Dual-targeting therapy against HER3/MET in human colorectal cancers.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common malignancy in the world, and novel molecular targeted therapies for CRC have been vigorously pursued. We searched for novel combination therapies based on the expression patterns of membrane proteins in CRC cell lines. RESULTS: A positive correlation was observed between the expression of human pidermal growth factor receptor (HER) 3 and mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition factor (MET) on the cell surface of CRC cell lines. The brief stimulation of HER3/MET-high SW1116 CRC cells with both neuregulin-1 (NRG1) and hepatocyte growth factor enhanced ERK phosphorylation and cell proliferation more than each stimulation alone. In addition, a prolonged NRG1 stimulation resulted in the tyrosine phosphorylation of MET. In this context, the Forkhead Box protein M1 (FOXM1)-regulated tyrosine phosphorylation of MET by NRG1 was demonstrated, suggesting the existence of a signaling pathway mediated by FOXM1 upon the NRG1 stimulation. Since the co-expression of HER3 and MET was also demonstrated in in vivo CRC tissues by immunohistochemistry, we investigated whether the co-inhibition of HER3 and MET could be an effective therapy for CRC. We established HER3-and/or MET-KO SW1116 cell lines, and HER3/MET-double KO resulted in the inhibition of in vitro cell proliferation and in vivo tumor growth in nude mice by SW1116 cells. Furthermore, the combination of patritumab, an anti-HER3 fully human mAb, and PHA665752, a MET inhibitor, markedly inhibited in vitro cell proliferation, 3D-colony formation, and in vivo tumor growth in nude mice by SW1116 cells CONCLUSION: The dual targeting of HER3/MET has potential as CRC therapy.

CD98 regulates the phosphorylation of HER2 and a bispecific anti-HER2/CD98 antibody inhibits the growth signal of human breast cancer cells.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family proteins are currently major targets of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies against various epithelial cancers. However, the resistance of cancer cells to HER family-targeted therapies, which may be caused by cancer heterogeneity and persistent HER phosphorylation, often reduces overall therapeutic effects. We herein showed that a newly discovered molecular complex between CD98 and HER2 affected HER function and cancer cell growth. The immunoprecipitation of the HER2 or HER3 protein from lysates of SKBR3 breast cancer (BrCa) cells revealed the HER2-CD98 or HER3-CD98 complex. The knockdown of CD98 by small interfering RNAs inhibited the phosphorylation of HER2 in SKBR3 cells. A bispecific antibody (BsAb) that recognized the HER2 and CD98 proteins was constructed from a humanized anti-HER2 (SER4) IgG and an anti-CD98 (HBJ127) single chain variable fragment, and this BsAb significantly inhibited the cell growth of SKBR3 cells. Prior to the inhibition of AKT phosphorylation, BsAb inhibited the phosphorylation of HER2, however, significant inhibition of HER2 phosphorylation was not observed in anti-HER2 pertuzumab, trastuzumab, SER4 or anti-CD98 HBJ127 in SKBR3 cells. The dual targeting of HER2 and CD98 has potential as a new therapeutic strategy for BrCa.

Altered binding avidities and improved growth inhibitory effects of novel anti-HER3 mAb against human cancers in the presence of HER1-or HER2-targeted drugs.

HER1-and HER2-targeted drugs are effective in cancer therapy, especially against lung, breast and colon malignancies; however, resistance of cancer cells to HER1-and HER2-targeted therapies is becoming a serious problem. The avidity/affinity constant (KA) and growth inhibitory effect of anti-HER3 rat monoclonal antibodies (mAb, Ab1∼Ab6) in the presence of therapeutic mAb or low-molecular-weight inhibitors against HER family proteins were analyzed by flow cytometry-based Scatchard plots (Splot) and cell proliferation assay. The KA of Ab3 and Ab6, but not Ab1 or Ab4, split into dual (high and low) modes of KA, and Ab6 exhibited greater anti-proliferative effects against LS-174T colon cancer cells in the presence of Pertuzumab (anti-HER2 mAb). A high KA by Ab6 and Ab6-mediated increased growth inhibition were observed against NCI-H1838 lung or BT474 breast cancer cells, respectively, in the presence of Panitumumab (anti-HER1 mAb) or Perutuzumab. A high KA by Ab6 and Ab6-mediated increased anti-proliferative effects against NCI-H1838 or BT474 were also respectively observed in the presence of Erlotinib (HER1 inhibitor) or Lapatinib (HER1/HER2 inhibitor). In HER1-knockout (KO) NCI-H1838, the reactivity and KA of Ab4 increased compared with in parent NCI-H1838. In HER1-KO or HER3-KO SW1116 colon cancer cells, dual modes of KA with Pertuzumab were noted, and the combination Ab6 and Pertuzumab promoted growth inhibition of HER1-KO, but not of parent SW1116.

