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  • C07K16/00—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies
  • C07K16/18—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans
  • C07K16/28—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans against receptors, cell surface antigens or cell surface determinants
  • C07K16/2866—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans against receptors, cell surface antigens or cell surface determinants against receptors for cytokines, lymphokines, interferons
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K39/00—Medicinal preparations containing antigens or antibodies
  • A61K39/395—Antibodies; Immunoglobulins; Immune serum, e.g. antilymphocytic serum
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K39/00—Medicinal preparations containing antigens or antibodies
  • A61K39/395—Antibodies; Immunoglobulins; Immune serum, e.g. antilymphocytic serum
  • A61K39/39533—Antibodies; Immunoglobulins; Immune serum, e.g. antilymphocytic serum against materials from animals
  • A61K39/3955—Antibodies; Immunoglobulins; Immune serum, e.g. antilymphocytic serum against materials from animals against proteinaceous materials, e.g. enzymes, hormones, lymphokines
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K45/00—Medicinal preparations containing active ingredients not provided for in groups A61K31/00 - A61K41/00
  • A61K45/06—Mixtures of active ingredients without chemical characterisation, e.g. antiphlogistics and cardiaca
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K9/00—Medicinal preparations characterised by special physical form
  • A61K9/0012—Galenical forms characterised by the site of application
  • A61K9/0019—Injectable compositions; Intramuscular, intravenous, arterial, subcutaneous administration; Compositions to be administered through the skin in an invasive manner
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P19/00—Drugs for skeletal disorders
  • A61P19/02—Drugs for skeletal disorders for joint disorders, e.g. arthritis, arthrosis
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P29/00—Non-central analgesic, antipyretic or antiinflammatory agents, e.g. antirheumatic agents; Non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs [NSAID]
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P37/00—Drugs for immunological or allergic disorders
  • A61P37/02—Immunomodulators
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
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• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
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  • C07K16/00—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies
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  • C07K16/24—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans against cytokines, lymphokines or interferons
  • C07K16/244—Interleukins [IL]
  • C07K16/248—IL-6
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K39/00—Medicinal preparations containing antigens or antibodies
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  • C07K2317/00—Immunoglobulins specific features
  • C07K2317/10—Immunoglobulins specific features characterized by their source of isolation or production
  • C07K2317/14—Specific host cells or culture conditions, e.g. components, pH or temperature
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07K—PEPTIDES
  • C07K2317/00—Immunoglobulins specific features
  • C07K2317/20—Immunoglobulins specific features characterized by taxonomic origin
  • C07K2317/24—Immunoglobulins specific features characterized by taxonomic origin containing regions, domains or residues from different species, e.g. chimeric, humanized or veneered
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07K—PEPTIDES
  • C07K2317/00—Immunoglobulins specific features
  • C07K2317/70—Immunoglobulins specific features characterized by effect upon binding to a cell or to an antigen
  • C07K2317/76—Antagonist effect on antigen, e.g. neutralization or inhibition of binding

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a therapeutic agent for “chronic arthritides diseases of childhood-related diseases” comprising an interleukin-6 (IL-6) antagonist as an active ingredient.
• Chronic arthritides diseases of childhood-related diseases include chronic arthritides diseases of childhood, Still's disease and the like.
• IL-6 is a cytokine called B-cell stimulating factor 2 (BSF2) or interferon ⁇ 2.
• BSF2 B-cell stimulating factor 2
• IL-6 was discovered as a differentiation factor responsible for activation of B-lymphatic cells (Hirano, T. et al., Nature (1986) 324, 73-76). Thereafter, it was found to be a multifunctional cytokine that influences the function of various cells (Akira, S. et al., Adv. in Immunology (1993) 54, 1-78). IL-6 has been reported to induce the maturation of T lymphatic cells (Lotz, M. et al., J. Exp. Med. (1988) 167, 1253-1258).
• IL-6 propagates its biological activity through two proteins on the cell.
• One is a ligand-binding protein, IL-6 receptor, with a molecular weight of about 80 kD to which IL-6 binds (Taga T. et al., J. Exp. Med. (1987) 166, 967-981; Yamasaki, K. et al., Science (1987) 241, 825-828).
• IL-6 receptor exists not only in a membrane-bound form that penetrates and is expressed on the cell membrane but also as a soluble IL-6 receptor consisting mainly of the extracellular region.
• the other is non-ligand-binding membrane-bound protein gp130 with a molecular weight of about 130 kD that takes part in signal transduction.
• IL-6 and IL-6 receptor form an IL-6/IL-6 receptor complex, to which gp130 is bound, and thereby the biological activity of IL-6 is propagated into the cell (Taga et al., Cell (1989) 58, 573-581).
• IL-6 antagonists are substances that inhibit the transduction of IL-6 biological activities.
• antibodies to IL-6 anti-IL-6 antibodies
• antibodies to IL-6 receptor anti-IL-6 receptor antibodies
• antibodies to gp130 anti-gp130 antibodies
• reshaped IL-6 IL-6 or IL-6 receptor partial peptides, and the like.
• Chronic arthritides diseases of childhood are diseases comprising mainly chronic arthritis that develops at less than 16 years of age and is the most prevalent disease among the collagen diseases that develop in children.
• RA rheumatoid arthritis
• they are not considered to be a homogeneous disease and have a variety of disease types, and therefore they tend to be dealt with as a disease entity different from rheumatoid arthritis in adults.
• JRA chronic arthritides diseases of childhood
• JCA juvenile chronic arthritis
• ICA idiopathic chronic arthritis
• JIA juvenile idiopathic arthritis
• ACR American College of Rheumatology
• arthritic diseases that develop in children less than 16 years old and persist for six weeks or longer, into three disease types: 1) systemic onset JRA, 2) polyarticular, 3) pauciarticular (ARA classification)
• ARA classification JRA Criteria Subcommittee of the Diagnostic and Therapeutic Criteria Committee of the American Rheumatism Association Arthritis Rheum 20 (Suppl): 195, 1977.
• EULAR European League against Rheumatism
• This classification provides division into: 1) systemic arthritis, 2) polyarthritis RF positive, 3) polyarthritis RF negative, 4) oligoarthritis, 5) extended oligoarthritis, 6) enthesitis related arthritis, 7) psoriatic arthritis, and 8) others.
• SPRASH syndrome SPRASH: spiking fever, pericarditis, rash, arthritis, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly
• Still's disease first described by the British pediatrician Dr. Still in 1897, was reported to have a clinical picture clearly different from that of rheumatoid arthritis in adults and is a disease seen in children to adults (especially in adolescence and the main symptoms include fever, erythema, arthritis, serositis and the like. Among them, adult-onset type is designated as adult onset Still's disease. In Still's disease, rheumatoid factor is usually negative.
