HK1199409B

HK1199409B - Antibodies binding to phosphorylcholine (pc) and/or pc conjugates

Info

Publication number: HK1199409B
Application number: HK14113055.9A
Authority: HK
Inventors: K．彼得松; O．坎贝尔; 丹．塞克斯顿; 安德鲁．E．尼克松
Original assignee: 阿瑟拉生物技术公司; 戴埃克斯有限公司
Priority date: 2011-08-09
Filing date: 2012-08-08
Publication date: 2019-01-25

Description

Antibodies binding to Phosphorylcholine (PC) and/or PC conjugates

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/521607, filed on 9/8/2011, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to novel antibodies that bind to Phosphorylcholine (PC) and/or PC conjugates and have surprisingly in vivo efficacious properties.

Background

The explicit prior publications listed or discussed in this specification are not necessarily admitted to be part of the state of the art or common general knowledge.

Despite the options for treating cardiovascular disease, Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) remains the leading cause of death in the industrialized world. The occurrence of ACS is the result of thrombosis within the lumen of the coronary artery, which is associated with chronic inflammation within the artery wall. Arterial inflammation is initiated via the formation of a lipid core and by infiltration of inflammatory cells leading to plaque formation. Unstable plaques (plaques) contain a substantial necrotic core and apoptotic cells that disrupt the endothelium and can lead to plaque rupture exposing underlying collagen, von Willebrand factor (vWF), tissue factor, lipids, and smooth muscle, leading to platelet adhesion, activation, and aggregation (Libby et al 1996). ACS may be treated with a combination of antiplatelet therapy, cholesterol lowering medication (e.g., statins), anticoagulants, and surgical recanalization (recanalization) by Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) and stent implantation.

Antiplatelet therapies such as COX-1 inhibitors (e.g., aspirin), ADP receptor antagonists (e.g., beclomedine and clopidogrel) and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor antagonists have been shown to reduce the incidence of Major Adverse Coronary Events (MACE) in a number of different clinical trials (Dupont et al 2009). However, a fraction of patients receiving long-term antiplatelet therapy continue to have cardiovascular events. In addition, chronic prophylactic therapy may take up to two years to show the greatest beneficial effect, and many patients continue to have a high risk of disease recurrence. There is a period of up to 6-12 months after myocardial infarction during which patients are predisposed to further MACE, often due to reocclusion due to restenosis (tabas.2010).

Thus, there is a clear need for treatments specifically directed at preventing further plaque progression and promoting plaque regression, thereby enabling a substantial reduction in events during this period.

Phosphorylcholine (a polar head group on certain phospholipids) has a wide association with cardiovascular disease. Reactive oxygen species generated during coronary inflammation cause oxidation of Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) to produce oxidized LDL (oxLDL). Indeed, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), such as atherosclerosis, unstable angina or acute coronary syndrome, have been shown to be associated with elevated oxLDL levels in plasma (Itabe and ueda.2007). LDL is a circulating lipoprotein particle that contains lipids with a PC polar head group and apoB100 protein.

During oxidation of LDL, PC containing neo-epitopes not present on unmodified LDL is produced. Scavenger receptors on macrophages (e.g., CD 36) recognize newly exposed PC on oxLDL, and the resulting oxLDL engulfed by the macrophages begins to undergo the formation of pro-inflammatory foam cells (proinflammatory foam cells) in the vessel wall. Receptors on the surface of endothelial cells also recognize oxidized LDL and have been reported to stimulate a range of responses, including endothelial cell dysfunction, apoptosis, and unfolded protein response (Gora et al 2010). PC neo-epitopes are also exposed on LDL after modification by phospholipase a2 or amine-reactive disease metabolites (e.g. aldehydes produced by oxidation of glycated proteins). These additional modified LDL particles are also pro-inflammatory factors in CVD.

Antibodies against Phosphorylcholine (PC) have been shown to bind oxidized LDL or other modified LDL and block the pro-inflammatory activity of oxLDL in an in vivo model or in an in vitro study (Shaw et al 2000; Shaw et al 2001).

Moreover, examination of clinical data confirms that low levels of natural IgM anti-PC antibodies are associated with an increased risk of MACE in ACS patients (Frostegard, j.2010).

Thus, there is a need for anti-PC antibody molecules that are effective for use in therapy, particularly fully human anti-PC antibodies suitable for human therapy. To the best of the applicant's knowledge, the art has not yet provided therapeutically effective human anti-PC antibodies. The identification of such antibodies is hampered by the fact that: the in vitro screening methods for human antibodies with anti-PC binding activity are not optimal for predicting the effect of in vivo therapeutic activity.

In view of this, there is a need in the art for human anti-PC antibody molecules that provide effective and advantageous properties when used in an in vivo system, particularly for human therapy.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a graph comparing two different formulations of antibody evaluating binding affinity via equilibrium binding analysis of Biacore (○) X9-C01 (lot: W21574) (Kd =352 + -59 nM), (. smallcircle) X9-C01 (lot: W22596) (Kd =295 + -46 nM).

FIG. 2 is purified IgG bound to PC-BSA measured by ELISA. (●) M4-G02 (EC)₅₀=0.14nM），（○）M73-G03（EC₅₀=0.91nM），（▼）X9-C01（EC₅₀=0.18 nM). Data in whole B_maxFitting to a 4 parameter logistic equation to obtain EC₅₀And (6) evaluating.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the inhibition of CD45 positive leukocytes flow into the media of femoral artery cannulated mice. Transgenic male ApoE x 3Leiden mice were fed a high cholesterol and high lipid diet containing 1% cholesterol and 0.05% cholate to induce hypercholesterolemia. After 3 weeks of high lipid diet, mice were anesthetized and the femoral artery was dissected from around the femoral artery and loosely sheathed with a non-constricting polyethylene cannula (Portex, 0.40mm inner diameter, 0.80mm outer diameter and 2.0mm length). On day 0, mice were treated with 10mg/kg recombinant anti-PC IgG antibody in PBS, 10mg/kg anti-streptavidin A2IgG antibody in PBS, or PBS alone by IP injection. Mice were sacrificed 3 days post-surgery and the cannulated femoral artery was removed and embedded in paraffin. Continuous cross sections (5 μm) were obtained from the full length of the cannulated femoral artery segment for histochemical analysis. P <0.01, n = 15.

FIGS. 4A-B are the inhibition of intimal thickening in femoral artery cannulated mice. Transgenic male ApoE x 3Leiden mice were fed a high cholesterol and high lipid diet containing 1% cholesterol and 0.05% cholate to induce hypercholesterolemia. After 3 weeks of high lipid diet, mice were anesthetized and the femoral artery was dissected from around the femoral artery and loosely sheathed with a non-constricting polyethylene cannula (Portex, 0.40mm inner diameter, 0.80mm outer diameter and 2.0mm length). At days 0, 3, 7 and 10 post-surgery, mice were treated with either 10mg/kg recombinant anti-PC IgG antibody in PBS, 10mg/kg anti-streptavidin A2IgG antibody in PBS, or PBS alone by IP injection. Mice were sacrificed 14 days post-surgery and the cannulated femoral artery was removed and embedded in paraffin. Continuous cross sections (5 μm) were obtained from the full length of the cannulated femoral artery segment for histochemical analysis. Comparison of the intimal areas (indicated by arrows) in fig. 4a.4 shows that antibody X9-C01 reduced intimal thickening observed 14 days after cannula-induced vascular injury. FIG. 4B intimal thickening (. mu.m)²，n=10，*p<0.05

FIG. 5 is PC binding activity of the X9-C01 mutant measured using ELISA. (●) X9-C01 (EC)₅₀=0.35nM），（○）X19-E01（EC₅₀=0.38nM），（▼）X19-E03（EC₅₀=0.79nM）。

Disclosure of Invention

The present application discloses the preparation and testing of novel antibodies and antibody fragments comprising novel antigen-binding regions capable of binding to phosphorylcholine and/or a phosphorylcholine conjugate.

In a first aspect, the invention provides an antibody or antibody fragment capable of binding to phosphorylcholine and/or a phosphorylcholine conjugate, wherein the antibody or antibody fragment comprises a heavy chain Variable (VH) region and/or a light chain Variable (VL) region, and wherein:

(a) the VH region comprises an amino acid sequence comprising 1, 2 or 3 Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs) selected from the group consisting of:

a CDR1 sequence comprising a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 7 has at least 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, or 100% sequence identity;

a CDR 2sequence comprising a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 8, or a variant thereof, and an amino acid sequence having at least 5%, 11%, 17%, 23%, 29%, 35%, 41%, 47%, 52%, 58%, 64%, 70%, 76%, 82%, 88%, 94%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of seq id No. 8; and

a CDR3 sequence comprising a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 9 or 10, an amino acid sequence having at least 11%, 22%, 33%, 44%, 55%, 66%, 77%, 88%, or 100% sequence identity; and/or

(b) The VL region comprises an amino acid sequence comprising 1, 2 or 3 Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs) selected from the group consisting of:

a CDR4 sequence comprising a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 11, has at least 7.5%, 15%, 23%, 30%, 38%, 46%, 53%, 61%, 69%, 76%, 84%, 92%, or 100% sequence identity;

a CDR5 sequence comprising a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 12 has at least 14%, 28%, 42%, 57%, 71%, 85%, or 100% sequence identity;

a CDR6 sequence comprising a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 13 has an amino acid sequence having at least 9%, 18%, 27%, 36%, 45%, 54%, 63%, 72%, 81%, 90% or 100% sequence identity.

In one embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, the antibody or antibody fragment comprises a VH region comprising an amino acid sequence comprising the CDR1 sequence, CDR2 and CDR3 sequence as defined above, and/or a VL region comprising an amino acid sequence comprising the CDR4 sequence, CDR5 and CDR6 sequence as defined above.

In another embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, the antibody or antibody fragment comprises:

a VH region comprising the amino acid sequence of all three of the CDR1, CDR2 and CDR3 sequences, while the CDR1, CDR2 and CDR3 sequences are present in a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1. 3 or 5, or an amino acid sequence substantially identical to SEQ ID NO: 1. 3 or 5 has at least 80%, 85%, 90% or 95% sequence identity; and/or

A VL region comprising the amino acid sequence of all three of the CDR4, CDR5 and CDR6 sequences, while the CDR4, CDR5 and CDR6 sequences are present in a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 2. 4 or 6, or an amino acid sequence substantially identical to SEQ ID NO: 2. 4 or 6, having at least 80%, 85%, 90% or 95% sequence identity.

