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  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07K—PEPTIDES
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  • C07K16/10—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from viruses from RNA viruses
  • C07K16/1081—Togaviridae, e.g. flavivirus, rubella virus, hog cholera virus
  • C07K16/109—Hepatitis C virus; Hepatitis G virus
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  • G01N33/53—Immunoassay; Biospecific binding assay; Materials therefor
  • G01N33/576—Immunoassay; Biospecific binding assay; Materials therefor for hepatitis
  • G01N33/5767—Immunoassay; Biospecific binding assay; Materials therefor for hepatitis non-A, non-B hepatitis
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
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  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K39/00—Medicinal preparations containing antigens or antibodies
  • A61K2039/505—Medicinal preparations containing antigens or antibodies comprising antibodies
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
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• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
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  • C12N2770/00—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA ssRNA viruses positive-sense
  • C12N2770/00011—Details
  • C12N2770/24011—Flaviviridae
  • C12N2770/24211—Hepacivirus, e.g. hepatitis C virus, hepatitis G virus
  • C12N2770/24222—New viral proteins or individual genes, new structural or functional aspects of known viral proteins or genes

Definitions

• the present invention is in the field of hepatitis virology.
• the invention relates to the amino acid sequence of rationally designed synthetic E2 proteins comprising a consensus sequence of the most conserved amino acids found in E2 of 77 different HCV lb isolates from around the world. More specifically, this invention relates to a vaccine comprising the synthetic E2 proteins.
• Hepatitis C virus is a single stranded positive RNA virus that has been classified as a member of the Flaviviridae genus (Bartenschlager and Lohniann, 2000 J Gen. Virology; 81 Pt 7:1631-48). Its genome consists of a highly conserved 5' non-coding region followed by a single open reading frame of approximately 10,000 nucleotides that is translated as a polyprotein precursor of 3010-3033 amino acids. Subsequent enzymatic cleavage via host and HCN-encoded proteases (Hijikata et al, 1991 PNAS USA 88, 5547- 51; Lin et al, 1994 J.
• HCV is a major public health concern due to its ability to generate a relentless infection that results in chronic liver disease and in some cases, hepatocellular carcinoma (Hoofnagel, 1997 Hepatology 26 (3 Suppl 1):15S-20S). At present, anti-viral therapy is insufficient and the development of improved therapeutics and an effective HCV vaccine is therefore of high priority (for review see Rosen and Gretch, 1999 Mol Med Today 5(9): 393-9).
• HCV bacterium styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene-styrene RNA Polymerase (NS5B; Bartenschlager and Lohmann, 2000 J. Gen. Virology; 81 Pt 7:1631-48).
• HCV peptide motifs that are presumably hydrophilic in nature and surface-expressed, are immunogenic but highly mutable, and can escape from immune surveillance.
• One motif which conforms to these properties has been coined the hyper-variable region I (HVRl) and constitutes a 27 amino acid stretch at the N'-terminus of the envelope protein E2.
• the HVRl contains a number of T and B cell epitopes (Weiner et al, 1992 PNAS U S A 89(8): 3468-72; Scarselli et al, 1995 J Virology 69(7): 4407-12; Zibert et al, 1995 Virology 208, 653-61) and antibodies against this domain have been shown to inhibit binding and infection of HCV to human fibroblast cells (Zibert et al, 1995 Virology 208, 653-61; Shimizu et al, 1996 Virology 223(2): 409-12), to partially abrogate E2 CHO binding to MOLT-4 cells in a neutralization of binding (NOB) assay (Rosa et al, 1996 PNAS USA 93, 1759-63), to capture HCV in immuno-precipitation assays (Esumi et al, 1996 J Virol Methods 59 (1- 2): 91-8) and to ameliorate at least in part, HCV infectivity in chimpanzees (Farc
• HCV neutralization is thought to reside outside the HVRl since a protective vaccine comprising E1/E2 generated a hyperimmune serum with extremely low binding titers to HVRl (Choo et al., 1994 PNAS USA 90: 1294-1298). Choo's vaccine however was protective only against a homologous strain of HCV.