Oncogenic transformation of NIH/3T3 cells by the overexpression of L-type amino acid transporter 1, a promising anti-cancer target.

L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1)/SLC7A5 is the first identified CD98 light chain disulfide linked to the CD98 heavy chain (CD98hc/SLC3A2). LAT1 transports large neutral amino acids, including leucine, which activates mTOR, and is highly expressed in human cancers. We investigated the oncogenicity of human LAT1 introduced to NIH/3T3 cells by retrovirus infection. NIH/3T3 cell lines stably expressing human native (164C) or mutant (164S) LAT1 (naLAT1/3T3 or muLAT1/3T3, respectively) were established. We confirmed that endogenous mouse CD98hc forms a disulfide bond with exogenous human LAT1 in naLAT1/3T3, but not in muLAT1/3T3. Endogenous mouse CD98hc mRNA increased in both naNIH/3T3 and muLAT1/3T3, and a similar amount of exogenous human LAT1 protein was detected in both cell lines. Furthermore, naLAT1/3T3 and muLAT1/3T3 cell lines were evaluated for cell growth-related phenotypes (phosphorylation of ERK, cell-cycle progression) and cell malignancy-related phenotypes (anchorage-independent cell growth, tumor formation in nude mice). naLAT1/3T3 had stronger growth- and malignancy- related phenotypes than NIH/3T3 and muLAT1/3T3, suggesting the oncogenicity of native LAT1 through its interaction with CD98hc. Anti-LAT1 monoclonal antibodies significantly inhibited in vitro cell proliferation and in vivo tumor growth of naLAT1/3T3 cells in nude mice, demonstrating LAT1 to be a promising anti-cancer target.

Antitumor effects of novel mAbs against cationic amino acid transporter 1 (CAT1) on human CRC with amplified CAT1 gene.

Copy number alterations detected by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) can lead to the identification of novel cancer-related genes. We analyzed chromosomal aberrations in a set of 100 human primary colorectal cancers (CRCs) using CGH and found a solute carrier (SLC) 7A1 gene, which encodes cationic amino acid transporter 1 (CAT1) with 14 putative transmembrane domains, in a chromosome region (13q12.3) with a high frequency of gene amplifications. SLC7A1/CAT1 is a transporter responsible for the uptake of cationic amino acids (arginine, lysine, and ornithine) essential for cellular growth. Microarray and PCR analyses have revealed that mRNA transcribed from CAT1 is overexpressed in more than 70% of human CRC samples, and RNA interference-mediated knockdown of CAT1 inhibited the cell growth of CRCs. Rats were immunized with rat hepatoma cells expressing CAT1 tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP), and rat splenocytes were fused with mouse myeloma cells. Five rat monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) (CA1 ~ CA5) reacting with HEK293 cells expressing CAT1-GFP in a GFP expression-dependent manner were selected from established hybridoma clones. Novel anti-CAT1 mAbs selectively reacted with human CRC tumor tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues according to immuno-histochemical staining and bound strongly to numerous human cancer cell lines by flow cytometry. Anti-CAT1 mAbs exhibited internalization activity, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and migration inhibition activity against CRC cell lines. Furthermore, CA2 inhibited the in vivo growth of human HT29 and SW-C4 CRC tumors in nude mice. This study suggested CAT1 to be a promising target for mAb therapy against CRCs.

Novel functional anti-HER3 monoclonal antibodies with potent anti-cancer effects on various human epithelial cancers.

Resistance of progressive cancers against chemotherapy is a serious clinical problem. In this context, human epidermal growth factor receptor 3 (HER3) can play important roles in drug resistance to HER1- and HER2- targeted therapies. Since clinical testing of anti-HER3 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) such as patritumab could not show remarkable effect compared with existing drugs, we generated novel mAbs against anti-HER3. Novel rat mAbs reacted with HEK293 cells expressing HER3, but not with cells expressing HER1, HER2 or HER4. Specificity of mAbs was substantiated by the loss of mAb binding with knockdown by siRNA and knockout of CRISPR/Cas9-based genome-editing. Analyses of CDR sequence and germline segment have revealed that seven mAbs are classified to four groups, and the binding of patritumab was inhibited by one of seven mAbs. Seven mAbs have shown reactivity with various human epithelial cancer cells, strong internalization activity of cell-surface HER3, and inhibition of NRG1 binding, NRG1-dependent HER3 phosphorylation and cell growth. Anti-HER3 mAbs were also reactive with in vivo tumor tissues and cancer tissue-originated spheroid. Ab4 inhibited in vivo tumor growth of human colon cancer cells in nude mice. Present mAbs may be superior to existing anti-HER3 mAbs and support existing anti-cancer therapeutic mAbs.

