Comprehensive Physico-Chemical and Functional Similarity Assessment of Intravenous and Subcutaneous RGB-19 Drug Products as Proposed Biosimilars to Tocilizumab Reference Product.

Background And Objective: Tocilizumab is a recombinant, humanised monoclonal antibody of the immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) subclass, which specifically targets the interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R). The RGB-19 product was developed as a biosimilar to the reference medicinal product RoActemra (authorised for use in the European Union [EU]). The current study focuses on the demonstration of structural, physico-chemical and functional similarity between RGB-19 (intravenous [IV] and subcutaneous [SC] presentations) and EU-sourced RoActemra (IV and SC presentations).

DJ-1 can form β-sheet structured aggregates that co-localize with pathological amyloid deposits.

The loss of native function of the DJ-1 protein has been linked to the development of Parkinson's (PD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Here we show that DJ-1 aggregates into β-sheet structured soluble and fibrillar aggregates in vitro under physiological conditions and that this process is promoted by the oxidation of its catalytic Cys106 residue. This aggregation resulted in the loss of its native biochemical glyoxalase function and in addition oxidized DJ-1 aggregates were observed to localize within Lewy bodies, neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques in human PD and Alzheimer's (AD) patients' post-mortem brain tissue.

Structural Basis of Small Molecule Targetability of Monomeric Tau Protein.

The therapeutic targeting of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) by small molecules has been a challenge due to their heterogeneous conformational ensembles. A potential therapeutic strategy to alleviate the aggregation of IDPs is to maintain them in their native monomeric state by small molecule binding. This study investigates the structural basis of small molecule druggability of native monomeric Tau whose aggregation is linked to the onset of Tauopathies such as Alzheimer's disease.

Structural features of human DJ-1 in distinct Cys106 oxidative states and their relevance to its loss of function in disease.

DJ-1 (PARK7) is a multifunctional protein linked to the onset and progression of a number of diseases, most of which are associated with high oxidative stress. The Cys106 of DJ-1 is unusually reactive and thus sensitive to oxidation, and due to high oxidative stress it was observed to be in various oxidized states in disease condition. The oxidation state of Cys106 of DJ-1 is believed to determine the specific functions of the protein in normal and disease conditions.