N-757-1650: 5'-CTAGGCAAAAGCAATTTAATATAACTCGTACTACTCTTC-3' (SEQ ID
NO: 18));
(N-757-1563: 5'-CTAGGCAAAAGCAATTTAATACTACTCTTCAGTCAGTC-3' (SEQ ID
NO: 19));
(N-757-1656: 5'-CTAGGCAAAAGCAATTTAATCAGTCAGATCAAGAGGAAATTG-3'
(SEQ ID N0:20));
(N-764-1650: S'-CACCACAATTCCAGAAAATATAACTCGTACTACTCTTC-S' (SEQ ID
N0:21));
(N-764-1653: 5'-CACCACAATTCCAGAAAATACTACTCTTCAGTCAGTC-3' (SEQ ID
NO:22));
(N-764-1656: 5'-CACCACAATTCCAGAAAATCAGTCAGATCAAGAGGAAATTG-3' (SEQ
IDNO:23)).
In addition to those mutagenic primers described above, a selection primer (5'-
CGTGATCCATGTCGACGCCTGCTTGCC-3' (SEQ ID NO:24)), which changes the original
unique Ncol site into Sail was used for site-directed mutagenesis using the plasmid pCR2.1-
deltaEcoNI_FVIII as a template. Restriction digestion was carried out to select positive clones,
which were further verified by sequencing. Finally verified clones were named as dBN(45-50),
dBN(45-53), dBN(45-56), dBN(57-50), dBN(57-53), dBN(57-56), dBN(64-50), dBN(64-53)5
and dBN(64-56), respectively.
EXAMPLE 3 - Expression of the FVIII derivatives in mammalian cells
Example 3A - Construction of mammalian expression vectors
From dB747, dB754, dB761, dB768, dB775, dB782, dB761-739F, dB783-739F, dBN(45-50),
dBN(45-53), dBN(45-56), dBN(57-50), dBN(57-53), dBN(57-56), dBN(64-50), dBN(64-53),
and dBN(64-56) plasmids, the cDNA sequence of Factor VIII derivatives were excised, bluntended,
and cloned between the promoter of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and bovine growth
hormone polyadenylation sequences (bGHpA). In all constructs, orientation of inserts was
verified by restriction enzyme digestion and sequencing.
Example 3B - Transient transfection of mammalian expression constructs in BHK21 cells
BHK21 cells were obtained from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and were
maintained in EMEM supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. The day before transfection,
cells were plated onto six-well tissue culture dishes at a density such that the cells reached 70-
80% confluence by the time of transfection. Transfections utilized a liposome-based reagent.
Each transfection was performed using 1 ug of FVIII derivative expression construct DNA and
30 ng of an internal control plasmid pSV p-galactosidase (Promega, Madison, WI, USA). Four
hours after transfection, the transfection medium was removed by aspiration, 2 ml of complete
medium was added, and the plates were returned to the incubator. At 24 h post-transfection,
medium was removed, spun down, and frozen at -80°C. Cell lysates were prepared and pgalactosidase
activities in cell lysates were measured using the Galacto-Light Plus Kit (Tropix,
MA, USA) following the manufacturer's instructions. The p-galactosidase activity, expressed
from an internal control plasmid pSV P-galactosidase, provided an internal control to monitor
transfection efficiency. FVIII activities were normalized based on the p-galactosidase activity in
each well. An ELISA assay was used to determine the level of FVIII antigen present in medium
samples (in triplicate). The procoagulant activity of the Factor VIII (FVIII:C) was quantified in
culture medium (in triplicate) by using the FVIII Coatest chromogenic assay (Chromogenix,
Molndal, Sweden).
The results are presented in Tables 1 and 2.
t the FVIII derivatives which have undergone deletion are biologically
active in blood coagulation test, and that higher levels of protein is obtained with the FVIII
derivative constructs than with the full-length FVIII. In addition, the ratio of FVIII:C to
FVIII:Ag for the derivatives of this invention is higher than that of full-length FVIII, indicating
that FVIII derivatives may be more stable after secretion into culture media. As shown in Table
3, the increases in FVIII activity (FVIII: C) of recombinant FVIII derivatives over time after
incubation were higher as compared with that of recombinant full-length FVIII.
EXAMPLE 4 - Substitution of Pro with Phe at position 739
Pro739 in the FVIII B-domain deleted variants described above were modified using the sitedirected
mutagenesis method. An oligonucleotide primer (5'-
AACAATGCCATTGAATTCAGAAGCTTCTCCCAG-3' (SEQ ID NO:25)) was designed to
introduce substitution of Pro with Phe at position 739. Whole mutagenesis procedures were
identical with Example 2 described above. The vectors possessing Pro739Phe substitution in
each B-domain deletion FVIII derivative were named as dB747-739F, dB754-739F, dB761-739F,
dB768-739F, dB775-739F, dB782-739F, dBN(45-50)-739F, dBN(45-53)-739F, dBN(45-56)-
739F, dBN(57-50)-739F, dBN(57-53)-739F, dBN(57-56)-739F, dBN(64-50)-739F, dBN(64-53>
739F, and dBN(64-56)-739F, respectively. The resultant DNAs were cloned into the
mammalian expression vector, prepared, transfected, and resultant samples assayed as above. As
showin in Table 4, dB761-739F and dB782-739F were found to generate more activity than
dB761 and dB782, respectively, increased activity after the mutation of the proline to a
phenylalanine at position 739.
Example 5 - Establishment of HEK293 cell lines expressing FVIII derivatives
Example 5A - Construction of plasmids used to generate mammalian cells that stably
express FVIII derivatives.
As shown in Figure 4, the mammalian expression plasmid used in this Example was pI2G-Hygro
which contains, in clockwise order, the cytomegalovirus promoter, polylinker, and bovine
growth hormone polyadenylation signal sequence followed by a hygromycin resistance
expression cassette driven by the SV40 promoter, and a gene coding ampicillin resistance. The
polylinker of plasmid pI2G-Hygro was opened using Kpnl and Xhol. Into this vector were
ligated approximately 4,5 kb of Kpnl and Xhol fragments containing the coding sequences for
FVIII derivatives which were excised from the plasmids described in Examples 2, 3, and 4.
Each pI2G-Hygro vector which has the coding sequence for individual Factor VIII derivative is
referred to as pI2G-Hygro-"plasmid name for each FVIII derivative cDNA" (See Examples 2, 3,
and 4). For example, the mammalian expression vector containing the coding sequences for
dB747 and dBN(45-50) (in Examples 2 and 3) are referred to as pI2G-Hygro-dB47 and pI2GHygro-
dBN(45-50), respectively.
Example SB - Stable transfection of HEK293 cells
The pI2G-hygro plasmids containing the transcription unit for each FVIII were linearized with
Mfel and precipitated with phenol-chloroform and ethanol in preparation for HEK293 cell
transfection. HEK293 cells were transfected via a liposome based transfection method with
linearized DNA of pI2G-Hygro plasmids including the coding sequences for FVIII derivatives.
