FACTOR IX FUSION PROTEINS AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING SAME
The present invention provides Factor IX (FIX) fusion proteins comprising at least one heterologous moiety, such as an XTEN. The present invention further discloses methods of making and using the FIX fusion proteins.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/750,119, filed Feb. 2, 2018, which is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 filing of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2016/045401, filed Aug. 3, 2016, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. Nos. 62/281,993, filed Jan. 22, 2016, and 62/200,590, filed Aug. 3, 2015, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLYThe instant application contains a Sequence Listing which has been submitted in ASCII format via EFS-Web, and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Said ASCII copy, created on Jul. 6, 2020, is named 707766 SA9-451USCON_ST25.txt, and is 693,552 bytes in size.
BACKGROUNDHemophilia B (also known as Christmas disease) is one of the most common inherited bleeding disorders in the world. It results in decreased in vivo and in vitro blood clotting activity and requires extensive medical monitoring throughout the life of the affected individual. In the absence of intervention, the afflicted individual will suffer from spontaneous bleeding in the joints, which produces severe pain and debilitating immobility; bleeding into muscles results in the accumulation of blood in those tissues; spontaneous bleeding in the throat and neck can cause asphyxiation if not immediately treated; renal bleeding; and severe bleeding following surgery, minor accidental injuries, or dental extractions also are prevalent.
Normal in vivo blood coagulation at minimum requires the serine proteases Factors II (prothrombin), VII, IX, X and XI (soluble plasma proteins); cofactors including the transmembrane protein tissue factor and the plasma proteins Factors V and VIII; fibrinogen, the transglutaminase Factor XIII, phospholipid (including activated platelets), and calcium. Additional proteins including kallikrein, high molecular weight kininogen, and Factor XII are required for some in vitro clotting tests, and can play a role in vivo under pathologic conditions.
In hemophilia, blood clotting is disturbed by a lack of certain plasma blood clotting factors. Hemophilia B is caused by a deficiency in Factor IX (FIX) that can result from either the decreased synthesis or absence of the FIX protein or a defective molecule with reduced activity. The treatment of hemophilia occurs by replacement of the missing clotting factor by exogenous factor concentrates highly enriched in FIX. However, generating such a concentrate from blood is fraught with technical difficulties, as is described below.
Purification of FIX from plasma (plasma derived FIX; pdFIX) almost exclusively yields fully-γ-carboxylated FIX. However, such purification of FIX from plasma is very difficult because FIX is only present in low concentration in plasma (5 μg/mL). Andersson, Thrombosis Research 7: 451 459 (1975). Further, purification from blood requires the removal or inactivation of infectious agents such as HIV and HCV. In addition, pdFIX has a short half-life and therefore requires frequent dosing. Recombinant Factor IX (rFIX) is also available, but suffers from the same short half-life and need for frequent dosing (e.g., 2-3 times per week for prophylaxis) as pdFIX.
Reduced mortality, prevention of joint damage and improved quality of life have been important achievements due to the development of plasma-derived and recombinant FIX. Prolonged protection from bleeding would represent another key advancement in the treatment of hemophilia B subjects. Therefore, there remains a need for improved recombinant FIX, which has a longer half-life, while maintaining an effective activity.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONDisclosed are specific Factor IX fusion proteins that include at least one XTEN. In one aspect, the invention provides a Factor IX (FIX) fusion protein comprising a FIX polypeptide and at least one XTEN which is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and any combination thereof, and wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
The invention also provides for an FIX fusion protein comprising a FIX polypeptide and a heterologous moiety comprising an XTEN, wherein the XTEN is fused to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide and comprises an amino acid sequence of longer than 42 amino acids and shorter than 144 amino acids in length.
The FIX fusion proteins of the invention have several uses including providing a method of preventing, treating, ameliorating, or managing a clotting disease or condition in a patient in need thereof. In one embodiment, the method includes the step of administering an effective amount of the FIX fusion protein described herein (e.g., by subcutaneous administration).
The invention also provides for a method of extending a half-life of a FIX polypeptide comprising inserting an XTEN within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and any combination thereof, thereby constructing a FIX fusion protein, wherein the FIX protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
Additional invention embodiments will be apparent from the description and figures that follow.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCEAll publications, patents, and patent applications disclosed herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
This disclosure provides a FIX fusion protein comprising a FIX polypeptide and at least one heterologous moiety and methods of making and using the same. In certain aspects, the FIX fusion protein comprises at least one heterologous moiety inserted within the FIX polypeptide, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide, or both, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity. In a particular aspect, the heterologous moiety is XTEN.
I. DefinitionsThroughout this disclosure, the term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity; for example, “a polynucleotide,” is understood to represent one or more polynucleotides. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more,” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein.
Furthermore, “and/or” where used herein is to be taken as specific disclosure of each of the two specified features or components with or without the other. Thus, the term “and/or” as used in a phrase such as “A and/or B” herein is intended to include “A and B,” “A or B,” “A” (alone), and “B” (alone). Likewise, the term “and/or” as used in a phrase such as “A, B, and/or C” is intended to encompass each of the following aspects: A, B, and C; A, B, or C; A or C; A or B; B or C; A and C; A and B; B and C; A (alone); B (alone); and C (alone).
It is understood that wherever aspects are described herein with the language “comprising,” otherwise analogous aspects described in terms of “consisting of” and/or “consisting essentially of” are also provided.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure is related. For example, the Concise Dictionary of Biomedicine and Molecular Biology, Juo, Pei-Show, 2nd ed., 2002, CRC Press; The Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology, 3rd ed., 1999, Academic Press; and the Oxford Dictionary Of Biochemistry And Molecular Biology, Revised, 2000, Oxford University Press, provide one of skill with a general dictionary of many of the terms used in this disclosure.
Units, prefixes, and symbols are denoted in their Systéme International de Unites (SI) accepted form. Numeric ranges are inclusive of the numbers defining the range. Unless otherwise indicated, amino acid sequences are written left to right in amino to carboxy orientation. The headings provided herein are not limitations of the various aspects of the disclosure, which can be had by reference to the specification as a whole. Accordingly, the terms defined immediately below are more fully defined by reference to the specification in its entirety.
The term “about” is used herein to mean approximately, roughly, around, or in the regions of. When the term “about” is used in conjunction with a numerical range, it modifies that range by extending the boundaries above and below the numerical values set forth. In general, the term “about” can modify a numerical value above and below the stated value by a variance of, e.g., 10 percent, up or down (higher or lower).
The term “polynucleotide” or “nucleotide” is intended to encompass a singular nucleic acid as well as plural nucleic acids, and refers to an isolated nucleic acid molecule or construct, e.g., messenger RNA (mRNA) or plasmid DNA (pDNA). In certain embodiments, a polynucleotide comprises a conventional phosphodiester bond or a non-conventional bond (e.g., an amide bond, such as found in peptide nucleic acids (PNA)). The term “nucleic acid” refers to any one or more nucleic acid segments, e.g., DNA or RNA fragments, present in a polynucleotide. By “isolated” nucleic acid or polynucleotide is intended a nucleic acid molecule, DNA or RNA, which has been removed from its native environment. For example, a recombinant polynucleotide encoding a FIX polypeptide contained in a vector is considered isolated for the purposes of the present invention. Further examples of an isolated polynucleotide include recombinant polynucleotides maintained in heterologous host cells or purified (partially or substantially) from other polynucleotides in a solution. Isolated RNA molecules include in vivo or in vitro RNA transcripts of polynucleotides of the present invention. Isolated polynucleotides or nucleic acids according to the present invention further include such molecules produced synthetically. In addition, a polynucleotide or a nucleic acid can include regulatory elements such as promoters, enhancers, ribosome binding sites, or transcription termination signals.
As used herein, a “coding region” or “coding sequence” is a portion of polynucleotide, which consists of codons translatable into amino acids. Although a “stop codon” (TAG, TGA, or TAA) is typically not translated into an amino acid, it may be considered to be part of a coding region, but any flanking sequences, for example promoters, ribosome binding sites, transcriptional terminators, introns, and the like, are not part of a coding region. The boundaries of a coding region are typically determined by a start codon at the 5′ terminus, encoding the amino terminus of the resultant polypeptide, and a translation stop codon at the 3′ terminus, encoding the carboxyl terminus of the resulting polypeptide. Two or more coding regions of the present invention can be present in a single polynucleotide construct, e.g., on a single vector, or in separate polynucleotide constructs, e.g., on separate (different) vectors. It follows, then, that a single vector can contain just a single coding region, or comprise two or more coding regions, e.g., a single vector can separately encode a binding domain-A and a binding domain-B as described below. In addition, a vector, polynucleotide, or nucleic acid of the invention can encode heterologous coding regions, either fused or unfused to a nucleic acid encoding a binding domain of the invention. Heterologous coding regions include without limitation specialized elements or motifs, such as a secretory signal peptide or a heterologous functional domain.
Certain proteins secreted by mammalian cells are associated with a secretory signal peptide, which is cleaved from the mature protein once export of the growing protein chain across the rough endoplasmic reticulum has been initiated. Those of ordinary skill in the art are aware that signal peptides are generally fused to the N-terminus of the polypeptide, and are cleaved from the complete or “full-length” polypeptide to produce a secreted or “mature” form of the polypeptide. In certain embodiments, a native signal peptide or a functional derivative of that sequence that retains the ability to direct the secretion of the polypeptide that is operably associated with it. Alternatively, a heterologous mammalian signal peptide, e.g., a human tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) or mouse ß-glucuronidase signal peptide, or a functional derivative thereof, can be used.
The term “downstream” refers to a nucleotide sequence that is located 3′ to a reference nucleotide sequence. In certain embodiments, downstream nucleotide sequences relate to sequences that follow the starting point of transcription. For example, the translation initiation codon of a gene is located downstream of the start site of transcription. “Downstream” can also refer to a peptide sequence that is located C-terminal to a reference peptide sequence.
The term “upstream” refers to a nucleotide sequence that is located 5′ to a reference nucleotide sequence. In certain embodiments, upstream nucleotide sequences relate to sequences that are located on the 5′ side of a coding region or starting point of transcription. For example, most promoters are located upstream of the start site of transcription. “Upstream” can also refer to a peptide sequence that is located N-terminal to a reference peptide sequence.
As used herein, the term “regulatory region” refers to nucleotide sequences located upstream (5′ non-coding sequences), within, or downstream (3′ non-coding sequences) of a coding region, and which influence the transcription, RNA processing, stability, or translation of the associated coding region. Regulatory regions may include promoters, translation leader sequences, introns, polyadenylation recognition sequences, RNA processing sites, effector binding sites and stem-loop structures. If a coding region is intended for expression in a eukaryotic cell, a polyadenylation signal and transcription termination sequence will usually be located 3′ to the coding sequence.
A polynucleotide, which encodes a gene product, e.g., a polypeptide, can include a promoter and/or other transcription or translation control elements operably associated with one or more coding regions. In an operable association a coding region for a gene product, e.g., a polypeptide, is associated with one or more regulatory regions in such a way as to place expression of the gene product under the influence or control of the regulatory region(s). For example, a coding region and a promoter are “operably associated” if induction of promoter function results in the transcription of mRNA encoding the gene product encoded by the coding region, and if the nature of the linkage between the promoter and the coding region does not interfere with the ability of the promoter to direct the expression of the gene product or interfere with the ability of the DNA template to be transcribed. Other transcription control elements, besides a promoter, for example enhancers, operators, repressors, and transcription termination signals, can also be operably associated with a coding region to direct gene product expression.
A variety of transcription control regions are known to those skilled in the art. These include, without limitation, transcription control regions, which function in vertebrate cells, such as, but not limited to, promoter and enhancer segments from cytomegaloviruses (the immediate early promoter, in conjunction with intron-A), simian virus 40 (the early promoter), and retroviruses (such as Rous sarcoma virus). Other transcription control regions include those derived from vertebrate genes such as actin, heat shock protein, bovine growth hormone and rabbit ß-globin, as well as other sequences capable of controlling gene expression in eukaryotic cells. Additional suitable transcription control regions include tissue-specific promoters and enhancers as well as lymphokine-inducible promoters (e.g., promoters inducible by interferons or interleukins).
Similarly, a variety of translation control elements are known to those of ordinary skill in the art. These include, but are not limited to ribosome binding sites, translation initiation and termination codons, and elements derived from picornaviruses (particularly an internal ribosome entry site, or IRES, also referred to as a CITE sequence).
The term “expression” as used herein refers to a process by which a polynucleotide produces a gene product, for example, an RNA or a polypeptide. It includes without limitation transcription of the polynucleotide into messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), small hairpin RNA (shRNA), small interfering RNA (siRNA) or any other RNA product, and the translation of an mRNA into a polypeptide. Expression produces a “gene product.” As used herein, a gene product can be either a nucleic acid, e.g., a messenger RNA produced by transcription of a gene, or a polypeptide which is translated from a transcript. Gene products described herein further include nucleic acids with post transcriptional modifications, e.g., polyadenylation or splicing, or polypeptides with post translational modifications, e.g., methylation, glycosylation, the addition of lipids, association with other protein subunits, or proteolytic cleavage.
A “vector” refers to any vehicle for the cloning of and/or transfer of a nucleic acid into a host cell. A vector may be a replicon to which another nucleic acid segment may be attached so as to bring about the replication of the attached segment. A “replicon” refers to any genetic element (e.g., plasmid, phage, cosmid, chromosome, virus) that functions as an autonomous unit of replication in vivo, i.e., capable of replication under its own control. The term “vector” includes both viral and nonviral vehicles for introducing the nucleic acid into a cell in vitro, ex vivo or in vivo. A large number of vectors are known and used in the art including, for example, plasmids, modified eukaryotic viruses, or modified bacterial viruses. Insertion of a polynucleotide into a suitable vector can be accomplished by ligating the appropriate polynucleotide fragments into a chosen vector that has complementary cohesive termini.
Vectors may be engineered to encode selectable markers or reporters that provide for the selection or identification of cells that have incorporated the vector. Expression of selectable markers or reporters allows identification and/or selection of host cells that incorporate and express other coding regions contained on the vector. Examples of selectable marker genes known and used in the art include: genes providing resistance to ampicillin, streptomycin, gentamycin, kanamycin, hygromycin, neomycin, puromycin, bialaphos herbicide, sulfonamide, and the like; and genes that are used as phenotypic markers, i.e., anthocyanin regulatory genes, isopentanyl transferase gene, and the like. Examples of reporters known and used in the art include: luciferase (Luc), green fluorescent protein (GFP), chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), -galactosidase (LacZ), -glucuronidase (Gus), and the like. Selectable markers may also be considered to be reporters.
The term “plasmid” refers to an extra-chromosomal element often carrying a gene that is not part of the central metabolism of the cell, and usually in the form of circular double-stranded DNA molecules. Such elements may be autonomously replicating sequences, genome integrating sequences, phage or nucleotide sequences, linear, circular, or supercoiled, of a single- or double-stranded DNA or RNA, derived from any source, in which a number of nucleotide sequences have been joined or recombined into a unique construction which is capable of introducing a promoter fragment and DNA sequence for a selected gene product along with appropriate 3′ untranslated sequence into a cell.
Eukaryotic viral vectors that can be used include, but are not limited to, adenovirus vectors, retrovirus vectors, adeno-associated virus vectors, and poxvirus, e.g., vaccinia virus vectors, baculovirus vectors, or herpesvirus vectors. Non-viral vectors include plasmids, liposomes, electrically charged lipids (cytofectins), DNA-protein complexes, and biopolymers.
A “cloning vector” refers to a “replicon,” which is a unit length of a nucleic acid that replicates sequentially and which comprises an origin of replication, such as a plasmid, phage or cosmid, to which another nucleic acid segment may be attached so as to bring about the replication of the attached segment. Certain cloning vectors are capable of replication in one cell type, e.g., bacteria and expression in another, e.g., eukaryotic cells. Cloning vectors typically comprise one or more sequences that can be used for selection of cells comprising the vector and/or one or more multiple cloning sites for insertion of nucleic acid sequences of interest.
The term “expression vector” refers to a vehicle designed to enable the expression of an inserted nucleic acid sequence following insertion into a host cell. The inserted nucleic acid sequence is placed in operable association with regulatory regions as described above.
Vectors are introduced into host cells by methods well known in the art, e.g., transfection, electroporation, microinjection, transduction, cell fusion, DEAE dextran, calcium phosphate precipitation, lipofection (lysosome fusion), use of a gene gun, or a DNA vector transporter.
“Culture,” “to culture” and “culturing,” as used herein, means to incubate cells under in vitro conditions that allow for cell growth or division or to maintain cells in a living state. “Cultured cells,” as used herein, means cells that are propagated in vitro.
As used herein, the term “polypeptide” is intended to encompass a singular “polypeptide” as well as plural “polypeptides,” and refers to a molecule composed of monomers (amino acids) linearly linked by amide bonds (also known as peptide bonds). The term “polypeptide” refers to any chain or chains of two or more amino acids, and does not refer to a specific length of the product. Thus, peptides, dipeptides, tripeptides, oligopeptides, “protein,” “amino acid chain,” or any other term used to refer to a chain or chains of two or more amino acids, are included within the definition of “polypeptide,” and the term “polypeptide” can be used instead of, or interchangeably with any of these terms. The term “polypeptide” is also intended to refer to the products of post-expression modifications of the polypeptide, including without limitation glycosylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, amidation, derivatization by known protecting/blocking groups, proteolytic cleavage, or modification by non-naturally occurring amino acids. A polypeptide can be derived from a natural biological source or produced recombinant technology, but is not necessarily translated from a designated nucleic acid sequence. It can be generated in any manner, including by chemical synthesis.
An “isolated” polypeptide or a fragment, variant, or derivative thereof refers to a polypeptide that is not in its natural milieu. No particular level of purification is required. For example, an isolated polypeptide can simply be removed from its native or natural environment. Recombinantly produced polypeptides and proteins expressed in host cells are considered isolated for the purpose of the invention, as are native or recombinant polypeptides which have been separated, fractionated, or partially or substantially purified by any suitable technique.
As used herein, the term “host cell” refers to a cell or a population of cells harboring or capable of harboring a recombinant nucleic acid. Host cells can be a prokaryotic cells (e.g., E. coli), or alternatively, the host cells can be eukaryotic, for example, fungal cells (e.g., yeast cells such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris, or Schizosaccharomyces pombe), and various animal cells, such as insect cells (e.g., Sf-9) or mammalian cells (e.g., HEK293F, CHO, COS-7, NIH-3T3).