• the present invention relates to the amino acid and deduced nucleic acid sequences of a synthetic E2 protein comprising a consensus sequence of the most conserved amino acids found in E2 of 77 different HCV lb isolates ("E2 majority”).
• the invention also relates to the amino and deduced nucleotide sequences of a truncated E2 protein lacking HVRl ("E2 majority w/o") and to the amino and deduced nucleotide sequences of an E2 majority protein wherein the HVRl was replaced with the R9 mimotope (Puntoriero et al., The EMBO Journal Vol. 17, No. 13 pp3521-3533, 1998) ("E2 majority R9").
• the invention also relates to variants of the E2 majority proteins of the invention having at least 98% homology to the disclosed sequences.
• the invention further relates to proteins derived from the sequences disclosed herein.
• proteins may be produced by recombinant methods by inserting the nucleic acid sequences encoding the E2 proteins of the invention into an expression vector and expressing the recombinant proteins in a host cell.
• One aspect of the invention relates to the use of these proteins as vaccines.
• Another aspect of the invention relates to the use of expression vectors containing the nucleic acid sequences encoding the E2 proteins of the present invention as nucleic acid based vaccines.
• This invention further relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising the proteins of the invention for use in prevention or treatment of hepatitis C in an individual.
• the proteins of the present invention can also be used for detecting antibodies specific for
• HCV in biological samples can serve as diagnostic tools to identify and monitor HCV infection, disease progression and efficacy of therapeutic agents during the course of treatment of HCV infection.
• Another aspect of the present invention is a kit for the detection of antibodies specific for
• kits comprises essentially a purified and isolated protein of the invention.
• Another aspect of the invention relates to antibodies to the E2 proteins of the present invention and to the use of such antibodies in passive immunotherapy or prophylaxis.
• FIG. 2 A photograph of a Western blot showing reactivity of different HCV sera genotypes to various E2 proteins.
• Purified baculovirus-produced, HCV E2 proteins (lane nos. 1-4), a mammalian Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell produced E2 (lane no. 5), and a non relevant negative control protein thioredoxin (lane no. 6) were run on SDS-PAGE gels under non-reducing conditions and probed with different human sera representing HCV genotypes la, lb, 2a/2c, 3a, 4, 5 and 6.
• Controls included the following: an anti-histidine monoclonal antibody ( ⁇ -His mAb), AB XTL 68 a human anti-E2 mAb, served as a positive control, anti- HCV negative ( ⁇ HCV-ve) and anti-Hepatitis B Core positive ( ⁇ HBC +ve) sera were included as negative controls.
• ⁇ -His mAb an anti-histidine monoclonal antibody
• AB XTL 68 a human anti-E2 mAb
• FIG. 3 A photograph of a Western blot showing reactivity of different HCV sera genotypes to various E2 proteins. Purified baculovirus -produced, natural E2 and E2 majority proteins (lane nos. 1 and 2), and a non relevant negative control protein thioredoxin (lane no. 3) were run on SDS-PAGE gels under non-reducing conditions and probed with different human sera representing HCV genotypes lb,
• AB XT 68 a human anti-E2 mAb, served as a positive control.
• Figure 4. is a graphic representation of the binding properties of hyperimmune sera generated by immunization of na ⁇ ve mice with various E2 proteins.
• A the binding was examined using ELISA plates coated with a variety of antigens. Each box represents a different antigen used for coating. Data are presented as O.D. measurements as a function of serum dilution.
• B binding was examined using a Western blot wherein various E2 preparations were run on the gel and reacted with different hyperimmune sera.
