Using capillary electrophoresis sodium dodecyl sulfate (CE‐SDS) and liquid chromatograph mass spectrometry (LC–MS) to identify glycosylated heavy chain heterogeneity in the anti‐VEGFR‐2 monoclonal antibody

Abstract The size variant, which can be measured by capillary electrophoresis sodium dodecyl sulfate (CE‐SDS), is a critical quality attribute of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The CE‐SDS size heterogeneity can hardly be identified by tandem mass spectrometry, which is an intractable obstacle of mAb development and quality control across the industry. We analyzed the purity of an anti‐vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR‐2) mAb, an antagonist of the human VEGFR‐2, through reduced CE‐SDS and observed glycosylated heavy chain heterogeneity. The heterogeneity has potential impact on safety, efficacy, and stability of drugs for clinical use. Therefore, it should be characterized so as to evaluate its potential risk. In order to identify the heterogeneity, we used mass spectrometry to confirm that the molecular size heterogeneity was not due to peptide bond cleavage in the heavy chain. Subsequently, we employed mass‐spectrometry–glycosylation profiling and CE‐SDS analysis of various glycosidase‐treated samples, in addition to the preparation of mAb references with different glycoforms. Ultimately, we demonstrated that the heavy chain heterogeneity was induced by different levels of galactosylation modifications which will potentially impact the efficacy of antibody drugs (i.e., complement‐dependent cytotoxicity). In this study, potential risk caused by heavy chain size heterogeneity was evaluated, which addressed the obstacle of mAb development and quality control. Therefore, this study offers a feasible approach for the investigation and identification of heavy chain heterogeneity in reduced CE‐SDS, providing a novel strategy for mAb quality control and evaluation.