• Still's disease is another name of the systemic type of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), JCA (juvenile chronic arthritis), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)) which is a chronic arthritis developing in children at less than 16 years old.
• JRA infant rheumatoid arthritis
• JCA juvenile chronic arthritis
• JIA juvenile idiopathic arthritis
• Still's disease in adults and that in children are considered to be almost the same disease, though there are minor differences in clinical feature in addition to the age when the disease develops. Still's disease in children refers to JRA of the systemic type as described above.
• JRA and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in adults are clinically different in many ways and are dealt with as different diseases, and therefore Still's disease in adults is often dealt with as an independent disease entity among the rheumatic diseases.
• nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs corticosteroids, antirheumatic drugs (gold compounds etc.), immunosuppressants, gamma globulin formulations, methotrexate (MTX etc.) have been used.
• MTX methotrexate
• the present invention provides a novel therapeutic agent for chronic arthritides diseases of childhood-related diseases, said agent being of a type different from the conventional therapeutic agents for chronic arthritides diseases of childhood-related diseases.
• chronic arthritides diseases of childhood-related diseases included chronic arthritides diseases of childhood and Still's disease.
• an interleukin-6 (IL-6) antagonist has an effect of treating chronic arthritides diseases of childhood-related diseases, and have completed the present invention.
• the present invention provides a therapeutic agent for chronic arthritides diseases of childhood-related diseases comprising an interleukin-6 (IL-6) antagonist as an active ingredient.
• IL-6 interleukin-6
• the present invention provides a therapeutic agent for chronic arthritides diseases of childhood comprising an interleukin-6 (IL-6) antagonist as an active ingredient.
• IL-6 interleukin-6
• the present invention also provides a therapeutic agent for Still's disease comprising an interleukin-6 (IL-6) antagonist as an active ingredient.
• IL-6 interleukin-6
• the above IL-6 antagonist is preferably an antibody against IL-6 receptor, and preferably a monoclonal antibody against human IL-6 receptor or a monoclonal antibody against mouse IL-6 receptor.
• a monoclonal antibody against human IL-6 receptor there can be illustrated PM-1 antibody
• MR16-1 antibody As the above monoclonal antibody against mouse IL-6 receptor, there can be illustrated MR16-1 antibody.
• the above antibody is preferably a chimeric antibody, a humanized antibody or a human antibody and, for example, is a humanized PM-1 antibody.
• Chronic arthritides diseases of childhood which are the subject of treatment with a therapeutic agent of the present invention include all diseases in the above ARA, EULAR, and ILAR classifications, and the classification by the present inventors.
• the disease type classification of chronic arthritides diseases of childhood is now undergoing a review on a global scale and it can be said to be in a state of uncertainty.
• Preferred treatment subjects are: in the ARA classification, systemic onset, polyarticular, and pauciarticular; in the EULAR classification, systemic onset, polyarticular, and oligoarticular; in the ILAR classification, systemic onset, polyarticular (RF positive), polyarticular (RF negative), oligoarthritis, and extended oligoarthritis; and, in the classification by the present inventors, primary chronic arthritides of childhood (SPRASH syndrome, idiopathic chronic arthritides of childhood (a. rheumatoid factor (RF)-positive type, b. anti-nuclear antibody (ANA)-positive type, c.
• SPRASH syndrome idiopathic chronic arthritides of childhood
• RF rheumatoid factor
• ANA anti-nuclear antibody
• RF/ANA-negative type RF/ANA-negative type
• RF/ANA-negative type RF/ANA-negative type
• RF/ANA-negative type idiopathic chronic arthritides of childhood (a. rheumatoid factor (RF)-positive type, b. anti-nuclear antibody (ANA)-positive type)).
• SPRASH syndrome idiopathic chronic arthritides of childhood (a. rheumatoid factor (RF)-positive type, b. anti-nuclear antibody (ANA)-positive type)).
• RF rheumatoid factor
• ANA anti-nuclear antibody
• More preferred subjects of treatment are: in the ARA classification, systemic onset and polyarticular; in the EULAR classification, systemic onset and polyarticular; in the ILAR classification, systemic onset, polyarticular (RF positive), and extended oligoarthritis; and, in the classification by the present inventors, primary chronic arthritides of childhood (SPRASH syndrome, idiopathic chronic arthritides of childhood (a. rheumatoid factor (RF)-positive type)).
• SPRASH syndrome idiopathic chronic arthritides of childhood (a. rheumatoid factor (RF)-positive type)
• IL-6 antagonists for use in the present invention may be of any origin, any type, and any form, as long as they exhibit therapeutic effects on chronic arthritides diseases of childhood-related diseases.
• IL-6 antagonists are substances that block signal transduction by IL-6 and inhibit the biological activity of IL-6.
• IL-6 antagonists are substances that preferably have an inhibitory action on the binding to any of IL-6, IL-6 receptor or gp130.
• IL-6 antagonists there can be mentioned, for example, anti-IL-6 antibody, anti-IL-6 receptor antibody, ant-gp130 antibody, reshaped IL-6, soluble reshaped IL-6 receptor, or partial peptides of IL-6 or IL-6 receptor, as well as low molecular weight substances that exhibit activities similar to them.
• Anti-IL-6 antibodies for use in the present invention can be obtained as polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies using a known method.
• monoclonal antibodies of, in particular, mammalian origin are preferred.
• Monoclonal antibodies of a mammalian origin include those produced by a hybridoma and those produced by a host which has been transformed by gene engineering technology with an expression vector containing the antibody gene. These antibodies, via binding to IL-6, block the binding of IL-6 to IL-6 receptor, and thereby block the propagation of biological activity of IL-6 into the cell.
• Examples of such antibodies include MH166 antibody (Matsuda, et al., Eur. J. Immunology (1988) 18, 951-956), or SK2 antibody (Sato, et al., The 21st General Meeting of the Japanese Society for Immunology, Gakujutu Kiroku (1991) 21, 166) etc.
• a hybridoma that produces anti-IL-6 antibody can be basically constructed using a known procedure as described bellow.
• IL-6 is used as a sensitizing antigen, which is immunized in the conventional method of immunization, and the immune cells thus obtained are fused with known parent cells in a conventional cell fusion process, followed by a conventional screening method to screen monoclonal antibody-producing cells.
• anti-IL-6 antibodies may be obtained in the following manner.
• human IL-6 to be used as the sensitizing antigen for obtaining antibody can be obtained using the IL-6 gene/amino acid sequence disclosed in Eur. J. Biochem. (1987) 168, 543-550; J. Immunol. (1988) 140, 1534-1541, or Agr. Biol. Chem. (1990) 54, 2685-2688.