• Figure 5 is a graphic representation of the binding properties of mouse monoclonal antibodies to various E2 preparations and to thioredoxin, which serves as a negative control. mAb 18 was raised against natural E2 and mAb 21 was raised against E2 majority R9. Binding was examined using a Western blot wherein various E2 preparations were run on the gel and reacted with the different monoclonal antibodies. Numbers on the left side of the blot represent the estimated molecular weight in kD .
• Figure 6. is a graphic representation of the mean viral load and percentage of HCV- Trimera mice with positive HCV RT-PCR signal in their serum (numbers in parentheses) at day 19 after transplantation. The bars represent different experimental groups: a group wherein the transplanted liver was pre-incubated with HCV infectious serum and a pre-immune serum (control); and groups wherein the transplanted liver was pre-incubated with HCV infectious serum and various anti E2 IgG preparations.
• the invention relates to the surprising finding that synthetic, non-natural modified E2 proteins ("E2 majority”, “E2 majority R9” and “E2 majority w/o") are recognized by sera obtained from patients infected with various HCV genotypes and by hyperimmune sera from mice immunized with various forms of E2. Moreover, these synthetic proteins can elicit a robust immune response that is capable of neutralizing HCV infection in an animal model. These results suggest that the unique structure of the synthetic E2 proteins can elicit an immune response towards various forms of E2 and therefore make it an ideal candidate for a vaccine.
• E2 majority synthetic, non-natural modified E2 proteins
• E2 majority, E2 majority R9 and E2 majority w/o All general materials were purchased from Sigma (Israel). Mammalian E2 CHO was purchased from Austral Biologicals (CA). All methods of expression and purification described below refer to all types of E2 disclosed in the invention (E2 majority, E2 majority R9 and E2 majority w/o) as well as to natural E2.
• This construct was synthesized by recursive PCR by using 2 separate PCR reactions, #'s 1 and 2. Jn PCR reaction # 1, the following 5 sense and 5 anti-sense primers were mixed together in a single tube:
• PCR # 1 a 1 ⁇ l aliquot was withdrawn and taken for PCR # 2 using external flanking, small oligonucleotides.
• the sense primer was 5' cgc-gga-tcc- cag-acc-acc-gtg-gtt-g 3'
• the anti-sense primer was 5'ccg-gaa-ttc-tta-tca-gtg-gtg-gtg-g 3'.
• the PCR conditions used were the same as for PCR # 1 with the exception that the program consisted of 20 cycles.
• PCR fragments were electrophoresed on 1% agarose gels, visualized with ethidium bromide under UV and purified prior to subsequent cloning with QIAquick gel extraction kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). Purified fragments were enzymatically cleaved with BamHl and EcoRI restriction enzymes and ligated into the Baculovirus expression plasmid pAcGP67B (Pharmingen, USA) previously digested with BamHl and EcoRI. 2. E2-Majority w/o
• the PCR conditions were the same as reaction #1 above.
• the resultant PCR fragment was gel purified, digested with BamHl and EcoRI and ligated into the identically digested pAcGP67B plasmid
• E2 majority was constructed using a combination of restriction enzyme digestion and recursive PCR.
• E2 majority R9 was digested to completion with BamHl and Ascl restriction enzymes. The digest was electrophoresed on a 1% agarose gel and the larger ⁇ 10 kb fragment was excised and purified.
• the resultant ⁇ 400 bp fragment was electrophoresed on a 1% agarose gel, purified, digested with BamHl/AscI and re-purified. This fragment was thereafter ligated into the digested E2 majority R9 plasmid generated previously (section (a) above). Following transformation into E.coli competent cells, bacterial colonies were grown, plasmid DNA isolated and submitted for DNA sequencing. Clones that matched the predicted DNA sequence were further grown and plasmid DNA extracted to generate the recombinant plasmid pAcGP67B E2 majority.
• Adherent SF9 (Spodoptera frugiperda) cells were maintained in Grace's Insect Media (Biological Industries, Beit Haemek, Israel) supplemented with yeastolate, lactalbumin hydrolysate, 10% fetal calf serum, and 50 ⁇ g/ml gentamycin (TNM-FH media). These cells were used only for protocols involving transfection, end point dilution analysis (EPDA) and generation of high titer recombinant viruses.