Anti-tumor effects of an antagonistic mAb against the ASCT2 amino acid transporter on KRAS-mutated human colorectal cancer cells.

KRAS mutations are detected in numerous human cancers, but there are few effective drugs for KRAS-mutated cancers. Transporters for amino acids and glucose are highly expressed on cancer cells, possibly to maintain rapid cell growth and metabolism. Alanine-serine-cysteine transporter 2 (ASCT2) is a primary transporter for glutamine in cancer cells. In this study, we developed a novel monoclonal antibody (mAb) recognizing the extracellular domain of human ASCT2, and investigated whether ASCT2 can be a therapeutic target for KRAS-mutated cancers. Rats were immunized with RH7777 rat hepatoma cells expressing human ASCT2 fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP). Splenocytes from the immunized rats were fused with P3X63Ag8.653 mouse myeloma cells, and selected and cloned hybridoma cells secreting Ab3-8 mAb were established. This mAb reacted with RH7777 transfectants expressing ASCT2-GFP proteins in a GFP intensity-dependent manner. Ab3-8 reacted with various human cancer cells, but not with non-cancer breast epithelial cells or ASCT2-knocked out HEK293 and SW1116 cells. In SW1116 and HCT116 human colon cancer cells with KRAS mutations, treatment with Ab3-8 reduced intracellular glutamine transport, phosphorylation of AKT and ERK, and inhibited in vivo tumor growth of these cells in athymic mice. Inhibition of in vivo tumor growth by Ab3-8 was not observed in HT29 colon and HeLa uterus cancer cells with wild-type KRAS. These results suggest that ASCT2 is an excellent therapeutic target for KRAS-mutated cancers.

Anti-tumor effects of mAb against L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) bound to human and monkey LAT1 with dual avidity modes.

L-Type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) disulfide linked to CD98 heavy chain (hc) is highly expressed in most cancer cells, but weakly expressed in normal cells. In the present study, we developed novel anti-LAT1 mAbs and showed internalization activity, inhibitory effects of amino acid uptake and cell growth and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, as well as in vivo antitumor effects in athymic mice. Furthermore, we examined the reactivity of mAbs with LAT1 of Macaca fascicularis to evaluate possible side-effects of antihuman LAT1 mAbs in clinical trials. Antihuman LAT1 mAbs reacted with ACHN human and MK.P3 macaca kidney-derived cells, and this reactivity was significantly decreased by siRNAs against LAT1. Macaca LAT1 cDNA was cloned from MK.P3, and only two amino acid differences between human and macaca LAT1 were seen. RH7777 rat hepatoma and HEK293 human embryonic kidney cells expressing macaca LAT1 were established as stable transfectants, and antihuman LAT1 mAbs were equivalently reactive against transfectants expressing human or macaca LAT1. Dual (high and low) avidity modes were detected in transfectants expressing macaca LAT1, MK.P3, ACHN and HCT116 human colon cancer cells, and KA values were increased by anti-CD98hc mAb, suggesting anti-LAT1 mAbs detect an epitope on LAT1-CD98hc complexes on the cell surface. Based on these results, LAT1 may be a promising anticancer target and Macaca fascicularis can be used in preclinical studies with antihuman LAT1 mAbs.

Inhibition of tumor formation and metastasis by a monoclonal antibody against lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1.

