A Catalysis-Based Selection for Peroxidase Antibodies with Increased Activity

A biotin-tyramine conjugate (1) was found to covalently cross-link with peroxidase antibody 7G12 upon the catalytic oxidation of the tyramine moiety in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). On the basis of this observation, a novel strategy was developed to select mutants of 7G12 Fab with enhanced peroxidase activity from a library of phage displayed antibodies. In such a selection, tyramine is oxidized by hydrogen peroxide in a process catalyzed by peroxidase antibodies displayed on phage. Antibodies with higher peroxidase activity are preferentially labeled with biotin through irreversible adduct formation between oxidized biotin-linked tyramine molecules and phenolic side chains of the antibody. The corresponding phage particles can then be selected via biotin-streptavidin interactions. Using this strategy, phage displayed libraries of antibody 7G12 were selected for higher peroxidase activity. As a result, mutations of antibody 7G12 that led to 10 to 20-fold increases in the peroxidase activity (kcat/Km) were identified, suggesting the validity of this method for the evolution of peroxidase antibodies based directly on catalytic turnover.