Anti-complement factor C1q antibodies and uses thereof

1. A method of treating a disease associated with C1q mediated activation of the classical complement pathway, the method comprising administering a therapeutically effective dose of an anti-C1q antibody, comprising

(a) a light chain variable domain and a heavy chain variable domain, wherein the light chain variable domain comprises the hypervariable region (HVR)-L1, HVR-L2, and HVR-L3 of the monoclonal antibody M1 produced by a hybridoma cell line with ATCC Accession Number PTA-120399; and wherein the heavy chain variable domain comprises the HVR-H1, HVR-H2, and HVR-H3 of the monoclonal antibody M1 produced by a hybridoma cell line with ATCC Accession Number PTA-120399; or

(b) a heavy chain HVR selected from HVR-H1 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9, HVR-H2 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10, and HVR-H3 comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the disease associated with C1q mediated activation of the classical complement pathway is a neurodegenerative disorder.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the neurodegenerative disorder is associated with loss of synapses or loss nerve connections.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the neurodegenerative disorder is associated with synapse loss that is dependent on complement receptor 3 (CR3) or complement receptor CR1.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the neurodegenerative disorder is associated with pathological activity-dependent synaptic pruning.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the neurodegenerative disorder is associated with synapse phagocytosis by microglia.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the neurodegenerative disorder is Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, myotonic dystrophy, Down syndrome, Parkinson's disease, or Huntington's disease.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the disease associated with C1q mediated activation of the classical complement pathway is an inflammatory disease, autoimmune disease, or metabolic disorder.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the inflammatory disease, autoimmune disease, or metabolic disorder is diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), remote tissue injury after ischemia and reperfusion, complement activation during cardiopulmonary bypass surgery, dermatomyositis, pemphigus, lupus nephritis and resultant glomerulonephritis and vasculitis, cardiopulmonary bypass, cardioplegia-induced coronary endothelial dysfunction, type II membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, IgA nephropathy, acute renal failure, cryoglobulemia, antiphospholipid syndrome, macular degenerative diseases, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), choroidal neovascularization (CNV), uveitis, diabetic retinopathy, ischemia-related retinopathy, endophthalmitis, intraocular neovascular disease, diabetic macular edema, pathological myopia, von Hippel-Lindau disease, histoplasmosis of the eye, Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO), Central Retinal Vein Occlusion (CRVO), corneal neovascularization, retinal neovascularization, allo-transplantation, hyperacute rejection, hemodialysis, chronic occlusive pulmonary distress syndrome (COPD), asthma, or aspiration pneumonia.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the disease associated with C1q mediated activation of the classical complement pathway is myasthenia gravis, Diabetes mellitus type 1, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Addison's disease, Coeliac disease, Crohn's disease, pernicious anaemia, Pemphigus vulgaris, vitiligo, autoimmune hemolytic anemias, paraneoplastic syndromes, a vasculitis disease, polymyalgia rheumatica, temporal arteritis, or Wegener's granulomatosis.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the antibody comprises a light chain variable domain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:4.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the antibody comprises a heavy chain variable domain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:8.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the antibody binds specifically to human C1q, mouse C1q, and rat C1q.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the antibody has a dissociation constant (K D ) for human C1q and mouse C1q less than about 30 nM.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the antibody specifically binds to C1q and inhibits CH50 hemolysis.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein CH50 hemolysis comprises human, mouse, or rat CH50 hemolysis.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the antibody is capable of neutralizing at least 50%, at least 80%, or at least 90% of CH50 hemolysis.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the antibody is capable of neutralizing at least 50% of CH50 hemolysis at a dose of less than 200 ng/ml, less than 100 ng/ml, less than 50 ng/ml, or less than 20 ng/ml.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the antibody is a murine, humanized, or chimeric antibody.

20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the antibody comprises a heavy chain variable domain comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:8.

21. The method of claim 11 , wherein the antibody has a dissociation constant (K D ) for human C1q and mouse C1q less than about 30 nM.

22. The method of claim 12 , wherein the antibody has a dissociation constant (K D ) for human C1q and mouse C1q less than about 30 nM.

23. The method of claim 11 , wherein the antibody is an antibody fragment, wherein the antibody fragment is a Fab, F(ab′) 2 or Fab′ fragment.

24. The method of claim 12 , wherein the antibody is an antibody fragment, wherein the antibody fragment is a Fab, F(ab′) 2 or Fab′ fragment.

25. The method of claim 20 , wherein the antibody is an antibody fragment, wherein the antibody fragment is a Fab, F(ab′) 2 or Fab′ fragment.

26. The method of claim 1 , wherein the antibody is of the IgG class.

27. The method of claim 26 , wherein the antibody has an IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, or IgG4 isotype.

28. The method of claim 1 , wherein the antibody specifically binds to and neutralizes a biological activity of C1q.

29. The method of claim 28 , wherein the biological activity is (1) C1q binding to an autoantibody, (2) C1q binding to C1r, (3) C1q binding to C1s, (4) C1q binding to phosphatidylserine, (5) C1q binding to pentraxin-3, (6) C1q binding to C-reactive protein (CRP), (7) C1q binding to globular C1q receptor (gC1qR), (8) C1q binding to complement receptor 1 (CR1), (9) C1q binding to beta-amyloid, or (10) C1q binding to calreticulin.

30. The method of claim 28 , wherein the biological activity is (1) activation of the classical complement activation pathway, (2) activation of antibody and complement dependent cytotoxicity, (3) CH50 hemolysis, (4) synapse loss, (5) B-cell antibody production, (6) dendritic cell maturation, (7) T-cell proliferation, (8) cytokine production (9) microglia activation, (10) Arthus reaction, (11) phagocytosis of synapses or nerve endings, or (12) activation of complement receptor 3 (CR3/C3) expressing cells.