Name: rapid determination of antibody-antigen affinity by mass photometry
Uploaded: 2021-02-08T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Rapid Determination of Antibody-Antigen Affinity by Mass Photometry at JoVE.com

We thank Keir Neuman for his critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by the intramural program of the NHLBI, NIH.

1. Prepare the flow chambers
<ol>
	<li>Clean the glass coverslips
	<ol>
		<li>Using wash bottles with distilled water, ethanol, and isopropanol, rinse the 24 mm&#160;x&#160;50&#160;mm coverslips in the following order: water, ethanol, water, isopropanol, water. Dry the coverslips with a stream of clean nitrogen. It is important to rinse the coverslips from top to bottom, holding the bottom corner with soft-tipped forceps. Dry the coverslip in the same direction to avoid transferring contamination from the forceps (<str...

<ol>
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A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Comparing+ELISA+and+surface+plasmon+resonance+for+assessing+clinical+immunogenicity+of+panitumumab.">Comparing ELISA and surface plasmon resonance for assessing clinical immunogenicity of panitumumab.</a> The Journal of Immunology. 178 (11), 7467-7472 (2007).</li><li>Young, G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Quantitative+mass+imaging+of+single+biological+macromolecules.">Quantitative mass imaging of single biological macromolecules.</a> Science. 360 (6387), 423-427 (2018).</li><li>Wu, D., Piszczek, G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Measuring+the+affinity+of+protein-protein+interactions+on+a+single-molecule+level+by+mass+photometry.">Measuring the affinity of protein-protein interactions on a single-molecule level by mass photometry.</a> Analytical Biochemistry. 592, 113575 (2020).</li><li>Cole, D., Young, G., Weigel, A., Sebesta, A., Kukura, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Label-free+single-molecule+imaging+with+numerical-aperture-shaped+interferometric+scattering+microscopy.">Label-free single-molecule imaging with numerical-aperture-shaped interferometric scattering microscopy.</a> ACS Photonics. 4 (2), 211-216 (2017).</li><li>Soltermann, F., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Quantifying+protein-protein+interactions+by+molecular+counting+with+mass+photometry.">Quantifying protein-protein interactions by molecular counting with mass photometry.</a> Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English. 59 (27), 10774-10779 (2020).</li><li>Kemmer, G., Keller, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Nonlinear+least-squares+data+fitting+in+Excel+spreadsheets.">Nonlinear least-squares data fitting in Excel spreadsheets.</a> Nature Protocols. 5 (2), 267-281 (2010).</li></ol>

The Mass Photometry based protocol outlined here provides a fast and accurate method of measuring antigen-antibody binding affinities. MP analysis uses a very small amount of material, and additional information&#8212;including stoichiometry, oligomerization, and purity&#8212;can be assessed from the same data (Figure 5). Without modifications, this method is applicable to the measurements of dissociation constants in the approximately 5 nM to 500 nM range, and for ligand molecules with mole...