Also included in the present invention are fragments or variants of polypeptides, and any combination thereof. The term “fragment” or “variant” when referring to polypeptide binding domains or binding molecules of the present invention include any polypeptides which retain at least some of the properties (e.g., FcRn binding affinity for an FcRn binding domain or Fc variant, or coagulation activity for a FIX variant) of the reference polypeptide. Fragments of polypeptides include proteolytic fragments, as well as deletion fragments, in addition to specific antibody fragments discussed elsewhere herein, but do not include the naturally occurring full-length polypeptide (or mature polypeptide). Variants of polypeptide binding domains or binding molecules of the present invention include fragments as described above, and also polypeptides with altered amino acid sequences due to amino acid substitutions, deletions, or insertions. Variants can be naturally or non-naturally occurring. Non-naturally occurring variants can be produced using art-known mutagenesis techniques. Variant polypeptides can comprise conservative or non-conservative amino acid substitutions, deletions or additions. One particular FIX variant disclosed herein is the R338L FIX (Padua) variant (SEQ ID NO: 2). See, e.g., Simioni, P., et al., “X-Linked Thrombophilia with a Mutant Factor IX (Factor IX Padua),” NEJM 361:1671-75 (October 2009), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
A “conservative amino acid substitution” is one in which the amino acid residue is replaced with an amino acid residue having a similar side chain. Families of amino acid residues having similar side chains have been defined in the art, including basic side chains (e.g., lysine, arginine, histidine), acidic side chains (e.g., aspartic acid, glutamic acid), uncharged polar side chains (e.g., glycine, asparagine, glutamine, serine, threonine, tyrosine, cysteine), nonpolar side chains (e.g., alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, proline, phenylalanine, methionine, tryptophan), beta-branched side chains (e.g., threonine, valine, isoleucine) and aromatic side chains (e.g., tyrosine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, histidine). Thus, if an amino acid in a polypeptide is replaced with another amino acid from the same side chain family, the substitution is considered to be conservative. In another embodiment, a string of amino acids can be conservatively replaced with a structurally similar string that differs in order and/or composition of side chain family members.
The term “percent sequence identity” between two polynucleotide or polypeptide sequences refers to the number of identical matched positions shared by the sequences over a comparison window, taking into account additions or deletions (i.e., gaps) that must be introduced for optimal alignment of the two sequences. A matched position is any position where an identical nucleotide or amino acid is presented in both the target and reference sequence. Gaps presented in the target sequence are not counted since gaps are not nucleotides or amino acids. Likewise, gaps presented in the reference sequence are not counted since target sequence nucleotides or amino acids are counted, not nucleotides or amino acids from the reference sequence.
The percentage of sequence identity is calculated by determining the number of positions at which the identical amino-acid residue or nucleic acid base occurs in both sequences to yield the number of matched positions, dividing the number of matched positions by the total number of positions in the window of comparison and multiplying the result by 100 to yield the percentage of sequence identity. The comparison of sequences and determination of percent sequence identity between two sequences may be accomplished using readily available software both for online use and for download. Suitable software programs are available from various sources, and for alignment of both protein and nucleotide sequences. One suitable program to determine percent sequence identity is bl2seq, part of the BLAST suite of programs available from the U.S. government's National Center for Biotechnology Information BLAST web site (blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Bl2seq performs a comparison between two sequences using either the BLASTN or BLASTP algorithm. BLASTN is used to compare nucleic acid sequences, while BLASTP is used to compare amino acid sequences. Other suitable programs are, e.g., Needle, Stretcher, Water, or Matcher, part of the EMBOSS suite of bioinformatics programs and also available from the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) at www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/psa.
Different regions within a single polynucleotide or polypeptide target sequence that aligns with a polynucleotide or polypeptide reference sequence can each have their own percent sequence identity. It is noted that the percent sequence identity value is rounded to the nearest tenth. For example, 80.11, 80.12, 80.13, and 80.14 are rounded down to 80.1, while 80.15, 80.16, 80.17, 80.18, and 80.19 are rounded up to 80.2. It also is noted that the length value will always be an integer.
One skilled in the art will appreciate that the generation of a sequence alignment for the calculation of a percent sequence identity is not limited to binary sequence-sequence comparisons exclusively driven by primary sequence data. Sequence alignments can be derived from multiple sequence alignments. One suitable program to generate multiple sequence alignments is ClustalW2, available from www.clustal.org. Another suitable program is MUSCLE, available from www.drive5.com/muscle/. ClustalW2 and MUSCLE are alternatively available, e.g., from the EBI.
It will also be appreciated that sequence alignments can be generated by integrating sequence data with data from heterogeneous sources such as structural data (e.g., crystallographic protein structures), functional data (e.g., location of mutations), or phylogenetic data. A suitable program that integrates heterogeneous data to generate a multiple sequence alignment is T-Coffee, available at www.tcoffee.org, and alternatively available, e.g., from the EBI. It will also be appreciated that the final alignment used to calculate percent sequence identity may be curated either automatically or manually.
As used herein, an “amino acid corresponding to,” “site corresponding to,” or “equivalent amino acid” in a Factor IX protein sequence is identified by alignment to maximize the identity or similarity between a first FIX sequence and a second FIX sequence. The number used to identify an equivalent amino acid in a second FIX sequence is based on the number used to identify the corresponding amino acid in the first FIX sequence.
As used herein, the term “insertion site” refers to an amino acid residue number in aFIX polypeptide (typically a mature FIX polypeptide), or fragment, variant, or derivative thereof, which is immediately upstream of the position at which a heterologous moiety can be inserted. An “insertion site” is specified as a number, the number being the number of the amino acid in the R338L FIX (Padua) variant (SEQ ID NO: 2) to which the insertion site corresponds, which is immediately N-terminal to the position of the insertion. For example, the phrase “the EGF2 domain comprises an XTEN at an insertion site which corresponds to amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2” indicates that the heterologous moiety is located between two amino acids corresponding to amino acid 105 and amino acid 106 of SEQ ID NO: 2. However, one of skill in the art would readily be able to identify a corresponding position in any FIX variant, and the present disclosure is not limited to insertions made solely in the R338L FIX (Padua) variant. Rather, the insertions disclosed herein can be made in any FIX variant or fragment thereof having procoagulant activity at a position corresponding to a position of the R338L FIX variant.
The phrase “immediately downstream of an amino acid” as used herein refers to position right next to the terminal carboxyl group of the amino acid. Similarly, the phrase “immediately upstream of an amino acid” refers to the position right next to the terminal amine group of the amino acid. Therefore, the phrase “between two amino acids of an insertion site” as used herein refers to a position in which an XTEN or any other polypeptide is inserted between two adjacent amino acids.
The terms “inserted,” “is inserted,” “inserted into” or grammatically related terms, as used herein refers to the position of an XTEN in a fusion polypeptide relative to the analogous position in the R338L FIX (Padua) variant (SEQ ID NO: 2). Those of skill in the field will understand how to identify corresponding insertion positions with respect to other FIX polypeptide sequences such as that shown as SEQ ID NO:1. As used herein the terms refer to the characteristics of the recombinant FIX polypeptide relative to the R338L FIX (Padua) variant, and do not indicate, imply or infer any methods or process by which the fusion polypeptide was made. For example, in reference to a fusion polypeptide provided herein, the phrase “an XTEN is inserted into the EGF2 domain immediately downstream of residue 105 of the FIX polypeptide” means that the fusion polypeptide comprises an XTEN immediately downstream of an amino acid which corresponds to amino acid 105 in the R338L FIX variant (SEQ ID NO: 2), e.g., bounded by amino acids corresponding to amino acids 105 and 106 of the R338L FIX variant.
A “fusion” or “chimeric” protein comprises a first amino acid sequence linked to a second amino acid sequence with which it is not naturally linked in nature. The amino acid sequences which normally exist in separate proteins can be brought together in the fusion polypeptide, or the amino acid sequences which normally exist in the same protein can be placed in a new arrangement in the fusion polypeptide, e.g., fusion of a FIX domain of the invention with an Ig Fc domain. A fusion protein is created, for example, by chemical synthesis, or by creating and translating a polynucleotide in which the peptide regions are encoded in the desired relationship. A fusion protein can further comprise a second amino acid sequence associated with the first amino acid sequence by a covalent, non-peptide bond or a non-covalent bond.
The terms “heterologous” and “heterologous moiety” mean that a polynucleotide, polypeptide, or other moiety is derived from a distinct entity from that of the entity to which it is being compared. For instance, a heterologous polypeptide can be synthetic, or derived from a different species, different cell type of an individual, or the same or different type of cell of distinct individuals. In one aspect, a heterologous moiety is a polypeptide fused to another polypeptide to produce a fusion polypeptide or protein. In another aspect, a heterologous moiety is a non-polypeptide such as PEG conjugated to a polypeptide or protein.
As used herein, the term “half-life” refers to a biological half-life of a particular polypeptide in vivo. Half-life may be represented by the time required for half the quantity administered to a subject to be cleared from the circulation and/or other tissues in the animal. When a clearance curve of a given polypeptide is constructed as a function of time, the curve is usually biphasic with a rapid α-phase and longer β-phase. The α-phase typically represents an equilibration of the administered polypeptide between the intra- and extra-vascular space and is, in part, determined by the size of the polypeptide. The β-phase typically represents the catabolism of the polypeptide in the intravascular space. In some embodiments, FIX and fusion proteins comprising FIX are monophasic, and thus do not have an alpha phase, but just the single beta phase. Therefore, in certain embodiments, the term half-life as used herein refers to the half-life of the polypeptide in the β-phase. The typical β-phase half-life of a human antibody in humans is 21 days.
The terms “linked” and “fused” as used herein refers to a first amino acid sequence or nucleotide sequence covalently or non-covalently joined to a second amino acid sequence or nucleotide sequence, respectively. The first amino acid or nucleotide sequence can be directly joined or juxtaposed to the second amino acid or nucleotide sequence or alternatively an intervening sequence can covalently join the first sequence to the second sequence. The term “linked” means not only a fusion of a first amino acid sequence to a second amino acid sequence at the C-terminus or the N-terminus, but also includes insertion of the whole first amino acid sequence (or the second amino acid sequence) into any two amino acids in the second amino acid sequence (or the first amino acid sequence, respectively). In one embodiment, the first amino acid sequence is linked to a second amino acid sequence by a peptide bond or a linker. The first nucleotide sequence can be linked to a second nucleotide sequence by a phosphodiester bond or a linker. The linker can be a peptide or a polypeptide (for polypeptide chains) or a nucleotide or a nucleotide chain (for nucleotide chains) or any chemical moiety (for both polypeptide and polynucleotide chains). The term “linked” is also indicated by a hyphen (-).
As used herein the term “associated with” refers to a covalent or non-covalent bond formed between a first amino acid chain and a second amino acid chain. In one embodiment, the term “associated with” means a covalent, non-peptide bond or a non-covalent bond. This association can be indicated by a colon, i.e., (:). In another embodiment, it means a covalent bond except a peptide bond. For example, the amino acid cysteine comprises a thiol group that can form a disulfide bond or bridge with a thiol group on a second cysteine residue. In most naturally occurring IgG molecules, the CH1 and CL regions are associated by a disulfide bond and the two heavy chains are associated by two disulfide bonds at positions corresponding to 239 and 242 using the Kabat numbering system (position 226 or 229, EU numbering system). Examples of covalent bonds include, but are not limited to, a peptide bond, a metal bond, a hydrogen bond, a disulfide bond, a sigma bond, a pi bond, a delta bond, a glycosidic bond, an agnostic bond, a bent bond, a dipolar bond, a Pi backbond, a double bond, a triple bond, a quadruple bond, a quintuple bond, a sextuple bond, conjugation, hyperconjugation, aromaticity, hapticity, or antibonding. Non-limiting examples of non-covalent bond include an ionic bond (e.g., cation-pi bond or salt bond), a metal bond, an hydrogen bond (e.g., dihydrogen bond, dihydrogen complex, low-barrier hydrogen bond, or symmetric hydrogen bond), van der Walls force, London dispersion force, a mechanical bond, a halogen bond, aurophilicity, intercalation, stacking, entropic force, or chemical polarity.
As used herein, the term “cleavage site” or “enzymatic cleavage site” refers to a site recognized by an enzyme. Certain enzymatic cleavage sites comprise an intracellular processing site. In one embodiment, a polypeptide has an enzymatic cleavage site cleaved by an enzyme that is activated during the clotting cascade, such that cleavage of such sites occurs at the site of clot formation. Exemplary such sites include, e.g., those recognized by thrombin, Factor XIa or Factor Xa. Exemplary FXIa cleavage sites include, e.g., TQSFNDFTR (SEQ ID NO: 166) and SVSQTSKLTR (SEQ ID NO: 167). Exemplary thrombin cleavage sites include, e.g., DFLAEGGGVR (SEQ ID NO: 168), TTKIKPR (SEQ ID NO: 169), LVPRG (SEQ ID NO: 170) and ALRPR (SEQ ID NO: 171). Other enzymatic cleavage sites are known in the art.
As used herein, the term “processing site” or “intracellular processing site” refers to a type of enzymatic cleavage site in a polypeptide which is a target for enzymes that function after translation of the polypeptide. In one embodiment, such enzymes function during transport from the Golgi lumen to the trans-Golgi compartment. Intracellular processing enzymes cleave polypeptides prior to secretion of the protein from the cell. Examples of such processing sites include, e.g., those targeted by the PACE/furin (where PACE is an acronym for Paired basic Amino acid Cleaving Enzyme) family of endopeptidases. These enzymes are localized to the Golgi membrane and cleave proteins on the carboxyterminal side of the sequence motif Arg-[any residue]-(Lys or Arg)-Arg. As used herein the “furin” family of enzymes includes, e.g., PCSK1 (also known as PC1/Pc3), PCSK2 (also known as PC2), PCSK3 (also known as furin or PACE), PCSK4 (also known as PC4), PCSK5 (also known as PC5 or PC6), PCSK6 (also known as PACE4), or PCSK7 (also known as PC7/LPC, PC8, or SPC7). Other processing sites are known in the art. The term “processable linker” referred to herein means a linker comprising an intracellular processing site.
In constructs that include more than one processing or cleavage site, it will be understood that such sites may be the same or different.
A “processable linker” as used herein refers to a linker comprising at least one intracellular processing site, which is described elsewhere herein.
“Baseline,” as used herein, is the lowest measured plasma FIX level in a subject prior to administering a dose. The FIX plasma levels can be measured at two time points prior to dosing: at a screening visit and immediately prior to dosing. Alternatively, (a) the baseline in subjects whose pretreatment FIX activity is <1%, who have no detectable FIX antigen, and have nonsense genotypes can be defined as 0%, (b) the baseline for subjects with pretreatment FIX activity <1% and who have detectable FIX antigen can be set at 0.5%, (c) the baseline for subjects whose pretreatment FIX activity is between 1-2% is Cmin (the lowest activity throughout the PK study), and (d) the baseline for subjects whose pretreatment FIX activity is ≥2% can be set at 2%.
“Subject,” as used herein means a human. Subject as used herein includes an individual who is known to have at least one incidence of uncontrolled bleeding episodes, who has been diagnosed with a disease or disorder associated with uncontrolled bleeding episodes, e.g., a bleeding disease or disorder, e.g., hemophilia B, who are susceptible to uncontrolled bleeding episodes, e.g., hemophilia, or any combinations thereof. Subjects can also include an individual who is in danger of one or more uncontrollable bleeding episodes prior to a certain activity, e.g., a surgery, a sport activity, or any strenuous activities. The subject can have a baseline FIX activity less than 1%, less than 0.5%, less than 2%, less than 2.5%, less than 3%, or less than 4%. Subjects also include pediatric humans. Pediatric human subjects are birth to 20 years, preferably birth to 18 years, birth to 16 years, birth to 15 years, birth to 12 years, birth to 11 years, birth to 6 years, birth to 5 years, birth to 2 years, and 2 to 11 years of age.
Treat, treatment, treating, as used herein refers to, e.g., the reduction in severity of a disease or condition; the reduction in the duration of a disease course; the amelioration of one or more symptoms associated with a disease or condition; the provision of beneficial effects to a subject with a disease or condition, without necessarily curing the disease or condition, or the prophylaxis of one or more symptoms associated with a disease or condition. In one embodiment, the term “treating” or “treatment” means maintaining a FIX trough level at least about 1 IU/dL, 2 IU/dL, 3 IU/dL, 4 IU/dL, 5 IU/dL, 6 IU/dL, 7 IU/dL, 8 IU/dL, 9 IU/dL, 10 IU/dL, 11 IU/dL, 12 IU/dL, 13 IU/dL, 14 IU/dL, 15 IU/dL, 16 IU/dL, 17 IU/dL, 18 IU/dL, 19 IU/dL, or 20 IU/dL in a subject by administering a fusion protein of the invention. In another embodiment, treating or treatment means maintaining a FIX trough level between about 1 and about 20 IU/dL, about 2 and about 20 IU/dL, about 3 and about 20 IU/dL, about 4 and about 20 IU/dL, about 5 and about 20 IU/dL, about 6 and about 20 IU/dL, about 7 and about 20 IU/dL, about 8 and about 20 IU/dL, about 9 and about 20 IU/dL, or about 10 and about 20 IU/dL. Treatment or treating of a disease or condition can also include maintaining FIX activity in a subject at a level comparable to at least about 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, or 20% of the FIX activity in a non-hemophiliac subject. The minimum trough level required for treatment can be measured by one or more known methods and can be adjusted (increased or decreased) for each person.
Hemostatic disorder, as used herein, means a genetically inherited or acquired condition characterized by a tendency to hemorrhage, either spontaneously or as a result of trauma, due to an impaired ability or inability to form a fibrin clot. Examples of such disorders include the hemophilias. The three main forms are hemophilia A (Factor VIII deficiency), hemophilia B (Factor IX deficiency or “Christmas disease”) and hemophilia C (Factor XI deficiency, mild bleeding tendency). Other hemostatic disorders include, e.g., Von Willebrand disease, Factor XI deficiency (PTA deficiency), Factor XII deficiency, deficiencies or structural abnormalities in fibrinogen, prothrombin, Factor V, Factor VII, Factor X or Factor XIII, Bernard-Soulier syndrome, which is a defect or deficiency in GPIb. GPIb, the receptor for VWF, can be defective and lead to lack of primary clot formation (primary hemostasis) and increased bleeding tendency), and thrombasthenia of Glanzman and Naegeli (Glanzmann thrombasthenia). In liver failure (acute and chronic forms), there is insufficient production of coagulation factors by the liver; this may increase bleeding risk.
As used herein the term “acute bleeding” refers to a bleeding episode regardless of the underlying cause. For example, a subject may have trauma, uremia, a hereditary bleeding disorder (e.g., Factor VII deficiency) a platelet disorder, or resistance owing to the development of antibodies to clotting factors.
II. Fix Fusion ProteinsThe present invention is directed to a FIX fusion protein comprising a FIX polypeptide and at least one heterologous moiety inserted within the FIX polypeptide, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide, or both. The FIX fusion protein, after the insertion of or the fusion to the heterologous moiety, can retain one or more FIX activities. In one embodiment, the FIX activity is a procoagulant activity. The term “procoagulant activity” is meant the ability of the FIX protein of the invention to participate in the clotting cascade in blood, substituting for native FIX. For example, a recombinant FIX protein of the invention has procoagulant activity when it can convert Factor X (FX) to activated Factor X (FXa) in the presence of Factor VIII (FVIII), as tested, e.g., in a chromogenic assay. In another embodiment, the FIX activity is an ability to generate a tenase complex. In other embodiments, the FIX activity is an ability to generate thrombin (or a clot).
A recombinant FIX protein of the invention need not exhibit 100% of the procoagulant activity of native mature human FIX. In fact, in certain aspects a heterologous moiety inserted into a FIX polypeptide of the invention can increase the half-life or stability of the protein significantly, such that lower activity is perfectly acceptable. Thus, in certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein of the invention has at least about 10%, about 20%, about 30%, about 40%, about 50%, about 60%, about 70%, about 80%, about 90% or about 100% of the procoagulant activity of native FIX. However in some invention embodiments, the, recombinant FIX protein of the invention could have greater than 100% of native FIX activity for proteins containing the FIX Padua R338L high activity variant, for example, at least about 105%, 110%, 120%, 130%, 140%, 150%, 160%, 170%, 180%, 190% or 200% or more of that activity.