• High-Five cells (Trichoplusia ni) were maintained as adherent or shaker cultures and grown in serum-free media (Insect Xpress, BioWhittaker, MD; Ex-Cell 405 media, JRH Biosciences, Andover UK). These cells were used for protein expression studies. All cells were maintained at 27°C in a refrigerated incubator (VELP Scientific).
• High-Five cells Prior to protein expression studies, High-Five cells were adapted to shaker flasks.
• adherent cells (10 6 cells per ml) from flasks (Corning Costar, MA) were transferred to 1 1 Erlenmeyer Polycarbonate Flasks (Corning, MA) and shaken at 150 rpm for 24 hr in 500 ml serum-free media. Flasks were thereafter removed, placed in a tissue culture hood and tilted for 5 min to separate cell aggregates from non-aggregated cells.
• RNA isolation was taken for reverse transcription (RT)-primed using oligo-dT (Promega, WI) and catalyzed with AMV and MLV reverse transcriptases (Promega, WI).
• cDNA was taken for PCR using pAcGP67B sense and anti-sense primers (see above).
• PCR program was 3 min at 94°C (once), 1 min at 94°C, 1 min at 58°C, 1.5 min at 72°C (33 cycles) followed by a final elongation step of 5 min at 72°C.
• PCR fragments were gel purified and submitted for direct DNA sequencing using pAcGP67B sense and anti-sense primers (see above).
• Nickel-NTA Agarose (Qiagen, Hilden) were prepared in Pharmacia C columns. Columns were connected to an AKTA Explorer (Pharmacia, NJ) and washed with three column volumes of NLB at a flow rate of 3 ml per min. E2 majority supernatants were loaded at a rate of 1-2 ml per min and columns washed with 5 column volumes of NLB containing 20 mM Imidazole at 3 ml per min. E2 majority was eluted with 5 column volumes of NLB containing 300 mM Imidazole at a flow rate of 3 ml per min. Optical density of eluted fractions was measured at 280 nm, pooled and dialyzed extensively against PBS at 4°C.
• Streptavidin-Sepharose conjugated anti-E2 mAb 18 columns Twenty-five mg, purified mAb 18 (see below) was conjugated to 1.25 mg biotin (Pierce, Rockville, EL) and extensively dialyzed against PBS. Biotmylated mAb 18 (22 mg) was conjugated to 10 ml Streptavidin Sepharose High Performance (Pharmacia, NJ) for 30 min at room temperature by gentle agitation followed by loading onto an HR 10/10- column (Pharmacia, NJ). Bound biotinylated mAb 18 was verified by spectrophotometric determination (A 280 nm) of flow through material and columns were washed with PBS.
• Immunoblot analysis Crude or purified protein samples (100-200 ng) under reducing (5 min heating at 95°C in the presence of 360 mM ⁇ -mercaptoethanol) or non-reducing conditions (10 min at 37°C without ⁇ -mercaptoethanol) supplemented with LDS-loading buffer were loaded onto 4- 12% NuPAGE gels and electrophoresed in MES running buffer (Novex, San Diego). Proteins were electroblotted to nitrocellulose membranes by wet transfer using an XCell II Blot module (Novex, San Diego) and blocked overnight at 4°C in blocking buffer (PBS-0.04%Tween-0.3% milk protein).
• Blots were incubated in fresh blocking buffer following the addition of penta-His (Qiagen, Hilden), mouse or human anti-E2 mAbs at 0.02-2 ⁇ g/ l for 3 hrs at room temperature. An identical protocol was performed using HCV patients' sera at various dilutions. Following three separate 5 min washes in block buffer, blots were incubated with either peroxidase conjugated goat anti-mouse (1:10,000) or goat anti-human IgG (1:20,000; Zymed Incorporation, South San Francisco) and taken for enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL).
