Mono-PEGylation of a Thermostable Arginine-Depleting Enzyme for the Treatment of Lung Cancer
Open Access
- 14 June 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in International Journal of Molecular Sciences
- Vol. 21 (12), 4234
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21124234
Abstract
L-arginine (L-Arg) depletion induced by randomly PEGylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG20) can treat arginosuccinate synthase (ASS)-negative cancers, and ADI-PEG20 is undergoing phase III clinical trials. Unfortunately, ASS-positive cancers are resistant to ADI-PEG20. Moreover, the yield of ADI production is low because of the formation of inclusion bodies. Here, we report a thermostable arginine-depleting enzyme, Bacillus caldovelox arginase mutant (BCA-M: Ser161->Cys161). An abundant amount of BCA-M was easily obtained via high cell-density fermentation and heat treatment purification. Subsequently, we prepared BCA-M-PEG20, by conjugating a single 20 kDa PEG monomer onto the Cys161 residue via thio-chemistry. Unlike ADI-PEG20, BCA-M-PEG20 significantly inhibited ASS-positive lung cancer cell growth. Pharmacodynamic studies showed that a single intraperitoneal injection (i.p). administration of 250 U/mouse of BCA-M-PEG20 induced low L-Arg level over 168 h. The mono-PEGylation of BCA-M prolonged its elimination half-life from 6.4 to 91.4 h (a 14-fold increase). In an A549 lung cancer xenograft model, a weekly administration of 250 U/mouse of BCA-M-PEG20 suppressed tumor growth significantly. We also observed that BCA-M-PEG20 did not cause any significant safety issue in mouse models. Overall, BCA-M-PEG20 showed excellent results in drug production, potency, and stability. Thereby, it has great potential to become a promising candidate for lung cancer therapy.Funding Information
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University (1-BBAE, 1-ZE18, 1-ZE21, 1-ZVH9)
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