In another embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, the antibody or antibody fragment comprises a heavy chain Variable (VH) region and/or a light chain Variable (VL) region, and wherein:

the VH region comprises a sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 1. 3 or 5, or an amino acid sequence substantially identical to SEQ ID NO: 1. 3 or 5, having at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, or 95% sequence identity; and

the VL region comprises a sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 2. 4 or 6, or an amino acid sequence substantially identical to SEQ ID NO: 2. 4 or 6, having at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90% or 95% sequence identity.

SEQ ID NO: 1 is the X9-C01 antibody heavy chain Variable (VH) region shown in the examples below and has the sequence:

EVQLLESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCAASGFTFSYYRMWWVRQAPGKGLEWVSSIGSSG

GKTFYADSVKGRFTISRDNSKNTLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCARRFMSLGFDYWCQG

TLVTVSS

and comprises Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs):

VHCDR1：YYRMW(SEQ ID NO:7）；

VHCDR2：SIGSSGGKTFYADSVKG(SEQ ID NO：)；

VHCOR3：RFMSLGFDY(SEQ ID NO：9)；

SEQ ID NO: 2 is the light chain Variable (VL) region of the X9-C01 antibody and has the sequence:

QSELTQPHSASGTPGQRVTISCSGRRSNIGANYVYWYQQYPGTAPKLLIYRNNQRPS

GVPDRFSGSKSDTSASLAISGLRSEDEADYYCAAWDDSLSGWVFGGGTKLTVL

and comprises Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs):

VLCOR4：SGRRSNIGANYVY(SEQ ID NO:11)；

VLCOR5:RNNQRPS(SEQ ID NO：12)；

VLCDR6:AAWDDSLSGWV(SEQ ID NO：13)；

SEQ ID NO: 3 is the X19-E01 antibody heavy chain Variable (VH) region shown in the examples below and has the sequence:

EVQLLESGGGLVQPGGSLRLSCAASCFTFSYYRMWWVRQAPGKGLEWVSSIGSSG

GKTFYADSVKGRFTISRDNSKNTLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCARRFLSLGFDYWGQG

TLVTVSS

and comprises Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs):

VH CDR 1: SEQ ID NO: 7;

VH CDR 2: SEQ ID NO: 8;

VH CDR3：RFLSLGFDY（SEQ ID NO：10），

SEQ ID NO: 4 is the light chain Variable (VL) region of the X19-E01 antibody and has the sequence:

QSELTQPHSASGTPGQRVTISCSGRRSNIGANYVYWYQQYFGTAFKLLIYRNNQRPS

GVPDRFSCSKSDTSASLAISCLRSEOEAOYYCAAWDDSLSGWVFGGGTKLTVL

and comprises the following sequences as Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs):

SEQ ID NO: 11 is a VL CDR 4; SEQ ID NO: 12 is a VL CDR 5; and SEQ ID NO: 13 is a VL CDR6 which is,

SEQ ID NO: 5 is the X19-E03 antibody heavy chain Variable (VH) region shown in the examples below and has the sequence:

EVQLLESGGGLVQPGCSLRLSCAASGFTFSYYRMWWVRQAPGKGLEWVSSIGSSG

GKTFYADSVKGRFTISRDNSKNTLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCARRFLSLGFDYWGQG

TLVTVSS

SEQ ID NO: 7 is VH CDR 1; SEQ ID NO: 8 is VH CDR 2; and SEQ ID NO: 10 is a VH CDR3 which is,

SEQ ID NO: 6 is the light chain Variable (VL) region of the X19-E03 antibody and has the sequence:

QSVLTQPPSASGTPGQRVTISCSCRRSNIGANYVYWYQQLPGTAPKLLIYRNNQRFS

GVPDRFSGSKSGTSASLAISGLRSEDEADYYCAAWDDSLSCWVFGGGTKLTVL

SEQ ID NO: 11 is VH CDR 4; SEQ ID NO: 12 is VH CDR 5; and SEQ ID NO: 13 is a VH CDR 6.

A summary of the SEQ ID NOs defined above is shown below:

	X9-C01	X19-E01	X19-E03
				VH sequence	SEQ ID NO：1	SEQ ID NO：3	SEQ ID NO：5
VL sequence	SEQ ID NO：2	SEQ ID NO：4	SEQ ID NO：6
				VH CDR1	SEQ ID NO：7	SEQ ID NO：7	SEQ ID NO：7
VH CDR2	SEQ ID NO：8	SEQ ID NO：8	SEQ ID NO：8
				VH CDR3	SEQ ID NO：9	SEQ ID NO：10	SEQ ID NO：10
VL CDR4	SEQ ID NO：11	SEQ ID NO：11	SEQ ID NO：11
				VL CDR5	SEQ ID NO：12	SEQ ID NO：12	SEQ ID NO：12
VL CDR6	SEQ ID NO：13	SEQ ID NO：13	SEQ ID NO：13

In another embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, the antibody or antibody fragment is based on the VH and/or VL region of the X9-C01 antibody and thus:

VH region (i) comprises a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 1, and/or (ii) comprises a CDR1 sequence, a CDR 2sequence, and a CDR3 sequence, the CDR1 sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of seq id NO: 7, the CDR 2sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8, and the CDR3 sequence comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 5%, 11%, 17%, 23%, 29%, 35%, 41%, 47%, 52%, 58%, 64%, 70%, 76%, 82%, 88%, 94%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9, has at least 11%, 22%, 33%, 44%, 55%, 66%, 77%, 88%, or 100% sequence identity; and/or

The VL region (iii) comprises a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 2, and/or (iv) a CDR4 sequence, a CDR5 sequence and a CDR6 sequence, the CDR4 sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ id no: 11, and a CDR5 sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 7.5%, 15%, 23%, 30%, 38%, 46%, 53%, 61%, 69%, 76%, 84%, 92%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and the CDR6 sequence comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 14%, 28%, 42%, 57%, 71%, 85%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13 has an amino acid sequence having at least 9%, 18%, 27%, 36%, 45%, 54%, 63%, 72%, 81%, 90% or 100% sequence identity. Preferably, the VH region comprises SEQ ID NO: 1, and the VL region comprises SEQ ID NO: 2.

The antibody or antibody fragment of this embodiment may further comprise a heavy chain Constant (CH) region or fragment thereof, which fragment may comprise, for example, at least 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200, 220, 240, 260, 280, 300, 320 or more amino acids of the CH region. The CH region or fragment thereof may be linked to the VH region. The CH region is not particularly limited, although in one embodiment it is a human CH region. The art contains many examples of human CH regions. Exemplary human CH regions for use herein include:

ASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLVKDYFPEPVTVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVL

QSSGLYSLSSVVT VPSSSLGTQTYICNVNHKPSNTKVDKKVEPKSCDKTHTCPPCFA

PELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAK

TKPREEQYNSTYRWSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALAPIEKTISKAKGQPRE

PQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLV KGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDG

SFFLYSKLTVOKSRWQQGNVFSCSVNHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK (SEQ ID NO：14).

SEQ ID NO: 14 is the CH region of X9-C0l and has the sequence of the CH region of human IgGl (UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot: P01857.1). Optionally, SEQ ID NO: the terminal K (Lys) in the CH region of 14 can be removed, which reduces or avoids possible peptidase degradation.

The antibody or antibody fragment of this embodiment may additionally, or alternatively, further comprise a light chain Constant (CL) region or fragment thereof, which fragment may comprise, for example, at least 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 or more amino acids of the CL region. The CL region or a fragment thereof may be linked to the VL region. The CL region is not particularly limited, although in one embodiment it is a human CL region. The art contains many examples of human CL regions. Exemplary human CL regions for use herein include:

QPKAAPSVTUFPPSSEELQANKATLVCLISDFYPGAVIVAWKADSSPVKAGVETTTPS

KQSNNKYAASSYLSLTPEQWKSHKSYSCQVTHEGSTVEKTVAPTECS(SEQ ID NO：15).

SEQ ID NO: 15 is the CL region from X9 to C0l and has the sequence of the CL region from human lambda (GenBank: J00253.1). According to this embodiment, preferably, the VH region comprises SEQ ID NO: l linked to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, and a VL region comprising SEQ ID NO: 2 linked to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15 CL region.

In another embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, the antibody or antibody fragment is based on the VH and/or VL region of the X19-E0l antibody and therefore:

VH region (i) comprises a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 3, and/or (ii) comprises a CDRl sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, the CDR 2sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8, and the CDR3 sequence comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 5%, 11%, 17%, 23%, 29%, 35%, 41%, 47%, 52%, 58%, 64%, 70%, 76%, 82%, 88%, 94%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10, has at least 11%, 22%, 33%, 44%, 55%, 66%, 77%, 88%, or 100% sequence identity; and/or

The VL region (iii) comprises a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 4, and/or (iv) a CDR4 sequence, a CDR5 sequence and a CDR6 sequence, the CDR4 sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11, and a CDR5 sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 7.5%, 15%, 23%, 30%, 38%, 46%, 53%, 61%, 69%, 76%, 84%, 92%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and the CDR6 sequence comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 14%, 28%, 42%, 57%, 71%, 85%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of seq id NO: 13 has an amino acid sequence having at least 9%, 18%, 27%, 36%, 45%, 54%, 63%, 72%, 81%, 90% or 100% sequence identity. Preferably, the VH region comprises SEQ ID NO: 3, and the VL region comprises SEQ ID NO: 4.

The antibody or antibody fragment of this embodiment may further comprise a heavy chain Constant (CH) region or fragment thereof, which fragment may comprise, for example, at least 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200, 220, 240, 260, 280, 300, 320 or more amino acids of the CH region. The CH region or fragment thereof may be linked to the VH region. The CH region is not particularly limited, although in one embodiment it is a human CH region. The art contains many examples of human CH regions. An exemplary human CH region for use herein comprises SEQ ID NO: 14.

the antibody or antibody fragment of this embodiment may additionally, or alternatively, further comprise a light chain Constant (CL) region or fragment thereof, which fragment may comprise, for example, at least 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 or more amino acids of the CL region. The CL region or fragment thereof may be linked to the VL region. The CL region is not particularly limited, although in one embodiment it is a human CL region. The art contains many examples of human CL regions. An exemplary human CL region for use herein comprises SEQ ID NO: 15.

according to this embodiment, preferably, the VH region comprises SEQ ID NO: 3 linked to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, and a VL region comprising SEQ ID NO: 4 linked to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15 CL region.