• the IL-6 protein of interest may be purified from the host cell or a culture supernatant thereof by a known method, and the purified IL-6 protein may be used as the sensitizing antigen.
• a fusion protein of the IL-6 protein and another protein may be used as the sensitizing antigen.
• Anti-IL-6 receptor antibodies for use in the present invention can be obtained as polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies using a known method.
• monoclonal antibodies of, in particular, a mammalian origin are preferred.
• Monoclonal antibodies of a mammalian origin include those produced by a hybridoma and those produced by a host which has been transformed by gene engineering technology with an expression vector containing the antibody gene. These antibodies, via binding to IL-6, block the binding of IL-6 to IL-6 receptor, and thereby block the propagation of biological activity of IL-6 into the cell.
• Examples of such antibodies include MR16-1 antibody (Tamura, T. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1993) 90, 11924-11928), PM-1 antibody (Hirata, Y. et al., J. Immunology (1989) 143, 2900-2906), AUK12-20 antibody, AUK64-7 antibody or AUK146-15 antibody (International Patent Application WO 92-19759), and the like. Among them, PM-1 antibody is most preferred.
• the hybridoma cell line which produces PM-1 antibody has been internationally deposited under the provisions of the Budapest Treaty as PM-1 on Jul. 12, 1988 with the International Patent Organism Depository of the National Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Pref., 305-5466 Japan) as FERM BP-2998.
• the hybridoma cell line which produces MR16-1 antibody has been internationally deposited under the provisions of the Budapest Treaty as Rat-mouse hybridoma MR16-1 on Mar. 13, 1997 with the International Patent Organism Depository of the National Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Pref., 305-5466 Japan) as FERM BP-5875.
• a hybridoma that produces anti-IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody can, basically, be constructed using a known procedure as described bellow.
• IL-6 receptor is used as a sensitizing antigen, which is immunized in the conventional method of immunization, and the immune cells thus obtained are fused with known parent cells in a conventional cell fusion process, followed by a conventional screening method to screen monoclonal antibody-producing cells.
• anti-IL-6 receptor antibodies may be obtained in the following manner.
• human IL-6 receptor used as the sensitizing antigen for obtaining antibody can be obtained using the IL-6 receptor gene/amino acid sequence disclosed in European Patent Application No. EP 325474
• mouse IL-6 receptor can be obtained using the IL-6 receptor gene/amino acid sequence disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 3-155795.
• IL-6 receptor There are two types of IL-6 receptor: IL-6 receptor expressed on the cell membrane, and IL-6 receptor detached from the cell membrane (Soluble IL-6 Receptor; Yasukawa et al., J. Biochem. (1990) 108, 673-676). Soluble IL-6 receptor antibody is composed of the substantially extracellular region of IL-6 receptor bound to the cell membrane, and is different from the membrane-bound IL-6 receptor in that the former lacks the transmembrane region or both of the transmembrane region and the intracellular region.
• IL-6 receptor protein may be any IL-6 receptor, as long as it can be used as a sensitizing antigen for preparing anti-IL-6 receptor antibody for use in the present invention.
• the desired IL-6 receptor protein may be purified from the host cell or a culture supernatant thereof using a known method, and the IL-6 receptor protein thus purified may be used as the sensitizing antigen.
• cells that express IL-6 receptor protein or a fusion protein of IL-6 receptor protein and another protein may be used as the sensitizing antigen.
• Escherichia coli E. coli containing a plasmid pIBIBSF2R that comprises cDNA encoding human IL-6 receptor has been internationally deposited under the provisions of the Budapest Treaty as HB101-pIBIBSF2R on Jan. 9, 1989 with the International Patent Organism Depository of the National Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Pref., 305-5466 Japan) as FERM BP-2232.
• Anti-gp130 antibodies for use in the present invention can be obtained as polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies using a known method.
• monoclonal antibodies of, in particular, mammalian origin are preferred.
• Monoclonal antibodies of a mammalian origin include those produced by a hybridoma and those produced by a host which has been transformed by gene engineering technology with an expression vector containing the antibody gene. These antibodies, via binding to gp130, block the binding of gp130 to the IL-6/IL-6 receptor complex, and thereby block the propagation of biological activity of IL-6 into the cell.
• Examples of such antibodies include AM64 antibody (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 3-219894), 4B11 antibody and 2H4 antibody (U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,513), B-S12 antibody and B-P8 antibody (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 8-291199) etc.
• a hybridoma that produces anti-gp130 antibody can be basically constructed using a known procedure as described below.
• gp130 is used as a sensitizing antigen, which is immunized in the conventional method of immunization, and the immune cells thus obtained are fused with known parent cells in a conventional cell fusion process, followed by a conventional screening method to screen monoclonal antibody-producing cells.
• monoclonal antibodies may be obtained in the following manner.
• gp130 used as the sensitizing antigen for obtaining antibody can be obtained using the gp130 gene/amino acid sequence disclosed in European Patent Application No. EP 411946.
• the gene sequence of gp130 may be inserted into a known expression vector, and said vector is used to transform a suitable host cell. From the host cell or a culture supernatant therefrom, the gp130 protein of interest may be purified by a known method, and the purified IL-6 protein may be used as the sensitizing antigen. Alternatively, cells expressing gp130, or a fusion protein of the gp130 protein and another protein may be used as the sensitizing antigen.
• mammals to be immunized with the sensitizing antigen are selected in consideration of their compatibility with the parent cells for use in cell fusion and they generally include, but are not limited to, rodents such as mice, rats and hamsters.
• Immunization of animals with a sensitizing antigen is carried out using a known method.
• a general method involves intraperitoneal or subcutaneous administration of a sensitizing antigen to the mammal.
• a sensitizing antigen which was diluted and suspended in an appropriate amount of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or physiological saline etc., is mixed with an appropriate amount of a common adjuvant such as Freund's complete adjuvant. After being emulsified, it is preferably administered to a mammal several times every 4 to 21 days.
• a suitable carrier may be used at the time of immunization of the sensitizing antigen.
• immune cells are taken out from the mammal and are subjected to cell fusion.
• preferred immune cells that are subjected to cell fusion there can be specifically mentioned spleen cells.
• Mammalian myeloma cells as the other parent cells which are subjected to cell fusion with the above-mentioned immune cells preferably include various known cell lines such as P3x63Ag8.653 (Kearney, J. F. et al., J. Immunol. (1979) 123, 1548-1550), P3x63Ag8U.1 (Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology (1978) 81, 1-7), NS-1 (Kohler, G. and Milstein, C., Eur. J. Immunol. (1976) 6, 511-519), MPC-11 (Margulies, D. H.