Although cancer metastasis is associated with poor prognosis, the mechanisms of this event, especially via lymphatic vessels, remain unclear. Lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1 (LYVE-1) is expressed on lymphatic vessel endothelium and is considered to be a specific marker of lymphatic vessels, but it is unknown how LYVE-1 is involved in the growth and metastasis of cancer cells. We produced rat monoclonal antibodies (mAb) recognizing the extracellular domain of mouse LYVE-1, and investigated the roles of LYVE-1 in tumor formation and metastasis. The mAb 38M and 64R were selected from hybridoma clones created by cell fusion between spleen cells of rats immunized with RH7777 rat hepatoma cells expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP)-fused mouse LYVE-1 proteins and mouse myeloma cells. Two mAb reacted with RH7777 and HEK293F human embryonic kidney cells expressing GFP-fused mouse LYVE-1 proteins in a GFP expression-dependent manner, and each recognized a distinct epitope. On immunohistology, the 38M mAb specifically stained lymphatic vessels in several mouse tissues. In the wound healing assay, the 64R mAb inhibited cell migration of HEK293F cells expressing LYVE-1 and mouse lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC), as well as tube formation by LEC. Furthermore, this mAb inhibited primary tumor formation and metastasis to lymph nodes in metastatic MDA-MB-231 xenograft models. This shows that LYVE-1 is involved in primary tumor formation and metastasis, and it may be a promising molecular target for cancer therapy.

Development of an ErbB4 monoclonal antibody that blocks neuregulin-1-induced ErbB4 activation in cancer cells.

The use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for cancer therapy is one of the most important strategies for current cancer treatment. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family of receptor tyrosine kinases, which regulates cancer cell proliferation, survival, and migration, is a major molecular target for antibody-based therapy. ErbB4/HER4, which contains a ligand-binding extracellular region, is activated by several ligands, including neuregulins (NRGs), heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor, betacellulin and epiregulin. Although there are clinically approved antibodies for ErbB1 and ErbB2, there are no available therapeutic mAbs for ErbB4, and it is not known whether ErbB4 is a useful target for antibody-based cancer therapy. In this study, we developed an anti-ErbB4 mAb (clone P6-1) that suppresses NRG-dependent activation of ErbB4 and examined its effect on breast cancer cell proliferation in the extracellular matrix.

Imaging the L-type amino acid transporter-1 (LAT1) with Zr-89 immunoPET.

The L-type amino acid transporter-1 (LAT1, SLC7A5) is upregulated in a wide range of human cancers, positively correlated with the biological aggressiveness of tumors, and a promising target for both imaging and therapy. Radiolabeled amino acids such as O-(2-[(18)F]fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine (FET) that are transport substrates for system L amino acid transporters including LAT1 have met limited success for oncologic imaging outside of the brain, and thus new strategies are needed for imaging LAT1 in systemic cancers. Here, we describe the development and biological evaluation of a novel zirconium-89 labeled antibody, [(89)Zr]DFO-Ab2, targeting the extracellular domain of LAT1 in a preclinical model of colorectal cancer. This tracer demonstrated specificity for LAT1 in vitro and in vivo with excellent tumor imaging properties in mice with xenograft tumors. PET imaging studies showed high tumor uptake, with optimal tumor-to-non target contrast achieved at 7 days post administration. Biodistribution studies demonstrated tumor uptake of 10.5 ± 1.8 percent injected dose per gram (%ID/g) at 7 days with a tumor to muscle ratio of 13 to 1. In contrast, the peak tumor uptake of the radiolabeled amino acid [(18)F]FET was 4.4 ± 0.5 %ID/g at 30 min after injection with a tumor to muscle ratio of 1.4 to 1. Blocking studies with unlabeled anti-LAT1 antibody demonstrated a 55% reduction of [(89)Zr]DFO-Ab2 accumulation in the tumor at 7 days. These results are the first report of direct PET imaging of LAT1 and demonstrate the potential of immunoPET agents for imaging specific amino acid transporters.

NIH3T3 cells overexpressing CD98 heavy chain resist early G1 arrest and apoptosis induced by serum starvation.

CD98 is a heterodimeric glycoprotein of 125-kDa, which consists of a 90-kDa heavy chain (hc) subunit and 35-kDa to 55-kDa light chain (lc) subunits. It is strongly expressed on the surface of proliferating normal cells and almost all tumor cells. To investigate the participation of CD98 in cellular proliferation and malignant transformation, we analyzed cell-cycle progression of NIH3T3 clones transfected with cDNA of human CD98hc. Although NIH3T3 and control transfectant cells grown to the subconfluent state were arrested in the G0/G1 phase by serum starvation, considerable portions of CD98hc-transfected cells resided at S and G2/M phases. Under serum-starved and confluent conditions, significant fractions (20-25%) of NIH3T3 and control transfectant cells contained less than 2n content DNA, indicating occurrence of apoptosis, whereas no apoptotic cells were detected in CD98hc-transfectant cells. Under serum-starved conditions, a marked increase in the levels of cyclin D1 and cyclin E and a decrease in p16 were observed in CD98hc-transfectant cells. The reverse was true for NIH3T3 and control transfectant cells. Our results suggest that resistance to G1 arrest and apoptosis by CD98 overexpression are associated with high G1-cyclins and low p16 levels.