In another embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, the antibody or antibody fragment is based on the VH and/or VL region of the X19-E03 antibody and thus:

VH region (i) comprises a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 5, and/or (ii) comprises a CDR1 sequence, a CDR 2sequence, and a CDR3 sequence, the CDR1 sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of seq id NO: 7, the CDR 2sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8, and the CDR3 sequence comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 5%, 11%, 17%, 23%, 29%, 35%, 41%, 47%, 52%, 58%, 64%, 70%, 76%, 82%, 88%, 94%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10, has at least 11%, 22%, 33%, 44%, 55%, 66%, 77%, 88%, or 100% sequence identity; and/or

The VL region (iii) comprises a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 6, and/or (iv) a CDR4 sequence, a CDR5 sequence and a CDR6 sequence, the CDR4 sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ id no: 11, and a CDR5 sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 7.5%, 15%, 23%, 30%, 38%, 46%, 53%, 61%, 69%, 76%, 84%, 92%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, and the CDR6 sequence comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 14%, 28%, 42%, 57%, 71%, 85%, or 100% sequence identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13 has an amino acid sequence having at least 9%, 18%, 27%, 36%, 45%, 54%, 63%, 72%, 81%, 90% or 100% sequence identity. Preferably, the VH region comprises SEQ ID NO: 5, and the VL region comprises SEQ ID NO: 6.

according to this embodiment, preferably, the VH region comprises SEQ ID NO: 5 linked to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14, and a VL region comprising SEQ ID NO: 6 linked to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15 CL region.

In the various embodiments described above, the discussion of the CH region and fragments thereof also includes the option of using either variant. Such variants include sequences having less than 100% sequence identity to the CH region or fragment thereof, e.g., greater than 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity. Thus, a variant of a CH region or fragment thereof may have one or more (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160 or more) sequence variations as compared to the CH region or fragment thereof. Variations in the sequence compared to the CH region and fragments thereof may be due to one or more amino acid additions, one or more amino acid deletions and/or one or more amino acid substitutions. In the case of more than one variation, then the variation may be in consecutive or non-consecutive locations.

Likewise, in the various embodiments described above, the discussion of CL regions and fragments thereof also includes the option of using either variant. Such variants include sequences having less than 100% sequence identity, e.g., greater than 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity to the CL region or fragment thereof. Thus, variants of a CL region or fragment thereof may have one or more (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60 or more) sequence variations as compared to the CL region or fragment thereof. Variations in sequence may be due to one or more amino acid additions, one or more amino acid deletions, and/or one or more amino acid substitutions as compared to the CL region or fragment thereof. In the case of more than one variation, then the variation may be in consecutive or non-consecutive locations.

In the antibody or antibody fragment according to the above embodiments, preferably the VH region, the VL region or preferably both the VH and VL regions comprise amino acid sequences having 100% sequence identity with said SEQ ID NOs, or one or more (e.g. 2 or 3) individual said SEQ ID NOs, in the case where said SEQ ID NOs correspond to a single CDR sequence.

Thus, for example, a preferred antibody or antibody fragment based on the X9-C01 antibody according to the previous embodiments may comprise a heavy chain variable region comprising SEQ ID NO: 1 and/or a VH region comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, VL region of the sequence of seq id no; preferred antibodies or antibody fragments based on the X19-E01 antibody according to the previous embodiments may comprise a heavy chain comprising SEQ ID NO: 3 and/or a VH region comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, VL region of the sequence of seq id no; preferred antibodies or antibody fragments based on the X19-E03 antibody according to the previous embodiments may comprise a heavy chain comprising SEQ ID NO: 5 and/or a VH region comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6, VL region of the sequence of seq id no.

Alternatively, in another embodiment, an antibody or antibody fragment according to the previous embodiments may comprise a VH region, a VL region, or both VH and VL regions, each of which comprises an amino acid sequence having less than 100% sequence identity with said SEQ ID NOs, or one or more (e.g., 2 or 3) individual said SEQ ID NOs, in the case of said SEQ ID NOs corresponding to individual CDR sequences.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having less than 100% sequence identity to said SEQ ID NO may be a sequence having one or more (e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more) sequence variations from said SEQ ID NO. Variations in the sequence compared to the SEQ ID NO may be due to the addition of one or more (e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more) amino acids, the deletion of one or more (e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more) amino acids and/or the substitution of one or more (e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more) amino acids. In the case of more than one variation, the variations may be in consecutive or non-consecutive locations.

(ii) a polypeptide that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1-6, but at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% sequence identity, may be present, or only in the amino acid sequences forming one or more framework regions. The framework regions include amino acid regions that do not form CDRs as defined herein.

Additionally or alternatively, the polypeptide is modified at a position that is identical to a sequence selected from SEQ ID NO: 1-6, but at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% sequence identity, may be present, or only in the amino acid sequences forming one or more Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs). SEQ ID NO: 1-6 are determined by reference to SEQ ID NO: 7-13 are as defined above and are shown in tables 2 and 3 below.

In all embodiments of the first aspect of the invention, generally, higher levels of sequence modification can be tolerated in the framework regions than in the CDRs without substantially altering the binding characteristics and/or in vivo efficacy of the antibody or antibody fragment.

Thus, for example, in another embodiment, one (a), the (the) or each (each) CDR in the antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention is identical to the CDR defined in SEQ ID NO: 7 to 13, may comprise up to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 amino acid substitutions, insertions and/or deletions, and preferably no more than 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 amino acid substitutions, insertions and/or deletions; preferably, the number of amino acid substitutions, insertions and/or deletions in a CDR sequence does not reduce the sequence identity by at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% compared to the corresponding defined SEQ ID NO.

Additionally, and/or alternatively, one, the or each framework region in an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention is identical to the or each framework region present in any one of the VH or VL definitions SEQ ID NO: 1 to 16 may comprise up to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 or more amino acid substitutions, insertions and/or deletions compared to the corresponding framework sequence, and optionally no more than 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 amino acid substitution, insertion and/or deletion; preferably, the number of amino acid substitutions, insertions and/or deletions in any of the framework regions does not reduce the sequence identity by at least 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% compared to the corresponding defined SEQ ID NO.

Substitutions, whether in one or more framework regions or complementarity determining regions, may be conservative or non-conservative substitutions. "conservative substitutions" refer to, for example, Gly, Ala; val, Ile, Leu; asp and Glu; asn, Gln; ser, Thr; lys, Arg; and combinations of Phe and Tyr.

For example, sequence variations can be introduced to bring the antigen-binding region sequence closer to the germline (germline) sequence, to improve the stability of antibodies or antibody fragments that include variant antigen-binding regions, to reduce the immunogenicity of antibodies or antibody fragments that include variant antigen-binding regions, and/or to avoid or reduce adverse properties during the manufacturing process. Non-limiting examples of suitable sequence variations are shown in the examples, with reference to variations in the heavy and/or light chain sequences of X9-C01 introduced to produce X19-E01 and/or X19-E03.

Such variants can be prepared using protein engineering and site-directed mutagenesis methods described below, or alternative methods known in the art.

Where the VH region, the VL region or both the VH and VL regions of an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention comprise one or more amino acid sequences having less than 100% sequence identity to said SEQ ID NO, one or more respective said SEQ ID NOs, in one embodiment the ability of the antibody or antibody fragment to bind phosphorylcholine and/or a phosphorylcholine conjugate may, for example, be substantially equal (i.e. at least 80%, 85%, 90% or 95%) or greater than the ability of a corresponding "parent" antibody or antibody fragment, wherein the VH region and the VL region of the corresponding "parent" antibody or antibody fragment each comprise an antigen-binding sequence comprising an amino acid sequence having 100% sequence identity to said SEQ ID NO or to each said SEQ ID NO.

Thus, for example, in antibodies or antibody fragments based on the X9-C01 antibody, and VH regions comprising amino acid sequences substantially identical to SEQ ID NO: 1 an antigen binding sequence having an amino acid sequence with less than 100% but at least 80%, 85%, 90% or 95% sequence identity; and/or the VL region comprises a sequence comprising a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 2, the ability of the antibody or antibody fragment to bind phosphorylcholine and/or a phosphorylcholine conjugate may, for example, be equal to the binding ability of a corresponding "parent" antibody or antibody fragment having an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 1 and a VH region comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, VL region of the sequence of seq id No. 2. Herein, a "corresponding" parent "antibody or antibody fragment" refers to an ongoing "antibody or antibody fragment" and a "corresponding" parent "antibody or antibody fragment" whose only sequence differences are in one or both of the antigen binding sequences of the VH and/or VL regions. In one embodiment, the corresponding parent antibody is an antibody having the VH, VL, CH and CL region sequences of X9-C01, i.e., SEQ ID NO: 1 (which is linked to the CH region of SEQ ID NO: 14) and the VH region of SEQ ID NO: 2 (which is linked to the CL region of SEQ ID NO: 15).

Where necessary to make modifications (mutatis mutandis), the same applies to other antibodies or antibody fragments listed above in which the VH and/or VL regions comprise one or more amino acid sequences having less than 100% sequence identity to said SEQ ID NO or one or more of each of said SEQ ID NOs, and the corresponding "parental" antibody or antibody fragment "used to determine binding equivalence to phosphorylcholine and/or a phosphorylcholine conjugate differs only in one or both of the VH and/or VL regions and has that or each antigen-binding sequence which comprises an amino acid sequence having 100% sequence identity to that or each of said SEQ ID NOs.

In this regard, the ability of an antibody or antibody fragment to bind to phosphorylcholine and/or a phosphorylcholine conjugate may be determined using any suitable method, such as Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) analysis to measure the binding of an antibody or antibody fragment to phosphorylcholine immobilised (e.g. via an aminophenyl linker) on a solid surface, such as a Biacore SPR biosensor.

As discussed in the examples below, the apparent Kd for binding of X9-C01 to aminophenylphosphorylcholine is about 300 nM. In one embodiment, an antibody or antibody fragment of the invention binds immobilized aminophenylphosphorylcholine with an apparent Kd of NO greater than about 600nM, about 500nM, about 400nM, about 350nM, about 325nM, about 320nM, about 315nM, about 310nM, about 305nM, about 300nM or less, when assayed under conditions that provide an antibody or antibody fragment having the VH and VL regions of X9-C01 (defined by SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 2, respectively) that binds immobilized aminophenylphosphorylcholine (e.g., the SPR conditions used in the examples). As used herein, the term "about" is used to refer to a numerical value that is within ± 20%, 15%, 10%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, or 1% of the stated numerical value.