Each transfection was performed using 2 u.g of DNA per 10 cm diameter dish. At 48 h posttransfection,
medium was removed, the cells were trypsinized, diluted and cultured in DMEM
selection medium containing hygromycin (500 |J.g/ml) and 10% fetal calf serum. After two
weeks, individual clones, resistant to the selective medium, were isolated and expanded further
in selective medium and then frozen for future studies. The secretion of FVIII derivatives was
monitored by measuring the ability of FVIII derivatives to function as a cofactor for the Factor
IXa-dependent conversion of Factor X into Factor Xa, employing a chromogenic substrate for
Factor Xa (Coatest Factor VIII, Chromogenix, Sweden).
Example 5C - Demonstration of single chain FVIII expression in HEK293 cells
In order to demonstrate that the FVIII derivatives were secreted into culture media as a single
chain polypeptide, stably transfected HEK293 cells were grown in the media supplemented with
35S-methionine for 6 hrs. The conditioned media and cell extracts were then prepared for
analysis by immunoprecipitation and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Figure 5A). The
migration of the FVIII derivatives from the cell extracts (C) and conditioned medium (M) is
shown. The names of each FVIII derivatives are indicated on the top. The results demonstrate
that the FVIII derivatives which were generated by the fusing of Al, A2, and B domains to the
amino acid sequence in the A3 domain beyond Arg-1648, an intracellular processing site, did not
affect the synthesis or secretion of the FVIII derivatives from the cell. The predominant FVIII
species produced was a single chain molecule of approximately 170kDa. For immunoblotting
for FVIII antigen, media containing the recombinant Factor VIII derivatives dB782 and dBN(45-
50) as well as media from normal HEK293 control cells were concentrated approximately 100-
fold using Centricon 30,000 MWCO on the day of harvest.
FVIII concentration was measured using an ELISA method. Concentrates were then separated
by SDS-PAGE and analyzed by immunoblotting using a monoclonal antibody (ESH-8). As
shown in Figure 5B, ESH-8 antibody used in Western blotting detected a major protein,
migrating to approximately 170 kDa, which is similar to results from the metabolic labeling
experiment in Figure 5A.
These results indicate that the FVIII derivatives in this invention are present in culture media
mainly in an unprocessed, single-chain form of the FVIII molecule. Figure 5C depicts thrombin
activation of FVIII derivatives. 35S-methionine labeled FVIII derivatives were
immunoprecipitated from the chase conditioned medium of stably expressing HEK293 cells and
were divided into equal aliquots and incubated in the absence (lanes 1, 3, 5, and 7) or presence
(lanes 2, 4, 6, and 8) of thrombin (1 U/mL) for 30 min at 37°C. Reactions were terminated with
SDS-PAGE sample buffer and protein fragments were separated by 10% SDS-PAGE. FVIII
protein forms are indicated at the right as follows: SC, single chain; Al, and A2, thrombincleaved
heavy chain fragments; LC, thrombin-cleaved light chain. The names of each FVIII
derivatives are indicated on the top. Analysis of the radiolabeled protein after thrombin
digestion indicated a normal appearance of the 73 kD, and 50 and 40 kd fragments
corresponding to the molecular sizes of thrombin-cleaved light chain, Al and A2 domains,
respectively. This result demonstrated that single chain FVIII derivatives are cleaved and then
activated in the similar pattern as the native or full-length FVIII proteins. These single-chain
FVIII derivatives may be advantageous in that they may be produced in more homogeneous
forms and may have an improved stability to natural human or other recombinant FVIII proteins.
EXAMPLE 6 - Establishment of CHO cell lines expressing FVIII derivatives
Example 6A - Construction of plasmids
The plasmids for the establishment of stably transfected CHO cell lines were constructed by the
insertion of an expression cassette called pI2G-DHFR comprising the promoter sequences of
SV40, the gene coding for the DHFR selection marker, and the SV40 late polyadenylation signal
sequences into the single Mfe I site of the mammalian expression vectors described in Example
3. The ends liberated by the Mfe I digestion were made blunt by treatment with the Klenow
fragment of DNA polymerase I. The subcloning procedure is depicted in Figure 6.
Example 6B - Transfect ion of CHO cells with plasmids
CHO cells were transfected with the linearized DNA of plasmids pI2G-DHFR including coding
sequences for dB782 by a liposome-based transfection method, with 1 or 2 ug of DNA per 10 cm
diameter dish. Forty eight hours after the transfection, the cells are trypsinized, diluted and
incubated in IMDM selective medium including 10% dialyzed fetal calf serum without
hypoxanthine, thymidine, and xanthine. After two weeks, the clones resistant to the selective
medium were subcultured to 1-ml and then 2-ml cups. When the cells reached 70% confluence,
the medium was removed and the cell lawns were washed and replenished with fresh medium
containing 5% of inactivated serum (to avoid a high background in the coagulation tests). After
24 hours, the medium was harvested and analyzed for the procoagulant activity of FVIIL
Biologically active human FVIII was quantified in culture supernatant samples by the standard
coagulation or clotting assay (so-called activated partial thromboplastin time) using FVIIIdeficient
plasma as previously described (Veldkamp et al., Thromb. Diath. Haemorrh. 1968, 19:
279). Results of Factor VIII activity in cells resistant to increasing concentrations of MIX are
presented in Table 5.
Table 5
Comparison of the FVIII procoagulant activity (FVIII:C) from
CHO/DBX11 cells transfected with the mammalian expression vector,
pl2G-dhfr-dB782, containing a coding sequence for dB782 before and after
gene-amplification with MTX
MTX (uM) MU/ml/24 hours of FVIII:C
0 0.02 4.94
0.08 16.8
0.3 129
1.0 540
5,0 2900
EXAMPLE 7 - Activation of recombinant full-length FVIII and FVIII derivatives by
thrombin
Recombinant full-length FVIII and FVIII derivatives were compared in a study of kinetics of
activation by thrombin. The activation was measured in a classical coagulation test (APTT) after
incubation in the presence of a catalytic amount of thrombin.
Figures 7A and 7B show a comparison of thrombin activation kinetics of the recombinant human
FVIII (rH FVIII) and FVIII derivatives. Some FVIII derivatives are activated more strongly
with a 7-fold increases after 5 minutes incubation with thrombin. Two FVffl derivatives,




