Comparative analysis of novel complement-targeted inhibitors, MiniFH, and the natural regulators factor H and factor H-like protein 1 reveal functional determinants of complement regulation

Markus J Harder, Markus Anliker, Britta Höchsmann, Thomas Simmet, Markus Huber-Lang, Hubert Schrezenmeier, Daniel Ricklin, John D Lambris, Paul N Barlow, Christoph Q Schmidt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The serum proteins factor H (FH), consisting of 20 complement control protein modules (CCPs), and its splice product FH-like protein 1 (FHL-1; consisting of CCPs 1-7) are major regulators of the alternative pathway (AP) of complement activation. The engineered version of FH, miniFH, contains only the N- and C-terminal portions of FH linked by an optimized peptide and shows ∼ 10-fold higher ex vivo potency. We explored the hypothesis that regulatory potency is enhanced by unmasking of a ligand-binding site in the C-terminal CCPs 19-20 that is cryptic in full-length native FH. Therefore, we produced an FH variant lacking the central domains 10-15 (FHΔ10-15). To explore how avidity affects regulatory strength, we generated a duplicated version of miniFH, termed midiFH. We compared activities of FHΔ10-15 and midiFH to miniFH, FH, and FHL-1. Relative to FH, FHΔ10-15 exhibited an altered binding profile toward C3 activation products and a 5-fold-enhanced complement regulation on a paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria patient's erythrocytes. Contrary to dogma, FHL-1 and FH exhibited equal regulatory activity, suggesting that the role of FHL-1 in AP regulation has been underestimated. Unexpectedly, a substantially increased avidity for complement opsonins, as seen in midiFH, did not potentiate the inhibitory potential on host cells. In conclusion, comparisons of engineered and native FH-based regulators have identified features that determine high AP regulatory activity on host cells. Unrestricted availability of FH CCPs 19-20 and an optimal spatial orientation between the N- and C-terminal FH regions are key.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)866-876
Number of pages11
JournalThe Journal of Immunology
Volume196
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jan 2016

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • amino acid sequence
  • Complement C3b Inactivator Proteins
  • Complement Factor H
  • Complement Inactivating Agents
  • Complement Pathway, Alternative
  • Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Flow Cytometry
  • humans
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • polymerase chain reaction
  • Protein Binding
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Comparative Study
  • Journal Article
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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