Procoagulant activity can be measured by any suitable in vitro or in vivo assay. The activity of FIX can be measured either downstream of the coagulation cascade by monitoring the generation of a clot (clotting assays), or upstream by measuring directly the enzymatic activity of FX following activation by the FVIII-FIX complex (chromogenic assays) (see, e.g., Barrowcliffe et al., Semin. Thromb. Haemost. 28: 247-56 (2002); Lee et al., Thromb. Haemost. 82: 1644-47 (1999); Lippi et al., Clin. Chem. Lab. Med. 45: 2-12 (2007); Matsumoto et al., J. Thromb. Haemost. 4: 377-84 (2006)). Thus, procoagulant activity can be measured using a chromogenic substrate assay, a clotting assay (e.g., a one stage or a two stage clotting assay), or both. The chromogenic assay mechanism is based on the principles of the blood coagulation cascade, where activated FIX converts FX into FXa in the presence of FVIII, phospholipids and calcium ions. The FXa activity is assessed by hydrolysis of a p-nitroanilide (pNA) substrate specific to FXa. The initial rate of release of p-nitroaniline measured at 405 nM is directly proportional to the FXa activity and thus to the FIX activity in the sample. The chromogenic assay is recommended by the Factor VIII and Factor IX Subcommittee of the Scientific and Standardization Committee (SSC) of the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis (ISTH).
Other suitable assays useful to determine pro-coagulant activity include those disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Application Publication No. 2010/0022445 to Scheiflinger and Dockal, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In certain aspects the procoagulant activity of a recombinant FIX protein of the invention is compared to native mature FIX, in certain aspects it is compared to an international standard.
The at least one heterologous moiety, as described in more detail below, can comprise any heterologous moiety or can be a moiety that can provide an improved property to the FIX protein. For example, in one aspect, a heterologous moiety useful for the invention can be a moiety that is capable of extending a half-life of the FIX protein or a moiety that is capable of improving stability of the FIX protein. The FIX fusion protein of the invention can have more than one heterologous moieties inserted in or fused to the FIX polypeptide. In one embodiment, the more than one heterologous moieties are identical. In another embodiments, the more than one heterologous moieties are different. In other embodiments, the heterologous moiety is selected from the group consisting of an XTEN, an albumin, an albumin binding peptide, an albumin small binding molecule, an Fc domain, an FcRn binding partner, a PAS, a CTP, a PEG, an HES, a PSA, or any combination thereof.
In some embodiments, at least one heterologous moiety is inserted within a domain of the FIX polypeptide, but not between the domains. A FIX polypeptide comprises multiple domains, e.g., a γ-carboxyglutamic acid (GLA) domain, an epidermal growth factor-like 1 (EGF1) domain, an epidermal growth factor-like 2 (EGF2) domain, an activation peptide (AP) domain, a linker between the EGF2 domain and the AP domain, and a catalytic domain (e.g., a serine protease domain). A FIX zymogen comprises 461 amino acids: amino acids 1-28 (corresponding to SEQ ID NO: 3) is a signal peptide; amino acids 29-46 (corresponding to SEQ ID NO: 3) is a propeptide; followed by the 415 amino acid FIX protein sequence. This 415 processed FIX comprises amino acids 1-145 (corresponding to SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2) is a FIX light chain; amino acids 146-180 is an activation peptide; and amino acids 181 to 415 (corresponding to SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2) is the catalytic FIX heavy chain. Within the light and heavy chains, the GLA domain corresponds to amino acids 1 to 46 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2; the EGF1 domain corresponds to amino acids 47 to 84 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2; the EGF2 domain corresponds to amino acids 85 to 127 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2; the linker between the EGF2 domain and the AP domain corresponds to amino acids 128 to 145 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2; the AP domain corresponds to amino acids 146 to 180 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2; and the catalytic domain corresponds to amino acids 181 to 415 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2
In certain embodiments, at least one heterologous moiety is inserted within one or more domains of a FIX polypeptide. For example, at least one heterologous moiety, e.g., XTEN, can be inserted within a domain selected from the group consisting of the GLA domain, the EGF1 domain, the EGF2 domain, the AP domain, the linker between the EGF2 domain and the AP domain, the catalytic domain, and any combination thereof. In one particular embodiment, the at least one heterologous moiety, e.g., XTEN, is inserted within the GLA domain, e.g., amino acids 1 to 46 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2. In one particular embodiment, the at least one heterologous moiety, e.g., XTEN, is inserted within the EGF1 domain, e.g., amino acids 47 to 83 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2. In one particular embodiment, the at least one heterologous moiety, e.g., XTEN, is inserted within the EGF2 domain, e.g., amino acids 84 to 125 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2. In some embodiments, the at least one heterologous moiety, e.g., XTEN, is inserted within the linker between the EGF2 domain and the AP domain, e.g., amino acids 132 to 145 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2. In one particular embodiment, the at least one heterologous moiety, e.g., XTEN, is inserted within the AP domain, e.g., amino acids 146 to 180 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2. In some embodiments, the at least one heterologous moiety, e.g., XTEN, is inserted within the catalytic domain, e.g., amino acids 181 to 415 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2.
In some embodiments, one or more heterologous moieties can be inserted within various insertion sites. In certain embodiments, the insertions of at least one heterologous moiety, e.g., an XTEN, at one or more of these sites do not result in a loss of FIX activity and/or induce an improved property of the FIX protein. For example, at least one heterologous moiety can be inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 2 (i.e., immediately downstream of an amino acid corresponding to amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 2), amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2 (i.e., immediately downstream of an amino acid corresponding to amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2), amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 2 (i.e., immediately downstream of an amino acid corresponding to amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 2), amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 2 (i.e., immediately downstream of an amino acid corresponding to amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 2), amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 2 (i.e., immediately downstream of an amino acid corresponding to amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 2), amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2 (i.e., immediately downstream of an amino acid corresponding to amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2), amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 2 (i.e., immediately downstream of an amino acid corresponding to amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 2), amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2 (i.e., immediately downstream of an amino acid corresponding to amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2), amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 2 (i.e., immediately downstream of an amino acid corresponding to amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 2), amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 2 (i.e., immediately downstream of an amino acid corresponding to amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 2), amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 2 (i.e., immediately downstream of an amino acid corresponding to amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 2) and any combination thereof, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
In one embodiment, the heterologous moiety, e.g., XTEN, is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2 and any combination thereof. In another embodiment, the heterologous moiety, e.g., XTEN, is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, and any combination thereof. In other embodiments, the heterologous moiety, e.g., XTEN, is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, and both. In another embodiment, the heterologous moiety, e.g., XTEN, is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2.
As discussed in more detail below, the heterologous moiety can be an XTEN, which can be of varying lengths. For example, the XTEN can comprise at least about 42 amino acids, at least about 72 amino acids, at least about 144 amino acids, at least about 288 amino acids, or at least about 864 amino acids. In some embodiments, the XTEN is selected from the group consisting of AE42, AG42, AE72, AG72, AE144, AG144, AE288, AG288, AE864, and AG864. Non-limiting examples of the XTENs that can be inserted in or fused to a FIX polypeptide are included elsewhere herein.
In some embodiments, an XTEN comprising 42 amino acids, e.g., AE42 or AG42, is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 and any combination thereof, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
In some embodiments, an XTEN comprising 72 amino acids, e.g., AE72 or AG72, is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 and any combination thereof, or the XTEN is fused to the C-terminus, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
In some embodiments, an XTEN comprising 144 amino acids, e.g., AE144 or AG144, is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2,amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 and any combination thereof, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
In some embodiments, an XTEN comprising 288 amino acids, e.g., AE288 or AG288, is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 and any combination thereof, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
In still other embodiments, an XTEN comprising 864 amino acids, e.g., AE864 or AG8648, is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 and any combination thereof, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
The FIX fusion protein of the present invention can further comprise a second heterologous moiety, e.g., a second XTEN, inserted within the FIX, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both. The second heterologous moiety can be inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, and any combination thereof or wherein the second XTEN is fused to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide. In some embodiments, the first XTEN and the second XTEN are inserted within the FIX polypeptide at insertion sites corresponding to an amino acid of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 and/or fused to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide selected from the group consisting of amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 and amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2; amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 and amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2; amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 and fused to the C-terminus; amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 and amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2; amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 and fused to the C-terminus; and amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 and fused to the C-terminus, respectively. In one embodiment, the first XTEN is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, and the second XTEN is fused to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide.
The second XTEN can comprise at least about 6 amino acids, at least about 12 amino acids, at least about 36 amino acids, at least about 42 amino acids, at least about 72 amino acids, at least about 144 amino acids, or at least about 288 amino acids. In some embodiments, the second XTEN comprises 6 amino acids, 12 amino acids, 36 amino acids, 42 amino acids, 72 amino acids, 144 amino acids, or 288 amino acids. The second XTEN can be selected from the group consisting of AE42, AE72, AE864, AE576, AE288, AE144, AG864, AG576, AG288, AG144, and any combination thereof. In one particular embodiment, the second XTEN is AE72 or AE144.
In one particular embodiment, the second XTEN comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or about 100% identical to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, and any combination thereof.
In some embodiments, the FIX fusion protein further comprises a third, a fourth, a fifth, and/or a sixth XTEN.
In some embodiments, the FIX fusion protein comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or about 100% identical to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 54 to SEQ ID NO: 153 without the signal peptide and the propeptide sequence. In certain embodiments, the FIX fusion protein comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 54 to SEQ ID NO: 153 without the signal peptide and the propeptide sequence. In one embodiment, the FIX fusion protein comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or about 100% identical to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 119, 120, 121, and 123 without the signal peptide and the propeptide sequence. In another embodiment, the FIX fusion protein comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 119, 120, 123, 121 and 226 or 122 without the signal peptide and the propeptide sequence. In some embodiments, the FIX fusion protein is selected from group consisting of FIX-AP.72, FIX-AP.144, FIX-CT.72, FIX-CT.144, FIX-AP.288, and FIX-CT.288 without the signal peptide and the propeptide sequence.
In some embodiments, the FIX fusion protein comprises two different types of heterologous moieties. In some embodiments, the FIX fusion protein comprises a FIX polypeptide, an XTEN, and an Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner) or a fragment thereof. In some embodiments, the XTEN is inserted within the FIX, and the Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner) or a fragment thereof is fused to the C-terminus of the FIX. In some embodiments, the XTEN is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at one or more insertion sites selected from the insertion sites listed in table 3. In one embodiment, the XTEN is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, and amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2; and the Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner) or a fragment thereof is fused to the C-terminus of the FIX. In certain embodiments, the XTEN is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2, and amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2; and the Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner) or a fragment thereof is fused to the C-terminus of the FIX. In some embodiments, the XTEN is selected from AE42, AE72, and AE144.
In certain aspects of the invention, the FIX fusion protein comprises one or two polypeptide chains. In one embodiment, the FIX fusion protein comprises two polypeptide chains, wherein the first polypeptide chain comprises the FIX polypeptide fused to an Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner), and the second polypeptide chain comprises a second Fc domain, wherein the first Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner) and the second Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner) are associated by a covalent bond.
In another embodiment, the FIX fusion protein comprises a single polypeptide chain comprising a FIX polypeptide and an Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner). In one particular embodiment, the FIX fusion protein further comprises a linker, which links the FIX polypeptide and the Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner). In another embodiment, the FIX fusion protein comprises a FIX polypeptide, an Fc domain, and a second Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner). In one particular embodiment, the FIX fusion protein further comprises a linker, which links the Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner) and the second Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner). In another embodiment, the FIX fusion protein comprises a FIX polypeptide, an Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner), and a second Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner), wherein the FIX polypeptide is linked to the Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner) by a linker. In another embodiment, the FIX fusion protein comprises a FIX polypeptide, an Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner), and a second Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner), wherein the FIX polypeptide is linked to the Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner) by a first linker, and wherein the Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner) is linked to the second Fc domain (or an FcRn binding partner) by a linker. In certain embodiments, the FIX fusion protein comprises a formula selected from the group consisting of:
(i) FIX(X)-F1;
(ii) FIX(X)-L1-F1;
(iii) FIX(X)-F1-F2;
(iv) FIX(X)-L1-F1-F2;
(v) FIX(X)-L1-F1-L2-F2;
(vi) FIX(X)-F1-L1-F2;
(vii) FIX(X)-F1:F2;
(viii) FIX(X)-L 1-F1:F2; and
(ix) any combination thereof,
wherein FIX(X) is a FIX polypeptide having an XTEN inserted one or more insertion sites described herein; each of L1 and L2 is a linker; F1 is an Fc domain or an FcRn binding partner; F2 is a second Fc domain or a second FcRn binding partner, (−) is a peptide bond or one or more amino acids; and (:) is a covalent bond, e.g., a disulfide bond.
The linkers (L1 and L2) can be the same or different. The linker can be cleavable or non-cleavable, and the linker can comprise one or more intracellular processing sites. Non-limiting examples of the linkers are described elsewhere herein. Any of the linkers can be used to combine FIX with a heterologous moiety (e.g., XTEN or Fc) or a first heterologous moiety (e.g., first Fc) with a second heterologous moiety (e.g., second Fc)
In certain embodiments, the linker comprises a thrombin cleavage site. In one particular embodiment, the thrombin cleavage site comprises XVPR, wherein X is any aliphatic amino acid (e.g., glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, or isoleucine). In one particular embodiment, the thrombin cleave site comprises LVPR. In some embodiments, the linker comprises a PAR1 exosite interaction motif, which comprises SFLLRN (SEQ ID NO: 190). In some embodiments, the PAR1 exosite interaction motif further comprises an amino acid sequence selected from P, PN, PND, PNDK (SEQ ID NO: 191), PNDKY (SEQ ID NO: 192), PNDKYE (SEQ ID NO: 193), PNDKYEP (SEQ ID NO: 194), PNDKYEPF (SEQ ID NO: 195), PNDKYEPFW (SEQ ID NO: 196), PNDKYEPFWE (SEQ ID NO: 197), PNDKYEPFWED (SEQ ID NO: 198), PNDKYEPFWEDE (SEQ ID NO: 199), PNDKYEPFWEDEE (SEQ ID NO: 200), PNDKYEPFWEDEES (SEQ ID NO: 201), or any combination thereof. In other embodiments the linker comprises the FXIa cleavage site LDPR.
In one particular embodiment, the FIX fusion protein comprises a FIX polypeptide and a heterologous moiety, which comprises an XTEN, wherein the XTEN is fused with or without a linker, which linker may or may not be cleavable, to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide and comprises an amino acid sequence of longer than 42 amino acids and shorter than 864 amino acids in length, preferably shorter than 144 amino acids in length. The XTEN can comprise an amino acid sequence of longer than 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, or 71 amino acids and shorter than 140, 139, 138, 137, 136, 135, 134, 133, 132, 131, 130, 129, 128, 127, 126, 125, 124, 123, 122, 121, 120, 119, 118, 117, 116, 115, 114, 113, 112, 111, 110, 109, 108, 107, 106, 105, 104, 103, 102, 101, 100, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91, 90, 89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, 80, 79, 78, 76, 75, 74, or 73 etc, amino acids or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the XTEN is 72 amino acids in length. In one particular embodiment, the XTEN is AE72. In another embodiment, the XTEN comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or 100% identical to SEQ ID NO: 35.
In some embodiments, the FIX fusion protein comprises a FIX polypeptide that contains at least one inserted XTEN sequence and a heterologous moiety comprising an XTEN, wherein the XTEN is fused with or without a linker, which linker may or may not be cleavable, to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide. In some embodiments, the XTEN is shorter than 864 amino acids in length, preferably shorter than 144 amino acids in length. In other embodiments, the XTEN comprises an amino acid sequence of shorter than 244, 140, 130, 120, 110, 100, 90, 80, or 75 amino acids in length.
In other embodiments, the FIX fusion protein comprises a formula selected from the group consisting of:
(i) FIX-X
(ii) FIX-L1-X
(iii) FIX(X)-X
(iv) FIX(X)-L1-X
(v) FIX(X)-L1:X
(vi) any combination thereof,
wherein FIX is a FIX polypeptide; FIX(X) is a FIX polypeptide having at least one XTEN inserted into one or more insertion sites described herein; (X) is an XTEN which is longer than 42 amino acids and shorter than 144 amino acids; X is an XTEN which is longer than 42 amino acids and shorter than 864 amino acids such as 288 amino acids, preferably shorter than 144 amino acids (e.g., an XTEN with 72 amino acids); L1 is a linker; (-) is a peptide bond or one or more amino acids; and (:) is a covalent bond, e.g., a disulfide bond.
The linker (L1) can be the same or different. The linker can be cleavable or non-cleavable as needed, and the linker can comprise one or more intracellular processing sites. Non-limiting examples of the linkers are described elsewhere herein. Any of the linkers can be used to combine FIX with a heterologous moiety (e.g., XTEN or Fc). The following are non-limiting examples of linkers that are suitable for many invention embodiments:
In certain other embodiments, the linker comprises a thrombin cleavage site. In one particular embodiment, the thrombin cleavage site comprises XVPR, wherein X is any aliphatic amino acid (e.g., glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, or isoleucine). In one particular embodiment, the thrombin cleave site comprises LVPR. In some embodiments, the linker comprises a PAR1 exosite interaction motif, which comprises SFLLRN (SEQ ID NO: 190). In some embodiments, the PAR1 exosite interaction motif further comprises an amino acid sequence selected from P, PN, PND, PNDK (SEQ ID NO: 191), PNDKY (SEQ ID NO: 192), PNDKYE (SEQ ID NO: 193), PNDKYEP (SEQ ID NO: 194), PNDKYEPF (SEQ ID NO: 195), PNDKYEPFW (SEQ ID NO: 196), PNDKYEPFWE (SEQ ID NO: 197), PNDKYEPFWED (SEQ ID NO: 198), PNDKYEPFWEDE (SEQ ID NO: 199), PNDKYEPFWEDEE (SEQ ID NO: 200), PNDKYEPFWEDEES (SEQ ID NO: 201), or any combination thereof. In certain other embodiment the linker comprises a FXIa cleavage site comprising LDPR, which can be combined with the PAR1 exosite interaction motif.
In certain embodiments, the FIX polypeptide fused to an XTEN at the C-terminus can further comprise a second XTEN. The second XTEN can be fused to or inserted in any part of the FIX fusion protein, including but not limited to the insertion sites disclosed herein. The FIX fusion protein can further comprise a third XTEN, a fourth XTEN, a fifth XTEN, or a sixth XTEN.
The FIX fusion protein of the present invention maintains a level of activity compared to native FIX. In some embodiments, the FIX fusion protein has at least about 10%, at least about 20%, at least about 30%, at least about 40%, at least about 50%, at least about 60%, at least about 70%, at least about 80%, at least about 90% or 100% of the procoagulant activity of native FIX. Procoagulant activity can be measured by any method known in the art, including but not limited to a chromogenic substrate assay, a one stage clotting assay, or both.
