Identification and characterization of oxidation and deamidation sites in monoclonal rat/mouse hybrid antibodies

Oxidation of methionine residues and deamidation of asparagine residues are the major causes of chemical degradation of biological pharmaceuticals. The mechanism of these non-enzymatic chemical reactions has been studied in great detail. However, the identification and quantification of oxidation and deamidation sites in a given protein still remains a challenge. In this study, we identified and characterized several oxidation and deamidation sites in a rat/mouse hybrid antibody. We evaluated the effects of the sample preparation on oxidation and deamidation levels and optimized the peptide mapping method to minimize oxidation and deamidation artifacts. Out of a total number of 18 methionine residues, we identified six methionine residues most susceptible to oxidation. We determined the oxidation rate of the six methionine residues using 0.05% H2O2 at different temperatures. Methionine residue 256 of the mouse heavy chain showed the fastest rate of oxidation under those conditions with a half life of approximately 200 min at 4 °C and 27 min at 37 °C. We identified five asparagine residues prone to deamidation under accelerated conditions of pH 8.6 at 37 °C. Kinetic characterization of the deamidation sites showed that asparagine residue 218 of the rat heavy chain exhibited the fastest rate of deamidation with a half live of 1.5 days at pH 8.6 and 37 °C. Analysis of antibody isoforms using free flow electrophoresis showed that deamidation is the major cause of the charged variants of this rat/mouse hybrid antibody.