• Cell fusion between the above immune cells and myeloma cells may be essentially conducted in accordance with a known method such as is described in Milstein et al. (Kohler, G. and Milstein, C., Methods Enzymol. (1981) 73, 3-46) and the like.
• the above cell fusion is carried out in the conventional nutrient broth in the presence of, for example, a cell fusion accelerator.
• a cell fusion accelerator for example, polyethylene glycol (PEG), Sendai virus (HVJ) and the like may be used, and an adjuvant such as dimethyl sulfoxide may be added as desired to enhance the efficiency of fusion.
• the preferred ratio of the immune cells and the myeloma cells for use is, for example, 1 to 10 times more immune cells than the myeloma cells.
• culture media to be used for the above cell fusion include, for example, RPMI 1640 medium and MEM culture medium suitable for the growth of the above myeloma cell lines, and the conventional culture medium used for this type of cell culture and, besides, a serum supplement such as fetal calf serum (FCS) may be added.
• FCS fetal calf serum
• a PEG solution previously heated to about 37° C. for example a PEG solution with a mean molecular weight of 1000 to 6000, is added at a concentration of 30 to 60% (w/v) and mixed to obtain the desired fusion cells (hybridomas). Then, by repeating a sequential addition of a suitable culture liquid and centrifugation to remove the supernatant, cell fusion agents etc., that are undesirable for the growth of the hybridoma, can be removed.
• Said hybridoma is selected by culturing in the conventional selection medium, for example, HAT culture medium (a culture liquid containing hypoxanthine, aminopterin, and thymidine). Culturing in said HAT culture medium is continued generally for the period of time sufficient to effect killing of the cells other than the desired hybridoma (non-fusion cells), generally several days to several weeks.
• HAT culture medium a culture liquid containing hypoxanthine, aminopterin, and thymidine.
• transgenic animal having a repertoire of human antibody genes is immunized with the antigen or antigen-expressing cells to obtain the desired human antibody according to the above-mentioned method (see International Patent Application WO 93/12227, WO 92/03918, WO 94/02602, WO 94/25585, WO 96/34096 and WO 96/33735).
• the monoclonal antibody-producing hybridomas thus constructed can be subcultured in the conventional culture liquid, or can be stored for a prolonged period of time in liquid nitrogen.
• an anti-IL-6 receptor antibody-producing hybridoma can be polypeptide by a method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 3-139293. There may be used a method in which The PM-1 antibody-producing hybridoma that has been internationally deposited under the provisions of the Budapest Treaty on Jul.
• a recombinant antibody that was produced by cloning an antibody gene from a hybridoma and the gene is then integrated into an appropriate vector, which is introduced into a host to produce the recombinant antibody using gene recombinant technology (see, for example, Borrebaeck, C. A. K. and Larrick, J. W., THERAPEUTIC MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES, published in the United Kingdom by MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS LTD. 1990).
• mRNA encoding the variable region (V region) of the antibody is isolated from the cell that produces the antibody of interest, for example a hybridoma.
• the isolation of mRNA is conducted by preparing total RNA by a known method such as the guanidine ultracentrifuge method (Chirgwin, J. M. et al., Biochemistry (1979) 18, 5294-5299), the AGPC method (Chomczynski, P. et al., Anal. Biochem. (1987) 162, 156-159), and then mRNA is purified from the total RNA using the mRNA Purification kit (manufactured by Pharmacia) and the like.
• mRNA can be directly prepared using the Quick Prep mRNA Purification Kit (manufactured by Pharmacia).
• cDNA of the V region of antibody may be synthesized from the mRNA thus obtained using a reverse transcriptase.
• cDNA may be synthesized using the AMV Reverse Transcriptase First-strand cDNA Synthesis Kit and the like.
• the 5′-Ampli FINDER RACE Kit manufactured by Clontech
• the 5′-RACE method Frohman, M. A. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. (1988) 85, 8998-9002; Belyavsky, A. et al., Nucleic Acids Res.
• the desired DNA fragment is purified from the PCR product obtained and may be ligated to vector DNA. Moreover, a recombinant vector is constructed therefrom and then is introduced into E. coli etc., from which colonies are selected to prepare the desired recombinant vector.
• the base sequence of the desired DNA may be confirmed by a known method such as the dideoxy method.
• DNA encoding the V region of the desired antibody may be ligated to DNA encoding the constant region (C region) of the desired antibody, which is then integrated into an expression vector.
• DNA encoding the V region of the antibody may be integrated into an expression vector which already contains DNA encoding the C region of the antibody.
• the antibody gene is integrated into an expression vector so as to be expressed under the control of the expression regulatory region, for example an enhancer and/or a promoter. Subsequently, the expression vector is transformed into a host cell and the antibody can then be expressed therein.
• the expression regulatory region for example an enhancer and/or a promoter.
• artificially altered recombinant antibodies such as chimeric antibody, humanized antibody and human antibody can be used for the purpose of lowering heterologous antigenicity against humans.
• altered antibody can be produced using known methods.
• Chimeric antibody can be obtained by ligating the thus obtained DNA encoding the V region of antibody to DNA encoding the C region of human antibody, which is then integrated into an expression vector and introduced into a host for production of the antibody therein (see European Patent Application EP 125023, and International Patent Application WO 92-19759). Using this known method, chimeric antibody useful for the present invention can be obtained.
• Plasmids containing the L chain V region or the H chain V region of chimeric PM-1 antibody have each been designated as pPM-k3 and pPM-h1, respectively, and E. coli having a respective plasmid has been internationally deposited under the provisions of the Budapest Treaty as NCIMB40366 and NCIMB40362 on Feb. 11, 1991 with the National Collections of Industrial and Marine Bacteria Limited.
• Humanized antibody which is also called reshaped human antibody has been made by implanting the complementarity determining region (CDR) of antibody of a mammal other than the human, for example mouse antibody, into the CDR of human antibody.
• CDR complementarity determining region
• the general recombinant DNA technology for preparation of such antibodies is also known (see European Patent Application EP 125023 and International Patent Application WO 92-19759).
• a DNA sequence which was designed to ligate the CDR of mouse antibody with the framework region (FR) of human antibody is synthesized from several divided oligonucleotides having sections overlapping with one another at the ends thereof.
• the DNA thus obtained is ligated to DNA encoding the C region of human antibody and then is incorporated into an expression vector, which is introduced into a host for antibody production (see European Patent Application EP 239400 and International Patent Application WO 92-19759).
• the CDR that has a favorable antigen-binding site is selected.
• amino acids in the FR of antibody V region may be substituted so that the CDR of humanized antibody may form an appropriate antigen biding site (Sato, K. et al., Cancer Res. (1993) 53, 851-856).