II.A. Factor IX
Human Factor IX (FIX) is a serine protease that is an important component of the intrinsic pathway of the blood coagulation cascade. “Factor IX” or “FIX,” as used herein, refers to a coagulation factor protein and species and sequence variants thereof, and includes, but is not limited to, the 461 single-chain amino acid sequence of human FIX precursor polypeptide (“prepro”), the 415 single-chain amino acid sequence of mature human FIX (SEQ ID NO: 1), and the R338L FIX (Padua) variant (SEQ ID NO: 2). FIX includes any form of FIX molecule with the typical characteristics of blood coagulation FIX. As used herein “Factor IX” and “FIX” are intended to encompass polypeptides that comprise the domains Gla (region containing γ-carboxyglutamic acid residues), EGF1 and EGF2 (regions containing sequences homologous to human epidermal growth factor), activation peptide (“AP,” formed by residues R136-R180 of the mature FIX), and the C-terminal protease domain (“Pro”), or synonyms of these domains known in the art, or can be a truncated fragment or a sequence variant that retains at least a portion of the biological activity of the native protein. FIX or sequence variants have been cloned, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,770,999 and 7,700,734, and cDNA coding for human Factor IX has been isolated, characterized, and cloned into expression vectors (see, for example, Choo et al., Nature 299:178-180 (1982); Fair et al., Blood 64:194-204 (1984); and Kurachi et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., U.S.A. 79:6461-6464 (1982)). One particular variant of FIX, the R338L FIX (Padua) variant (SEQ ID NO: 2), characterized by Simioni et al, 2009, comprises a gain-of-function mutation, which correlates with a nearly 8-fold increase in the activity of the Padua variant relative to native FIX (Table 1). FIX variants can also include any FIX polypeptide having one or more conservative amino acid substitutions, which do not affect the FIX activity of the FIX polypeptide.
The FIX polypeptide is 55 kDa, synthesized as a prepropolypetide chain (SEQ ID NO: 1) composed of three regions: a signal peptide of 28 amino acids (amino acids 1 to 28 of SEQ ID NO: 3), a propeptide of 18 amino acids (amino acids 29 to 46), which is required for gamma-carboxylation of glutamic acid residues, and a mature Factor IX of 415 amino acids (SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2). The propeptide is an 18-amino acid residue sequence N-terminal to the gamma-carboxyglutamate domain. The propeptide binds vitamin K-dependent gamma carboxylase and then is cleaved from the precursor polypeptide of FIX by an endogenous protease, most likely PACE (paired basic amino acid cleaving enzyme), also known as furin or PCSK3. Without the gamma carboxylation, the Gla domain is unable to bind calcium to assume the correct conformation necessary to anchor the protein to negatively charged phospholipid surfaces, thereby rendering Factor IX nonfunctional. Even if it is carboxylated, the Gla domain also depends on cleavage of the propeptide for proper function, since retained propeptide interferes with conformational changes of the Gla domain necessary for optimal binding to calcium and phospholipid. In humans, the resulting mature Factor IX is secreted by liver cells into the blood stream as an inactive zymogen, a single chain protein of 415 amino acid residues that contains approximately 17% carbohydrate by weight (Schmidt, A. E., et al. (2003) Trends Cardiovasc Med, 13: 39).
The mature FIX is composed of several domains that in an N- to C-terminus configuration are: a GLA domain, an EGF1 domain, an EGF2 domain, an activation peptide (AP) domain, and a protease (or catalytic) domain. A short linker connects the EGF2 domain with the AP domain. FIX contains two activation peptides formed by R145-A146 and R180-V181, respectively. Following activation, the single-chain FIX becomes a 2-chain molecule, in which the two chains are linked by a disulfide bond. Clotting factors can be engineered by replacing their activation peptides resulting in altered activation specificity. In mammals, mature FIX must be activated by activated Factor XI to yield Factor IXa. The protease domain provides, upon activation of FIX to FIXa, the catalytic activity of FIX. Activated Factor VIII (FVIIIa) is the specific cofactor for the full expression of FIXa activity.
In other embodiments, a FIX polypeptide comprises an Thr148 allelic form of plasma derived Factor IX and has structural and functional characteristics similar to endogenous Factor IX.
A great many functional FIX variants are known. International publication number WO 02/040544 A3 discloses mutants that exhibit increased resistance to inhibition by heparin at page 4, lines 9-30 and page 15, lines 6-31. International publication number WO 03/020764 A2 discloses FIX mutants with reduced T cell immunogenicity in Tables 2 and 3 (on pages 14-24), and at page 12, lines 1-27. International publication number WO 2007/149406 A2 discloses functional mutant FIX molecules that exhibit increased protein stability, increased in vivo and in vitro half-life, and increased resistance to proteases at page 4, line 1 to page 19, line 11. WO 2007/149406 A2 also discloses chimeric and other variant FIX molecules at page 19, line 12 to page 20, line 9. International publication number WO 08/118507 A2 discloses FIX mutants that exhibit increased clotting activity at page 5, line 14 to page 6, line 5. International publication number WO 09/051717 A2 discloses FIX mutants having an increased number of N-linked and/or O-linked glycosylation sites, which results in an increased half-life and/or recovery at page 9, line 11 to page 20, line 2. International publication number WO 09/137254 A2 also discloses Factor IX mutants with increased numbers of glycosylation sites at page 2, paragraph [006] to page 5, paragraph [011] and page 16, paragraph [044] to page 24, paragraph [057]. International publication number WO 09/130198 A2 discloses functional mutant FIX molecules that have an increased number of glycosylation sites, which result in an increased half-life, at page 4, line 26 to page 12, line 6. International publication number WO 09/140015 A2 discloses functional FIX mutants that an increased number of Cys residues, which can be used for polymer (e.g., PEG) conjugation, at page 11, paragraph [0043] to page 13, paragraph [0053]. The FIX polypeptides described in International Application No. PCT/US2011/043569 filed Jul. 11, 2011 and published as WO 2012/006624 on Jan. 12, 2012 are also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In addition, hundreds of non-functional mutations in FIX have been identified in hemophilia subjects, many of which are disclosed in Table 5, at pages 11-14 of International publication number WO 09/137254 A2. Such non-functional mutations are not included in the invention, but provide additional guidance for which mutations are more or less likely to result in a functional FIX polypeptide.
In one embodiment, the FIX polypeptide (or Factor IX portion of a fusion polypeptide) comprises an amino acid sequence at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 (amino acids 1 to 415 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2), or alternatively, with a propeptide sequence, or with a propeptide and signal sequence (full length FIX). In another embodiment, the FIX polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2.
Factor IX coagulant activity is expressed as International Unit(s) (IU). One IU of FIX activity corresponds approximately to the quantity of FIX in one milliliter of normal human plasma. Several assays are available for measuring Factor IX activity, including the one stage clotting assay (activated partial thromboplastin time; aPTT), thrombin generation time (TGA) and rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM®). The invention contemplates sequences that have homology to FIX sequences, sequence fragments that are natural, such as from humans, non-human primates, mammals (including domestic animals), and non-natural sequence variants which retain at least a portion of the biologic activity or biological function of FIX and/or that are useful for preventing, treating, mediating, or ameliorating a coagulation factor-related disease, deficiency, disorder or condition (e.g., bleeding episodes related to trauma, surgery, of deficiency of a coagulation factor). Sequences with homology to human FIX can be found by standard homology searching techniques, such as NCBI BLAST.
II.B Heterologous Moieties
An FIX fusion protein of the invention can comprise at least one heterologous moiety inserted into one or more sites within the FIX polypeptide, fused to the C-terminus, or both, wherein the FIX fusion protein has procoagulant activity and can be expressed in vivo or in vitro in a host cell. A “heterologous moiety” can comprise a heterologous polypeptide, or a non-polypeptide moiety, or both. In certain aspects, the heterologous moiety is an XTEN. In some aspects, a FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises at least one XTEN inserted into one or more sites within the FIX polypeptide. In other aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises at least one heterologous moiety inserted into one or more sites within the FIX polypeptide, wherein the heterologous moiety is a half-life extending moiety (e.g., an in vivo half-life extending moiety).
It is believed that the discovery of the insertions sites wherein the FIX retains at least some of its procoagulant activity would also permit the insertion of other peptides and polypeptides with either unstructured or structured characteristics that are associated with the prolongation of half-life when fused to a FIX protein in one or more of those same sites. Non-limiting examples of heterologous moieties (e.g., a half-life extending moiety) include albumin, albumin fragments, Fc fragments of immunoglobulins, FcRn binding partners, the C-terminal peptide (CTP) of the 13 subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin, a HAP sequence, a transferrin, the PAS polypeptides of U.S. Pat Application No. 20100292130, polyglycine linkers, polyserine linkers, peptides and short polypeptides of 6-40 amino acids of two types of amino acids selected from glycine (G), alanine (A), serine (S), threonine (T), glutamate (E) and proline (P) with varying degrees of secondary structure from less than 50% to greater than 50%, amongst others, would be suitable for insertion in the identified active insertions sites of FIX.
In certain aspects a heterologous moiety increases the in vivo or in vitro half-life of the FIX fusion protein. In other aspects a heterologous moiety facilitates visualization or localization of the FIX fusion protein. Visualization and/or location of the FIX fusion protein can be in vivo, in vitro, ex vivo, or combinations thereof. In other aspects a heterologous moiety increases stability of the FIX fusion protein. As used herein, the term “stability” refers to an art-recognized measure of the maintenance of one or more physical properties of the FIX fusion protein in response to an environmental condition (e.g., an elevated or lowered temperature). In certain aspects, the physical property is the maintenance of the covalent structure of the FIX fusion protein (e.g., the absence of proteolytic cleavage, unwanted oxidation or deamidation). In other aspects, the physical property can also be the presence of the FIX fusion protein in a properly folded state (e.g., the absence of soluble or insoluble aggregates or precipitates). In one aspect, the stability of the FIX fusion protein is measured by assaying a biophysical property of the FIX fusion protein, for example thermal stability, pH unfolding profile, stable removal of glycans, solubility, biochemical function (e.g., ability to bind to another protein), etc., and/or combinations thereof. In another aspect, biochemical function is demonstrated by the binding affinity of the interaction. In one aspect, a measure of protein stability is thermal stability, i.e., resistance to thermal challenge. Stability can be measured using methods known in the art, such as, HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography), SEC (size exclusion chromatography), DLS (dynamic light scattering), etc. Methods to measure thermal stability include, but are not limited to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), differential scanning fluorometry (DSF), circular dichroism (CD), and thermal challenge assay.
In a specific aspect, a heterologous moiety inserted in one or more insertion cites in a FIX fusion protein retains the biochemical activity of the FIX fusion protein. In certain embodiments, the heterologous moiety is an XTEN. In one embodiment, the biochemical activity is FIX activity, which can be measured by chromogenic assay.
In some embodiments, at least one heterologous moiety is inserted indirectly in an insertion site via linkers located at the N-terminus, the C-terminus, or both the N-terminus and C-terminus of the heterologous moiety. The linkers at the N-terminus and C-terminus of the heterologous moiety can be the same or different. In some embodiments, several linkers can flank one or both termini of the heterologous moiety in tandem. In some embodiments, the linker is “Gly-Ser peptide linker.” The term “Gly-Ser peptide linker” refers to a peptide that comprises glycine and serine residues.
An exemplary Gly/Ser peptide linker includes, but is not limited to, the amino acid sequence (Gly4Ser)n (SEQ ID NO:161), wherein n is an integer that is the same or higher than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 46, 50, 55, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100. In one embodiment, n=1, i.e., the linker is (Gly4Ser) (SEQ ID NO: 161). In one embodiment, n=2, i.e., the linker is (Gly4Ser)2 (SEQ ID NO: 162). In another embodiment, n=3, i.e., the linker is (Gly4Ser)3 (SEQ ID NO: 172). In another embodiment, n=4, i.e., the linker is (Gly4Ser)4 (SEQ ID NO: 173). In another embodiment, n=5, i.e., the linker is (Gly4Ser)5 (SEQ ID NO: 174). In yet another embodiment, n=6, i.e., the linker is (Gly4Ser)6 (SEQ ID NO: 175). In another embodiment, n=7, i.e., the linker is (Gly4Ser)7 (SEQ ID NO: 176). In yet another embodiment, n=8, i.e., the linker is (Gly4Ser)8 (SEQ ID NO: 177). In another embodiment, n=9, i.e., the linker is (Gly4Ser)9 (SEQ ID NO: 178). In yet another embodiment, n=10, i.e., the linker is (Gly4Ser)10 (SEQ ID NO: 179).
Another exemplary Gly/Ser peptide linker comprises the amino acid sequence Ser(Gly4Ser)n (SEQ ID NO: 180), wherein n is an integer that is the same or higher than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 46, 50, 55, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100. In one embodiment, n=1, i.e., the linker is Ser(Gly4Ser) (SEQ ID NO: 180). In one embodiment, n=2, i.e., the linker is Ser(Gly4Ser)2 (SEQ ID NO: 181). In another embodiment, n=3, i.e., the linker is Ser(Gly4Ser)3 (SEQ ID NO: 182). In another embodiment, n=4, i.e., the linker is Ser(Gly4Ser)4 (SEQ ID NO: 183). In another embodiment, n=5, i.e., the linker is Ser(Gly4Ser)5 (SEQ ID NO: 184). In yet another embodiment, n=6, i.e., the linker is Ser(Gly4Ser)6 (SEQ ID NO: 185). In yet another embodiment, n=7, i.e., the linker is Ser(Gly4Ser)7 (SEQ ID NO: 186). In yet another embodiment, n=8, i.e., the linker is Ser(Gly4Ser)8 (SEQ ID NO: 187). In yet another embodiment, n=9, i.e., the linker is Ser(Gly4Ser)9 (SEQ ID NO: 188). In yet another embodiment, n=10, i.e., the linker is Ser(Gly4Ser)10 (SEQ ID NO: 189).
In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises one heterologous moiety inserted at an insertion site listed in TABLE 7. In other aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises two heterologous moieties inserted in two insertion sites listed in TABLE 7. In a particular embodiment, the two heterologous moieties are inserted in two insertion sites listed in TABLE 8. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises three heterologous moieties inserted in three insertion sites listed in TABLE 7. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises four heterologous moieties inserted in four insertion sites listed in TABLE 7. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises five heterologous moieties inserted in five insertion sites listed in TABLE 7. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises six heterologous moieties inserted in six insertion sites listed in TABLE 7. In some aspects, all the inserted heterologous moieties are identical. In other aspects, at least one of the inserted heterologous moieties is different from the rest of inserted heterologous moieties.
Fusion of the FIX polypeptide to the at least one heterologous moiety, e.g., XTEN, can affect the physical or chemical properties, e.g., pharmacokinetics, of the fusion protein of the present invention. In a specific embodiment, the heterologous moiety linked to a FIX protein increases at least one pharmacokinetic property, e.g., increased terminal half-life or increased area under the curve (AUC), so that the fusion protein described herein stays in vivo for an increased period of time compared to wild type FIX or a corresponding FIX lacking the heterologous moiety. In further embodiments, the XTEN sequence used in this invention increases at least one pharmacokinetic property, e.g., increased terminal half-life, increased recovery and/or increased bioavailability for subcutaneous dosing, increased area under the curve (AUC), so that FIX protein stays in vivo for an increased period of time compared to wild type FIX or a corresponding FIX lacking the heterologous moiety.
In certain aspects, a heterologous moiety which increases half-life of the FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises, without limitation, a heterologous polypeptide such as albumin, an immunoglobulin Fc region, an XTEN sequence, the C-terminal peptide (CTP) of the β subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin, a PAS sequence, a HAP sequence, a transferrin, albumin-binding moieties, or any fragments, derivatives, variants, or combinations of these polypeptides. In certain aspects the FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises a heterologous polypeptide which increases half-life, wherein the heterologous polypeptide is an XTEN sequence. In other related aspects a heterologous moiety can include an attachment site for a non-polypeptide moiety such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), hydroxyethyl starch (HES), polysialic acid, or any derivatives, variants, or combinations of these moieties.
In other embodiments, a FIX fusion protein of the invention is conjugated to one or more polymers. The polymer can be water-soluble or non-water-soluble. The polymer can be covalently or non-covalently attached to FIX or to other moieties conjugated to FIX. Non-limiting examples of the polymer can be poly(alkylene oxide), poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), poly(vinyl alcohol), polyoxazoline, or poly(acryloylmorpholine).
In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises one, two, three or more heterologous moieties, which can each be the same or different molecules. In some embodiments, the FIX fusion protein comprises one or more XTENs. In other embodiments, the FIX fusion protein comprises one or more XTENs and one or more Fc domains. In one particular embodiment, the FIX fusion protein can comprise an XTEN inserted within the FIX and an Fc fused to the C-terminus of the FIX.
The FIX fusion proteins of the present invention can have an increased in vivo half-life as compared to native FIX, rFIXFc, or FIX R338L. In some embodiments, the FIX fusion protein can have at least about 1.5 fold, at least about 2-fold, at least about 3-fold, or at least about 4-fold greater in vivo half-life as compared to native FIX lacking the heterologous moiety or as compared to FIX R338L lacking the heterologous moiety. In one particular embodiment, the FIX fusion protein has an in vivo half-life more than 2-fold greater than the FIX polypeptide without the heterologous moiety.
In other embodiments, the FIX fusion protein can have an in vivo half-life that is at least about 5 hours, at least about 6 hours, at least about 7 hours, at east about 8 hours, at least about 9 hours, at least about 10 hours, at east about 11 hours, at least about 12 hours, at least about 13 hours, at east about 14 hours, at least about 15 hours, at least about 16 hours, at east about 17 hours, at least about 18 hours, at least about 19 hours, at east about 20 hours, at least about 21 hours, at least about 22 hours, at east about 23 hours, at least about 24 hours, at least about 25 hours, at east about 26 hours, at least about 27 hours, at least about 28 hours, at east about 29 hours, at least about 30 hours, at least about 31 hours, at east about 32 hours, at least about 33 hours, or at least about 34 hours longer than the in vivo half-life of a FIX polypeptide lacking a heterologous moiety.
II.B.1. XTENs
In some embodiments, the at least one heterologous moiety is an XTEN. As used here “XTEN sequence” refers to extended length polypeptides with non-naturally occurring, substantially non-repetitive sequences that are composed mainly of small hydrophilic amino acids, with the sequence having a low degree or no secondary or tertiary structure under physiologic conditions. As a fusion protein partner, XTENs can serve as a carrier, conferring certain desirable pharmacokinetic, physicochemical and pharmaceutical properties when linked to a FIX sequence of the invention to create a fusion protein. Such desirable properties include but are not limited to enhanced pharmacokinetic parameters and solubility characteristics. As used herein, “XTEN” specifically excludes antibodies or antibody fragments such as single-chain antibodies or Fc fragments of a light chain or a heavy chain.
In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises at least one XTEN or fragment, variant, or derivative thereof inserted into the FIX, wherein the FIX fusion protein has procoagulant activity and can be expressed in vivo or in vitro in a host cell. In certain aspects, two of the heterologous moieties are XTEN sequences. In some aspects, three of the heterologous moieties are XTEN sequences. In some aspects, four of the heterologous moieties are XTEN sequences. In some aspects, five of the heterologous moieties are XTEN sequences. In some aspects, six or more of the heterologous moieties are XTEN sequences.
In some embodiments, the XTEN sequence useful for the invention is a peptide or a polypeptide having greater than about 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 750, 800, 850, 900, 950, 1000, 1200, 1400, 1600, 1800, or 2000 amino acid residues. In certain embodiments, XTEN is a peptide or a polypeptide having greater than about 20 to about 3000 amino acid residues, greater than 30 to about 2500 residues, greater than 40 to about 2000 residues, greater than 50 to about 1500 residues, greater than 60 to about 1000 residues, greater than 70 to about 900 residues, greater than 80 to about 800 residues, greater than 90 to about 700 residues, greater than 100 to about 600 residues, greater than 110 to about 500 residues, or greater than 120 to about 400 residues. In one particular embodiment, the XTEN comprises an amino acid sequence of longer than 42 amino acids and shorter than 144 amino acids in length.
