Development of novel interferon alpha2b muteins and study the pharmacokinetic and biodistribution profiles in animal model

Ratih Asmana Ningrum, Desi Eria Rahmatika, Debbie Sofie Retnoningrum, Aang Hanafiah Wangsaatmadja, Yeyet Cahyati Sumirtapura, Heni Rachmawati

Labeled Compound and Radiometry Division, National Nuclear Energy Agency, Bandung, Indonesia.
School of Pharmacy, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia.

DOI: 10.4236/jbise.2012.53014                

Abstract

Novel human interferon alpha 2b (hIFNα2b) muteins were developed by substituting cysteine residue (C) at positions 2 and 99 with aspartic acid residues (D). The mutein forms were then studied for pharmacokinetic profile. In addition, the influence of charge on the protein structure was tested in vivo for the biodistribution pattern. Codon substitutions were performed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based site-directed mutagenesis on a previously constructed synthetic hIFNα2b open reading frame (ORF) cloned in pET32b expression plasmid. The result of nucleotide sequencing analysis confirmed that all codons were replaced successfully without any additional mutation. Three mutant forms of hIFNα2b ORF were overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) resulted in three muteins: hIFNα2b C2D, hIFNα2b C99D, hIFNα2b C2D C99D. To follow the kinetic and localization of the mutein interferon after intravenous administration, Tc^99m was used to label the proteins. In particular of elimination half-life, it was shown that hIFNα2b C2D C99D > hIFNα2bC2D > hIFNα2bC99D > wild type. hIFNα2b C2D C99D mutein showed highest blood accumulation after 30 minutes administration. Taken together, the charge of hIFNα2b seems to be responsible for the fate of hIFNα2b in vivo.

Keywords

Mutein; Human Interferon Alpha2b; Amino Acid Substitution; PCR Based Site Directed Mutagenesis; Tc^99mlabeling; Pharmacokinetic; Biodistribution; Protein Charge

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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