In a further embodiment, the antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention competes with a "comparator" antibody or antibody fragment for binding to PC or PC conjugates as defined herein (as determined by ELISA or SPR assays). Herein, a comparator antibody or antibody fragment may comprise the VH and VL regions and optionally also CH and CL regions of the following antibodies: X9-C01 (defined by SEQ ID NOs: 1, 2, 14 and 15, respectively), X19-E01 (defined by SEQ ID NOs: 3, 4, 14 and 15, respectively) or X19-E03 (defined by SEQ ID NOs: 5, 6, 14 and 15, respectively), and preferably differ from the sequence variations of the tested antibody or antibody fragment only in the VH and/or VL region. By "competes" is meant that the inclusion of equimolar amounts of an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention and a "comparator" antibody in an assay can reduce the detectable level of binding of the "comparator" antibody to PC or PC conjugate by 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95% or more, e.g. by substantially 100%, compared to the detectable level of binding of the comparison antibody to PC or PC conjugate in the same assay in the absence of the antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention.

As also discussed in the examples below, X9-C01 may be responsive to IC₅₀Stimulation with oxLDL in the nM range prevented MCP-1 release from monocytes. In another embodiment, the IC of an antibody or antibody fragment having the VH and VL regions of X9-C01 (defined by SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 2, respectively) is provided₅₀When tested in the range of about 0.6 to 3.4nM (as shown in the examples below), the antibodies or antibody fragments of the invention are tested with IC₅₀Less than about 10nM, about 7nM, about 6nM, about 5nM, about 4nM, about 3nM, about 2nM, about 1nM, about 0.9nM, about 0.8nM, about 0.7nM, about 0.6nM or less in response to stimulation by oxLDL to prevent release of MCP-1 from endothelial cells. As used herein, the term "about" is used to refer to a numerical value that is within ± 20%, 15%, 10%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, or 1% of the stated numerical value.

The ability of an antibody or antibody fragment of the invention to bind to a phosphorylcholine conjugate may be determined by replacing phosphorylcholine with a phosphorylcholine conjugate by a method equivalent to that described above. Suitable phosphorylcholine conjugates comprise the phosphorylcholine moieties discussed above, including those linked to a carrier, optionally via a spacer, such as PC-BSA and PC-KLH conjugates. Preferably, where the ability of an antibody or antibody fragment to bind to a phosphorylcholine conjugate is determined, it is determined with reference to the ability of the antibody or antibody fragment to specifically bind to a phosphorylcholine moiety in a phosphorylcholine conjugate. This can be determined by techniques known in the art, such as by comparing the ability of an antibody or antibody fragment to bind to a phosphorylcholine conjugate and the corresponding molecule without a phosphorylcholine moiety.

In one embodiment, an antibody or antibody fragment of the invention may comprise a VH region and a VL region in a linear polypeptide sequence.

In another embodiment, an antibody or antibody fragment of the invention may comprise a VH region and a VL region each in separate polypeptide sequences. In this embodiment, preferably, the separate polypeptide sequences are bound together, either directly or indirectly (e.g., by one or more disulfide bonds between the separate polypeptide sequences).

In another embodiment, the VH region may be linked to a CH region or fragment thereof, which fragment may comprise, for example, at least 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200, 220, 240, 260, 280, 300, 320 or more amino acids of the CH region or a CH region variant or fragment thereof as described above. The linkage may be a direct fusion via a peptide bond such that the VH and CH regions are present as a single polypeptide, or the linkage may be via a linker such as a peptide or other linker, or via a direct chemical bond other than a peptide bond. The CH region is not particularly limited, although in one embodiment it is a human CH region. The art contains many examples of human CH regions. An exemplary human CH region for use herein comprises SEQ ID NO: 14.

in another embodiment, the VL region may be linked to a CL region or fragment thereof, which fragment may comprise, for example, at least 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 or more amino acids of a CL region or a CL region variant or fragment thereof as described above. The linkage may be a direct fusion via a peptide bond such that the VL region and CL region are present as a single polypeptide, or the linkage may be via a linker such as a peptide or other linker, or via a direct chemical bond other than a peptide bond. The CL region is not particularly limited, although in one embodiment it is a human CL region. The art contains many examples of human CL regions. An exemplary human CL region for use herein comprises SEQ ID NO: 15.

in another embodiment, an antibody or antibody fragment of the invention may comprise a VH region linked to a CH region in one polypeptide sequence and a VL region linked to a CL region in another, separate polypeptide sequence. In this embodiment, preferably, the separate polypeptide sequences are bound together directly or indirectly (e.g., by one or more disulfide bonds between the separate polypeptide sequences).

In another embodiment, an antibody or antibody fragment of the invention can comprise:

a first heavy chain comprising a first VH region linked to a first CH region,

a first light chain comprising a first VL region linked to a first CL region;

a second heavy chain comprising a second VH region linked to a second CH region,

a second light chain comprising a second VL region linked to a second CL region; and is

Wherein optionally, the first light chain and the first heavy chain are bound together directly or indirectly (e.g., by one or more disulfide bonds between the separate polypeptide sequences) and the second light chain and the second heavy chain are bound together directly or indirectly (e.g., by one or more disulfide bonds between the separate polypeptide sequences), and further optionally wherein the first and second heavy chains are bound together directly or indirectly (e.g., by one or more disulfide bonds between the separate polypeptide sequences).

In another embodiment, the antibody or antibody fragment of the invention may be a monoclonal antibody, more preferably a human monoclonal antibody.

The antibody or antibody fragment of the invention may be a humanized antibody or a chimeric antibody.

In a preferred embodiment, the antibody or antibody fragment of the invention is an isolated antibody or antibody fragment.

In another embodiment, an antibody or antibody fragment of the invention may comprise one or more amino acid sequences comprising VH, VL, CDR1, CDR2, CDR3, CDR4, CDR5 and/or CDR6 sequences as described above grafted onto a protein scaffold of an immunoglobulin by using standard protein engineering techniques. The skilled artisan understands that a variety of protein scaffolds are available and well known in the art. The end result is preserved antigen binding activity in the new framework.

For example, immunoglobulin scaffolds may be derived from IgA, IgE, IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgG3, IgM. The scaffold may be derived from immunoglobulins from any mammal, e.g. mouse, rat, rabbit, goat, camel, vicuna, primate. Preferably, the immunoglobulin scaffold is derived from a human immunoglobulin.

The antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention may be generated using standard molecular biology techniques or by cleaving the purified antibody using enzymes that generate such fragments (e.g., pepsin or papain). Examples of such antibody fragments of the invention are, but are not limited to, single chain antibodies, Fv, scFv, Fab, F (ab')₂Fab', Fd, dAb, CDR or scFv-Fc fragments or nanobodies and diabodies (diabodies), or any fragment which has been stabilized, e.g.by pegylation.

A second aspect of the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient. Optionally, the only antibody or antibody fragment in the composition is an antibody or antibody fragment according to the first aspect of the invention. More preferably, for example, a single type of antibody or antibody fragment is present in the composition, e.g., where the type is determined with reference to amino acid sequence, molecular weight, and/or specificity of binding to phosphorylcholine. In this regard, the skilled artisan understands how many low levels of variation may be present in the antibody or antibody fragment sequences in any population, e.g., due to N-terminal variation and/or partial degradation; thus, herein, a composition may be referred to as containing a single type of antibody or antibody fragment if, for example, at least about 80%, about 90%, about 95%, about 96%, about 97%, about 98%, about 99%, or substantially 100% by weight of the detectable level of antibody or antibody fragment in the composition is of a single type, as determined by reference to amino acid sequence, molecular weight, and/or specificity of binding to phosphorylcholine.

A third aspect of the invention provides an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention or a pharmaceutical composition of the second aspect of the invention for use in medicine, for example in a method of treatment, surgery or diagnosis performed on the human or animal body or an ex vivo sample thereof.

For example, a third aspect of the invention provides an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention or a pharmaceutical composition of the second aspect of the invention for use in the prevention, prophylaxis and/or treatment of atherosclerosis, atherosclerosis-related diseases or cardiovascular diseases in a mammal, including a human.

In other words, the third aspect of the invention provides the use of an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention or a pharmaceutical composition of the second aspect of the invention in the manufacture of a medicament for the prevention, prophylaxis and/or treatment of atherosclerosis, atherosclerosis-related diseases or cardiovascular diseases in a mammal (including a human being).

Also provided is a method of preventing, preventing and/or treating atherosclerosis, atherosclerosis-related diseases or cardiovascular diseases in a mammal (including a human being) comprising the step of administering to the mammal an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention or a pharmaceutical composition of the second aspect of the invention.

The third aspect of the present invention also provides an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the present invention or a pharmaceutical composition of the second aspect of the present invention for use in the prevention, prevention and/or treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

In other words, the third aspect of the invention provides the use of an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention or a pharmaceutical composition of the second aspect of the invention in the manufacture of a medicament for the prevention, prevention and/or treatment of alzheimer's disease.

Also provided are methods of immunizing and preventing, preventing and/or treating a subject against alzheimer's disease, the method comprising the step of administering to the subject an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention or a pharmaceutical composition of the second aspect of the invention.

The third aspect of the invention also provides an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention or a pharmaceutical composition of the second aspect of the invention for use in the immunisation or prophylaxis, or prevention or treatment, of a metabolic disorder in a mammal, including a human.

In other words, the third aspect of the invention provides the use of an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention or a pharmaceutical composition of the second aspect of the invention in the manufacture of a medicament for the prevention, prevention or treatment of a metabolic disease in a mammal (including a human being).

Also provided is a method of immunizing or preventing, or treating a metabolic disease in a mammal (e.g., a human), the method comprising the step of administering to the mammal an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention or a pharmaceutical composition of the second aspect of the invention.

The metabolic disease to be solved and/or treated according to the third aspect of the invention may for example be a condition selected from the group consisting of: metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, hyperglycemia, type I diabetes, type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, dyslipidemia, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

In a fourth aspect, the invention provides a nucleic acid molecule comprising a sequence encoding an antibody or antibody fragment, or a polypeptide chain forming part of an antibody or antibody fragment, of the first aspect of the invention. The nucleic acid molecule may be, for example, DNA or RNA. The nucleic acid molecule may comprise further sequences located 5 'and/or 3' to the sequence encoding the antibody or antibody fragment or portion thereof of the first aspect of the invention. Such 5 'and/or 3' sequences may comprise transcriptional and/or translational regulatory sequences, such as promoter and/or terminator sequences well known in the art, and may, for example, be selected to be functional in the host cell of choice. Thus, the nucleic acid molecule may comprise an expression cassette which, after transformation into a selected host cell, can be expressed using the transcription and/or translation system of the host cell to produce the antibody or antibody fragment, or polypeptide chain forming portion of an antibody or antibody fragment, encoded by the first aspect of the invention.

