an-hs-mrm-assay-for-quantification-host-cell-proteins-protein

An HS-MRM Assay for the Quantification of Host-cell Proteins in Protein Biopharmaceuticals by Liquid Chromatography Ion Mobility QTOF Mass Spectrometry

The analysis of low-level (1-100 ppm) protein impurities (e.g., host-cell proteins (HCPs)) in protein biotherapeutics is a challenging assay requiring ...

Waters Corporation

Functional development of the prostate is governed by stromal mesenchyme induction and epithelial response. Stromal/epithelial signaling can be mediated through direct cell-cell contact and diffusible factors and their cell surface receptors. These inducers are likely secreted or membrane-associated extracellular proteins. Given the importance of intercellular communication, it is possible that diseases like cancer could arise from a loss of this communication. One approach to gain a molecular understanding of stromal cells is to identify, as a first step, secreted stromal signaling factors. We proposed to do this by comparative analysis between bladder and prostate.

Identification of secreted glycoproteins of human prostate and bladder stromal cells by comparative quantitative proteomics.

Current chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques have limitations for analyzing heparin and heparin oligomers due to their high polarity, structural diversity, and sulfate lability. A rapid method for the analysis of heparin oligosaccharides was developed using ion-pair reversed-phase ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry (IPRP-UPLC ESI Q-TOF MS). The method utilizes an optimized buffer system containing a linear pentylamine and a unique additive, 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP), to achieve highly efficient separation together with enhanced mass response of heparin oligosaccharides. Analyses of a heparin oligosaccharide test mixture, dp6 through dp22, reveal that the chromatographic conditions enable baseline resolution of isomeric heparin oligosaccharides (dp6) and produce intact molecular ions with no sulfate losses during mass spectrometric analysis. In addition, the described conditions are amenable to the detection of heparin oligosaccharides in positive ion mode, yield stronger positive ion signals for corresponding oligosaccharides compared to the negative ion mode, and allow identification of structural isomers by an MS/MS approach. Because sensitive detection of oligosaccharides is also achieved with ultraviolet (UV) detection, the method utilizes a dual detection scheme (UV and MS in series) along with IPRP UPLC to simultaneously obtain quantification (UV) and characterization (MS) data for heparin oligosaccharides. The broad potential of this new method is further demonstrated for the analysis of a low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) preparation from porcine heparin. This approach will be of particular utility for profiling the molecular entities of heparin materials, as well as for structural variability comparison for samples from various sources.

Analysis of oligosaccharides derived from heparin by ion-pair reversed-phase chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Influenza vaccination is recognized as the most effective method for reducing morbidity and mortality due to seasonal influenza. To improve vaccine supply and to increase flexibility in vaccine manufacturing, cell culture-based vaccine production has emerged to overcome limitations of egg-based production. The switch of production system and the need for annual re-evaluation of vaccines for the effectiveness due to frequent viral antigenic changes call for methods for complete characterization of the hemagglutinin (HA) antigens and the final vaccine products. This study describes advanced liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods for simultaneous identification of HA proteins and process-related impurities in a trivalent influenza candidate vaccine, comprised of purified recombinant HA (rHA) antigens produced in an insect cell-baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS). N-linked glycosylation sites and glycoforms of the three rHA proteins (corresponding to influenza A subtypes H1N1 and H3N2 and B virus, respectively) were profiled by peptide mapping using reversed-phase (RP) LC-MS(E) (data independent acquisition LC-MS using an alternating low and elevated collision energy scan mode). The detected site-specific glycoforms were further confirmed and quantified by hydrophilic interaction LC (HILIC)-multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) assays. LC-MS(E) was used to characterize the vaccine candidate, providing both protein identities and site-specific information of glycosylation and degradations on each rHA protein. HILIC-MRM methodology was used for rapid confirming and quantifying site-specific glycoforms and potential degradations on each rHA protein. These methods can contribute to the monitoring of vaccine quality especially as it pertains to product comparability studies to evaluate the impact of production process changes.

Characterization of a recombinant influenza vaccine candidate using complementary LC-MS methods.

