PEGylation of antibody fragments greatly increases their local residence time following delivery to the respiratory tract.
Inhalation aerosols offer a targeted therapy for respiratory diseases. However, the therapeutic efficacy of inhaled biopharmaceuticals is limited by the rapid clearance of macromolecules in the lungs. The aim of this research was to study the effects of the PEGylation of antibody fragments on their local residence time after administration to the respiratory tract. We demonstrate that the conjugation of a two-armed 40-kDa polyethylene glycol (PEG) chain to anti-interleukin-17A (IL-17A) F(ab')2 and anti-IL-13 Fab' greatly prolonged the presence of these fragments within the lungs of mice. The content of PEGylated antibody fragments within the lungs plateaued up to 4h post-delivery, whereas the clearance of unconjugated proteins started immediately after administration. Forty-eight hours post-delivery, F(ab')2 and Fab' contents in the lungs had decreased to 10 and 14% of the dose initially deposited, respectively. However, this value was 40% for both PEG40-F(ab')2 and PEG40-Fab'. The prolonged pulmonary residency of the anti-IL-17A PEG40-F(ab')2 translated into an improved efficacy in reducing lung inflammation in a murine model of house dust mite-induced lung inflammation. We demonstrate that PEGylated proteins were principally retained within the lung lumen rather than the nasal cavities or lung parenchyma. In addition, we report that PEG increased pulmonary retention of antibody fragments through mucoadhesion and escape from alveolar macrophages rather than increased hydrodynamic size or improved enzymatic stability. The PEGylation of proteins might find broad application in the local delivery of therapeutic proteins to diseased airways.
Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels 1200, Belgium.
Salome Juliette
SJ
Koussoroplis
Laboratory of Biology of Tumors and Development & Department of Respiratory Diseases, GIGA research center, University of Liège and CHU Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium.
Geneviève
G
Paulissen
Cell Biology Unit, de Duve Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels 1200, Belgium.
Donatienne
D
Tyteca
Bio and Soft Matter, Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, Belgium.
Hadi
H
Goldansaz
Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels 1200, Belgium.
Julie
J
Todoroff
Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels 1200, Belgium.
Céline
C
Barilly
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels 1200, Belgium; Cellular Genetics Unit, de Duve Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels 1200, Belgium.
Catherine
C
Uyttenhove
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels 1200, Belgium; Experimental Medicine Unit, de Duve Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels 1200, Belgium.
Jacques
J
Van Snick
Laboratory of Biology of Tumors and Development & Department of Respiratory Diseases, GIGA research center, University of Liège and CHU Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium.
Didier
D
Cataldo
Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels 1200, Belgium. Electronic address: rita.vanbever@uclouvain.be.
Rita
R
Vanbever
D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; D005260:Female; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry*; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000276:immunology; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D039981:Pyroglyphidae / Q000276:immunology; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000378:metabolism*
D000485:Allergens; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments; D018793:Interleukin-13; D020381:Interleukin-17; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols
Mucoadhesion; Polyethylene glycol; Proteins; Pulmonary drug delivery