Electrophoretic evidence for the presence of structural isoforms specific for the IgG2 isotype

Recombinant monoclonal antibodies of therapeutic interest were analyzed by a nonreduced CE-SDS (nrCE-SDS) method developed for the evaluation of size-based variants. We found that immunoglobulins analyzed by this technique exhibited different behavior depending on their subclasses. Under nrCE-SDS conditions, IgG1 molecules were separated in a well-resolved, single peak, whereas IgG2 molecules were consistently separated as a doublet. Investigation of these isoforms showed that they were structurally different, and that the difference was not caused by cell culture condition, glycosylation structure, or recombinant expression system. Commercially available IgG2 affinity-purified from human plasma also showed the presence of structural isoforms. The structural isoforms remained present under pH- and temperature-stressed conditions. Application of a mild cysteine/cystine redox potential converted the main peak doublet into a single peak, indicating that these isoforms were disulfide bond-related species. Bioactivity measured before and after application of a redox potential gave similar values, indicating that the structural isoforms have comparable potency. The nrCE-SDS technique described here demonstrated a unique capability to resolve IgGs, leading to the discovery of novel structural isoforms specific to the IgG2 isotype.