Assays for identification and quantification of host-cell proteins (HCPs) in biotherapeutic proteins over 5 orders of magnitude in concentration are presented. The HCP assays consist of two types: HCP identification using comprehensive online two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (2D-LC/MS), followed by high-throughput HCP quantification by liquid chromatography, multiple reaction monitoring (LC-MRM). The former is described as a "discovery" assay, the latter as a "monitoring" assay. Purified biotherapeutic proteins (e.g., monoclonal antibodies) were digested with trypsin after reduction and alkylation, and the digests were fractionated using reversed-phase (RP) chromatography at high pH (pH 10) by a step gradient in the first dimension, followed by a high-resolution separation at low pH (pH 2.5) in the second dimension. As peptides eluted from the second dimension, a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer was used to detect the peptides and their fragments simultaneously by alternating the collision cell energy between a low and an elevated energy (MSE methodology). The MSE data was used to identify and quantify the proteins in the mixture using a proven label-free quantification technique ("Hi3" method). The same data set was mined to subsequently develop target peptides and transitions for monitoring the concentration of selected HCPs on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer in a high-throughput manner (20 min LC-MRM analysis). This analytical methodology was applied to the identification and quantification of low-abundance HCPs in six samples of PTG1, a recombinant chimeric anti-phosphotyrosine monoclonal antibody (mAb). Thirty three HCPs were identified in total from the PTG1 samples among which 21 HCP isoforms were selected for MRM monitoring. The absolute quantification of three selected HCPs was undertaken on two different LC-MRM platforms after spiking isotopically labeled peptides in the samples. Finally, the MRM quantitation results were compared with TOF-based quantification based on the Hi3 peptides, and the TOF and MRM data sets correlated reasonably well. The results show that the assays provide detailed valuable information to understand the relative contributions of purification schemes to the nature and concentrations of HCP impurities in biopharmaceutical samples, and the assays can be used as generic methods for HCP analysis in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Analysis of host-cell proteins in biotherapeutic proteins by comprehensive online two-dimensional liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

A generic method for the identification and quantification of host-cell proteins (HCPs) in protein biopharmaceuticals is described. Therapeutic proteins and HCPs were converted to complex peptide mixtures following tryptic digestion. Comprehensive peptide separations were performed using online two-dimensional capillary liquid chromatography-(LC) involving high-pH reversed phase (RP)/low-pH RP separations. We applied this method to the analysis of HCP impurities in monoclonal antibody (mAb) preparations.

Analysis of host-cell proteins in biotherapeutic proteins by LC/MS approaches.

The enormous dynamic range of proteinaceous species present in protein biotherapeutics poses a significant challenge for current mass spectrometry (MS)-based methods to detect low-abundance HCP impurities. Previously, an HCP assay based on two-dimensional chromatographic separation (high pH/low pH) coupled to high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry and developed in the author's laboratory has been shown to achieve a detection limit of about 50 ppm (parts per milion) for the identification and quantification of HCPs present in monoclonal antibodies following Protein A purification.1 To improve the HCP detection limit we have explored the utility of several new analytical techniques for HCP analysis and thereby developed an improved liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methodology for enhanced detection of HCPs. The new method includes (1) the use of a new charge-surface-modified (CSH) C18 stationary phase to mitigate the challenges of column saturation, peak tailing, and distortion that are commonly observed in the HCP analysis; (2) the incorporation of traveling-wave ion mobility (TWIM) separation of coeluting peptide precursors, and (3) the improvement of fragmentation efficiency of low-abundance HCP peptides by correlating the collision energy used for precursor fragmentation with their mobility drift time. As a result of these improvements, the detection limit of the new methodology was greatly improved, and HCPs present at a concentration as low as 1 ppm (1 ng HCP/mg mAb) were successfully identified and quantified. The newly developed method was applied to analyze two high-purity mAbs (NIST mAb and Infliximab) expressed in a murine cell line. For both samples, low-abundance HCPs (down to 1 ppm) were confidently identified, and the identities of the HCPs were further confirmed by targeted MS/MS experiments. In addition, the performance of the assay was evaluated by an interlaboratory study in which three independent laboratories performed the same HCP assay on the mAb sample. The reproducibility of this assay is also discussed. 

Enhanced Detection of Low-Abundance Host Cell Protein Impurities in High-Purity Monoclonal Antibodies Down to 1 ppm Using Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry Coupled with Multidimensional Liquid Chromatography.

In this study, we demonstrate the utility of ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) and ion-mobility spectrometry (IMS) to characterize and compare reference and biosimilar monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) at an advanced level. Specifically, we focus on infliximab and compared the glycan profiles, higher order structures, and their host cell proteins (HCPs) of the reference and biosimilar products, which have the brand names Remicade® and Inflectra®, respectively. Overall, the biosimilar attributes mirrored those of the reference product to a very high degree. The glycan profiling analysis demonstrated a high degree of similarity, especially among the higher abundance glycans. Some differences were observed for the lower abundance glycans. Glycans terminated with N-glycolylneuraminic acid were generally observed to be at higher normalized abundance levels on the biosimilar mAb, while those possessing α-linked galactose pairs were more often expressed at higher levels on the reference molecule. Hydrogen deuterium exchange (HDX) analyses further confirmed the higher-order similarity of the 2 molecules. These results demonstrated only very slight differences between the 2 products, which, interestingly, seemed to be in the area where the N-linked glycans reside. The HCP analysis by a 2D-UPLC IMS-MS approach revealed that the same 2 HCPs were present in both mAb samples. Our ability to perform these types of analyses and acquire insightful data for biosimilarity assessment is based upon our highly sensitive UPLC MS and IMS methods.

Catalin Doneanu

Waters Corporation

An HS-MRM Assay for the Quantification of Host-cell Proteins in Protein Biopharmaceuticals by Liquid Chromatography Ion Mobility QTOF Mass Spectrometry