• C region of human antibody there can be used, for example, C ⁇ 1, C ⁇ 2, C ⁇ 3, or C ⁇ 4.
• the C region of human antibody may also be modified in order to improve the stability of antibody and of the production thereof.
• Chimeric antibody consists of the V region of antibody of a human origin other than humans and the C region of human antibody
• humanized antibody consists of the complementarity determining region of antibody of a human origin other than humans and the framework region and the C region of human antibody, with their antigenicity in the human body being decreased, and thus are useful as antibody for use in the present invention.
• humanized antibody for use in the present invention, there can be mentioned humanized PM-1 antibody (see International Patent Application wO 92-19759).
• variable region of human antibody is expressed on the surface of a phage by the phage display method as a single chain antibody (scFv) to select a phage that binds to the antigen.
• scFv single chain antibody
• the DNA sequence encoding the variable region of the human antibody that binds to the antigen can be identified.
• said sequence can be used to prepare a suitable expression vector and human antibody can be obtained.
• Antibody genes constructed as mentioned above may be expressed and obtained in a known manner. In the case of mammalian cells, expression may be accomplished using a DNA in which a commonly used useful promoter, an antibody gene to be expressed, and the poly A signal have been operably linked at 3′ downstream thereof, or a vector containing it.
• a promoter/enhancer for example, there can be mentioned human cytomegalovirus immediate early promoter/enhancer.
• promoter/enhancer which can be used for expression of antibody for use in the present invention
• viral promoters/enhancers such as retrovirus, polyoma virus, adenovirus, and simian virus 40 (SV40), and promoters/enhancers derived from mammalian cells such as human elongation factor 1 ⁇ (HEF1 ⁇ ).
• expression may be readily accomplished by the method of Mulligan et al. (Mulligan, R. C. et al., Nature (1979) 277, 108-114) when Sv40 promoter/enhancer is used, and by the method of Mizushima, S. et al. (Mizushima, S. and Nagata, S., Nucleic Acids Res. (1990) 18, 5322) when HEF1 ⁇ promoter/enhancer is used.
• expression may be conducted by operably linking a commonly used promoter, a signal sequence for antibody secretion, and an antibody gene to be expressed, followed by expression thereof.
• a commonly used promoter for example, there can be mentioned lacz promoter and araB promoter.
• the method of Ward et al. Ward, E. S. et al., Nature (1989) 341, 544-546; Ward, E. S. et al., FASEB J. (1992) 6, 2422-2427
• the method of Better et al. (Better, M. et al., Science (1988) 240, 1041-1043) may be used when araB promoter is used.
• the pelB signal sequence As a signal sequence for antibody secretion, when produced in the periplasm of E. coli , the pelB signal sequence (Lei, S. P. et al., J. Bacteriol. (1987) 169, 4379-4383) can be used. After separating the antibody produced in the periplasm, the structure of the antibody is appropriately refolded before use (see, for example, WO 96-30394).
• expression vectors can include, as selectable markers the aminoglycoside transferase (APH) gene, the thymidine kinase (TK) gene, E. coli xanthine guaninephosphoribosyl transferase (Ecogpt) gene, the dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr) gene, and the like.
• APH aminoglycoside transferase
• TK thymidine kinase
• Ecogpt E. coli xanthine guaninephosphoribosyl transferase
• dhfr dihydrofolate reductase
• any production system can be used, and the production systems of antibody preparation comprise the in vitro or the in vivo production system.
• the in vitro production systems there can be mentioned a production system which employs eukaryotic cells and the production system which employs prokaryotic cells.
• animal cells include (1) mammalian cells such as CHO cells, COS cells, myeloma cells, baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells, HeLa cells, and Vero cells, (2) amphibian cells such as Xenopus oocytes, or (3) insect cells such as sf9, sf21, and Tn5.
• Known plant cells include, for example, those derived from the Nicotiana tabacum which is subjected to callus culture.
• Known fungal cells include yeasts such as genus Saccharomyces, more specifically Saccharomyces cereviceae , or filamentous fungi such as the Aspergillus family, more specifically Aspergillus niger.
• prokaryotic cells When prokaryotic cells are used, there are the production systems which employ bacterial cells.
• Known bacterial cells include Escherichia coli , and Bacillus subtilis.
• the antibody By introducing, via transformation, the gene of the desired antibody into these cells and culturing the transformed cells in vitro, the antibody can be obtained. Culturing is conducted in the known methods. For example, as the culture liquid for mammalian cells, DMEM, MEM, RPMI1640, IMDM and the like can be used, and serum supplements such as fetal calf serum (FCS) may be used in combination.
• FCS fetal calf serum
• antibodies may be produced in vivo by implanting cells into which the antibody gene has been introduced into the abdominal cavity of an animal, and the like.
• Antibody genes are introduced into these animals and plants, in which the genes are produced and then collected.
• antibody genes are inserted into the middle of the gene encoding protein which is inherently produced in the milk such as goat ⁇ casein to prepare fusion genes.
• DNA fragments containing the fusion gene into which the antibody gene has been inserted are injected to a goat embryo, and the embryo is introduced into a female goat.
• the desired antibody is obtained from the milk produced by a transgenic goat produced by the goat that received the embryo or the offspring thereof.
• hormones may be given to the transgenic goat as appropriate (Ebert, K. M. et al., Bio/Technology (1994) 12, 699-702).
• the silkworm When silkworms are used, the silkworm is infected with a baculovirus into which desired antibody gene has been inserted, and the desired antibody can be obtained from the body fluid of the silkworm (Maeda, S. et al., Nature (1985) 315, 592-594).
• the desired antibody gene is inserted into an expression vector for plants, for example PMON 530, and then the vector is introduced into a bacterium such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens . The bacterium is then used to infect tobacco such as Nicotiana tabacum to obtain the desired antibody from the leaves of the tobacco (Julian, K.-C. Ma et al., Eur. J. Immunol. (1994) 24, 131-138).
• DNA encoding the heavy chain (H chain) or light chain (L chain) of antibody is separately incorporated into an expression vector and the hosts are transformed simultaneously, or DNA encoding the H chain and the L chain of antibody is integrated into a single expression vector and the host is transformed therewith (see International Patent Application WO 94-11523).
• Antibodies for use in the present invention may be fragments of antibody or modified versions thereof as long as they are preferably used in the present invention.
• fragments of antibody there may be mentioned Fab, F(abl) 2 , Fv or single-chain Fv (scFv) in which Fv's of H chain and L chain were ligated via a suitable linker.