The XTEN sequence of the invention can comprise one or more sequence motif of 5 to 14 (e.g., 9 to 14) amino acid residues or an amino acid sequence at least 80%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% identical to the sequence motif, wherein the motif comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of 4 to 6 types of amino acids (e.g., 5 amino acids) selected from the group consisting of glycine (G), alanine (A), serine (S), threonine (T), glutamate (E) and proline (P). See US 2010-0239554 A1.
In some embodiments, the XTEN comprises non-overlapping sequence motifs in which about 80%, or at least about 85%, or at least about 90%, or about 91%, or about 92%, or about 93%, or about 94%, or about 95%, or about 96%, or about 97%, or about 98%, or about 99% or about 100% of the sequence consists of multiple units of non-overlapping sequences selected from a single motif family selected from Table 2A, resulting in a family sequence. As used herein, “family” means that the XTEN has motifs selected only from a single motif category from Table 2A; i.e., AD, AE, AF, AG, AM, AQ, BC, or BD XTEN, and that any other amino acids in the XTEN not from a family motif are selected to achieve a needed property, such as to permit incorporation of a restriction site by the encoding nucleotides, incorporation of a cleavage sequence, or to achieve a better linkage to FIX. In some embodiments of XTEN families, an XTEN sequence comprises multiple units of non-overlapping sequence motifs of the AD motif family, or of the AE motif family, or of the AF motif family, or of the AG motif family, or of the AM motif family, or of the AQ motif family, or of the BC family, or of the BD family, with the resulting XTEN exhibiting the range of homology described above. In other embodiments, the XTEN comprises multiple units of motif sequences from two or more of the motif families of Table 2A. These sequences can be selected to achieve desired physical/chemical characteristics, including such properties as net charge, hydrophilicity, lack of secondary structure, or lack of repetitiveness that are conferred by the amino acid composition of the motifs, described more fully below. In the embodiments hereinabove described in this paragraph, the motifs incorporated into the XTEN can be selected and assembled using the methods described herein to achieve an XTEN of about 36 to about 3000 amino acid residues.
XTEN can have varying lengths for insertion into or linkage to FIX. In one embodiment, the length of the XTEN sequence(s) is chosen based on the property or function to be achieved in the fusion protein. Depending on the intended property or function, XTEN can be short or intermediate length sequence or longer sequence that can serve as carriers. In certain embodiments, the XTEN includes short segments of about 6 to about 99 amino acid residues, intermediate lengths of about 100 to about 399 amino acid residues, and longer lengths of about 400 to about 1000 and up to about 3000 amino acid residues. Thus, the XTEN inserted into or linked to FIX can have lengths of about 6, about 12, about 36, about 40, about 42, about 72, about 96, about 144, about 288, about 400, about 500, about 576, about 600, about 700, about 800, about 864, about 900, about 1000, about 1500, about 2000, about 2500, or up to about 3000 amino acid residues in length. In other embodiments, the XTEN sequences is about 6 to about 50, about 50 to about 100, about 100 to 150, about 150 to 250, about 250 to 400, about 400 to about 500, about 500 to about 900, about 900 to 1500, about 1500 to 2000, or about 2000 to about 3000 amino acid residues in length. The precise length of an XTEN inserted into or linked to FIX can vary without adversely affecting the activity of the FIX. In one embodiment, one or more of the XTENs used herein have 42 amino acids, 72 amino acids, 144 amino acids, 288 amino acids, 576 amino acids, or 864 amino acids in length and can be selected from one or more of the XTEN family sequences; i.e., AD, AE, AF, AG, AM, AQ, BC or BD.
In some embodiments, the XTEN sequence used in the invention is at least 60%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100% identical to a sequence selected from the group consisting of AE42, AG42, AE48, AM48, AE72, AG72, AE108, AG108, AE144, AF144, AG144, AE180, AG180, AE216, AG216, AE252, AG252, AE288, AG288, AE324, AG324, AE360, AG360, AE396, AG396, AE432, AG432, AE468, AG468, AE504, AG504, AF504, AE540, AG540, AF540, AD576, AE576, AF576, AG576, AE612, AG612, AE624, AE648, AG648, AG684, AE720, AG720, AE756, AG756, AE792, AG792, AE828, AG828, AD836, AE864, AF864, AG864, AM875, AE912, AM923, AM1318, BC864, BD864, AE948, AE1044, AE1140, AE1236, AE1332, AE1428, AE1524, AE1620, AE1716, AE1812, AE1908, AE2004A, AG948, AG1044, AG1140, AG1236, AG1332, AG1428, AG1524, AG1620, AG1716, AG1812, AG1908, AG2004, and any combination thereof. See US 2010-0239554 A1. In one particular embodiment, the XTEN comprises AE42, AE72, AE144, AE288, AE576, AE864, AG 42, AG72, AG144, AG288, AG576, AG864, or any combination thereof.
In one embodiment, the XTEN sequence is at least 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100% identical to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of AE36 (SEQ ID NO: 217), AE42 (SEQ ID NO: 34), AE72 (SEQ ID NO: 35), AE78 (SEQ ID NO: 218), AE144 (SEQ ID NO: 36), AE144_2A (SEQ ID NO: 37), AE144_3B (SEQ ID NO: 38), AE144_4A (SEQ ID NO: 39), AE144_5A (SEQ ID NO: 40), AE144_6B (SEQ ID NO: 41), AG144 (SEQ ID NO: 42), AG144_A (SEQ ID NO: 43), AG144_B (SEQ ID NO: 44), AG144_C (SEQ ID NO: 45), AG144_F (SEQ ID NO: 46), AE288 (SEQ ID NO: 47), AE288_2 (SEQ ID NO: 48), AG288 (SEQ ID NO: 49), AE576 (SEQ ID NO: 50), AG576 (SEQ ID NO: 51), AE864 (SEQ ID NO: 52), AG864 (SEQ ID NO: 53), XTEN_AE72_2A_1 (SEQ ID NO:202), XTEN_AE72_2A_2 (SEQ ID NO:203), XTEN_AE72_3B_1 (SEQ ID NO:204), XTEN_AE72_3B_2 (SEQ ID NO:205), XTEN_AE72_4A_2 (SEQ ID NO: 206), XTEN_AE72_5A_2 (SEQ ID NO:207), XTEN_AE72_6B_1 (SEQ ID NO: 208), XTEN_AE72_6B_2 (SEQ ID NO:209), XTEN_AE72_1A_1 (SEQ ID NO: 210), XTEN_AE72_1A_2 (SEQ ID NO:211), XTEN_AE144_1A (SEQ ID NO:212), AE150 (SEQ ID NO:213), AG150 (SEQ ID NO:214), AE294 (SEQ ID NO:215), AG294 (SEQ ID NO:216), and any combination thereof.
In some embodiments, less than 100% of amino acids of an XTEN are selected from glycine (G), alanine (A), serine (S), threonine (T), glutamate (E) and proline (P), or less than 100% of the sequence consists of the sequence motifs from Table 2A or the XTEN sequences of Table 2B. In such embodiments, the remaining amino acid residues of the XTEN are selected from any of the other 14 natural L-amino acids, but can be preferentially selected from hydrophilic amino acids such that the XTEN sequence contains at least about 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or at least about 99% hydrophilic amino acids. The content of hydrophobic amino acids in the XTEN utilized in the conjugation constructs can be less than 5%, or less than 2%, or less than 1% hydrophobic amino acid content. Hydrophobic residues that are less favored in construction of XTEN include tryptophan, phenylalanine, tyrosine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, and methionine. Additionally, XTEN sequences can contain less than 5% or less than 4% or less than 3% or less than 2% or less than 1% or none of the following amino acids: methionine (for example, to avoid oxidation), or asparagine and glutamine (to avoid desamidation).
In another embodiment, the XTEN sequence is selected from the group consisting of AE36 (SEQ ID NO: 217), AE42 (SEQ ID NO: 34), AE72 (SEQ ID NO: 35), AE78 (SEQ ID NO: 218), AE144 (SEQ ID NO: 36), AE144_2A (SEQ ID NO: 37), AE144_3B (SEQ ID NO: 38), AE144_4A (SEQ ID NO: 39), AE144_5A (SEQ ID NO: 40), AE144_6B (SEQ ID NO: 41), AG144 (SEQ ID NO: 42), AG144_A (SEQ ID NO: 43), AG144_B (SEQ ID NO: 44), AG144_C (SEQ ID NO: 45), AG144_F (SEQ ID NO: 46), AE288 (SEQ ID NO: 47), AE288_2 (SEQ ID NO: 48), AG288 (SEQ ID NO: 49), AE576 (SEQ ID NO: 50), AG576 (SEQ ID NO: 51), AE864 (SEQ ID NO: 52), AG864 (SEQ ID NO: 53), XTEN_AE72_2A_1 (SEQ ID NO:202), XTEN_AE72_2A_2 (SEQ ID NO:203), XTEN_AE72_3B_1 (SEQ ID NO:204), XTEN_AE72_3B_2 (SEQ ID NO:205), XTEN_AE72_4A_2 (SEQ ID NO:206), XTEN_AE72_5A_2 (SEQ ID NO:207), XTEN_AE72_6B_1 (SEQ ID NO: 208), XTEN_AE72_6B_2 (SEQ ID NO: 209), XTEN_AE72_1A_1 (SEQ ID NO: 210), XTEN_AE72_1A_2 (SEQ ID NO: 211), XTEN_AE144_1A (SEQ ID NO: 212), AE150 (SEQ ID NO: 213), AG150 (SEQ ID NO: 214), AE294 (SEQ ID NO: 215), AG294 (SEQ ID NO:216), and any combinations thereof. In a specific embodiment, the XTEN sequence is selected from the group consisting of AE72, AE144, and AE288. The amino acid sequences for certain XTEN sequences of the invention are shown in Table 2B.
In further embodiments, the XTEN sequence used in the invention affects the physical or chemical property, e.g., pharmacokinetics, of the fusion protein of the present invention. The XTEN sequence used in the present invention can exhibit one or more of the following advantageous properties: conformational flexibility, enhanced aqueous solubility, high degree of protease resistance, low immunogenicity, low binding to mammalian receptors, or increased hydrodynamic (or Stokes) radii. In a specific embodiment, the XTEN sequence linked to a FIX protein in this invention increases pharmacokinetic properties such as longer terminal half-life, increased bioavailability or increased area under the curve (AUC), so that the protein described herein stays in vivo for an increased period of time compared to wild type FIX. In further embodiments, the XTEN sequence used in this invention increases pharmacokinetic properties such as longer terminal half-life or increased area under the curve (AUC), so that FIX protein stays in vivo for an increased period of time compared to wild type FIX.
In some embodiments, the FIX protein exhibits an in vivo half-life at least about 1.5 fold, at least about 2-fold, at least about 3-fold, or at least about 4-fold greater than native FIX, rFIXFc, FIX R338L, or a corresponding FIX protein lacking the XTEN. In one particular embodiment, the FIX fusion protein can have an in vivo half-life more than 2-fold greater than a FIX polypeptide without the heterologous moiety.
In other embodiments, the FIX fusion protein exhibits an in vivo half-life which is at least about 5 hours, at least about 6 hours, at least about 7 hours, at least about 8 hours, at least about 9 hours, at least about 10 hours, at least about 11 hours, at least about 12 hours, at least about 13 hours, at least about 14 hours, at least about 15 hours, at least about 16 hours, at least about 17 hours, at least about 18 hours, at least about 19 hours, at least about 20 hours, at least about 21 hours, at least about 22 hours, at least about 23 hours, at least about 24 hours, at least about 25 hours, at least about 26 hours, at least about 27 hours, at least about 28 hours, at least about 29 hours, at least about 30 hours, at least about 31 hours, at east about 32 hours, at least about 33 hours, or at least about 34 hours longer than the in vivo half-life of a FIX polypeptide lacking the heterologous moiety.
A variety of methods and assays can be employed to determine the physical/chemical properties of proteins comprising the XTEN sequence. Such methods include, but are not limited to analytical centrifugation, EPR, HPLC-ion exchange, HPLC-size exclusion, HPLC-reverse phase, light scattering, capillary electrophoresis, circular dichroism, differential scanning calorimetry, fluorescence, HPLC-ion exchange, HPLC-size exclusion, IR, NMR, Raman spectroscopy, refractometry, and UV/Visible spectroscopy. Additional methods are disclosed in Amau et al., Prot Expr and Purif 48, 1-13 (2006).
Additional examples of XTEN sequences that can be used according to the present invention and are disclosed in US Patent Publication Nos. 2010/0239554 A1, 2010/0323956 A1, 2011/0046060 A1, 2011/0046061 A1, 2011/0077199 A1, or 2011/0172146 A1, or International Patent Publication Nos. WO 2010091122 A1, WO 2010144502 A2, WO 2010144508 A1, WO 2011028228 A1, WO 2011028229 A1, WO 2011028344 A2, WO 2014/011819 A2, or WO 2015/023891.
In some aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises one or more XTEN sequences inserted within FIX, fused to the C-terminus of FIX, or both. In one embodiment, the one or more XTEN sequences are inserted within the GLA domain. In another embodiment, the one or more XTEN sequences are inserted within EGF1 domain. In other embodiments, the one or more XTEN sequences are inserted within EGF2. In still other embodiments, the one or more XTEN sequences are inserted within AP. In yet other embodiments, the one or more XTEN sequences are inserted within the catalytic domain. In some embodiments, the one or more XTEN sequences are fused to the C-terminus of the FIX.
In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises one XTEN sequence inserted at an insertion site listed in Table 7. In other aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises two XTEN sequences inserted in two insertion sites listed in Table 7. In a particular embodiment, the two XTEN sequences are inserted in two insertion sites listed in Table 8. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises three XTEN sequences inserted in three insertion sites listed in Table 7. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises four XTEN sequences inserted in four insertion sites listed in Table 7. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises five XTEN sequences inserted in five insertion sites listed in Table 7. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises six XTEN sequences inserted in six insertion sites listed in Table 7. In some aspects, all the inserted XTEN sequences are identical. In other aspects, at least one of the inserted XTEN sequences is different from the rest of inserted XTEN sequences.
In some aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises one XTEN sequence inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and any combination thereof, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity. In some aspects, a FIX fusion protein comprises a second XTEN sequence within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and any combination thereof or wherein the second XTEN is fused to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity. In one particular aspect, a FIX fusion protein comprises one XTEN sequence fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, wherein the XTEN comprises an amino acid sequence of longer than 42 amino acids and shorter than 144 amino acids in length.
II.B.2. Fc Regions or FcRn Binding Partners
In some embodiments, the at least one heterologous moiety is an Fc region (e.g., an FcRn binding partner) or a fragment thereof. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises at least one Fc region (e.g., an FcRn binding partner) inserted within the FIX, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both, wherein the FIX fusion protein has procoagulant activity and can be expressed in vivo or in vitro in a host cell. “Fc” or “Fc region” as used herein, can be a functional neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) binding partner comprising an Fc domain, variant, or fragment thereof, unless otherwise specified. An FcRn binding partner is any molecule that can be specifically bound by the FcRn receptor with consequent active transport by the FcRn receptor of the FcRn binding partner, including, but not limited to, albumin. Thus, the term Fc includes any variants of IgG Fc that are functional. The region of the Fc portion of IgG that binds to the FcRn receptor has been described based on X-ray crystallography (Burmeister et al., Nature 372:379 (1994), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). The major contact area of the Fc with the FcRn is near the junction of the CH2 and CH3 domains. Fc-FcRn contacts are all within a single Ig heavy chain. FcRn binding partners include, but are not limited to, whole IgG, the Fc fragment of IgG, and other fragments of IgG that include the complete binding region of FcRn. An Fc can comprise the CH2 and CH3 domains of an immunoglobulin with or without the hinge region of the immunoglobulin. Also included are Fc fragments, variants, or derivatives which maintain the desirable properties of an Fc region in a fusion protein, e.g., an increase in half-life, e.g., in vivo half-life. Myriad mutants, fragments, variants, and derivatives are described, e.g., in PCT Publication Nos. WO 2011/069164 A2, WO 2012/006623 A2, WO 2012/006635 A2, or WO 2012/006633 A2, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
The one or more Fc domains can be inserted within the FIX polypeptide, fused to the C-terminus of the polypeptide, or both. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is fused to the FIX polypeptide. In some embodiments, the Fc domain is fused to another heterologous moiety, such as an XTEN, which is inserted within the FIX or fused to the C-terminus of the XTEN. In some embodiments, the FIX fusion protein comprises a second Fc domain. The second Fc domain can be associated with the first Fc domain, e.g., through one or more covalent bonds.
II.B.3. Albumins
In some embodiments, the at least one heterologous moiety is an albumin, an albumin binding domain, or an albumin binding small molecule, or a variant, derivative, or fragment thereof. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises at least one albumin polypeptide or fragment, variant, or derivative thereof inserted the FIX, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both, wherein the FIX fusion protein has procoagulant activity and can be expressed in vivo or in vitro in a host cell. Human serum albumin (HSA, or HA), a protein of 609 amino acids in its full-length form, is responsible for a significant proportion of the osmotic pressure of serum and also functions as a carrier of endogenous and exogenous ligands. The term “albumin” as used herein includes full-length albumin or a functional fragment, variant, derivative, or analog thereof. Examples of albumin or the fragments or variants thereof are disclosed in US Pat. Publ. Nos. 2008/0194481A1, 2008/0004206 A1, 2008/0161243 A1, 2008/0261877 A1, or 2008/0153751 A1 or PCT Appl. Publ. Nos. 2008/033413 A2, 2009/058322 A1, or 2007/021494 A2, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
The albumin-binding polypeptides (ABPs) can compromise, without limitation, bacterial albumin-binding domains, albumin-binding peptides, or albumin-binding antibody fragments that can bind to albumin. Domain 3 from streptococcal protein G, as disclosed by Kraulis et al., FEBS Lett. 378:190-194 (1996) and Linhult et al., Protein Sci. 11:206-213 (2002) is an example of a bacterial albumin-binding domain. Examples of albumin-binding peptides include a series of peptides having the core sequence DICLPRWGCLW (SEQ ID NO: 163). See, e.g., Dennis et al., J. Biol. Chem. 2002, 277: 35035-35043 (2002). Examples of albumin-binding antibody fragments are disclosed in Muller and Kontermann, Curr. Opin. Mol. Ther. 9:319-326 (2007); Roovers et al., Cancer Immunol. Immunother. 56:303-317 (2007), and Holt et al., Prot. Eng. Design Sci., 21:283-288 (2008), which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises at least one attachment site for a non-polypeptide small molecule, variant, or derivative thereof that can bind to albumin (e.g., an albumin binding small molecule) inserted into the FIX, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both, wherein the FIX fusion protein has procoagulant activity and can be expressed in vivo or in vitro in a host cell. For example, a FIX fusion protein of the invention can include one or more organic albumin-binding moieties attached in one or more insertion sites within the FIX, or fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both, wherein the FIX fusion protein has procoagulant activity and can be expressed in vivo or in vitro in a host cell. An example of such albumin-binding moieties is 2-(3-maleimidopropanamido)-6-(4-(4-iodophenyl)butanamido)hexanoate (“Albu” tag) as disclosed by Trussel et al., Bioconjugate Chem. 20:2286-2292 (2009).
