Site-specific N- and O-glycosylation analysis of atacicept

Kathrin Stavenhagen*, Rabah Gahoual, Elena Dominguez Vega, Angelo Palmese, Agnes L.Hipgrave Ederveen, Francesca Cutillo, Wolf Palinsky, Horst Bierau, Manfred Wuhrer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The Fc-fusion protein atacicept is currently under clinical investigation for its biotherapeutic application in autoimmune diseases owing to its ability to bind the two cytokines B-Lymphocyte Stimulator (BLyS) and A PRoliferation-Inducing Ligand (APRIL). Like typical recombinant IgG-based therapeutics, atacicept is a glycoprotein whose glycosylation-related heterogeneity arises from the glycosylation-site localization, site-specific occupation and structural diversity of the attached glycans. Here, we present a first comprehensive site-specific N- and O-glycosylation characterization of atacicept using mass spectrometry-based workflows. First, N- and O-glycosylation sites and their corresponding glycoforms were identified. Second, a relative quantitation of the N-glycosylation site microheterogeneity was achieved by glycopeptide analysis, which was further supported by analysis of the released N-glycans. We confirmed the presence of one N-glycosylation site, carrying 47 glycoforms covering 34 different compositions, next to two hinge region O-glycosylation sites with core 1-type glycans. The relative O-glycan distribution was analyzed based on the de-N-glycosylated intact protein species. Overall, N- and O-glycosylation were consistent between two individual production batches.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1053-1063
Number of pages11
JournalmAbs
Volume11
Issue number6
Early online date26 Jul 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Aug 2019

Funding

This project was supported by the European Union (Seventh Framework Programme HighGlycan project, grant number: 278535)

FundersFunder number
Seventh Framework Programme278535
European Commission
Seventh Framework Programme

    Keywords

    • atacicept
    • Fc-fusion protein
    • glycosylation
    • N-glycans
    • N-glycopeptides
    • O-glycopeptides

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Site-specific N- and O-glycosylation analysis of atacicept'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this