• antibodies are treated with an enzyme, for example, papain or pepsin, to produce antibody fragments, or genes encoding these antibody fragments are constructed, and then introduced into an expression vector, which is expressed in a suitable host cell (see, for example, Co, M. S. et al., J. Immunol. (1994) 152, 2968-2976; Better, M. and Horwitz, A. H., Methods Enzymol. (1989) 178, 476-496; Plucktrun, A. and Skerra, A., Methods Enzymol. (1989) 178, 497-515; Lamoyi, E., Methods Enzymol. (1986) 121, 652-663; Rousseaux, J. et al., Methods Enzymol. (1986) 121, 663-669; Bird, R. E. et al., TI BTECH (1991) 9, 132-137).
• an enzyme for example, papain or pepsin
• scFv can be obtained by ligating the V region of H chain and the V region of L chain of antibody.
• the V region of H chain and the V region of L chain are preferably ligated via a linker, preferably a peptide linker (Huston, J. S. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. (1988) 85, 5879-5883).
• the V region of H chain and the V region of L chain in the scFv may be derived from any of the above-mentioned antibodies.
• the peptide linker for ligating the V regions any single-chain peptide comprising, for example, 12-19 amino acid residues may be used.
• DNA encoding scFv can be obtained using DNA encoding the H chain or the H chain V region of the above antibody and DNA encoding the L chain or the L chain V region of the above antibody as the template by amplifying the portion of the DNA encoding the desired amino acid sequence among the above sequences by the PCR technique with the primer pair specifying the both ends thereof, and by further amplifying the combination of DNA encoding the peptide linker portion and the primer pair which defines that both ends of said DNA be ligated to the H chain and the L chain, respectively.
• DNAs encoding scFv are constructed, an expression vector containing them and a host transformed with said expression vector can be obtained by a conventional method, and scFv can be obtained using the resultant host by a conventional method.
• antibody fragments can be produced by obtaining the gene thereof in a similar manner to that mentioned above, and by allowing it to be expressed in a host.
• Antibody as used in the present invention encompasses these antibody fragments.
• modified antibodies antibodies associated with various molecules such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) can be used.
• “Antibody” as used in the present invention encompasses these modified antibodies. These modified antibodies can be obtained by chemically modifying the antibodies thus obtained. These methods have already been established in the art.
• Antibodies expressed and produced as described above can be separated from inside or outside of the cell or from the host and then may be purified to homogeneity. Separation and purification of antibody for use in the present invention may be accomplished by affinity chromatography.
• affinity chromatography As the column used for affinity chromatography, there can be mentioned Protein A column and Protein G column. Examples of carriers for use in Protein A column include, for example, Hyper D, POROS, Sepharose F.F. (Pharmacia) and the like.
• commonly used methods of separation and purification for proteins can be used, without any limitation.
• Chromatography other than the above affinity chromatography, filters, gel filtration, salting out, dialysis and the like may be selected and combined as appropriate, in order to separate and purify the antibodies for use in the present invention.
• Chromatography includes, for example, ion exchange chromatography, hydrophobic chromatography, gel-filtration and the like. These chromatographies can be applied to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Also, reverse phase HPLC (rpHPLC) may be used.
• the concentration of antibody obtained as above can be determined by measurement of absorbance or by ELISA and the like.
• the antibody obtained is appropriately diluted with PBS( ⁇ ) and then the absorbance is measured at 280 nm, followed by calculation using the absorption coefficient of 1.35 OD at 1 mg/ml.
• ELISA ELISA measurement is conducted as follows.
• 100 ⁇ l of goat anti-human IgG antibody manufactured by TAGO
• 0.1 M bicarbonate buffer, pH 9.6 is added to a 96-well plate (manufactured by Nunc), and is incubated overnight at 4° C. to immobilize the antibody.
• 100 ⁇ l each of appropriately diluted antibody for use in the present invention or samples containing the antibody, or human IgG (manufactured by CAPPEL) as the standard is added, and incubated at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Reshaped IL-6 for use in the present invention is a substance that has an activity of binding with IL-6 receptor and that does not propagate the biological activity of IL-6.
• reshaped IL-6 competes with IL-6 for binding to IL-6 receptor, it does not propagate the biological activity of IL-6, and therefore reshaped IL-6 blocks signal transduction by IL-6.
• Reshaped IL-6 may be prepared by introducing mutations by replacing amino acid residues of the amino acid sequence of IL-6.
• IL-6 from which reshaped IL-6 is derived may be of any origin, but it is preferably human IL-6 considering antigenicity etc.
• the secondary structure of the amino acid sequence of IL-6 may be estimated using a known molecular modeling program such as WHATIF (Vriend et al., J. Mol. Graphics (Il990) 8, 52-56), and its effect on the overall amino acid residues to be replaced is evaluated.
• mutation may be introduced using a vector containing a base sequence encoding human IL-6 gene as a template in a commonly used PCR method so as to replace amino acids, and thereby to obtain a gene encoding reshaped IL-6. This may be integrated, as appropriate, into a suitable expression vector to obtain reshaped IL-6 according to the above-mentioned methods for expression, production, and purification of recombinant antibody.
• Partial peptides of IL-6 or partial peptides of IL-6 receptor for use in the present invention are substances that have an activity of binding to IL-6 receptor or IL-6, respectively, and that do not propagate the biological activity of IL-6.
• partial peptides of IL-6 or partial peptides of IL-6 receptor bind to and capture IL-6 receptor or IL-6, respectively, so as to inhibit specifically the binding of IL-6 to IL-6 receptor. As a result, they do not allow propagating of the biological activity of IL-6, and thereby block signal transduction by IL-6.
• Partial peptides of IL-6 or partial peptides of IL-6 receptor are peptides are peptides comprising part or all of the amino acid sequence involved in the binding of IL-6 and IL-6 receptor in the amino acid sequences of IL-6 or IL-6 receptor.
• Such peptides comprise usually 10-80 amino acid residues, preferably 20-50 amino acid residues, and more preferably 20-40 amino acid residues.
• Partial peptides of IL-6 or partial peptides of IL-6 receptor specify the regions involved in the binding of IL-6 and IL-6 receptor in the amino acid sequence of IL-6 or IL-6 receptor, and part or all of the amino acid sequence can be prepared by a commonly known method such as gene engineering technology or peptide synthesis.
• a DNA sequence encoding the desired peptide can be integrated into an expression vector so that they may be obtained according to the above-mentioned methods for expression, production, and purification of recombinant antibody.
• a deprotecting reaction or a cleavage reaction of the peptide chain from the support may be performed.
• the Boc method employs hydrogen fluoride or trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, or the Fmoc method usually employs TFA.
• the above protected peptide resin is treated in the presence of anisole in hydrogen fluoride.
