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Homodimeric Minimal Factor H: In Vivo Tracking and Extended Dosing Studies in Factor H Deficient Mice

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Ola Kamala, Dr Thomas Hallam, Tom Cox, Dr Yi Yang, Dr Falguni Vyas, Dr Saimir Luli, Chloe Connelly, Dr Beth Gibson, Dr Kate Smith-Jackson, Harriet Denton, Dr Isabel Pappworth, Dr Lei HuangORCiD, Professor David KavanaghORCiD, Professor Kevin MarchbankORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) is associated with dysregulation of the alternative pathway (AP) of complement and treatment options remain inadequate. Factor H (FH) is a potent regulator of the AP. An in-depth analysis of FH-related protein dimerised minimal (mini)-FH constructs has recently been published. This analysis showed that addition of a dimerisation module to mini-FH not only increased serum half-life but also improved complement regulatory function, thus providing a potential treatment option for C3G. Herein, we describe the production of a murine version of homodimeric mini-FH (mHDM-FH (mFH1–5^18–20^R1–2)), developed to reduce the risk of anti-drug antibody formation during long-term experiments in murine models of C3G and other complement-driven pathologies. Our analysis of mHDM-FH indicates that it binds with higher affinity and avidity to WT mC3b when compared to mouse (m)FH (mHDM-FH KD=505 nM; mFH KD=1370 nM) analogous to what we observed with the respective human proteins. The improved binding avidity resulted in enhanced complement regulatory function in haemolytic assays. Extended interval dosing studies in CFH-/- mice (5mg/kg every 72hrs) were partially effective and bio-distribution analysis in CFH-/- mice, through in vivo imaging technologies, demonstrates that mHDM-FH is preferentially deposited and remains fixed in the kidneys (and liver) for up to 4 days. Extended dosing using an AAV- human HDM-FH (hHDM-FH) construct achieved complete normalisation of C3 levels in CFH-/- mice for 3 months and was associated with a significant reduction in glomerular C3 staining. Our data demonstrate the ability of gene therapy delivery of mini-FH constructs to enhance complement regulation in vivo and support the application of this approach as a novel treatment strategy in diseases such as C3G.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Kamala O, Malik TH, Hallam TM, Cox TE, Yang Y, Vyas F, Luli S, Connelly C, Gibson B, Smith-Jackson K, Denton H, Pappworth IY, Huang L, Kavanagh D, Pickering MC, Marchbank KJ

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Frontiers in Immunology

Year: 2021

Volume: 12

Online publication date: 09/12/2021

Acceptance date: 23/11/2021

Date deposited: 23/11/2021

ISSN (electronic): 1664-3224

Publisher: Frontiers

URL: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.752916

DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.752916


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Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
087961
212252/Z/18/Z
MR/R001359/1Medical Research Council (MRC)
MR/S025502/1Medical Research Council (MRC)
Wellcome Trust

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