In a fifth aspect, the invention provides a vector or plasmid comprising one or more nucleic acid molecule sequences of the fourth aspect of the invention. Where the antibody or antibody fragment comprises more than one polypeptide chain, the vector or plasmid may, for example, comprise nucleic acid coding sequences encoding each polypeptide chain, such that a host cell transformed with the vector or plasmid can express all of the polypeptide chains present within the antibody or antibody fragment.

Thus, the fifth aspect also provides the use of the vector or plasmid in transforming a host cell. Methods for transforming host cells with vectors or plasmids are well known in the art. To aid in the selection of transformed host cells, the vector or plasmid may include a selection marker.

In a sixth aspect, the invention provides a host cell comprising one or more vectors or plasmids of the fifth aspect of the invention. The sixth aspect also provides a cell culture, e.g. a single culture, comprising one or more vectors or plasmids of the fifth aspect of the invention, wherein all or substantially all cells comprise the same one or more vectors or plasmids of the fifth aspect of the invention. Such a single culture can be obtained, for example, by: the cells are screened for the presence of one or more selectable markers on one or more vectors or plasmids, and optionally, screening pressure is maintained during growth of the cultured screened cells.

Where the antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention comprises more than one polypeptide chain, the host cell may be transformed with a single vector or plasmid comprising the nucleic acid coding sequences encoding each of the polypeptide chains, so that the host cell transformed with the vector or plasmid can express all of the polypeptide chains present within the antibody or antibody fragment.

Alternatively, where the antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention comprises more than one polypeptide chain, the host cell may be transformed with more than one vector or plasmid, each vector or plasmid comprising a nucleic acid coding sequence encoding at least one polypeptide chain, such that a host cell transformed with more than one vector or plasmid can express all of the polypeptide chains present within the antibody or antibody fragment.

Further alternatively, where the antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention comprises more than one polypeptide chain, each of the plurality of host cells may be transformed with a vector or plasmid, with each vector or plasmid comprising a different nucleic acid coding sequence, each of which encodes one or more members of a different polypeptide chain forming the antibody or antibody fragment, and each of the different host cells, when cultured separately, expresses each polypeptide chain. The recovered different polypeptide chains can then be combined to produce an antibody or antibody fragment.

Any suitable host cell may be used in the fifth and/or sixth aspects of the invention. For example, the host cell may be a prokaryotic cell, such as an E.coli (Escherichia coli) cell. The host cell may be a eukaryotic cell, such as an animal cell, a plant cell, and a fungal cell. Suitable animal cells may include mammalian cells, avian cells, and insect cells. Suitable mammalian cells may include CHO cells and COS cells. Suitable fungal cells may comprise yeast cells, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Mammalian cells may or may not comprise human cells and may or may not comprise embryonic cells.

In a seventh aspect, the invention provides a method of producing an antibody or antibody fragment, antigen binding sequence of the first aspect of the invention, comprising culturing one or more transformed host cells as described above, and recovering therefrom the antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention.

In an eighth aspect the invention provides a method of making a variant of an antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect of the invention which variant retains the ability to bind to phosphorylcholine and/or a phosphorylcholine conjugate, the method comprising:

(i) providing a nucleic acid of the fourth aspect of the invention encoding a parent antibody or antibody fragment, or a polypeptide chain forming part of an antibody or antibody fragment;

(ii) introducing one or more nucleotide mutations (optionally, up to 50, 40, 30, 20, 15, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 nucleotide mutations) into the amino acid coding region of the nucleic acid sequence (optionally within the region encoding the VH and/or VL region) such that the mutated nucleic acid encodes a variant antibody or antibody fragment having a different amino acid sequence compared to the parent antibody or antibody fragment;

(iii) expressing a variant antibody or antibody fragment, or polypeptide chain forming portion of a variant antibody or antibody fragment, encoded by the mutated nucleic acid; and

(iv) comparing the ability of the variant antibody or antibody fragment to bind to phosphorylcholine and/or a phosphorylcholine conjugate with the parent antibody or antibody fragment.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the nucleotide mutation may be introduced randomly or in a site-directed manner into the amino acid coding region of the nucleic acid sequence. Such mutations may result in the coding region encoding the following amino acid sequences, as compared to the amino acid sequence encoded by the nucleic acid prior to mutation: which contains one or more amino acid additions, one or more amino acid deletions and/or one or more amino acid substitutions.

Such nucleotide mutations may or may not result in coding regions encoding the following amino acid sequences: which contain variations in the sequence of one or more antigen binding regions. Such nucleotide mutations may, for example, result in amino acid sequence variations (i.e., one or more amino acid additions, one or more amino acid deletions, and/or one or more amino acid substitutions) being present, or only being present, in the amino acid sequence forming one or more framework regions. Additionally or alternatively, such nucleotide mutations may, for example, result in amino acid sequence variations (i.e., one or more amino acid additions, one or more amino acid deletions, and/or one or more amino acid substitutions) being present, or only being present, in the amino acid sequence forming one or more complementarity determining regions. The level of amino acid variation/modification tolerated by the framework regions, CDRs and/or VH or VL regions is as discussed above in relation to the first aspect of the invention and may be applied mutatis mutandis to the level of variation/modification that may be introduced according to the method of the eighth aspect of the invention.

Additionally or alternatively, such nucleotide mutations may or may not result in the coding region encoding the amino acid sequence: which contain one or more variations in the sequence of one or more portions of the antibody or antibody fragment outside of the antigen binding region, for example in one or more of the CH1, CH2, CH3, CL regions or other regions.

Where one or more nucleotide mutations result in one or more amino acid substitutions in the encoded product, then the one or more substitutions may independently be conservative or non-conservative substitutions, respectively. "conservative substitutions" refer to, for example, Gly, Ala; val, Ile, Leu; asp and Glu; asn, Gln; ser, Thr; lys, Arg; and combinations of Phe and Tyr.

For example, nucleotide mutations can be introduced to bring the sequence of the encoded antibody or antibody fragment close to germline sequences to improve the stability of the antibody or antibody fragment including the variant antigen-binding region, reduce the immunogenicity of the antibody or antibody fragment including the variant antigen-binding region, and/or avoid or reduce potentially adverse properties during the manufacturing process.

Such nucleotide mutations can be made using methods well known in the art.

According to an eighth aspect of the invention, the step of assessing the ability of the variant antibody or antibody fragment to bind to phosphorylcholine and/or a phosphorylcholine conjugate may further comprise selecting those variants that have a substantially equal or enhanced ability to bind to phosphorylcholine and/or a phosphorylcholine conjugate as compared to the parent.

Variants and parents may be assessed for their ability to bind to phosphorylcholine and/or a phosphorylcholine conjugate, for example, using the methods discussed in the first aspect of the invention above.

The method of the eighth aspect of the invention may optionally further comprise recovering a nucleic acid molecule comprising a mutated nucleic acid sequence encoding a variant antibody or antibody fragment, and optionally transforming the host cell with a composition comprising the recovered nucleic acid molecule, and further optionally allowing the host cell to express the variant antibody or antibody fragment, further optionally recovering the expressed variant antibody or antibody fragment from the host cell, and further optionally formulating the recovered variant antibody or antibody fragment into a pharmaceutically acceptable composition.

The eighth aspect of the invention also provides a variant antibody or antibody fragment obtained or obtainable by the method of the eighth aspect of the invention, or a pharmaceutically acceptable composition obtained or obtainable by the method of the eighth aspect of the invention, for use in medicine.

The eighth aspect of the invention also provides a variant antibody or antibody fragment obtained or obtainable by the method of the eighth aspect of the invention, or a pharmaceutically acceptable composition obtained or obtainable by the method of the eighth aspect of the invention, for use in:

(i) preventing, preventing and/or treating atherosclerosis, atherosclerosis-related diseases or cardiovascular diseases in a mammal (including a human being);

(ii) preventing, preventing and/or treating alzheimer's disease; and/or

(iii) Immunization or prophylaxis, or prevention or treatment of metabolic disorders in a mammal, including a human.

In other words, the eighth aspect of the invention also provides the use of a variant antibody or antibody fragment obtained or obtainable by the method of the eighth aspect of the invention, or a pharmaceutically acceptable composition obtained or obtainable by the method of the eighth aspect of the invention, in the manufacture of a medicament for:

(ii) preventing, preventing and/or treating alzheimer's disease; and/or

(iii) Immunization or prophylaxis is directed against, or prevention or treatment of, metabolic disorders in mammals, including humans.

Accordingly, also provided in an eighth aspect of the invention is a method for:

(ii) immunization and prevention, prevention and/or treatment of alzheimer's disease; and/or

(iii) Immunization or prophylaxis against, or treatment of, metabolic disorders in a mammal (e.g., a human),

the method comprises the step of administering to a mammal or subject a variant antibody or antibody fragment obtained or obtainable by the method of the eighth aspect of the invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable composition obtained or obtainable by the method of the eighth aspect of the invention.

The metabolic disease to be solved and/or treated according to the eighth aspect of the invention may for example be a symptom selected from: metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, hyperglycemia, type I diabetes, type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, dyslipidemia, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Phosphorylcholine

Phosphorylcholine (PC) refers to phosphorylcholine according to the following structural formula.

A phosphorylcholine conjugate refers to a phosphorylcholine moiety linked to a carrier, preferably via a spacer. The phosphorylcholine moiety may be covalently or non-covalently attached to the carrier. Preferably, the phosphorylcholine moiety is attached to the carrier via the phosphate group.

The carrier may be, for example, a protein, carbohydrate, polymer, latex particle, or colloidal metal.

The phosphorylcholine conjugate may be, for example, a protein-PC conjugate, such as a Human Serum Albumin (HSA) -PC conjugate, a transferrin-PC conjugate, a Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH) -PC conjugate, or a Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) -PC conjugate.