Antibodies have become ubiquitous tools of molecular biology and are used extensively in both medical and research applications. In medicine, they are critically important in diagnostics, but their therapeutic applications are also expanding and new antibody-based therapies are constantly being developed1,2,3,4. The scientific applications of antibodies include many indispensable laboratory techniques such as immunofluorescence5, immunoprecipitation6, flow cytometry7, ELISA, and western blotting. For each of these applications, obtaining accurate measurements of the antibody&#8217;s binding properties, including binding affinity and specificity, is of crucial importance.
Since the first commercial surface plasmon resonance (SPR) instrument was introduced in 1990, optical biosensors have become the &#8220;gold standard&#8221; of antibody characterization, but other techniques, including ELISA, are also routinely used to measure antibody affinities8,9. These methods usually require immobilization or labeling of the analyzed molecules, which can potentially affect the interaction of interest. They are also relatively slow, involving multiple assay steps before the results can be collected for data analysis. A recently developed single-molecule method, mass photometry (MP), detects molecules directly in solution when they land on the surface of the microscope coverslip10,11. The light scattering-based optical detection that MP employs does not require protein labeling or modification. Individual protein molecules are recorded by the interferometric scattering microscope as dark spots appearing in the image (Figure 1D), and several thousand molecules can be detected during the one-minute data acquisition12. The signal generated by each individual particle is quantified, and its contrast value (relative darkness) is calculated. The interferometric contrast values are proportional to the molecular masses of the proteins, which allows for the identification of bound and free species in the antigen-antibody mixture. At the same time, by counting molecular landing events, MP directly measures the species populations. This gives MP based methods a unique capability to independently quantify affinities of multiple binding sites.
Binding of the antigen (Ag) molecules to the two binding sites of the intact antibody (Ab) can be described as: 
<img alt="Equation 1" src="/files/ftp_upload/61784/61784equ01v2.jpg" /> 
with the equilibrium association constants Ka1 and Ka2 defined as: 
<img alt="Equation 2" src="/files/ftp_upload/61784/61784equ02v5.jpg" /> 
where ci and fi represent concentration and fraction of the component i, respectively. The total antigen concentration (cAg)tot can be expressed as: 
<img alt="Equation 3" src="/files/ftp_upload/61784/61784equ03v3.jpg" />
Since the total concentrations of the antibody (cAb)tot and antigen (cAg)tot are known, this equation can be used to directly fit the experimental component fractions obtained from the MP measurements and calculate the equilibrium association constants Ka1 and Ka2 (see Supplementary Information).
The MP data can also be used to estimate cooperativity between the two antibody binding sites11. For two antibody paratopes with identical microscopic binding constants, the statistical factors describing the process of population of the Ab&#183;Ag and Ab&#183;Ag2 complexes dictate that the apparent macroscopic equilibrium constants Ka1 and Ka2 will not be numerically equal, and Ka1 = 4Ka2. Therefore, the experimental values of Ka1 &#60; 4Ka2 indicate positive cooperativity between the two antibody binding sites. Similarly, Ka1 &#62; 4Ka2 indicates negative cooperativity.
MP measurements of the antigen-antibody binding affinity are fast and require a small amount of material. The MP mass distributions used for equilibrium constant calculations provide additional information about the sample properties and enable the assessment of the sample purity, oligomerization, and aggregation in a single experiment. The same method can be used to measure high affinity protein-protein binding, and MP is particularly useful for studies of multi-valent protein interactions. Multi-protein complexes usually have large molecular masses, optimal for MP detection, and single-molecule data can be used to measure stoichiometry and calculate affinities of multiple binding sites simultaneously. This information is usually difficult to obtain using bulk-based methods.
Without modifications, the current protocol is suitable for measurements of relatively high-affinity, sub-micromolar interactions with antigens of a molecular mass of 20 kDa or larger. For optimal results, protein stocks should be of high purity, but there are no specific buffer requirements. By using MP, the antigen-antibody binding can be assessed in less than five minutes. The data collection and analysis required for accurate Kd calculations can be performed within 30 minutes.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>AcquireMP</td>
			<td>Refeyn</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>MP data collection software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-human thrombin</td>
			<td>Haematologic Technologies</td>
			<td>AHT-5020</td>
			<td>RRID: AB_2864302</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cotton-tipped applicators</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>CTA10</td>
			<td>cotton optical swabs for lens cleaning</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Coverslips 24x24 mm</td>
			<td>Globe Scientific</td>
			<td>1405-10</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Coverslips 24x50 mm</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>12-544-EP</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DiscoverMP</td>
			<td>Refeyn</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>MP data processing software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Forceps</td>
			<td>Electron Microscopy Sciences</td>
			<td>78080-CF</td>
			<td>soft-tipped forceps for coverslips handling</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Human &#945;-thrombin</td>
			<td>Haematologic Technologies</td>
			<td>HCT-0020</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Immersion oil</td>
			<td>Thorlabs</td>
			<td>MOIL-30</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Isopropanol</td>
			<td>Alfa Aesar</td>
			<td>36644</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microsoft Excel</td>
			<td>Microsoft</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>spreadsheet</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>OneMP</td>
			<td>Refeyn</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Mass Photometry instrument</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Origin</td>
			<td>OriginLab</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>scientific graphing software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PBS</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>46-013-CM</td>
			<td>10x stock</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Syringe filter</td>
			<td>Millipore</td>
			<td>SLGSR33SS</td>
			<td>buffer and sample filtering</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

rapid determination of antibody-antigen affinity by mass photometry

Measurements of the specificity and affinity of antigen-antibody interactions are critically important for medical and research applications. In this protocol, we describe the implementation of a new single-molecule technique, mass photometry (MP), for this purpose. MP is a label- and immobilization-free technique that detects and quantifies molecular masses and populations of antibodies and antigen-antibody complexes on a single-molecule level. MP analyzes the antigen-antibody sample within minutes, allowing for the precise determination of the binding affinity and simultaneously providing information on the stoichiometry and the oligomeric state of the proteins. This is a simple and straightforward technique that requires only picomole quantities of protein and no expensive consumables. The same procedure can be used to study protein-protein binding for proteins with a molecular mass larger than 50 kDa. For multivalent protein interactions, the affinities of multiple binding sites can be obtained in a single measurement. However, the single-molecule mode of measurement and the lack of labeling imposes some experimental limitations. This method gives the best results when applied to measurements of sub-micromolar interaction affinities, antigens with a molecular mass of 20 kDa or larger, and relatively pure protein samples. We also describe the procedure for performing the required fitting and calculation steps using basic data analysis software.

We have previously examined the interaction of human &#945;-thrombin (HT) and mouse monoclonal anti-human thrombin antibody (AHT) using the MP based assay11. Since the molecular mass of the HT (37&#160;kDa) is below the 40 kDa detection limit, the maximum sample concentration can exceed the 50 nM MP concentration limitation without negatively affecting the resolution of mass distributions. The experiment was planned as a titration series with the AHT antibody at a fixed 25&#160;nM concentration, a...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Rapid Determination of Antibody-Antigen Affinity by Mass Photometry at JoVE.com

Rapid Determination of Antibody-Antigen Affinity by Mass Photometry

We describe a single-molecule approach to antigen-antibody affinity measurements using mass photometry (MP). The MP-based protocol is fast, accurate, uses a very small amount of material, and does not require protein modification.

Measurements of the specificity and affinity of antigen-antibody interactions are critically important for medical and research applications. In this ...

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