• penta-His Qiagen, Hilden
• BALB/C (5 weeks old) were immunized with 10 ⁇ g E2 in Complete Freund's Adjuvant (Difco Laboratories, Detroit, MI) 1:1 volume via footpad. Mice were boosted twice every 2 weeks with 5 ⁇ g E2 in Incomplete Freund's adjuvant (Difco Labroatories, Detroit, MI) 1:1 volume via footpad. Mice were boosted with 1 ⁇ g E2 (i.v.) 3 days prior to harvesting of spleen for subsequent fusion.
• Complete Freund's Adjuvant Difco Laboratories, Detroit, MI
• Mice were boosted twice every 2 weeks with 5 ⁇ g E2 in Incomplete Freund's adjuvant (Difco Labroatories, Detroit, MI) 1:1 volume via footpad. Mice were boosted with 1 ⁇ g E2 (i.v.) 3 days prior to harvesting of spleen for subsequent fusion.
• mice (5 weeks old) were immunized with 10 ⁇ g E2 or E2 majority R9 with 100 ⁇ g phosphorothioate containing CpG (5' tcc-atg-acg-ttc-ctg-acg-tt 3'; Genset, France) and 25 ⁇ l of 2% Alum (Sigma, MO). This antigen mixture was vortexed and placed on ice for 30 min prior to i.p. immunization. Three days before spleens were harvested for fusion, mice were further immunized with 2 ⁇ g antigen i.v.
• Spleen cells were mixed with human-mouse heteromyeloma HMMA2.11TG/0 at a 3:1 ratio. Fusion was performed with 50% (w/v) PEG 1500 (Boehringer Mannheim GmbH, Mannheim, Germany) and fused cells were seeded at a concentration of 30,000 cells per well in 96-well U-bottom microtiter plates (Nunc. Inc) in complete RPMI medium containing hypoxanthine, aminopterin and thymidine (HAT) supplement (IX) (Biological Industries, Beit Haemek, Israel). Cells were fed with fresh HAT medium 1 week later. Two weeks following fusion, supernatants were harvested for ELISA against the respective immunogens for the presence of specific antibodies.
• PEG 1500 Boehringer Mannheim GmbH, Mannheim, Germany
• HAT hypoxanthine, aminopterin and thymidine
• IX Biological Industries, Beit Haemek, Israel
• Hybridoma cultures secreting specific anti-E2 or anti-E2 majority R9 mAbs were cloned by limiting dilution at 0.5 cell/well in 96 U-bottom microtiter plates.
• E2 majority was constructed by comparing the amino acid sequences of 77 different E2 proteins (from Genebank deposited sequences). The most frequently occurring amino acid in each position was selected and the construct was synthesized accordingly.
• E2 majority w/o is a truncated version of E2 majority lacking the first 27 amino acids comprising HVRl.
• E2 majority R9 contains in the HVRl region a previously identified HVRl mimotope termed R9 (27 amino acids long).
• E2 majority, E2 majority w/o and E2 majority R9 are otherwise identical ( Figure 1; Sequence listing: SEQ ID NO. 1 describes E2 majority, SEQ ID NO. 2 describes E2 majority w/o and SEQ ID NO. 3 describes E2 majority R9).
• the amino acid in position 31 (designated X) can be either phenylalanine (F) or isoleucine (I).
• the synthetic constructs were generated by a recursive PCR methodology. Using a shotgun approach, respective primers ( ⁇ 100 mer) with 20 mer 5' and 3' overhangs that encompassed the entire coding majority sequences were mixed and subjected to PCR (see methodology). To generate the final PCR product for cloning into pAcGP67B, smaller 5' and 3' primers were designed that contained 5' BamHl and 3' EcoRI coding sites. The 3' primer harbored a histidine tag allowing purification.
• High-Five cells were grown as shaking cultures and infected with a recombinant E2 (majority, majority R9 or majority w/o) baculovirus at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 3.