Anti-tumor effect against human cancer xenografts by a fully human monoclonal antibody to a variant 8-epitope of CD44R1 expressed on cancer stem cells.

BACKGROUND: CD44 is a major cellular receptor for hyaluronic acids. The stem structure of CD44 encoded by ten normal exons can be enlarged by ten variant exons (v1-v10) by alternative splicing. We have succeeded in preparing MV5 fully human IgM and its class-switched GV5 IgG monoclonal antibody (mAb) recognizing the extracellular domain of a CD44R1 isoform that contains the inserted region coded by variant (v8, v9 and v10) exons and is expressed on the surface of various human epithelial cancer cells. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We demonstrated the growth inhibition of human cancer xenografts by a GV5 IgG mAb reshaped from an MV5 IgM. The epitope recognized by MV5 and GV5 was identified to a v8-coding region by the analysis of mAb binding to various recombinant CD44 proteins by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. GV5 showed preferential reactivity against various malignant human cells versus normal human cells assessed by flow cytometry and immunohistological analysis. When ME180 human uterine cervix carcinoma cells were subcutaneously inoculated to athymic mice with GV5, significant inhibition of tumor formation was observed. Furthermore, intraperitoneal injections of GV5markedly inhibited the growth of visible established tumors from HSC-3 human larynx carcinoma cells that had been subcutaneously transplanted one week before the first treatment with GV5. From in vitro experiments, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and internalization of CD44R1 seemed to be possible mechanisms for in vivo anti-tumor activity by GV5. CONCLUSIONS: CD44R1 is an excellent molecular target for mAb therapy of cancer, possibly superior to molecules targeted by existing therapeutic mAb, such as Trastuzumab and Cetuximab recognizing human epidermal growth factor receptor family.

Oncogenicity of L-type amino-acid transporter 1 (LAT1) revealed by targeted gene disruption in chicken DT40 cells: LAT1 is a promising molecular target for human cancer therapy.

L-type amino-acid transporter 1 (LAT1) is the first identified light chain of CD98 molecule, disulfide-linked to a heavy chain of CD98. Following cDNA cloning of chicken full-length LAT1, we have constructed targeting vectors for the disruption of chicken LAT1 gene from genomic DNA of chicken LAT1 consisting of 5.4kb. We established five homozygous LAT1-disrupted (LAT1(-/-)) cell clones, derived from a heterozygous LAT1(+/-) clone of DT40 chicken B cell line. Reactivity of anti-chicken CD98hc monoclonal antibody (mAb) with LAT1(-/-) DT40 cells was markedly decreased compared with that of wild-type DT40 cells. All LAT1(-/-) cells were deficient in L-type amino-acid transporting activity, although alternative-splice variant but not full-length mRNA of LAT1 was detected in these cells. LAT1(-/-) DT40 clones showed outstandingly slow growth in liquid culture and decreased colony-formation capacity in soft agar compared with wild-type DT40 cells. Cell-cycle analyses indicated that LAT1(-/-) DT40 clones have prolonged cell-cycle phases compared with wild-type or LAT1(+/-) DT40 cells. Knockdown of human LAT1 by small interfering RNAs resulted in marked in vitro cell-growth inhibition of human cancer cells, and in vivo tumor growth of HeLa cells in athymic mice was significantly inhibited by anti-human LAT1 mAb. All these results indicate essential roles of LAT1 in the cell proliferation and occurrence of malignant phenotypes and that LAT1 is a promising candidate as a molecular target of human cancer therapy.

Towards therapeutic antibodies to membrane oncoproteins by a robust strategy using rats immunized with transfectants expressing target molecules fused to green fluorescent protein.

Cell-surface molecules containing growth factor receptors, adhesion molecules and transporter proteins are often over-expressed in various cancer cells, and could be regarded as suitable targets for therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAb). Anti-cancer therapeutic mAb are claimed to bind these cell-surface molecules on viable cancer cells: therefore, it is necessary to produce mAb recognizing epitopes on the extracellular domains of native but not denatured proteins. We have experienced difficulty in obtaining mAb bound to viable cancer cells using synthetic peptides or recombinant proteins produced in bacteria as immunogens, although these immunogens are relatively easy to prepare. In this context, we have concluded that viable cancer cells or cells transfected with cDNA encoding target proteins are suitable immunogens for the production of anti-cancer therapeutic mAb. Furthermore, we selected rats as the immunized animals, because of their excellent capacity to generate diverse antibodies. Because many target candidates are multi-pass (type IV) membrane proteins, such as 7-pass G protein-coupled receptors and 12-pass transporter proteins belonging to the solute carrier family, and their possible immunogenic extracellular regions are very small, production of specific mAb was extremely difficult. In this review, we summarize the successful preparation and characterization of rat mAb immunized against the extracellular domain of type I, type II and type IV membrane oncoproteins fused to green fluorescent protein as an approach using reverse genetics, and also introduce the discovery of cell-death-inducing antibodies as an approach using forward genetics and a strategy to produce reshaped antibodies using mimotope peptides as the immunogen.