Where the PC conjugate comprises a PC linked to a carrier via a spacer, any suitable spacer may be used. Non-limiting examples of spacers include coupling agents (typically, bifunctional compounds), such as dicarboxylic acids, e.g., succinic acid and glutaric acid, the corresponding dialdehydes, diamines, e.g., 1, 6-diaminohexane, disubstituted phenols, e.g., p-aminophenol, p-nitrophenol, p-phenylenediamine, p-benzoquinone, and the like.

Cardiovascular diseases

The term cardiovascular disease includes, but is not limited to, atherosclerosis, acute coronary syndrome, acute myocardial infarction, myocardial infarction (heart failure), stable and unstable angina, microaneurysms (aneurosms), Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), ischemic heart disease, ischemic myocardium (ischemic myocardial), cardiac cause or sudden cardiac death, cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure (congestive heart failure), heart failure, stenosis, Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), intermittent claudication (intermittent claudication), critical limb ischemic symptoms, and stroke.

The use of antibodies reactive with phosphorylcholine and phosphorylcholine conjugates for the treatment or prevention of cardiovascular diseases has been discussed, for example, in WO2005/100405 and US2007-0286868, the contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Alzheimer's disease

According to the present invention, the antibody or antibody fragment of the first aspect may be used to treat or prevent alzheimer's disease in an individual in need thereof or at risk thereof.

WO2010/003602 and U.S. patent application No. 61/078677 disclose the use of antibodies reactive with phosphorylcholine and a phosphorylcholine conjugate for the treatment or prevention of alzheimer's disease, the contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference as further disclosure of ways in which alzheimer's disease may be treated or prevented using the antibodies or antibody fragments of the first aspect.

Metabolic diseases

The term metabolic disease includes, but is not limited to, metabolic syndrome X, Insulin Resistance (IRS), glucose intolerance, hyperglycemia, type I diabetes, type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, dyslipidemia, polycystic ovary disease (PCOS), and related diseases.

Metabolic diseases that can be treated with antibodies reactive with phosphorylcholine and phosphorylcholine conjugates are further discussed in WO2012/010291, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference as further disclosure of ways in which metabolic diseases can be treated or prevented using the antibodies or antibody fragments of the first aspect.

Amino acid sequence identity

The percent identity between two amino acid sequences is determined as follows. First, an amino acid sequence is compared to, for example, the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: in comparison, the BLAST2Sequences (Bl 2 seq) program is from a BLASTZ stand-alone version containing versions BLASTN2.0.14 and BLASTP2.0.14. This BLASTZ standalone version is available from the National center for Biotechnology information (National Centre for Biotechnology information) website ncbi. A description of how to use the Bl2seq program can be found in the description document attached to BLASTZ. Bl2seq performs a comparison between two amino acid sequences using the BLASTP algorithm. To compare two amino acid sequences, the options for the Bl2seq are set as follows: i is set to the file containing the first amino acid sequence to be compared (e.g., C: \ seq1. txt); -j is set to a file containing a second amino acid sequence to be compared (e.g., C: \ seq2. txt); -p is set to blastp; o is set to any desired file name (e.g., C: \ output.txt); and all other options retain their default values. For example, an output file containing a comparison between two amino acid sequences may be generated using the following instructions: c \\ \ Bl2seq-i C: \ seq1.txt-j C \ seq2.txt-p blastp-o C: \ output. If two compared sequences share homology, the designated output file presents those regions of homology as aligned sequences. If two compared sequences do not share homology, the designated output file will not present the aligned sequences. Once aligned, the number of matches is determined by counting the number of positions of the same nucleotide or amino acid residue present in both sequences.

Percent identity is determined by dividing the number of matches by the length of the sequence listed in the identified sequence, and then multiplying the resulting value by 100. For example, if a sequence is identical to SEQ ID NO: a (SEQ ID NO: A length of 10) and the number of matches is 9, then the sequence is compared to SEQ ID NO: the sequences listed by a have a percent identity of 90% (i.e., 9 ÷ 10 × 100= 90).

Antibodies

The term "antibody or antibody fragment" as referred to in the present specification includes whole antibodies and any antigen-binding fragment or single chain thereof referred to as an "antigen-binding region".

An "antibody" may refer to a protein comprising at least two heavy (H) chains and two light (L) chains, or antigen-binding portions thereof, interconnected by disulfide bonds. Each heavy chain consists of a heavy chain variable region (herein abbreviated VH) and a heavy chain constant region. The heavy chain constant region consists of 3 regions CH1, CH2 and CH 3. Each light chain is composed of a light chain variable region (abbreviated herein as VL) and a light chain constant region. The light chain constant region consists of 1 region CL.

The VH and VL regions can be subdivided into regions of high variation, termed Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs), interspersed with regions that are more conserved, termed Framework Regions (FRs). Each VH typically includes 3 CDRs and 4 FRs, arranged in the following order from amino-terminus to carboxy-terminus: FR1, CDR1, FR2, CDR2, FR3, CDR3, FR 4. Similarly, each VL typically includes 3 CDRs and 4 FRs, arranged in the following order from amino-terminus to carboxy-terminus: FR5, CDR4, FR6, CDR5, FR7, CDR6, FR 8. The variable regions of the heavy and light chains contain binding regions that interact with antigen. The constant region of the antibody may mediate the binding of the immunoglobulin to host tissues or factors, which include various immune system cells (e.g., effector cells) and the first component of the classical complement system (C1 q).

The term "antigen-binding region" as used herein refers to one or more fragments of an antibody that retain the ability to specifically bind to an antigen. Fragments of full-length antibodies have been shown to perform the antigen binding function of the antibody. Examples of binding fragments encompassed by the term "antigen-binding region" of an antibody include:

(i) a Fab fragment, which is a monovalent fragment consisting of the VL, VH, CL and CH1 regions;

（ii）F（ab’）₂a fragment which is a bivalent fragment comprising two Fab fragments linked by a disulfide bond to the hinge region (hingegion);

(iii) a Fab' fragment which is essentially a Fab with a partial hinge region;

(iv) fd fragment consisting of VH and CH1 regions;

(v) an Fv fragment consisting of the VL and VH domains of a single arm of an antibody;

(vi) a dAb fragment consisting of a VH region;

(vii) an isolated Complementarity Determining Region (CDR); and

(viii) nanobodies (nanobodies), which are heavy chain variable regions containing a single variable region and 2 constant regions.

Further, although the two regions of the Fv fragment, VL and VH, are encoded by separate genes, they can be joined using recombinant methods using synthetic linkers that can prepare both as a single protein chain in which the VL and VH regions pair to form monovalent molecules (known as single chain Fv (scFv)). Such single chain antibodies are also encompassed by the term "antigen-binding portion" of an antibody.

Bispecific antibodies consist of two polypeptides, each comprising a heavy chain Variable (VH) region linked to a light chain Variable (VL) region on the same polypeptide chain (VH-VL) with a peptide linker. These antibody fragments are obtained by using common techniques known to those skilled in the art, and the fragments are screened for functioning in the same manner as intact antibodies.

As used herein, an "isolated antibody" refers to an antibody that is substantially free of other antibodies having different antigenic specificities (e.g., an isolated antibody that specifically binds phosphorylcholine is substantially free of antibodies that specifically bind antigens other than phosphorylcholine). Furthermore, the isolated antibody may be substantially free of other cellular material and/or chemicals.

The term "monoclonal antibody" or "monoclonal antibody composition" as used herein refers to a preparation of antibody molecules of single molecular composition. Monoclonal antibody compositions exhibit a single binding specificity and affinity for a particular epitope.

The term "humanized antibody" refers to an antibody in which CDR sequences derived from the germline of another mammalian species (e.g., a mouse) are grafted to human framework region sequences. Additional framework region modifications can be made in the human framework region sequences.

The term "chimeric antibody" refers to an antibody in which the variable region sequences are derived from one species and the constant region sequences are derived from another species, for example, an antibody in which the variable region sequences are derived from a mouse antibody and the constant region sequences are derived from a human antibody.

Pharmaceutical composition

The pharmaceutical compositions of the invention may comprise a binding protein of the invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and/or excipient, which is typically selected by consideration of the intended route of administration and standard pharmaceutical practice. The composition may be in the form of immediate release, delayed release, or controlled release applications. Preferably, the formulation is a unit dose containing a daily dose or unit, daily sub-dose or an appropriate fraction thereof, of the active ingredient.

The pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention may or may not be formulated in a form suitable for parenteral, intravenous, intraarterial, intraperitoneal, intramuscular, intracerebroventricular or subcutaneous administration, or they may be administered via infusion techniques. The optimal form of administration may be in the form of a sterile aqueous solution which may contain other substances, for example, sufficient salts or glucose to render the solution isotonic with blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The aqueous solution may be suitably buffered (preferably to a pH of 3 to 9) if necessary. Preparation of an appropriate pharmaceutical formulation under sterile conditions can be readily accomplished using standard pharmaceutical techniques well known to those skilled in the art.

Such formulations may include aqueous and non-aqueous sterile injection solutions which may contain antioxidants, buffers, bacteriostats and solutes which render the formulation isotonic with the blood or CSF of the intended recipient; and aqueous and non-aqueous sterile suspensions which may include suspending agents and thickening agents. The formulations may be presented in unit-dose or multi-dose containers, for example sealed ampoules and vials, and may be stored in a freeze-dried (lyophilized) condition requiring only the addition of the sterile liquid carrier, for example water for injections, immediately prior to use. Extemporaneous injection solutions and suspensions may be prepared from sterile powders, granules and tablets of the kind previously disclosed.

A therapeutically effective amount of an antibody or antibody fragment of the invention for administration to a patient (e.g., a human patient) can be 0.01 to 1000mg of antibody or antibody fragment per adult human (e.g., about 0.001 to 20mg, e.g., 0.01 to 10mg/kg, e.g., greater than 0.1mg/kg and less than 20, 10, 5, 4, 3, or 2mg/kg, e.g., about 1mg/kg, per kg body weight of the patient), based on the daily dosage level, administered in single or divided doses.

The physician in any event will determine the actual dosage which will be most suitable for any individual patient and that dosage will vary with the age, weight and response of the particular patient. The above doses are exemplary of the average case. Of course, there are individual instances where higher or lower dosages are more advantageous, and such instances are also included within the scope of the present invention.

Examples

The following examples are included to further illustrate various aspects of the invention. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the techniques disclosed in the examples follow representative techniques and/or compositions discovered by the inventor to function well in the practice of the invention, and thus can be considered to constitute preferred modes for its practice. However, those of skill in the art should, in light of the present disclosure, appreciate that many changes can be made in the specific embodiments which are disclosed and still obtain a like or similar result without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Screening of phage display antibody libraries

Phage display selection and screening activities were performed to identify human antibodies in cardiovascular disease that were progressively exposed to PC on oxLDL or apoptotic endothelial cells and neutralize pro-inflammatory activity of PC.

