ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Testing of monoclonal antibodies against the T-cell receptor associated with ankylosing spondylitis
1 Department of Molecular Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine,
Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow
2 Department of Peptide and Protein Technologies, Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Moscow
3 Department of Adaptive Immunity Genomics, Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Moscow
4 BIOCAD, Saint-Petersburg
Correspondence should be addressed: Olga V. Britanova
Miklouho-Maclay 16/10, Moscow, 117997; moc.liamg@natirblo
Funding: this work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Education of the Russian Federation, Project ID RFMEFI60716X0158.
In the last decade there has been a tendency to move away from the symptomatic treatment and embrace targeted therapies. This process is underpinned by the accumulated knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of diseases and driven by the advances in biotechnologies. T-cell receptors with variable TRBV9 β-chain regions have been recently associated with spondyloarthritis including its subtype, ankylosing spondylitis. The aim of this work was to engineer a chimeric monoclonal antibody targeting the variable region of the T-cell receptor β-chain encoded by the TRBV9 gene segment and assess its specificity and cytotoxicity. Using flow cytometry and next generation sequencing, we demonstrate that the engineered chimeric antibody is highly specific and exhibits cytotoxic activity against its target. Approaches based on the use of therapeutic chimeric antibodies against pathogenic T-clones may hold great promise for the therapy of autoimmune disorders in general and AS in particular.
Keywords: autoimmune disease, T-cell receptor, ankylosing spondylitis, therapeutic antibody for autoimmunity treatment