WE CLAIM:

1. A Factor VIII polypeptide comprising an internal deletion of amino acids from residue 741 to residue 1688, which comprises an internal deletion in B-domain from amino acid 741 to 1648 and in A3-domain from amino acid 1649 to 1688 with reference to full-length human Factor VIII amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO.1, wherein the internal deletion is from amino acids positions 746 to 1649, 746 to 1652, 746 to 1655, 758 to 1649, 758 to 1652, 758 to 1655, 765 to 1649, 765 to 1652, 765 to 1655, 748 to 1658. 755 to 1658, 762 to 1658, 769 to 1658. 776 to 1658, or 783 to 1658.
2. A Factor VIII polypeptide as claimed in claim 1, wherein the polypeptide is a single chain polypeptide.
3. A Factor VIII polypeptide as claimed in claim 1, wherein proline at position 739 is replaced by phenylalanine.
4. A Factor VIII polypeptide as claimed in claim 1, wherein the polypeptide comprises tripeptide sequence Asn-X-Thr or Asn-X-Ser, wherein X is any amino acid encompassing fusion sites between Asn amino acid at positions 745, 757, or 764, and Thr or Ser amino acid at positions 1651, 1654, or 1657, with reference to full- length human Factor VIII amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO. 1.
5. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the Factor VIII polypeptide as claimed in claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier thereof
6. An isolated nucleic acid encoding the Factor VIII polypeptide as claimed in claim 1.
7. A method of making the Factor VIII polypeptide as claimed in claim 1, said method comprising:
a. Obtaining isolated nucleic acid sequence capable of encoding the Factor VIII
polypeptide as claimed in claim 1;
b. Obtaining vector construct having integrated isolated nucleic acid of step (a);
c. Transfecting suitable host cell and culturing the cell in conditions suitable for the
vector to express the polypeptide:
d. Isolating the polypeptide
8. A Factor VIII polypeptide, a pharmaceutical composition, and an isolated nucleic acid
substantially such as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings and as
illustrated in the foregoing examples.