• the elimination of the protecting group and the cleavage from the support may be performed to collect the peptide. Lyophilization of this yields crude peptide.
• the deprotection reaction and the cleavage reaction of the peptide chain from the support may be performed in a manner similar to the one mentioned above.
• the crude peptide obtained may be subjected to HPLC to separate and purify it.
• a water-acetonitrile solvent commonly used in protein purification may be used under an optimal condition.
• Fractions corresponding to the peaks of the chromatographic profile are harvested and then lyophilized.
• molecular weight analysis by mass spectroscopy, analysis of amino acid composition, or analysis of amino acid sequence is performed for identification.
• IL-6 partial peptides and IL-6 receptor partial peptides have been disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2-188600, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 7-324097, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 8-311098, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,075.
• the inhibitory activity of IL-6 signal transduction by IL-6 antagonist of the present invention can be evaluated using a commonly known method. Specifically, IL-6-dependent human myeloma line (S6B45, KPMM2), human Lennert T lymphoma line KT3, or IL-6-dependent HN60.BSF2 cells are cultured, to which IL-6 is added, and at the same time, in the presence of IL-6 antagonist, the incorporation of 3 H labeled thymidine by the IL-6 dependent cells is determined.
• 125 I-labeled IL-6 and IL-6 antagonist are added, and then 125 I-labeled IL-6 that bound to the IL-6-ecpressing cells is determined for evaluation.
• a negative control group in which contains no IL-6 antagonist is set up, and the results obtained in both are compared to evaluate the IL-6-inhibiting activity by IL-6 antagonist.
• IL-6 antagonists such as anti-IL-6 receptor antibody were shown to have a therapeutic effect for chronic arthritides of childhood-related diseases.
• Subjects to be treated in the present invention are mammals.
• the subject mammals to be treated are preferably humans.
• Therapeutic agents for chronic arthritides of childhood-related diseases of the present invention may be administered orally or parenterally and systemically or locally.
• intravenous injection such as drip infusion, intramuscular injection, intraperitoneal injection, subcutaneous injection, suppositories, enema, oral enteric coated tablets, and the like may be selected, and the dosage regimen may be selected as appropriate depending on the age and conditions of the patient.
• the effective dose is chosen from the range of 0.01 mg to 100 mg per kg of body weight per administration. Alternatively, the dosage of 1 to 1000 mg, preferably 5 to 50 mg per patient may be selected.
• Preferable dose and method for administering is, for example in the case of anti-IL6 receptor antibody, an effective dose that provides free antibody in the blood, and specifically, 0.5 mg to 40 mg, and preferably 1 mg to 20 mg per 1 kg body weight per month (four weeks), which is administered at once, or divided to several parts and administered, for example, twice/week, once/week, once/two weeks, once/four weeks, etc, for example intravenously for example by dripping, or subcutaneously.
• Administering schedule may be adjusted by elongating intervals from twice/week or once/week to once/two weeks, once/three weeks, once/four weeks, etc, dependent on observation of symptoms, and blood test profile.
• Therapeutic agents for chronic arthritides of childhood-related diseases of the present invention may contain pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and additives depending on the route of administration.
• carriers or additives include water, a pharmaceutically acceptable organic solvent, collagen, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinylpyrrolidone, a carboxyvinyl polymer, carboxymethylcellulose sodium, polyacrylic sodium, sodium alginate, water-soluble dextran, carboxymethyl starch sodium, pectin, methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, xanthan gum, gum Arabic, casein, gelatin, agar, diglycerin, propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, Vaseline, paraffin, stearyl alcohol, stearic acid, human serum albumin (HSA), mannitol, sorbitol, lactose, pharmaceutically acceptable surfactants and the like.
• Actual additives used are chosen from, but not limited to, the above or combinations thereof depending on the dosage form.
• MRA humanized anti-IL-6 receptor antibody
• mPSL methylprednisolone
• Cs A cyclosporin A
• prednisolone+froben was given to control relaxation heat, and a decline in fever was clinically noted, but inflammation-related hematology tests remained at high values (CRP>5 mg/dL), and after discharge from hospital, relaxation heat was periodically observed, but treatment and observation were continued mainly on an ambulatory basis.
• CRP>5 mg/dL Crohn's disease
• IL-6 antagonist in particular anti-IL-6 receptor antibody, is effective as a therapeutic agent for chronic arthritides diseases of childhood, specifically the systemic onset type of the ARA classification, the systemic onset type of the EULAR classification, the systemic onset type of the ILAR classification, and the SPRASH syndrome of the present inventors' classification.
• MRA humanized anti-IL-6 receptor antibody
• IL-6 antagonist in particular anti-IL-6 receptor antibody, is effective as a therapeutic agent for Still's disease, specifically adult Still's disease.
• soluble IL-6 receptor was prepared by the PCR method.
• the plasmid pBSF2R.236 was digested with a restriction enzyme Sph I to obtain IL-6 receptor cDNA, which was inserted into mp18 (manufactured by Amersham).
• a synthetic primer designed to introduce a stop codon into IL-6 receptor cDNA mutation was introduced into IL-6 receptor cDNA by the PCR method in an in vitro mutagenesis system (manufactured by Amersham). By this procedure, the stop codon was introduced at the position of amino acid 345, and cDNA encoding soluble IL-6 receptor was obtained.
• soluble IL-6 receptor in CHO cells, it was ligated to a plasmid pSV (manufactured by Pharmacia) to obtain a plasmid pSVL344. Soluble IL-6 receptor cDNA digested with HindIII-SalI was inserted into a plasmid pECEdhfr containing the cDNA of dhfr to obtain a CHO cell-expressing plasmid pECEdhfr344.
• plasmid pECEdhfr344 was transfected to a dhfr-CHO cell line DXB-11 (Urlaub, G. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1980) 77, 4216-4220) by the calcium phosphate precipitation method (Chen, C. et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. (1987) 7, 2745-2751).
• the transfected CHO cells were cultured for three weeks in a nucleoside-free AMEM selection medium containing 1 mM glutamine, 10% dialyzed FCS, 100 U/ml penicillin and 100 ⁇ /ml streptomycin.
• the selected CHO cells were screened by the limiting dilution method to obtain a single CHO cells clone.
• the CHO cell clone was amplified with 20 nM-200 nM of methotrexate to investigate a human soluble IL-6 receptor-producing CHO cell line 5E27.
• the CHO cell line 5E27 was cultured in a Iscov modified Dulbecco medium (IMDM, manufactured by Gibco) supplemented with 5% FBS.
• IMDM Iscov modified Dulbecco medium
• the culture supernatant was collected and the concentration of soluble IL-6 receptor in the culture supernatant was determined by ELISA. The result confirmed the presence of soluble IL-6 receptor in the culture supernatant.
