[One amino acid mutation in an anti-CD20 antibody fragment that affects the yield bacterial secretion and the...

Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) directed against CD20, either unmodified or in radiolabeled forms, have been successfully exploited in clinic as effective therapeutic agents in the management of non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma. The antibody fragment is a potential agent in image and therapy of tumor. To further improve the soluble expression of anti-CD20 antibody Fab' fragment, PCR was used to mutate the anti-CD20 VL and VH genes and its biological activity was identified. The expression vector of chimeric antibody Fab' was constructed and expressed in E. coli. The data of mutant clone DNA sequence showed that the amino acid of light chain gene of the parent anti-CD20 antibody (H47) was successful mutated as Ser (GAG)-Asn (CAG). The soluble expression of mutated anti-CD20 Fab' (CD20-7) was 3.8 mg/g dry cell weight, while the parent (CD20-2) was 1.3 mg/g dry cell weight. The affinity constant Ka of CD20-7 was 2.2 x 10(9) L/mol. The primary results of competitive assays by FACS showed that CD20-7 could partially block the sites through which parent antibody (HI47) bind to Raji cells. There was difference in the Raji cells (CD20+)-binding activity between the mutant CD20-7 and parent CD20-2. The site mutation of anti-CD20 Fab' gene make it possible that the anti-CD20 antibody fragment was succeeded to obtain higher expression. In this thesis, we succeeded in completing mutation and expression of anti-CD20 Fab' genes, distinguishing its biological activity, and obtaining its highly expression. These period results will lay a foundation for development of other kind of anti-CD20 engineering antibody (for instance: Fab' Diabody and miniantibody), and make it possible for anti-CD20 antibody to be applied to tumor therapy in civil in the future.