Documents:

3480-DELNP-2005-Abstract-(03-12-2008).pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Abstract-(18-11-2008).pdf

3480-delnp-2005-abstract.pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Claims-(03-12-2008).pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Claims-(18-11-2008).pdf

3480-delnp-2005-claims.pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Correspondence-Others-(03-12-2008).pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Correspondence-Others-(17-06-2008).pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Correspondence-Others-(18-11-2008).pdf

3480-delnp-2005-correspondence-others.pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Description (Complete)-(03-12-2008).pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Description (Complete)-(18-11-2008).pdf

3480-delnp-2005-description (complete).pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Drawings-(18-11-2008).pdf

3480-delnp-2005-drawings.pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Form-1-(17-06-2008).pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Form-1-(18-11-2008).pdf

3480-delnp-2005-form-1.pdf

3480-delnp-2005-form-13-(17-06-2008).pdf

3480-delnp-2005-form-18.pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Form-2-(18-11-2008).pdf

3480-delnp-2005-form-2.pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Form-26-(17-06-2008).pdf

3480-delnp-2005-form-26.pdf

3480-DELNP-2005-Form-3-(18-11-2008).pdf

3480-delnp-2005-form-3.pdf

3480-delnp-2005-form-5.pdf

3480-delnp-2005-form-6-(17-06-2008).pdf

3480-delnp-2005-pct-210.pdf

3480-delnp-2005-pct-301.pdf

3480-delnp-2005-pct-304.pdf

3480-delnp-2005-pct-308.pdf

3480-delnp-2005-pct-332.pdf


Patent Number 225938
Indian Patent Application Number 3480/DELNP/2005
PG Journal Number 01/2009
Publication Date 02-Jan-2009
Grant Date 03-Dec-2008
Date of Filing 04-Aug-2005
Name of Patentee SK CHEMICALS CO., LTD.
Applicant Address 600 JUNGIA I-DONG,JANGAN-KU,440-301 SUWON,KYUNGKI-DO, REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 BANG, YUNG-JUE 120-604 HYUNDAI APT., APGUJEONG-DONG, KANGNAM-KU, SEOUL 135-110, REPUBLIC OF KOREA.
2 KIM, HUN-TAEK 345-1201 HANSHIN APT., JAMWON-DONG, SEOCHO-KU, SEOUL 137-030, REPUBLIC OF KOREA.
3 SONG, IN-YOUNG 340 DEOKAE-LI, HOECHEON-EUP, YANGJU-KUN, KYUNGKI-DO 482-852, REPUBLIC OF KOREA.
4 CHOI, JAE WON 365-1 SEONGWOO APT., SONGNAE-DONG, SOSA-KU, BUCHEON-SI, KYUNGKI-DO 422-040, REPUBLIC OF KOREA.
5 JANG, JIN-WOOK 1010-703 HYUNDAI APT., SANGHYUN-DONG, YONGIN-SI, KYUNGKI-DO 449-130.
6 KIM, YONG-KOOK 101-415 HYUNDAI APT., CHANG-DONG, DOBONG-KU, SEOUL 132-040, REPUBLIC OF KOREA.
7 LEE, HO SOON 601-603 HYUNDAI APT., MULLAE-DONG, YEONGDE-UNGPO-KU, SEOUL 150-090, REPUBLIC OF KOREA.
8 KIM, DAE-KEE 4-705 SHINDONGA APT., BON-DONG, DONGJAK-KU, SEOUL 156-768, REPUBLIC OF KOREA.
PCT International Classification Number C07K 14/755
PCT International Application Number PCT/KR2003/002277
PCT International Filing date 2003-10-27
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 10/353,753 2003-01-28 U.S.A.