• E2 major, majority R9 or majority w/o
• MMI multiplicity of infection
• Supernatant samples were withdrawn over a subsequent 72 hr time period and probed on protein gels with either anti-His or anti-E2 mAbs.
• the supernatants containing the proteins can be concentrated, dialyzed and loaded onto either Nickel-NTA agarose columns or anti-E2 mAb affinity columns as described (see methodology).
• Identical flow-through (FT), wash and elution (Eln) fractions can be loaded onto separate SDS-PAGE and processed for anti-His mAb reactivity and Coomassie Blue stain respectively to test for the efficiency of purification.
• Example 2 To investigate the functionality of the synthetic majority proteins, non-reducing immunoblots were performed and probed with sera from various HCV genotypes (Figs. 2 and 3). In the Western blot shown in Fig 2 various baculovirus expressed E2 preparations, equivalent amounts (100 ng) of E2 CHO and thioredoxin were run on the gel. Using an appropriate sera dilution range (1:2,500-1:10,000), robust signals were observed for E2 majority R9 and E2 majority w/o (lanes 3 and 4) with most sera types tested. Other E2 proteins also showed reactivity with the different sera. The E2 w/o HVRl preparation in lane 2 lacks 31 amino acids at the N-terminus of E2 i.e. HVRl + additional 4 amino acids and is the only E2 preparation with which none of the sera reacted. This implies indirectly that these 4 amino acids are very important for conserving
• AB 68 0.5 ⁇ g/ml
• -HCV negative and ⁇ - HBC positive sera both at 1:2,500 dilution
• non-reducing immunoblots were performed and probed with sera from HCV genotypes 1-4 (Fig. 3). E2 majority was recognized by all sera types and byAB XTL 68.
• mice were immunized with natural E2, E2 majority R9, and E2 majority w/o.
• Hyperimmune sera was obtained from the mice and was assessed for reactivity against immobilized antigens by ELISA.
• Hyperimmune sera from mice immunized with E2 majority R9, and E2 majority w/o showed highest reactivity towards all 4 baculovirus produced E2 proteins (Fig. 4A).
• E2 CHO mammalian E2
• No reactivity of hyperimmune sera was observed towards thioredoxin (Fig. 4A).
• mAbs monoclonal antibodies generated against the E2 majority R9 react with several types of E2, while mAbs raised against the natural E2 are more restricted in their spectrum of recognition.
• E2 or E2 majority R9 and subsequent fusion of spleens two different mAbs were generated. The binding characteristics of these mAbs was tested on reducing SDS-PAGE, ⁇ -E2 mAb 18 recognized only the natural E2s (with or w/o HVRl) while the anti-E2 majority R9 mAb 21 recognized all baculovirus-expressed E2 antigens as well as E2 CHO (Fig. 5).
• HCN-Trimera animal model a mouse was treated so as to allow the stable engraftment of human liver fragments.
• the treatment included intensive irradiation followed by transplantation of scid (severe combined immuno deficient) mice bone ma ⁇ ow.
• Viral infection of human liver fragments was performed ex vivo using HCV positive human serum (US 5,849,987).
• IgG fraction from mice immunized with natural E2 300 ⁇ g
• IgG fraction from mice immunized with E2 majority R9 300 ⁇ g
• IgG fraction from mice immunized with E2 majority w/o 300 ⁇ g
• Pre-immune sera served as a negative control.
• the pre-incubated sera were subsequently used to infect normal human liver fragments ex vivo. Following infection, the liver fragments were transplanted in mice and HCV-RNA was determined in sera 19 days later.
• Figure 6 shows the effect of the various anti E2 antibody preparations in inhibiting liver infection by HCV, as demonstrated by both the mean viral load and the percentage of HCV-RNA positive mice. Sera generated against natural E2, E2-majority R9 and E2-majority w/o reduced significantly the mean viral load and the percentage of infected animals.

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