In some embodiments, the albumin-binding polypeptide sequence is flanked at the C-terminus, the N-terminus, or both termini, by a Gly-Ser peptide linker sequence. In some embodiments, the Gly-Ser peptide linker is Gly4Ser (SEQ ID NO: 161). In other embodiments, the Gly-Ser peptide linker is (Gly4Ser)2 (SEQ ID NO: 162).
II.B.4. CTP
In some embodiments, the at least one heterologous moiety is a C-terminal peptide (CTP) of the β subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin or fragment, variant, or derivative thereof. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises at least one CTP or fragment, variant, or derivative thereof inserted into the FIX, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both, wherein the FIX fusion protein has procoagulant activity and can be expressed in vivo or in vitro in a host cell. One or more CTP peptides inserted into a recombinant protein is known to increase the half-life of that protein. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,122, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Exemplary CTP peptides include DPRFQDSSSSKAPPPSLPSPSRLPGPSDTPIL (SEQ ID NO: 164) or SSSSKAPPPSLPSPSRLPGPSDTPILPQ (SEQ ID NO: 165). See, e.g., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2009/0087411 A1, incorporated by reference. In some embodiments, the CTP sequence is flanked at the C-terminus, the N-terminus, or both termini, by a Gly-Ser peptide linker sequence. In some embodiments, the Gly-Ser peptide linker is Gly4Ser (SEQ ID NO: 161). In other embodiments, the Gly-Ser peptide linker is (Gly4Ser)2 (SEQ ID NO: 162).
II.B.5. PAS
In some embodiments, the at least one heterologous moiety is a PAS peptide. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises at least one PAS peptide or fragment, variant, or derivative thereof inserted into the FIX, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both, wherein the FIX fusion protein has procoagulant activity and can be expressed in vivo or in vitro in a host cell. A “PAS peptide” or “PAS sequence,” as used herein, means an amino acid sequence comprising mainly alanine and serine residues or comprising mainly alanine, serine, and proline residues, the amino acid sequence forming random coil conformation under physiological conditions. Accordingly, the PAS sequence is a building block, an amino acid polymer, or a sequence cassette comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of alanine, serine, and proline which can be used as a part of the heterologous moiety in the fusion protein. An amino acid polymer also can form random coil conformation when residues other than alanine, serine, and proline are added as a minor constituent in the PAS sequence. By “minor constituent” is meant that that amino acids other than alanine, serine, and proline can be added in the PAS sequence to a certain degree, e.g., up to about 12%, i.e., about 12 of 100 amino acids of the PAS sequence, up to about 10%, up to about 9%, up to about 8%, about 6%, about 5%, about 4%, about 3%, i.e. about 2%, or about 1%, of the amino acids. The amino acids different from alanine, serine and proline can be selected from the group consisting of Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gln, Glu, Gly, His, Ile, Leu, Lys, Met, Phe, Thr, Trp, Tyr, and Val. Under physiological conditions, a PAS peptide forms a random coil conformation and thereby can mediate an increased in vivo and/or in vitro stability to a recombinant protein of the invention, and has procoagulant activity.
Non-limiting examples of the PAS peptides include ASPAAPAPASPAAPAPSAPA (SEQ ID NO: 154), AAPASPAPAAPSAPAPAAPS (SEQ ID NO: 155), APSSPSPSAPSSPSPASPSS (SEQ ID NO: 156), APSSPSPSAPSSPSPASPS (SEQ ID NO: 157), SSPSAPSPSSPASPSPSSPA (SEQ ID NO: 158), AASPAAPSAPPAAASPAAPSAPPA (SEQ ID NO: 159), ASAAAPAAASAAASAPSAAA (SEQ ID NO: 160) or any variants, derivatives, fragments, or combinations thereof. Additional examples of PAS sequences are known from, e.g., US Pat. Publ. No. 2010/0292130 A1 and PCT Appl. Publ. No. WO 2008/155134 A1. European issued patent EP2173890.
In some embodiments, the PAS sequence is flanked at the C-terminus, the N-terminus, or both termini, by a Gly-Ser peptide linker sequence. In some embodiments, the Gly-Ser peptide linker is Gly4Ser (SEQ ID NO: 161). In other embodiments, the Gly/Ser peptide linker is (Gly4Ser)2 (SEQ ID NO: 162).
II.B.6. HAP
In some embodiments, the at least one heterologous moiety is a homo-amino acid polymer (HAP) peptide or fragment, variant, or derivative thereof. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises at least one homo-amino acid polymer (HAP) peptide or fragment, variant, or derivative thereof inserted within the FIX, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both, wherein the FIX fusion protein has procoagulant activity and can be expressed in vivo or in vitro in a host cell. A HAP peptide can comprise a repetitive sequence of glycine, which has at least 50 amino acids, at least 100 amino acids, 120 amino acids, 140 amino acids, 160 amino acids, 180 amino acids, 200 amino acids, 250 amino acids, 300 amino acids, 350 amino acids, 400 amino acids, 450 amino acids, or 500 amino acids in length. A HAP sequence is capable of extending half-life of a moiety fused to or linked to the HAP sequence. Non-limiting examples of the HAP sequence include, but are not limited to (Gly)n, (Gly4Ser)n or S(Gly4Ser)n, wherein n is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20. In one embodiment, n is 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, or 40. In another embodiment, n is 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, or 200. See, e.g., Schlapschy M et al., Protein Eng. Design Selection, 20: 273-284 (2007).
II.B.7 Organic Polymers
In some embodiments, the at least one heterologous moiety is an organic polymer, e.g., a polyethylene glycol, a polysialic acid, or hydroxyethyl starch. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises at least one attachment site for a non-polypeptide heterologous moiety or fragment, variant, or derivative thereof inserted into the FIX, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both, wherein the FIX fusion protein has procoagulant activity and can be expressed in vivo or in vitro in a host cell. For example, a FIX fusion protein of the invention can include one or more polyethylene glycol (PEG) moieties attached within the FIX sequence, attached to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both, wherein the FIX fusion protein has procoagulant activity and can be expressed in vivo or in vitro in a host cell.
PEGylated FIX can refer to a conjugate formed between FIX and at least one polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecule. PEG is commercially available in a large variety of molecular weights and average molecular weight ranges. Typical examples of PEG average molecular weight ranges include, but are not limited to, about 200, about 300, about 400, about 600, about 1000, about 1300-1600, about 1450, about 2000, about 3000, about 3000-3750, about 3350, about 3000-7000, about 3500-4500, about 5000-7000, about 7000-9000, about 8000, about 10000, about 8500-11500, about 16000-24000, about 35000, about 40000, about 60000, and about 80000 daltons. These average molecular weights are provided merely as examples and are not meant to be limiting in any way.
A FIX fusion protein of the invention can be PEGylated to include mono- or poly-(e.g., 2-4) PEG moieties. PEGylation can be carried out by any of the PEGylation reactions known in the art. Methods for preparing a PEGylated protein product will generally include (i) reacting a polypeptide with polyethylene glycol (such as a reactive ester or aldehyde derivative of PEG) under conditions whereby the peptide of the invention becomes attached to one or more PEG groups; and (ii) obtaining the reaction product(s). In general, the optimal reaction conditions for the reactions will be determined case by case based on known parameters and the desired result.
There are a number of PEG attachment methods available to those skilled in the art, for example Malik F et al., Exp. Hematol. 20:1028-35 (1992); Francis, Focus on Growth Factors 3(2):4-10 (1992); European Pat. Pub. Nos. EP0401384, EP0154316, and EP0401384; and International Pat. Appl. Pub. Nos. WO92/16221 and WO95/34326. As a non-limiting example, FIX variants can contain cysteine substitutions at or near one or more insertion sites as described herein, and the cysteines can be further conjugated to PEG polymer. See Mei et al., Blood 116:270-279 (2010) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,632,921, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
In other embodiments, the organic polymer is a polysialic acid (PSA). PSAs are naturally occurring unbranched polymers of sialic acid produced by certain bacterial strains and in mammals in certain cells. See, e.g., Roth J. et al. (1993) in Polysialic Acid: From Microbes to Man, eds. Roth J., Rutishauser U., Troy F. A. (BirkhäuserVerlag, Basel, Switzerland), pp. 335-348. PSAs can be produced in various degrees of polymerization from n=about 80 or more sialic acid residues down to n=2 by limited acid hydrolysis or by digestion with neuraminidases, or by fractionation of the natural, bacterially derived forms of the polymer. There are a number of PSA attachment methods available to those skilled in the art, e.g., the same PEG attachment methods described above. In certain aspects, an activated PSA can also be attached to a cysteine amino acid residue on FIX. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,951.
In other embodiments, the organic polymer is a hydroxyethyl starch (HES) polymer. In certain aspects, a FIX fusion protein of the invention comprises at least one HES polymer conjugated at one or more cite within the FIX, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both, wherein the FIX fusion protein has procoagulant activity and can be expressed in vivo or in vitro in a host cell.
III. Polynucleotides, Vectors, Host Cells, and Methods of MakingThe present invention further provides a polynucleotide encoding a FIX fusion protein described herein, an expression vector comprising the polynucleotide, a host cell comprising the polynucleotide or the vector, or methods of making the FIX fusion protein.
The polynucleotide encoding a FIX fusion protein can be a single nucleotide sequence, two nucleotide sequences, three nucleotide sequences, or more. In one embodiment, a single nucleotide sequence encodes a FIX fusion protein comprising a FIX polypeptide and a heterologous moiety (e.g., XTEN), e.g., a FIX fusion protein comprising a FIX polypeptide and an XTEN inserted within the FIX polypeptide, an Fc domain fused to the C terminus of the FIX polypeptide, and a second Fc domain fused to the FIX polypeptide by an optional linker. In another embodiment, the polynucleotide comprises two nucleotide sequences, the first nucleotide sequence encoding a FIX polypeptide and an XTEN inserted within the FIX polypeptide and the second nucleotide sequence encoding a heterologous moiety, e.g., Fc. In other embodiments, the polynucleotide comprises two nucleotide sequences, the first nucleotide sequence encoding a FIX polypeptide, an XTEN inserted within the FIX polypeptide, and an Fc domain fused to the FIX polypeptide, and the second nucleotide sequence encoding a second Fc domain. The encoded Fc domains can form a covalent bond after expression.
In some embodiments, the polynucleotide encoding the FIX fusion protein is codon-optimized.
As used herein, an expression vector refers to any nucleic acid construct which contains the necessary elements for the transcription and translation of an inserted coding sequence, or in the case of an RNA viral vector, the necessary elements for replication and translation, when introduced into an appropriate host cell. Expression vectors can include plasmids, phagemids, viruses, and derivatives thereof.
A gene expression control sequence as used herein is any regulatory nucleotide sequence, such as a promoter sequence or promoter-enhancer combination, which facilitates the efficient transcription and translation of the coding nucleic acid to which it is operably linked. The gene expression control sequence may, for example, be a mammalian or viral promoter, such as a constitutive or inducible promoter. Constitutive mammalian promoters include, but are not limited to, the promoters for the following genes: hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT), adenosine deaminase, pyruvate kinase, beta-actin promoter, and other constitutive promoters. Exemplary viral promoters which function constitutively in eukaryotic cells include, for example, promoters from the cytomegalovirus (CMV), simian virus (e.g., SV40), papilloma virus, adenovirus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Rous sarcoma virus, cytomegalovirus, the long terminal repeats (LTR) of Moloney leukemia virus, and other retroviruses, and the thymidine kinase promoter of herpes simplex virus. Other constitutive promoters are known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The promoters useful as gene expression sequences of the invention also include inducible promoters. Inducible promoters are expressed in the presence of an inducing agent. For example, the metallothionein promoter is induced to promote transcription and translation in the presence of certain metal ions. Other inducible promoters are known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
For the purposes of this invention, numerous expression vector systems can be employed. These expression vectors are typically replicable in the host organisms either as episomes or as an integral part of the host chromosomal DNA. Expression vectors can include expression control sequences including, but not limited to, promoters (e.g., naturally-associated or heterologous promoters), enhancers, signal sequences, splice signals, enhancer elements, and transcription termination sequences. Preferably, the expression control sequences are eukaryotic promoter systems in vectors capable of transforming or transfecting eukaryotic host cells. Expression vectors can also utilize DNA elements which are derived from animal viruses such as bovine papilloma virus, polyoma virus, adenovirus, vaccinia virus, baculovirus, retroviruses (RSV, MMTV or MOMLV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), or SV40 virus. Others involve the use of polycistronic systems with internal ribosome binding sites.
Commonly, expression vectors contain selection markers (e.g., ampicillin-resistance, hygromycin-resistance, tetracycline resistance or neomycin resistance) to permit detection of those cells transformed with the desired DNA sequences (see, e.g., Itakura et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,362). Cells which have integrated the DNA into their chromosomes can be selected by introducing one or more markers which allow selection of transfected host cells. The marker can provide for prototrophy to an auxotrophic host, biocide resistance (e.g., antibiotics) or resistance to heavy metals such as copper. The selectable marker gene can either be directly linked to the DNA sequences to be expressed, or introduced into the same cell by cotransformation.
An example of a vector useful for expressing an optimized FIX sequence is NEOSPLA (U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,730). This vector contains the cytomegalovirus promoter/enhancer, the mouse beta globin major promoter, the SV40 origin of replication, the bovine growth hormone polyadenylation sequence, neomycin phosphotransferase exon 1 and exon 2, the dihydrofolate reductase gene and leader sequence. This vector has been found to result in very high level expression of antibodies upon incorporation of variable and constant region genes, transfection in cells, followed by selection in G418 containing medium and methotrexate amplification. Vector systems are also taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,736,137 and 5,658,570, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. This system provides for high expression levels, e.g., >30 pg/cell/day. Other exemplary vector systems are disclosed e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,777.
In other embodiments the polypeptides of the instant invention are expressed using polycistronic constructs. In these expression systems, multiple gene products of interest such as multiple polypeptides of multimer binding protein can be produced from a single polycistronic construct. These systems advantageously use an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) to provide relatively high levels of polypeptides in eukaryotic host cells. Compatible IRES sequences are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,980 which is also incorporated herein.
More generally, once the vector or DNA sequence encoding a polypeptide has been prepared, the expression vector can be introduced into an appropriate host cell. That is, the host cells can be transformed. Introduction of the plasmid into the host cell can be accomplished by various techniques well known to those of skill in the art, as discussed above. The transformed cells are grown under conditions appropriate to the production of the FIX polypeptide, and assayed for FIX polypeptide synthesis. Exemplary assay techniques include enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), radioimmunoassay (RIA), or flourescence-activated cell sorter analysis (FACS), immunohistochemistry, and the like.
In descriptions of processes for isolation of polypeptides from recombinant hosts, the terms “cell” and “cell culture” are used interchangeably to denote the source of polypeptide unless it is clearly specified otherwise. In other words, recovery of polypeptides from the “cells” can mean either from spun down whole cells, or from the cell culture containing both the medium and the suspended cells.
The host cell line used for protein expression is preferably of mammalian origin; most preferably of human or mouse origin. Exemplary host cell lines have been described above. In one embodiment of the method to produce a polypeptide with FIX activity, the host cell is a HEK293 cell. In another embodiment of the method to produce a polypeptide with FIX activity, the host cell is a CHO cell.
Genes encoding the polypeptides of the invention can also be expressed in non-mammalian cells such as bacteria or yeast or plant cells. In this regard it will be appreciated that various unicellular non-mammalian microorganisms such as bacteria can also be transformed; i.e., those capable of being grown in cultures or fermentation. Bacteria, which are susceptible to transformation, include members of the enterobacteriaceae, such as strains of Escherichia coli or Salmonella; Bacillaceae, such as Bacillus subtilis; Pneumococcus; Streptococcus, and Haemophilus influenzae. It will further be appreciated that, when expressed in bacteria, the polypeptides typically become part of inclusion bodies. The polypeptides must be isolated, purified and then assembled into functional molecules.
Alternatively, polynucleotide sequences of the invention can be incorporated in transgenes for introduction into the genome of a transgenic animal and subsequent expression in the milk of the transgenic animal (see, e.g., Deboer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,957, Rosen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,489, and Meade et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,849,992). Suitable transgenes include coding sequences for polypeptides in operable linkage with a promoter and enhancer from a mammary gland specific gene, such as casein or beta lactoglobulin.
In vitro production allows scale-up to give large amounts of the desired polypeptides. Techniques for mammalian cell cultivation under tissue culture conditions are known in the art and include homogeneous suspension culture, e.g., in an airlift reactor or in a continuous stirrer reactor, or immobilized or entrapped cell culture, e.g., in hollow fibers, microcapsules, on agarose microbeads or ceramic cartridges. If necessary and/or desired, the solutions of polypeptides can be purified by the customary chromatography methods, for example gel filtration, ion-exchange chromatography, chromatography over DEAE-cellulose or (immuno-)affinity chromatography, e.g., after preferential biosynthesis of a synthetic hinge region polypeptide or prior to or subsequent to the HIC chromatography step described herein. An affinity tag sequence (e.g., a His(6) tag) can optionally be attached or included within the polypeptide sequence to facilitate downstream purification.
Once expressed, the FIX protein can be purified according to standard procedures of the art, including ammonium sulfate precipitation, affinity column chromatography, HPLC purification, gel electrophoresis and the like (see generally Scopes, Protein Purification (Springer-Verlag, N.Y., (1982)). Substantially pure proteins of at least about 90% to 95% homogeneity are preferred, and 98% to 99% or more homogeneity most preferred, for pharmaceutical uses.
In one embodiment, the host cell is a eukaryotic cell. As used herein, a eukaryotic cell refers to any animal or plant cell having a definitive nucleus. Eukaryotic cells of animals include cells of vertebrates, e.g., mammals, and cells of invertebrates, e.g., insects. Eukaryotic cells of plants specifically can include, without limitation, yeast cells. A eukaryotic cell is distinct from a prokaryotic cell, e.g., bacteria.
In certain embodiments, the eukaryotic cell is a mammalian cell. A mammalian cell is any cell derived from a mammal. Mammalian cells specifically include, but are not limited to, mammalian cell lines. In one embodiment, the mammalian cell is a human cell. In another embodiment, the mammalian cell is a HEK 293 cell, which is a human embryonic kidney cell line. HEK 293 cells are available as CRL-1533 from American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, Va., and as 293-H cells, Catalog No. 11631-017 or 293-F cells, Catalog No. 11625-019 from Invitrogen (Carlsbad, Calif.). In some embodiments, the mammalian cell is a PER.C6® cell, which is a human cell line derived from retina. PER.C6® cells are available from Crucell (Leiden, The Netherlands). In other embodiments, the mammalian cell is a Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell. CHO cells are available from American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, Va. (e.g., CHO-Ki; CCL-61). In still other embodiments, the mammalian cell is a baby hamster kidney (BHK) cell. BHK cells are available from American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, Va. (e.g., CRL-1632). In some embodiments, the mammalian cell is a HKB11 cell, which is a hybrid cell line of a HEK293 cell and a human B cell line. Mei et al., Mol. Biotechnol. 34(2): 165-78 (2006).
In still other embodiments, transfected cells are stably transfected. These cells can be selected and maintained as a stable cell line, using conventional techniques known to those of skill in the art.