• tissue-type IL-6 (Hirano et al., Immunol. Lett. (1988) 17, 41) was used with Freund's complete adjuvant to immunize BALB/c mice, and this was repeated every week until anti-IL-6 antibody can be detected in the serum.
• Immune cells were removed from the local lymph nodes, and were fused with a myeloma cell line P3U1 using polyethylene glycol 1500.
• Hybridomas were selected by the method of Oi et al. (Selective Methods in Cellular Immunology, W.H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, 351, 19080) using the HAT culture medium to establish a hybridoma producing anti-human IL-6 antibody.
• the hybridoma producing anti-human IL-6 antibody was subjected to an IL-6 binding assay in the following manner.
• a 96-well microtiter plate manufactured by Dynatech Laboratories, Inc., Alexandria, Va.
• a 96-well microtiter plate made of flexible polyvinyl was coated overnight with 100 ⁇ l of goat anti-mouse Ig (10 ⁇ l/ml, manufactured by Cooper Biomedical, Inc., Malvern, Pa.) in 0.1 M carbonate hydrogen carbonate buffer (pH 9.6) at 4° C.
• the plate was treated in 100 ⁇ l of PBS containing 1% bovine serum albumin (BSA) at room temperature for 2 hours.
• BSA bovine serum albumin
• MH60.BSF2 IL-6-dependent mouse hybridoma clone MH60.BSF2
• MH60.BSF2 cells were aliquoted to 1 ⁇ 10 4 /200 ⁇ l/well, to which a sample containing MH166 antibody was added, and cultured for 48 hours. After adding 0.5 ⁇ Ci/well of 3 H-thymidine (New England Nuclear, Boston, Mass.), culturing was continued for further six hours. The cells were placed on a glass filter paper, and were treated by an automated harvester (Labo Mash Science Co., Tokyo, Japan). As the control, rabbit anti-IL-6 antibody was used.
• MH166 antibody inhibited 3 H-thymidine incorporation by MH60.BSF2 cells induced by IL-6 in a dose dependent manner. This revealed that MH166 antibody neutralizes the activity of IL-6.
• Anti-IL-6 receptor antibody MT18 prepared by the method of Hirata et al. (Hirata, Y. et al., J. Immunol. (1989) 143, 2900-2906) was conjugated to a CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B (manufactured by Pharmacia Fine Chemicals, Piscataway, N.J.) to purify IL-6 receptor (Yamasaki et al., Science (1988) 241, 825-828).
• a human myeloma cell line U266 was solubilized with 1 mM p-paraminophenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride hydrochloride (manufactured by Wako Pure Chemicals) (digitonin buffer) containing 1% digitonin (manufactured by Wako Pure Chemicals), 10 mM triethanolamine (pH 7.8), and 0.15 M NaCl, and was mixed with MT18 antibody conjugated to Sepharose 4B beads. Subsequently, the beads were washed six times in the digitonin buffer to prepare a partially purified IL-6 receptor.
• BALB/c mice were immunized with the above partially purified IL-6 receptor obtained from 3 ⁇ 10 9 U266 cells four times every ten days, and then a hybridoma was prepared according to a standard method.
• the culture supernatant of the hybridoma from growth-positive wells were examined for the biding activity to IL-6 receptor in the following manner.
• 5 ⁇ 10 7 U266 cells were labelled with 35 S-methionine (2.5 mCi), and were solubilized with the above digitonin buffer.
• the solubilized U266 cells were mixed with 0.04 ml of MT18 antibody conjugated to Sepharose 4B beads, and then washed for six times in the digitonin buffer.
• Using 0.25 ml of the digitonin buffer (pH 3.4) 35 S-methionine-labeled IL-6 receptor was eluted, which was neutralized with 0.025 ml of 1M Tris, pH 7.4.
• 0.05 ml of the hybridoma culture supernatant was mixed with 0.01 ml Protein G Sepharose (manufactured by Pharmacia). After washing, the Sepharose was incubated with 0.005 ml solution of 35 S-labeled IL-6 receptor solution. The immunoprecipitated substances were analyzed by SDS-PAGE to study the culture supernatant of hybridoma that reacts with IL-6 receptor. As a result, a reaction-positive hybridoma clone PM-1 was established. Antibody produced from the hybridoma PM-1 had the IgG1 ⁇ subtype.
• the activity of the antibody produced by the hybridoma PM-1 to inhibit the binding of IL-6 to IL-6 receptor was evaluated using a human myeloma cell line U266.
• Human recombinant IL-6 was prepared from E. coli (Hirano et al., Immunol. Lett. (1988) 17, 41-45), and was labeled with 125 I using the Bolton-Hunter reagent (New England Nclear, Boston, Mass.) (Taga et al., J. Exp. Med. (1987) 166, 967-981).
• a monoclonal antibody against mouse IL-6 receptor was prepared by the method of Saito, T. et al., J. Immunol. (1991) 147, 168-173.
• CHO cells that produce soluble mouse IL-6 receptor were cultured in an IMDM culture medium supplemented with 10% FCS. From the culture supernatant, soluble mouse IL-6 receptor was purified using an affinity column in which anti-mouse IL-6 receptor antibody RS12 (see the above Saito, T. et al.) was immobilized to the Affigel 10 gel (manufactured by Biorad).
• soluble mouse IL-6 receptor thus obtained was mixed with Freund's complete adjuvant, which was intraperitoneally injected to the abdomen of Wistar rats. Two weeks later, the rats received booster immunization with Freund's incomplete adjuvant. On day 45, spleen cells were removed from the rats, and 2 ⁇ 10 8 of the cells were subjected to cell fusion with 1 ⁇ 10 7 mouse myeloma cells P3U1 with 50% PEG1500 (manufactured by Boehringer Mannheim) using a standard method, and the hybridoma were then screened with the HAT medium.
• MH60.BSF2 cells A neutralizing activity in signal transduction of mouse IL-6 by the antibody produced by this hybridoma was examined using 3 H-thymidine incorporation that employs MH60.BSF2 cells (Matsuda, T. et al., J. Immunol. (1988) 18, 951-956).
• MH60.BSF2 cells were prepared to 1 ⁇ 10 4 cells/200 ⁇ l/well.
• To this plate were added 10 pg/ml of mouse IL-6 and MR16-1 antibody or RS12 antibody at 12.3-1000 ng/ml, and cultured at 37° C. in 5% CO 2 for 44 hours, followed by the addition of 1 ⁇ Ci/well of 3 H-thymidine. Four hours later, the incorporation of 3 H-thymidine was measured.
• MR16-1 antibody inhibited the 3 H-thymidine incorporation by MH60.BSF2 cells.

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