Selection of anti-PC antibodies was guided by using PCs that bind to Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and PCs that instead bind to ferritin between rounds.

Screening phage display selection output using ELISA to find individual phage that bind PC-BSA, and hits (hits) DNA sequencing to identify the exact number of specific antibodies; the entire recombination of this particular antibody is converted to IgG. After selection of two different phage display libraries, a total of 41 fully human iggs were identified and generated. These antibodies were identified after screening a total of 10,660 different phage clones by ELISA, with 1,511 ELISA positive hits.

ELISA hits are defined as having at least a 3-fold greater signal on immobilized target (i.e., PC-BSA) than background signal (streptavidin-coated plate).

After sequencing 1,511 ELISA positives and converting the antibody displayed Fab fragments on the autophagosomes to fully human iggs, 56 different antibody sequences binding to PC were recovered, 26 from the first phagemid (phagemid) library and 30 from the second phage library.

IgG reconstitution, expression and purification

Disclosed herein are results of recovering 40 of 56 antibodies after reconstitution from phage displayed Fab into full length IgG.

DNA for each IgG was prepared and transfected into human kidney 293T cells to transiently produce IgG after 10 days of media harvest. IgG for in vitro studies was purified using protein a Sepharose (MabSelect) and buffer was replaced with PBS.

IgG destined for in vivo testing was purified on protein a Sepharose followed by cation exchange (Poros HS) by gradient elution (gradient experiment). The buffer of the IgG antibodies intended for in vivo testing was replaced with antibody formulation buffer (0.1M citrate-phosphate, 50mM NaCl, 0.01% Tween-80, 2% trehalose, pH 6.0). Antibody concentration was determined as absorbance of the purified sample at 280nm (1 mg/mL =1.4 o.d.).

In vitro assay

40 IgGs were tested in a series of in vitro assays to identify antibodies with desired properties. Table 1 summarizes the binding properties of the screening of fully human IgG anti-phosphorylcholine antibodies.

The second column of Table 1 (column A) shows ELISA signals obtained by using only 15.6ng/mLIgG added to PC-BSA immobilized on the surface of a 96-well plate. Antibodies with ELISA signal >1 are expected to be antibodies with higher affinity.

The third column of table 1 (column B) shows the signal obtained when the antibody was injected onto aminophenylphosphorylcholine covalently immobilized on a biosensor chip and binding was detected by surface plasmon resonance using a Biacore3000 instrument. The higher the Biacore signal, the more binding was observed.

The fourth column (column C) of table 1 shows the results of an assay to determine the specificity of an antibody for phosphorylcholine by assaying for binding of a covalently immobilized aminophenol, which is a linker for covalently coupling phosphorylcholine to BSA or a biosensor chip. Some antibody binding linker molecules bind as well or better than aminophenylphosphorylcholine. These antibodies are not necessarily therapeutically effective anti-phosphorylcholine antibodies.

Table 1, column five (column D), summarizes the results of the test for the ability of antibodies to inhibit macrophage uptake of oxLDL, an early event in cardiovascular inflammation and leading to foam cell formation. Macrophage uptake was monitored by flow cytometry using fluorescently modified oxLDL in the presence or absence of 80 μ g/mL of the test antibody. In each experiment, 100. mu.g/mL affinity purified IgM anti-PC polyclonal antibody was used as a positive control. The fluorescence monitor of oxLDL uptake in the presence of the test monoclonal antibody was divided by the amount of fluorescence observed in the presence of polyclonal antibody and then multiplied by 100. Thus, values below 100 indicate that monoclonal antibodies at a concentration of 80 μ g/mL are more effective in inhibiting oxLDL uptake than polyclonal anti-PC extracted from human serum at a concentration of 100 μ g/mL. Similarly, values above 100 indicate that the antibody is less effective than polyclonal anti-PC.

Several antibodies were observed to inhibit uptake similar to or better than the polyclonal anti-PC control. In addition, several antibodies were observed to stimulate oxLDL uptake by macrophages, a property that excludes these antibodies from lead selection.

The last column of table 1 (column E) shows ELISA data obtained by adding IgG to wells of a 96-well plate containing oxLDL or one of native LDLs. The ratio of the observed ELISA signal for each test antibody that binds oxLDL divided by the signal observed with LDL is listed in table 1. Clearly, certain antibodies are better binders of oxLDL than LDL.

TABLE 1 summary of fully human IgG anti-PC antibody binding Properties

Titles for all columns:

A) binding (OD) of 15.6ng/ml Ab to BSA bound PC detected by ELISA

B) Binding to aminophenyl PC (RU) using Biacore assay

C) Binding to aminophenyl linker (RU) using Biacore assay

D) Percent oxLDL uptake by macrophages in the presence of 80. mu.g/ml Ab (a)

E) Binding to LDL of oxLDL pairs (oxLDL Signal/LDL Signal) by ELISA (b)

Sample ID	A	B	C	D	E
						M0004-B02	1.24	366.4	38.6	233.3	6.7
M0004-C02	O.11	44.8	0.2	93	1.2
						M0004-G02	1.23	1028.5	15.7	nd	8.4
M0007-H10	0.49	415.8	2.7	105	0.6
						M0009-A06	0.48	912.1	2.5	80.5	2.8
M0011-F05	1.56	4473.6	155.6	547.5	10.3
						M0024-B01	0.26	nd	nd	nd	11.1
M0026-H05	0.03	1.6	17.8	73.7	1.4
						M0027-H05	0.03	-3.3	1.4	79.3	1.1
M0028-H05	0.03	1.8	5	86	0.6
						M0029-H05	0.08	nd	nd	370	0.9
M0030-H05	0.02	19.1	32.8	nd	nd
						M0031-H05	0.03	-4.1	0.2	81	1
M0034-G12	0.84	462.3	14.6	78	nd
						M0035-E11	0.14	41.5	2.1	68	0.5
M0039-H05	2.73	-6.4	2.1	80.4	0.7
						M0042-G07	nd	-2.9	2.3	93.7	0.8
M0043-D09	1.24	1727	2.1	1310	16.8
						M0050-H09	0.22	279.1	7	71.5	nd
M0073-G03	0.18	46.3	19.9	51.1	1.2
						M0077-A11	0.26	836.3	1.3	78.4	0.7
M0086-F02	0.99	1.4	12.6	315	nd
						M0086-H01	0.41	51.2	4.9	85	1
M0086-H11	1	-1.1	0.9	74	nd
						M0097-B04	0.22	109.5	-0.5	98	1.3
M0097-B05	1.01	699.6	-3.2	80	1.1
						M0099-D11	0.03	170.7	8.6	560	2.1

Sample ID	A	B	C	D	E
						M0100-A01	1.53	7532.8	3934.7	nd	1.1
M0102-E11	0.02	1.6	-1.3	83	nd
						M0108-H03	nd	532.7	4.5	nd	1.1
M0126-A04	0.03	34.2	-8	nd	2.8
						M0126-F10	nd	32.9	-8.3	nd	nd
M0126-H08	0.03	114.3	566.1	98	nd
						M0127-A09	0.03	18.2	-8.7	160	1.6
M0127-B07	0.05	16.3	.7	67	nd
						M0127-E06	nd	21.9	.4.2	nd	nd
M0127-E07	nd	15.4	.6.2	nd	1.8
						M0127-F01	0.02	9.6	3.6	77	nd
X0009-A01	0.23	198.1	2	95	1.5
						X0009-C01	1.25	1456A	404.2	49.5	1

a) OxLDL uptake by macrophages. The uptake of Dil-labeled (1, 1 ' -dioctadecyl-3, 3,3 ', 3 ' -tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate) and Cu-oxidized LDL (oxLDL, intracell corp, usa) in macrophages derived from human THP-l monocytes (ATCC, usa) was studied. Differentiation was initiated by incubation with 100nM PMA (Sigma-Aldrich) in RPMI and 10% FCS for 24h, after which the medium was replaced and the cells were left for an additional 48 h. The cells are then incubated with the antibody at 37 ℃ for 50 to 60 minutes. Thereafter, 20. mu.g/ml oxLDL was added and incubation was continued for 5 hours. At the end of the incubation period, cells were washed twice with ice cold PBS/0.2% BSA and once with PBS. Cells were harvested in PBS containing 2% PFA. Data were taken and analyzed using a FACS Calibur equipped with Cell Quest software. A minimum of 10,000 cells were analyzed per sample.

b) OxLDL ELISA. hLDL (Kalen biological #770200-4), oxLDL (Kalen biological #770252-7) (data not shown) were applied to an ELISA plate (Immulon 2HB) overnight at 4 ℃ at a concentration of 10. mu.g/ml and a volume of 100. mu.l/well. The plate was blocked with l% BSA solution (300. mu.l/well) for two hours at room temperature. After washing, the plates were incubated with the antibodies (100. mu.l/well; 25 to lOOnM) for l hours at room temperature. A goat anti-human secondary antibody conjugated with AP (ThermoScientific #31316) was expressed as a molar ratio of l: after 5000 dilution, 100 μ l/well was added to the washed well plate and incubated for l hours at room temperature. Detector (Thermoscientific #37621) (100. mu.l/well) was added and the plate was immediately read in dynamic mode (kinetic mode) at a temperature of 30 ℃ and 405 nm. By OD_oxLDL／OD_LDLAnd displaying the result.

Analysis of affinity of anti-PC IgG to PC Using SPR

IgG bound to PC was screened by using Biacore Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) biosensor. Aminophenylphosphorylcholine (Biosearch Technologies) was coupled via free amino groups to a flow cell (flowcell) of a CM5 chip to a density of 120 RU. The aminophenol linker was coupled to another flow cell of the same CM5 chip to a density of about 120 RU. PC-KLH and PC-BSA were also coupled to different flow cells of a CM5 chip.

Binding sensorgrams (sensorgrams) were obtained by injecting the antibody at 100nM and 50 μ L/min using these surfaces with immobilized PC in each case. The affinity of X9-C01 was explored by flowing different concentrations of antibody over the surface at 50. mu.L/min. The antibody exhibits a fast on rate (fast on rate) for the immobilized antigen) And fast off-rate (fast off rate), which prevents us from obtaining reliable k from dynamic sensorgrams_onAnd k_offAnd (6) evaluating.

