Recombinant Murine Growth Hormone Particles are More Immunogenic with Intravenous than Subcutaneous Administration

Evaluation and mitigation of the risk of immunogenicity to protein aggregates and particles in therapeutic protein products remains a primary concern for drug developers and regulatory agencies. To investigate how the presence of protein particles and the route of administration influence the immunogenicity of a model therapeutic protein, we measured the immune response in mice to injections of formulations of recombinant murine growth hormone (rmGH) that contained controlled levels of protein particles. Mice were injected twice over 6 weeks with rmGH formulations via the subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, or intravenous (i.v.) routes. In addition to soluble, monomeric rmGH, the samples prepared contained either nanoparticles of rmGH or both nano- and microparticles of rmGH. The appearance of anti‐rmGH IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgG2c, and IgG3 titers following the second injection of both preparations implies that multiple mechanisms contributed to the immune response. No dependence of the immune response on particle size and distribution was observed. The immune response measured after the second injection was most pronounced when i.v. administration was used. Despite producing high anti‐rmGH titers mice appeared to retain the ability to properly regulate and use endogenous growth hormone. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 103:128-139, 2014