Host cells containing DNA constructs of the protein are grown in an appropriate growth medium. As used herein, the term “appropriate growth medium” means a medium containing nutrients required for the growth of cells. Nutrients required for cell growth may include a carbon source, a nitrogen source, essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and growth factors. Optionally, the media can contain one or more selection factors. Optionally the media can contain bovine calf serum or fetal calf serum (FCS). In one embodiment, the media contains substantially no IgG. The growth medium will generally select for cells containing the DNA construct by, for example, drug selection or deficiency in an essential nutrient which is complemented by the selectable marker on the DNA construct or co-transfected with the DNA construct. Cultured mammalian cells are generally grown in commercially available serum-containing or serum-free media (e.g., MEM, DMEM, DMEM/F12). In one embodiment, the medium is CD293 (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.). In another embodiment, the medium is CD17 (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.). Selection of a medium appropriate for the particular cell line used is within the level of those ordinary skilled in the art.
In some embodiments, the nucleic acid, vector, or host cell further comprises an additional nucleotide which encodes a protein convertase. The protein convertase can be selected from the group consisting of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 5 (PCSKS or PC5), proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 7 (PCSK7 or PC5), a yeast Kex 2, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 3 (PACE or PCSK3), and two or more combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the protein convertase is PACE, PC5, or PC7. In a specific embodiment, the protein convertase is PC5 or PC7. See International Appl. Publ. No. WO 2012/006623, which is incorporated herein by reference. In another embodiment, the protein convertase is PACE/Furin.
In certain aspects, the present invention relates to the FIX fusion protein produced by the methods described herein.
In certain aspects, host cells of the invention can express the FIX fusion protein in vivo or in vitro. In vitro production allows scale-up to give large amounts of the desired altered polypeptides of the invention. a FIX fusion protein can be produced by culturing the host cells described herein under conditions in which the FIX fusion protein is expressed. Techniques for mammalian cell cultivation under tissue culture conditions are known in the art and include homogeneous suspension culture, e.g. in an airlift reactor or in a continuous stirrer reactor, or immobilized or entrapped cell culture, e.g. in hollow fibers, microcapsules, on agarose microbeads or ceramic cartridges. If necessary and/or desired, the solutions of polypeptides can be purified by the customary chromatography methods, for example gel filtration, ion-exchange chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC, chromatography over DEAE-cellulose or affinity chromatography. In other aspects, the host cells express the FIX fusion protein in vivo.
In one embodiment, the invention includes a method of making a FIX fusion protein comprising inserting a heterologous moiety in an insertion site, fusing a heterologous moiety to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both as described herein, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
In another embodiment, the invention includes a method of increasing half-life of a FIX protein without eliminating or reducing procoagulant activity of the FIX protein, comprising inserting a heterologous moiety in an insertion site, fusing a heterologous moiety to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both as described herein, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity and increased half-life compared to the FIX protein without the heterologous moiety.
In other embodiments, the invention provides a method of constructing a FIX fusion protein comprising designing a nucleotide sequence encoding the FIX fusion protein comprising at least one heterologous moiety in an insertion site, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both as described herein.
In certain embodiments, the present invention includes a method of increasing expression of a FIX fusion protein comprising inserting a heterologous moiety in an insertion site, fused to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both as described herein, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity
In still other embodiments, the invention provides a method of retaining procoagulant activity of a FIX fusion protein, comprising inserting a heterologous moiety in an insertion site, fusing a heterologous moiety to the C-terminus of the FIX, or both as described herein, wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
IV. Pharmaceutical Compositions and Methods of TreatmentThe present invention further provides a method for preventing, treating, ameliorating, or managing a clotting disease or condition or a bleeding condition in a human subject in need thereof using a pharmaceutical composition comprising a FIX fusion protein of the invention. An exemplary method comprises administering to the subject in need thereof a therapeutically effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition/formulation comprising a FIX fusion protein of the invention. In other aspects, a composition comprising a DNA encoding the fusion protein of the invention can be administered to a subject in need thereof. In certain aspects of the invention, a cell expressing a FIX fusion protein of the invention can be administered to a subject in need thereof. In certain aspects of the invention, the pharmaceutical composition comprises (i) a FIX fusion protein, (ii) an isolated nucleic acid encoding a FIX fusion protein, (iii) a vector comprising a nucleic acid encoding a FIX fusion protein, (iv) a cell comprising an isolated nucleic acid encoding a FIX fusion protein and/or a vector comprising a nucleic encoding a FIX fusion protein, or (v) a combination thereof, and the pharmaceutical compositions further comprises an acceptable excipient or carrier.
The FIX fusion protein of the invention can be administered to a patient intravenously, subcutaneously, or orally. In certain embodiments, the FIX fusion protein is administered to a subject by intravenous injection. In other embodiments, the FIX fusion protein is administered to a subject by subcutaneous injection. The injections can comprise a single bolus. Subjects may receive more than one injection.
The fusion proteins of the invention can be used prophylactically. As used herein the term “prophylactic treatment” refers to the administration of a molecule prior to a bleeding episode. In one embodiment, the subject in need of a general hemostatic agent is undergoing, or is about to undergo, surgery. The fusion protein of the invention can be administered prior to or after surgery as a prophylactic. The fusion protein of the invention can be administered during or after surgery to control an acute bleeding episode. The surgery can include, but is not limited to, liver transplantation, liver resection, dental procedures, or stem cell transplantation.
The fusion protein of the invention is also used for on-demand treatment. The term “on-demand treatment” refers to the administration of a fusion protein in response to symptoms of a bleeding episode or before an activity that may cause bleeding. In one aspect, the on-demand treatment is given to a subject when bleeding starts, such as after an injury, or when bleeding is expected, such as before surgery. In another aspect, the on-demand treatment is given prior to activities that increase the risk of bleeding, such as contact sports.
In other embodiments, the fusion protein is used to control, ameliorate, or treat an acute bleeding episode. In other embodiments, the FIX fusion protein exhibits one or more pharmacokinetic parameters compared to a corresponding FIX protein without the heterologous moiety. PK parameters can be based on FIX antigen level (often denoted parenthetically herein as “antigen”) or FIX activity level (often denoted parenthetically herein as “activity”). In the literature, PK parameters are often based on FIX activity level due to the presence in the plasma of some subjects of endogenous, inactive FIX, which interferes with the ability to measure administered (i.e., exogenous) FIX using antibody against FIX. However, when FIX is administered as part of an Fc fusion protein as provided herein, administered (i.e., exogenous) FIX antigen can be accurately measured using antibody to the heterologous polypeptide. In addition, certain PK parameters can be based on model predicted data (often denoted parenthetically herein as “model predicted”) or on observed data (often denoted parenthetically herein as “observed”), and preferably are based on observed data.
The FIX fusion protein can be administered to a subject through any means known in the art. For example, the FIX fusion protein can be administered through topical (e.g., transdermal or ocular), oral, buccal, nasal, vaginal, rectal, or parenteral (e.g., subcutaneous, intradermal, intravascular/intravenous, intramuscular, spinal, intracranial, intrathecal, intraocular, periocular, intraorbital, intrasynovial, and intraperitoneal injection) administration. In one particular embodiment, the FIX fusion protein is administered via a subcutaneous injection. The subcutaneous injection can include one or more bolus, including, for example, a single bolus of a dose of the FIX fusion protein. Alternatively, the FIX fusion protein can be administered via intravenous injection.
The dose of the FIX fusion protein can vary depending on the nature of the particular fusion protein and the nature of the subject's condition. In some embodiments, the dose of the FIX fusion protein can comprise between 1 and 1000 IU/kg of the FIX fusion protein.
The bleeding condition can be caused by a blood coagulation disorder. A blood coagulation disorder can also be referred to as a coagulopathy. In one example, the blood coagulation disorder, which can be treated with a pharmaceutical composition of the current disclosure, is hemophilia. In another example, the blood coagulation disorder, which can be treated with a pharmaceutical composition of the present disclosure is hemophilia B.
In some embodiments, the type of bleeding associated with the bleeding condition is selected from hemarthrosis, muscle bleed, oral bleed, hemorrhage, hemorrhage into muscles, oral hemorrhage, trauma, trauma capitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, intracranial hemorrhage, intra-abdominal hemorrhage, intrathoracic hemorrhage, bone fracture, central nervous system bleeding, bleeding in the retropharyngeal space, bleeding in the retroperitoneal space, and bleeding in the illiopsoas sheath.
In other embodiments, the subject suffering from bleeding condition is in need of treatment for surgery, including, e.g., surgical prophylaxis or pen-operative management. In one example, the surgery is selected from minor surgery and major surgery. Exemplary surgical procedures include tooth extraction, tonsillectomy, inguinal hemiotomy, synovectomy, craniotomy, osteosynthesis, trauma surgery, intracranial surgery, intra-abdominal surgery, intrathoracic surgery, joint replacement surgery (e.g., total knee replacement, hip replacement, and the like), heart surgery, and caesarean section.
In another example, the subject is concomitantly treated with Factor VIII. Because the compounds of the invention are capable of activating FIXa, they could be used to pre-activate the FIXa polypeptide before administration of the FIXa to the subject.
The methods of the invention may be practiced on a subject in need of prophylactic treatment or on-demand treatment.
Pharmaceutical compositions comprising a FIX fusion protein of the invention may be formulated for any appropriate manner of administration, including, for example, topical (e.g., transdermal or ocular), oral, buccal, nasal, vaginal, rectal or parenteral administration.
The term parenteral as used herein includes subcutaneous, intradermal, intravascular (e.g., intravenous), intramuscular, spinal, intracranial, intrathecal, intraocular, periocular, intraorbital, intrasynovial and intraperitoneal injection, as well as any similar injection or infusion technique. In particular, the pharmaceutical compositions comprising a FIX fusion protein of the invention may be formulated for subcutaneous administration. The composition can be also for example a suspension, emulsion, sustained release formulation, cream, gel or powder. The composition can be formulated as a suppository, with traditional binders and carriers such as triglycerides.
In one example, the pharmaceutical formulation is a liquid formulation, e.g., a buffered, isotonic, aqueous solution. In another example, the pharmaceutical composition has a pH that is physiologic, or close to physiologic. In other examples, the aqueous formulation has a physiologic or close to physiologic osmolarity and salinity. It can contain sodium chloride and/or sodium acetate. In some examples, the composition of the present invention is lyophilized.
A fusion protein thereof of the invention can be produced in vivo in a mammal, e.g., a human patient, using a gene therapy approach to treatment of a bleeding disease or disorder selected from the group consisting of a bleeding coagulation disorder, hemarthrosis, muscle bleed, oral bleed, hemorrhage, hemorrhage into muscles, oral hemorrhage, trauma, trauma capitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, intracranial hemorrhage, intra-abdominal hemorrhage, intrathoracic hemorrhage, bone fracture, central nervous system bleeding, bleeding in the retropharyngeal space, bleeding in the retroperitoneal space, and bleeding in the illiopsoas sheath would be therapeutically beneficial. In one embodiment, the bleeding disease or disorder is hemophilia. In another embodiment, the bleeding disease or disorder is hemophilia B. This involves administration of a suitable fusion protein-encoding nucleic acid operably linked to suitable expression control sequences. In certain embodiment, these sequences are incorporated into a viral vector. Suitable viral vectors for such gene therapy include adenoviral vectors, lentiviral vectors, baculoviral vectors, Epstein Barr viral vectors, papovaviral vectors, vaccinia viral vectors, herpes simplex viral vectors, and adeno associated virus (AAV) vectors. The viral vector can be a replication-defective viral vector. In other embodiments, an adenoviral vector has a deletion in its E1 gene or E3 gene. When an adenoviral vector is used, the mammal may not be exposed to a nucleic acid encoding a selectable marker gene. In other embodiments, the sequences are incorporated into a non-viral vector known to those skilled in the art.
The practice of the present invention will employ, unless otherwise indicated, conventional techniques of cell biology, cell culture, molecular biology, transgenic biology, microbiology, recombinant DNA, and immunology, which are within the skill of the art. Such techniques are explained fully in the literature. See, for example, Molecular Cloning A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed., Sambrook et al., ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: (1989); Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Sambrook et al., ed., Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory, New York (1992), DNA Cloning, D. N. Glover ed., Volumes I and II (1985); Oligonucleotide Synthesis, M. J. Gait ed., (1984); Mullis et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,195; Nucleic Acid Hybridization, B. D. Hames & S. J. Higgins eds. (1984); Transcription And Translation, B. D. Hames & S. J. Higgins eds. (1984); Culture Of Animal Cells, R. I. Freshney, Alan R. Liss, Inc., (1987); Immobilized Cells And Enzymes, IRL Press, (1986); B. Perbal, A Practical Guide To Molecular Cloning (1984); the treatise, Methods In Enzymology, Academic Press, Inc., N.Y.; Gene Transfer Vectors For Mammalian Cells, J. H. Miller and M. P. Calos eds., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1987); Methods In Enzymology, Vols. 154 and 155 (Wu et al. eds.); Immunochemical Methods In Cell And Molecular Biology, Mayer and Walker, eds., Academic Press, London (1987); Handbook Of Experimental Immunology, Volumes I-IV, D. M. Weir and C. C. Blackwell, eds., (1986); Manipulating the Mouse Embryo, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., (1986); and in Ausubel et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley and Sons, Baltimore, Md. (1989).
Standard reference works setting forth general principles of immunology include Current Protocols in Immunology, John Wiley & Sons, New York; Klein, J., Immunology: The Science of Self-Nonself Discrimination, John Wiley & Sons, New York (1982); Roitt, I., Brostoff, J. and Male D., Immunology, 6th ed. London: Mosby (2001); Abbas A., Abul, A. and Lichtman, A., Cellular and Molecular Immunology, Ed. 5, Elsevier Health Sciences Division (2005); and Harlow and Lane, Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press (1988).
Having now described the present invention in detail, the same will be more clearly understood by reference to the following examples, which are included herewith for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to be limiting of the invention.
EXAMPLES Example 1: Identification of Active FIX-XTEN VariantsFIX fusion proteins comprising a FIX polypeptide with one or more XTEN insertions to improve the properties of the FIX protein were constructed. However, the location, length, composition and number of XTEN modifications can be readily varied, and impact of these modifications on the activity and clearance of FIX can be evaluated.
The present example aims to identify sites in FIX that can accommodate the introduction of XTENs without abrogating FIX activity and apply this approach to both otherwise non-modified FIX and a recombinant FIX-Fc fusion protein.
MethodsThe FIX polypeptide coding sequence was ligated into expression vector pcDNA4/myc-His C (INVITROGEN™, Carlsbad, Calif.) between the BsiWI and PmeI sites following introduction of a Kozak translation initiation sequence (GCCGCCACC) immediately 5′ to the ATG codon encoding the start Met residue.
HEK293F cells (INVITROGEN™, Carlsbad, Calif.) were transfected with plasmid using polyethyleneimine (PEI, Polysciences Inc., Warrington, Pa.). The transiently transfected cells were grown in FREESTYLE™ 293 medium or a mixture of FREESTYLE™ 293 and CD OPTICHO™ media (INVITROGEN™, Carlsbad, Calif.). The cell culture medium was harvested 5 days after transfection and analyzed for FIX activity by chromogenic or aPTT FIX activity assay.
The chromogenic FIX activity was measured using the BIOPHEN Factor IX kit from Aniara and all incubations were performed on a 37° C. plate heater with shaking. Cell culture harvests from transient transfection media of FIX-XTEN variants from 6 well plates were diluted to the desired FIX activity range using Tris-BSA dilution buffer (R4). FIX standards were also prepared in Tris-BSA dilution buffer. The standards, diluted cell culture samples, and a pooled normal human plasma assay control (50 pt/well) were added to IMMULON® 2HB 96-well plates in duplicates. Human Factor X, FVIII:C and fibrin polymerization inhibitor (50 μL), 50 μL of mixture of Factor XIa, with thrombin, phospholipids and Calcium, and 50 μL of Factor Xa specific Chromogenic substrate (SXa-11) were added sequentially into each well, with 2 minutes incubation between each addition. After incubating with the substrate, 50 μL of 20% acetic acid was added to terminate the color reaction, and the absorbance at 405 nm was measured with a SPECTRAMAX® plus (MOLECULAR DEVICES®) instrument. Data analysis was performed using SOFTMAX® Pro Software (version 5.2).
A one stage activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) coagulation assay was employed to assess FIX activity. The FIX-XTEN aPTT activity was measured using the SYSMEX® CA-1500 instrument (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc., Tarrytown, N.Y.). To create a standard curve for the assay, WHO Factor IX standard was diluted with mock transfection media with matching culture media concentration as the testing sample. Cell culture harvests from transient transfection media of FIX-XTEN variants from 6 well plates were diluted to the desired FIX activity range using mock transfection media. After dilution, the aPTT assay was performed using the Sysmex instrument as follow: 50 μl of diluted standards and samples were mixed with 50 μl Siemens human FIX depleted Plasma and then 50 μl of Siemens Actin FSL (ellagic acid) activator. The mixture was incubated for 1 min. Subsequently, 50 μl of Siemens CaCl2) was added to the mixture and the mixture was incubated for 240 seconds. The clotting time was measured immediately following this incubation. To determine test samples FIX activity, the clotting times of the standards were plotted using log scales to extrapolate the equation between clotting time and FIX activity, and FIX-XTEN activity was then calculated against the standard curve.
Selection of Insertion SitesFIX structures from Protein Data Bank, 1PFX, 1IXA, 1CFI, 1CFH, 1EDM, 3LC3, 3LC5, 1RFN, 1X7A and 3KCG, were analyzed to select sites in FIX for XTEN insertion. XTEN insertion within the GLA domain was avoided due to the essential role of the GLA domain in anchoring FIX to phospholipid surfaces and subendothelial type IV collagen. XTEN insertion sites were selected by analysis of available FIX structures in the Protein Data Bank in conjunction with the following criteria: 1) calculated accessible surface area by algorithm software ASA View (www.abren.net/asaview/) and Get Area (curie.utmb.edu/getarea.html), 2) solvent accessibility assessed by hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (H/DX-MS), 3) exclusion of sites within defined secondary structural elements, 4) preference for positions with significant inter-species protein sequence variability, and 5) exclusion of sites proximal to known hemophilia B mutations.
Four sites in the EGF1 domain, 5 sites in the EGF2 domain, 2 sites in the linker region between the AP domain and the EGF2 domain, 4 sites in the AP (activation peptide) domain and 18 sites in the catalytic domain were selected for insertion of XTEN (Table 6).
The highly active FIX Padua variant (R338L) was used as a scaffold to counter potential FIX activity loss due to reduced activity caused by the introduction of XTENs. A42-residue XTEN element (AE42) was inserted at sites selected by using the criteria above or fused at the C-terminus of FIX. FIX activities of these variants were evaluated in conditioned medium of transfected HEK293 cells as described above. FIX activities of FIX-AE42s are shown as percentage of the base construct without XTEN, FIX-R338L (
XTEN insertion was tolerated at limited sites as determined by FIX chromogenic assay (
Longer XTENs (AE-72, -144 and -288) were then similarly tested at sites shown to be permissive for AE42 insertion. FIX activities were determined as previously described and are shown as percentage of the base construct without XTEN, FIX-R338L (
Only sites in AP and sites at or close to the C-terminus of FIX tolerated longer XTENs (AE144, AE288 or AE864) (
Based on results obtained with single XTEN variants, FIX variants with multiple XTEN insertions of varying lengths and at four different locations (see
Three groups, FIX with a single XTEN, FIX with dual XTEN insertions and FIX-Fc with a single XTEN insertion, showed detectable activity, while combination of insertion/fusion at three or more sites abolished FIX activity (
In conclusion, several permissive sites for XTEN insertion are present in FIX and select combinations of XTEN insertions variants retain FIX activity. Active FIX-XTEN variants identified here are candidates for pharmacokinetic characterization in hemophilia B mice.