The signal observed for each antibody concentration near the end of the injection was plotted against the antibody concentration and the data was fitted to a standard hyperbolic equilibrium binding equation (figure 1). Two tested preparations of X9-C01 similarly bound the surface with an apparent Kd value of about 300nM, FIG. 1. The apparent Kd value of an antibody observed at this surface may or may not represent the affinity observed on a more physiological substrate.

ELISA screening of purified anti-PC IgG

Purified IgG bound to PC was also screened by ELISA using PC-BSA. This data was fitted to provide estimated EC50 values (fig. 2).

Inhibition of oxLDL induced MCP-1 release from monocytes

Several antibodies were tested for their ability to block the release of the chemokine MCP-1 from monocytes in response to oxLDL stimulation. As shown in Table 2, X9-C01 was very effective in blocking oxLDL induced MCP-1 release. IC of the antibody in nM range₅₀Strongly inhibit the release of MCP-1.

MCP-1 is a potent pro-inflammatory chemokine that promotes leukocyte influx into atherosclerotic lesions (Reape and groot.1999). Control IgG anti-streptavidin a2 as a negative control did not show inhibition of oxLDL-induced MCP-1 release from monocytes (data not shown).

TABLE 2 anti-PC inhibition of oxLDL induced MCP-1 secretion from human monocytes

	IC of X9-C01₅₀
		Donor 1	2.6±0.83nM
Donor 2	1.6±1.0nM

Monocytes were isolated from human blood and stimulated with 2 μ g/mL copper-oxidized oxLDL in the presence or absence of 10pM to 40nM anti-PC IgG. MCP-1 levels in cell culture media were quantified by using a commercially available MCP-1 specific ELISA kit.

In vivo assay

Here we report further tests of the antibodies M4-G2, M73-G03 and X9-C01 for coronary inflammation in vivo, selected for further testing based on a combination of favorable in vitro binding properties and functionality of in vitro tests.

This mouse model measures inflammatory cell influx into subendothelial tissue (i.e., media) in response to vascular injury induced by placement of a restrictive cannula around the exposed femoral artery (fig. 3). It is evident from FIG. 3 that X9-C01 reduced leukocyte influx into the subendothelial layer. In contrast, neither M4-G2 nor M73-G03 showed any significant reduction over the control antibody (anti-streptavidin A2IgG designated "HuIgG 1 a-A2"), although it was advantageous in vitro binding properties and in functionality of in vitro tests.

The inventors did not expect and were surprised by the very unique utility of X9-C01 in this analysis compared to M4-G2 and M73-G03. This demonstrates that in vitro positive data does not predict the in vivo utility of anti-PC antibodies.

Thus, test X9-C01 was tested in a mouse vascular restenosis model in which injury was reinitiated by placing a cannula around the femoral artery, but the test was run for 14 days instead of 3 days. The amount of stenosis, which is the observed thickening of the media of the affected artery, was then analyzed histochemically (fig. 4). It is evident from fig. 4 that X9-C01 significantly inhibited vessel wall thickening following cannula-induced vascular injury. This further demonstrates that X9-C01 is highly effective in vivo.

Construction of germline and Stable mutants

Amino acid sequence analysis of X9-C01 identified amino acid substitutions to reduce possible immunogenicity and to avoid sensitive amino acid modifications that may occur during antibody expression and purification.

The following table shows the amino acid sequences of the X9-C01 antibodies and their most closely related antibody sequences aligned using the Kabat database. Also highlighted in the table are amino acid substitutions made in the antibody to bring it closer to the germline, all of which may raise concerns for manufacturability (so-called "stability mutants") except for mutations that remove potential deamidation sites and methionine.

Mutant of X9-C01

The sequence of the X19-E01 mutant was identical to wild-type X9-C01, except for the M to L stability mutation in HV-CDR 3.

In addition to the M to L stability mutations in HV-CDR3, the sequence of X19-E03 was germlined relative to VH3-23, JH4 heavy and VL1-1g, JL2 light chain germline sequences.

TABLE 3 optimization of X9-C01 heavy chain sequences

Residues that can reduce possible manufacturing problems are mutated to be underlined. CDR region is

TABLE 4 optimization of X9-C01 light chain sequences

Germlined sequence mutations are shown in bold. CDR region is

For the avoidance of doubt, the sequences of the VH and VL regions and the various CDR sequences provided in tables 3 and 4 are the final sequences in the event of any unnoticed inconsistency between the sequences set forth in the present application.

PC binding of the X9-C01 mutant

The constructed X9-C01 mutant was evaluated for PC binding using ELISA (FIG. 5). Replacement of leucine with Hv-CDR3 methionine in X9-C01 did not significantly affect PC binding (compare X9-C01 with X19-E01 in FIG. 5). All light chain germline substitutions were included with reduced avidity (compare X9-C01 and X19-E03 in FIG. 5).

Reference to the literature

The following references, to the extent that they provide exemplary procedural or other details supplementary to those set forth herein, are expressly incorporated herein by reference:

U.S. provisional application No. 61/078,677

WO2010/003602

WO2012/010291

Dupont et al.,Thromb Res，124:6-13，2009。

Frostegard,J.，Clin Immunol，134，47-54，2010。

GenBank:J00253.1。

Gora et al.,FASEB J，24（9）:3284-97，2010

Itabe and Ueda，J Atheroscler Thromb，14:1-11，2007。

Libby et al.,Curr Opin Lipidol，7:330-335，1996。

Reape and Groot，Atherosclerosis，147:213-225，1999。

Shaw et al.,Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol，21:1333-1339；2001。

Shaw et al.,J Clin Invest，105，1731-1740，2000。

Tabas，Nat Rev Immunol，10:36-46，2010。

Claims

1. An antibody or antibody fragment capable of binding to phosphorylcholine and/or a phosphorylcholine conjugate, wherein the antibody or antibody fragment comprises a heavy chain Variable (VH) region and a light chain Variable (VL) region, and wherein:

(a) the VH region consists of an amino acid sequence comprising 3 Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs) selected from the group consisting of:

a CDR1 sequence consisting of SEQ ID NO: 7;

a CDR 2sequence consisting of SEQ ID NO: 8, and the amino acid sequence shown in the specification; and

a CDR3 sequence consisting of a sequence identical to SEQ ID NO: 9 or 10 has at least 88% sequence identity; and

(b) the VL region consists of an amino acid sequence comprising 3 CDRs selected from the group consisting of:

a CDR4 sequence consisting of SEQ ID NO: 11;

a CDR5 sequence consisting of SEQ ID NO: 12;

a CDR6 sequence consisting of SEQ ID NO: 13, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

2. The antibody or antibody fragment of claim 1, wherein the VH region and VL region are present as linear polypeptide sequences.

3. The antibody or antibody fragment of claim 1, wherein the VH region and the VL region are each present as separate polypeptide sequences.

4. The antibody or antibody fragment of claim 3, wherein the separate polypeptide sequences are joined together directly or indirectly.

5. The antibody or antibody fragment of claim 3, wherein the independent polypeptide sequences are bound together directly or indirectly by one or more disulfide bonds between the independent polypeptide sequences.

6. The antibody or antibody fragment of claim 1, wherein the antibody is a monoclonal antibody.

7. The antibody or antibody fragment of claim 1, wherein the antibody fragment is Fv, scFv, Fab, F (ab')₂Fab', Fd, dAb or scFv-Fc fragments, nanobodies and diabodies, or any stable such fragment.

8. The antibody or antibody fragment of claim 7, wherein such a fragment that is stabilized is such a fragment that is stabilized using pegylation.

9. The antibody or antibody fragment of claim 1, which is a human monoclonal antibody or antibody fragment, or a humanized monoclonal antibody or antibody fragment.

10. The antibody or antibody fragment of claim 1, which is capable of binding a phosphorylcholine conjugate.

11. The antibody or antibody fragment of claim 10, wherein the phosphorylcholine conjugate is a phosphorylcholine moiety linked to a carrier, optionally via a spacer.

12. The antibody or antibody fragment of claim 11, wherein the antibody or antibody fragment specifically binds to a phosphorylcholine moiety in a phosphorylcholine conjugate.

13. A pharmaceutical composition comprising or consisting essentially of an antibody or antibody fragment according to any one of claims 1 to 12 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient, optionally wherein the only antibody or antibody fragment present in the composition is an antibody or antibody fragment according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. Use of an antibody or antibody fragment according to any one of claims 1 to 12 or a pharmaceutical composition according to claim 13 in the manufacture of a medicament for use in medicine.

15. Use of an antibody or antibody fragment according to any one of claims 1 to 12 or a pharmaceutical composition according to claim 13 for the manufacture of a medicament for the prevention, prophylaxis and/or treatment of atherosclerosis, atherosclerosis-related diseases or ischemic cardiovascular diseases in a mammal, including a human.

16. Use of an antibody or antibody fragment according to any one of claims 1 to 12 or a pharmaceutical composition according to claim 13 for the manufacture of a medicament for the prevention, prevention and/or treatment of alzheimer's disease.

17. Use of an antibody or antibody fragment according to any one of claims 1 to 12 or a pharmaceutical composition according to claim 13 in the manufacture of a medicament for the immunization or prophylaxis, or prevention or treatment, of a metabolic disorder in a mammal, including a human.

18. The use according to claim 17, wherein the metabolic disease is selected from the group consisting of: metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, hyperglycemia, type I diabetes, type II diabetes, dyslipidemia, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

19. The use as claimed in claim 18, wherein dyslipidemia is selected from hyperlipidemia, hypertriglyceridemia or hypercholesterolemia.

20. A nucleic acid sequence encoding the antibody or antibody fragment of any one of claims 1 to 12.

21. A vector or plasmid comprising the nucleic acid sequence of claim 20.

22. A host cell comprising the nucleic acid sequence of claim 20 and/or the vector or plasmid of claim 21.

23. The host cell of claim 22, wherein the cell is a prokaryotic cell, or a eukaryotic cell.

24. The host cell of claim 23, wherein the prokaryotic cell is an Escherichia coli (Escherichia coli) cell and the eukaryotic cell is an animal, plant, or fungal cell.

25. A host cell according to any one of claims 22 to 24 which expresses a nucleic acid sequence according to claim 20 and thereby produces an antibody or antibody fragment according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

26. A method of producing the antibody or antibody fragment of any one of claims 1 to 12, comprising culturing the host cell of claim 25 and recovering the antibody or antibody fragment of any one of claims 1 to 12 from the host cell.