Synthesis and characterization of poly(ethylene glycol)-insulin conjugates

Human insulin was modified by covalent attachment of short-chain (750 and 2000 Da) methoxypoly (ethylene glycol) (mPEG) to the amino groups of either residue PheB1 or LysB29, resulting in four distinct conjugates: mPEG(750)-PheB1-insulin, mPEG(2000)-PheB1-insulin, mPEG(750)-LysB29-insulin, and mPEG(2000)-LysB29-insulin. Characterization of the conjugates by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and N-terminal protein sequence analyses verified that only a single polymer chain (750 or 2000 Da) was attached to the selected residue of interest (PheB1 or LysB29). Equilibrium sedimentation experiments were performed using analytical ultracentrifugation to quantitatively determine the association state(s) of insulin derivatives. In the concentration range studied, all four of the conjugates and Zn-free insulin exist as stable dimers while Zn(2+)-insulin was exclusively hexameric and Lispro was monomeric. In addition, insulin (conjugate) self-association was evaluated by circular dichroism in the near-ultraviolet wavelength range (320-250 nm). This independent method qualitatively suggests that mPEG-insulin conjugates behave similarly to Zn-free insulin in the concentration range studied and complements results from ultracentrifugation studies. The physical stability/resistance to fibrillation of mPEG-insulin conjugates in aqueous solution were assessed. The data proves that mPEG(750 and 2000)-PheB1-insulin conjugates are substantially more stable than controls but the mPEG(750 and 2000)-LysB29-insulin conjugates were only slightly more stable than commercially available preparations. Circular dichroism studies done in the far ultraviolet region confirm insulin's tertiary structure in aqueous solution is essentially conserved after mPEG conjugation. In vivo pharmacodynamic assays reveal that there is no loss in biological activity after conjugation of mPEG(750) to either position on the insulin B-chain. However, attachment of mPEG(2000) decreased the bioactivity of the conjugates to about 85% of Lilly's HumulinR formulation. The characterization presented in this paper provides strong testimony to the fact that attachment of mPEG to specific amino acid residues of insulin's B-chain improves the conjugates' physical stability without appreciable perturbations to its tertiary structure, self-association behavior, or in vivo biological activity.