Example 2: FIX Fusion Proteins and its Plasma Recovery and AUC/DFactor IX deficient (HemB, B6.129P2-F9tm1Dws/J, MGI:1932297) mice (Lin. et al., 1997) were originally acquired from Dr. Darrel Stafford (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). Male/female HemB mice were each injected intravenously with a single intravenous bolus injection of 50 or 200 IU/kg of FIX fusion proteins (e.g., FIX-CT.288 (AE288 XTEN fused to the C-terminus of an FIX polypeptide), FIX-CT.864 (AE864 XTEN fused to the C-terminus of an FIX polypeptide), FIX-AP.144 (AE144 XTEN inserted after D166 within the AP domain of a FIX polypeptide), FIX-AP.72 (AE72 XTEN inserted after D166 within the AP domain of a FIX polypeptide), FIX-AP.42 (AE42 XTEN inserted after D166 within the AP domain of a FIX polypeptide), FIXFc, and FIX) at a dosing volume of 10 mL/kg at t=0 hour. Blood was collected at 5 minutes post dosing up to 168 hours (7 days) post dosing. For each indicated time point ˜100 μl citrated blood was collected by retroorbital or terminal vena cava bleeding from 3-4 mice per time point. Up to 3 time points per mouse were generated. Plasma was isolated by centrifugation at 5000 rpm for 8 minutes and plasma samples were snap frozen in a dry-ice ethanol bath and stored at −80° C. until they were analyzed with one stage activated thromboplastin time (aPTT)-assay on a Sysmex-CA1500 coagulation analyzer, using Dade Behring reagents and actin FSL as activator and dosing material as activity standards. In
FIX deficient mice were intravenously dosed with 50 or 200 IU/kg of the FIX fusion proteins: FIX fused to an XTEN with 288 amino acids (e.g., AE288); FIX-Fc wherein an XTEN with 72 amino acids (e.g., AE72) is inserted at the AP domain after D166; FIX-Fc wherein an XTEN with 42 amino acids (e.g., AE42) is inserted at the AP domain after D166; and controls (e.g., FIXFc and FIX). Plasma was collected and FIX activity and PK analysis was performed identically to the methods described in Example 5.
FIX deficient mice were subcutaneously dosed at t=0 with 50 or 200 IU/kg of the FIX fusion proteins: FIX fused to an XTEN of 288 amino acids (e.g., AE288) at the C terminus (FIX-CT.288); FIXFc having an XTEN of 72 amino acids (e.g., AE72) in the AP domain (FIXFc-AP.72); FIXFc having an XTEN of 42 amino acids (e.g., AE42) in the EGF2 domain (e.g., FIXFc-EGF.42); and controls (FIXFc and FIX). Plasma was collected and FIX activity and PK analysis was performed identically to the methods described in Example 1.
Taken together, the FIX fusion proteins (e.g., rFIX-CT.288 and rFIXFc-AP.72) showed a 2.6- and 1.9-fold improved AUC/D for subcutaneous dosing when compared to intravenous dosing of rFIXFc, the latter supporting once weekly or less frequent intravenous dosing in humans for prophylaxis.
Example 5: In Vitro Efficacy of FIX Fusion ProteinsHuman hemophilia-B blood was spiked with the indicated doses of 3 10, and 30 IU/dL of rFIXFc (open circles, dotted line) or a FIX fusion protein (e.g., rFIXFc-AP.72) (solid dots, solid line) or vehicle (open triangle) (
rFIXFc-AP.72 and rFIX-CT.288 show greatly improved subcutaneous pharmacokinetics in HemB mice compared to both rFIX and rFIXFc. Further studies are ongoing to address the efficacy and allometric scaling in preclinical animal models.
Example 6: In Vivo Efficacy of rFIXFc-AP.72 in an Acute Murine Tail Clip Bleeding ModelAcute efficacy was studied in a blinded murine tail-clip bleeding model, in which total blood loss in dosed mice is measured after tail tip amputation, as described previously (Dumont et al., Blood, 119(13):3024-3030, 2012). Briefly, 8-15 weeks old male Hemophilia B mice (Lin et al., Blood (1997) 90: 3962-3966) were anesthetized with a cocktail of 50 mg/kg ketamine and 0.5 mg/kg dexmedetomidine. The tails were immersed in 37° C. saline for 10 minutes, to dilate the lateral vein followed by intravenous tail vein injection of either vehicle (3.88 g/L L-Histidine, 23.8 g/L Mannitol, 11.9 g/L Sucrose, 3.25 g/L Sodium Chloride, 0.01% (w/v) Polysorbate 20 (pH 7.1), 3% human serum albumin), rFIXFc-AP.72, or rFIXFc at 50, 100, and 200 IU/kg. Five minutes post-dosing, the 5 mm distal tip of the tail was clipped and submerged into a pre-weighted tube containing 13 mL saline for the period of 30 minutes. Blood loss was quantified by weight. Statistical significance was calculated using unpaired two-tailed t-test in GraphPad Prism 6. Such two tailed t-tests showed that the 50, 100, and 200 IU/kg doses of rFIXFc-AP.72 were significantly different from vehicle (p-value <0.0001). In addition, the data show that a low dose, e.g., 50 IU/kg, of rFIXFc-AP.72 results in significantly lower blood loss compared to the same low dose, i.e., 50 IU/kg, of rFIXFc. These results demonstrate equal or improved acute efficacy for rFIXFc-AP.72 compared to rFIXFc in this bleeding model.
Example 7: In Vivo Efficacy of FIXFc-AP.72 in a Prophylactic Murine Tail Vein Transection Bleeding ModelProlonged efficacy was studied in a blinded murine tail vein transection (TVT) bleeding model, in which survival time of dosed hemophilia-B mice is measured after transection of one lateral tail vein, as described previously (Toby et al., PLOS One, DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0148255, 2016; Pan et al., Blood 114:2802-2822 (2009)). Briefly, 8-15 weeks old male hemophilia B mice (Lin et al., Blood 90: 3962-3966 (1997)) were pre-dosed intravenously with 15, 50, 100 IU/kg FIX activity of rFIXFc or matching subcutaneous doses of FIXFc-AP.72 and compared to mice receiving a bolus dose of vehicle. At 72 hours post dosing, all mice were anesthetized and one lateral tail vein was transected at a 2.7 mm tail diameter. During the 9 to 11 hours immediately following the TVT and then at an overnight time point at 24 hours, qualitative end points were monitored and recorded hourly, including rebleeding and time to death (as defined as the time to euthanization, as determined when the animal was moribund). All mice were euthanized at the end of 24 hour study, while animals not dead or moribund were determined to have survived at 24 hours.
Data were plotted as percent survival following TVT using GraphPad Prism 6. Mice dosed subcutaneously with vehicle (dotted line), subcutaneously with FIXFc-AP.72 (solid lines, closed symbols) or intravenously dosed with FIXFc (dashed lines, open symbols) (15 IU/kg, 50 IU/kg, 100 IU/kg n=20/dose except for vehicle dose; n=30) (
Hemophilia-B mice were dosed with either 200 IU/kg FIXFc-AP.72 (FIX-216, dual chain Fc) or rFIX. Blood was collected by retro-orbital bleeding at the indicated times. Plasma levels of FIX were determined by one-stage clotting assay activity using dosing material as activity standards. In
Subcutaneous dosing of FIXFc-AP.72 shows a tmax around 20 hours post dosing in mice, and improved plasma activity levels compared to similar (IU/kg) intravenously dosed rFIX or rFIXFc. Using the TVT bleeding model in HemB mice we show that at 72 hours post dosing, subcutaneously dosed FIXFc-AP.72 has improved in vivo efficacy compared to intravenously dosed rFIXFc at all tested doses. Similarly, acute efficacy testing in the HemB mouse tail-clip bleeding model showed improved efficacy of intravenously dosed FIXFc-AP.72 compared to rFIXFc. These data support the potential of once weekly or less frequent subcutaneous prophylactic dosing of FIXFc-AP.72 in humans.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can, by applying knowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments, without undue experimentation, without departing from the general concept of the present invention. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments, based on the teaching and guidance presented herein. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, such that the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is to be interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings and guidance.
Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.
The present application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 62/200,590 filed Aug. 3, 2015 and 62/281,993 filed Jan. 22, 2016, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
EMBODIMENTSE1. A Factor IX (FIX) fusion protein comprising a FIX polypeptide and at least one XTEN which is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and any combination thereof, and wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
E2. The FIX fusion protein of E1, wherein the insertion site corresponds to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and any combination thereof.
E3. The FIX fusion protein of E1 or E2, wherein the insertion site corresponds to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acids 226 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acids 228 of SEQ ID NO: 2; amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and any combination thereof.
E4. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E3, wherein the insertion site corresponds to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and both.
E5. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E4, wherein the insertion site corresponds to amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 2.
E6. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E5, wherein the XTEN comprises at least about 6 amino acids, at least about 12 amino acids, at least about 36 amino acids, at least about 42 amino acids, at least about 72 amino acids, at least about 144 amino acids, or at least about 288 amino acids.
E7. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E6, wherein the XTEN comprises AE42, AE72, AE864, AE576, AE288, AE144, AG864, AG576, AG288, AG144, or any combination thereof.
E8. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E7, wherein the XTEN comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or about 100% identical to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, and any combination thereof.
E9. The FIX fusion protein of E7 or E8, wherein the XTEN comprises AE72 or AE144.
E10. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E9, which further comprises a second XTEN.
E11. The FIX fusion protein of E10, wherein the second XTEN is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and any combination thereof or wherein the second XTEN is fused to either the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide or a linker fused to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide.
E12. The FIX fusion protein of E10 or E11, wherein the XTEN and the second XTEN are inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid and/or fused to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide selected from the group consisting of:
-
- i. amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2;
- ii. amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2;
- iii. amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and fused to the C-terminus;
- iv. amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2;
- v. amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and fused to the C-terminus; and
- vi. amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and fused to the C-terminus, respectively.
E13. The FIX fusion protein of E10 or E11, wherein the XTEN is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and wherein the second XTEN is fused to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide.
E14. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E10 to E13, wherein the second XTEN comprises at least about 6 amino acids, at least about 12 amino acids, at least about 36 amino acids, at least about 42 amino acids, at least about 72 amino acids, at least about 144 amino acids, or at least about 288 amino acids.
E15. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E10 to E14, wherein the second XTEN is selected from the group consisting of AE42, AE72, AE864, AE576, AE288, AE144, AG864, AG576, AG288, AG144, and any combination thereof.
E16. The FIX fusion protein of E15, wherein the second XTEN is AE72 or AE144.
E17. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E10 to E16, wherein the second XTEN comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or about 100% identical to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, and any combination thereof.
E18. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E10 to E17, which further comprises a third, a fourth, a fifth, or a sixth XTEN.
E19. A FIX fusion protein comprising a FIX polypeptide and a heterologous moiety comprising an XTEN, wherein the XTEN is fused to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide and comprises an amino acid sequence of longer than 42 amino acids and shorter than 144 amino acids in length.
E20. The FIX fusion protein of E19, wherein the XTEN comprises an amino acid sequence of longer than 50, 55, 60, 65, or 70 amino acids and shorter than 140, 130, 120, 110, 100, 90, or 80 amino acids or any combination thereof.
E21. The FIX fusion protein of E20, wherein the XTEN is 72 amino acids in length.
E22. The FIX fusion protein of E21, wherein the XTEN is AE72.
E23. The FIX fusion protein of E19, wherein the XTEN comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or 100% identical to SEQ ID NO: 35.
E24. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E23, further comprising an Fc domain.
E25. The FIX fusion protein of E24, wherein the Fc domain is fused to the FIX polypeptide or the XTEN.
E26. The FIX fusion protein of E24 or E25, comprising a second Fc domain.
E27. The FIX fusion protein of E26, wherein the second Fc domain is associated with the first Fc domain.
E28. The FIX fusion protein of E26 or E27, which comprises two polypeptide chains, wherein the first polypeptide chain comprises the FIX polypeptide fused to the Fc domain, and the second polypeptide chain comprises the second Fc domain, wherein the first Fc domain and the second Fc domain are associated by a covalent bond.
E29. The FIX fusion protein of E26 or E27, which is a single polypeptide chain comprising the FIX polypeptide, the Fc domain, the second Fc domain, and a linker which links the Fc domain and the second Fc domain.
E30. The FIX fusion protein of E29, wherein the linker further comprises one or more intracellular processing sites.
E31. The FIX fusion protein of E29 or E30, wherein the linker comprises (Gly4Ser)n, wherein n is an integer selected from 1 to 100.
E32. The FIX fusion protein of E1 to E31, comprising an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or about 100% identical to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 54 to SEQ ID NO: 153 without the signal peptide and the propeptide sequence.
E33. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E32, which has at least about 10%, at least about 20%, at least about 30%, at least about 40%, at least about 50%, at least about 60%, at least about 70%, at least about 80%, at least about 90% or 100% of the procoagulant activity of native FIX.
E34. The FIX fusion protein of E33, wherein the procoagulant activity is measured by a chromogenic substrate assay, a one stage clotting assay, or both.
E35. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E34, wherein the FIX polypeptide is a R338L FIX variant.
E36. The FIX fusion protein of E35, wherein the R338L FIX variant comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or 100% identical to SEQ ID NO: 2.
E37. An isolated polynucleotide comprising a sequence encoding the FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E36.
E38. An expression vector comprising the polynucleotide of E37.
E39. A host cell comprising the polynucleotide of E37 or the vector of E38.
E40. The host cell of E39, wherein the FIX fusion protein is expressed in vivo.
E41. The host cell of E39, wherein the FIX fusion protein is expressed in vitro.
E42. A method of producing a FIX fusion protein comprising culturing the host cell of E39 under conditions in which the FIX fusion protein is expressed.
E43. A composition comprising the FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E36, the polynucleotide of E37, the expression vector of E38, or the host cell of any one of E39 to E41 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
E44. A method of preventing, treating, ameliorating, or managing a clotting disease or condition in a patient in need thereof comprising administering an effective amount of the FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E36, the polynucleotide of E37, the expression vector of E38, the host cell of any one of E39 to E41, or the composition of E43.
E45. The method of E44, wherein the administering comprises subcutaneous administration to the patient.
E46. A method for diagnosing or imaging a clotting disease or condition in a subject comprising contacting the FIX fusion protein of any one of E1 to E36, the polynucleotide of E37, the expression vector of E38, or the host cell of any one of E39 to E41 with a sample of the subject.
E47. A method of extending a half-life of a FIX polypeptide comprising inserting an XTEN within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 103 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 105 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 142 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 224 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 226 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 228 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 413 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and any combination thereof, thereby constructing a FIX fusion protein, wherein the FIX protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
E48. A Factor IX (FIX) fusion protein comprising a first chain and a second chain, wherein:
- a. the first chain comprises:
- i. a FIX polypeptide;
- ii. at least one XTEN, wherein the at least one XTEN is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and wherein the at least one XTEN comprises an amino acid sequence having at least about 72 amino acids; and
- iii. a first Fc domain, wherein the first Fc domain is fused to the FIX polypeptide of the at least one XTEN; and
- b. the second chain comprises a second Fc domain wherein the first Fc domain and the second Fc domain are associated by a covalent bond; and wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
E49. The FIX fusion protein of E48, wherein the at least one XTEN comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or about 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 35.
E50. The FIX fusion protein of E48 or E49, wherein the first chain of the FIX fusion protein comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, or at least about 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 227; and wherein the second chain of the FIX fusion protein comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, or at least about 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 228.
E51. The FIX fusion protein of any one of E48 to E50, wherein the first chain of the FIX fusion protein comprises an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 227; and wherein the second chain of the FIX fusion protein comprises an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 228.
The following vector sequences are referenced in the proceeding examples and elsewhere in the present application. The following key will aid in understanding the information:
Claims
1. A Factor IX (FIX) fusion protein comprising a FIX polypeptide and an XTEN that is inserted within the FIX polypeptide, wherein the FIX fusion protein comprises the FIX polypeptide amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 with the XTEN inserted at an insertion site in the activation peptide of SEQ ID NO: 2 (amino acids 146-180), and wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
2. The FIX fusion protein of claim 1, wherein the insertion site corresponds to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of amino acid 149 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 162 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2, amino acid 174 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and any combination thereof.
3. The FIX fusion protein of claim 1, wherein the XTEN comprises at least about 5 amino acids, at least about 6 amino acids, at least about 12 amino acids, at least about 36 amino acids, at least about 42 amino acids, at least about 72 amino acids, at least about 144 amino acids, or at least about 288 amino acids.
4. The FIX fusion protein of claim 1, which further comprises a second XTEN.
5. The FIX fusion protein of claim 4, wherein the XTEN is inserted within the FIX polypeptide at an insertion site corresponding to amino acid 166 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and wherein the second XTEN is fused to the C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide.
6. The FIX fusion protein of claim 1, further comprising a first Fc domain.
7. The FIX fusion protein of claim 6, further comprising a second Fc domain.
8. The FIX fusion protein of claim 7, which comprises two polypeptide chains, wherein
- (i) the first polypeptide chain comprises the first Fc domain fused to the N-terminus or C-terminus of the FIX polypeptide comprising the XTEN, and
- (ii) the second polypeptide chain comprises the second Fc domain,
- wherein the first Fc domain and the second Fc domain are associated by a covalent bond.
9. The FIX fusion protein of claim 1, wherein the FIX polypeptide is a R338L FIX variant.
10. An isolated polynucleotide comprising a sequence encoding the FIX fusion protein of claim 1.
11. An expression vector comprising the polynucleotide of claim 10.
12. A host cell comprising the vector of claim 11.
13. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the FIX fusion protein of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
14. A method of preventing, treating, ameliorating, or managing a clotting disease or condition in a patient in need thereof, comprising administering to the patient an effective amount of the FIX fusion protein of claim 1.
15. A Factor IX (FIX) fusion protein comprising a first polypeptide chain and a polypeptide second chain, wherein:
- a. the first polypeptide chain comprises: i. a FIX polypeptide and an XTEN that is inserted within the FIX polypeptide, wherein the FIX fusion protein comprises the FIX polypeptide amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 with the XTEN inserted at an insertion site in the activation peptide (amino acids 146-180) of SEQ ID NO: 2, and wherein the at least one XTEN comprises an amino acid sequence having at least about 72 amino acids; and ii. a first Fc domain, wherein the first Fc domain is fused to the FIX polypeptide comprising the XTEN; and
- b. the second polypeptide chain comprises a second Fc domain, wherein the first Fc domain and the second Fc domain are associated by a covalent bond; and wherein the FIX fusion protein exhibits procoagulant activity.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 6, 2020
Publication Date: Feb 4, 2021
Inventors: Zhiqian LIU (Winchester, MA), Arjan VAN DER FLIER (Somerville, MA), David R. LIGHT (Somerville, MA), Ekta Seth CHHABRA (Framingham, MA), Tongyao LIU (Lexington, MA), Robert T. PETERS (Needham, MA), John KULMAN (Belmont, MA), Ayman ISMAIL (Cambridge, MA)
Application Number: 16/920,970