Production and characterization of highly tumor-specific rat monoclonal antibodies recognizing the extracellular domain of human L-type amino-acid transporter 1.

L-type large amino acid transporter (LAT) 1, the first light chain (lc) of cluster of differentiation 98 (CD98) to be identified, is associated with the heavy chain (hc) of CD98 and expressed on the surface of various tumor cells irrespective of their origin. Because LAT1 is a 12-pass membrane protein and its possible immunogenic extracellular region is very small, specific monoclonal antibodies (mAb) had not been developed. We report the successful preparation and characterization of mAb recognizing the extracellular domain of human LAT1 protein. Two mAb were selected from hybridoma clones established by fusing mouse myeloma cells and spleen cells from rats immunized against RH7777 rat hepatoma cells expressing recombinant green fluorescent protein fused to human LAT1 protein. Designated SOL22 and SOL69, these mAb specifically reacted with the extracellular domain of LAT1 on cells transfected with cDNA of LAT1, but not with cells transfected with cDNA of other CD98 lc, namely, LAT2, y(+)LAT1, y(+)LAT2, and xCT amino acid transporters. These mAb immunoprecipitated 35- and 90-kDa proteins under reducing conditions in extracts prepared from human HeLa tumor cells, indicating the existence of intermolecular disulfide bonds between cysteine residues in the 90-kDa hc and 35-kDa lc (LAT1). SOL22 and SOL69 mAb reacted with a wide variety of living unfixed human tumor cell lines, but were only weakly reactive with HEK293F human embryonic kidney cells and human peripheral blood cells. Comparative immunohistochemical analyses of normal human tissues with anti-CD98 hc and anti-LAT1 revealed LAT1 to be an excellent molecular target for antibody therapy, possibly even superior to CD98 hc.

Cell-death-inducing monoclonal antibodies raised against DT40 tumor cells: identification of chicken transferrin receptor as a novel cell-death receptor.

We obtained unique cell-death-inducing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) named D18 and D19 against chicken DT40 cells. D18 and D19 caused several signs of apoptosis, such as exposed phosphatidyl serine on the cell surface, a sub G(0)/G(1) peak, and DNA fragmentation, and inhibited the proliferation of DT40 cells. Flow cytometric and immunohistological analyses of various normal chicken tissues revealed the expression of the antigen recognized by these mAbs to be restricted to cells in lymphoid organs including bone marrow and bursa of fabricius, and to cells in some epithelial tissues. The cell death induced by the mAbs progressed through a mitochondrial pathway with loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Apoptosis is generally characterized by cell shrinking; however, D18 and D19 elicited swelling, which preceded the cell death. We analyzed the antigen immunoprecipitated by the mAbs, and identified a 90- to 100-kDa cell-surface glycoprotein as the chicken transferrin receptor (TfR). Epitopes recognized by the two mAbs were confirmed to be different by the binding inhibition assay. The reactivity of the mAbs against DT40 cells was not inhibited by excess chicken serum, suggesting that the cell death induced by D18 and D19 was not caused by inhibition of the binding of transferrin (Tf) to chicken TfR. Since D18 and D19 have induced cell death in human embryonic kidney cells transfected with cDNA of the full-length chicken TfR, we expect human TfR to be a promising target in antibody therapy for various human malignancies.

Simultaneous induction of apoptotic, autophagic, and necrosis-like cell death by monoclonal antibodies recognizing chicken transferrin receptor.

Programmed cell death (PCD) is categorized as apoptotic, autophagic, or necrosis-like. Although the possibility that plural (two or three) death signals could be induced by a given stimulus has been reported, the precise mechanisms regulating PCD are not well understood. Recently, we have obtained two anti-chicken transferrin receptor (TfR) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs; D18 and D19) inducing a unique cell death. Although the cell death had several features of apoptosis, autophagic and necrosis-like morphological alterations were simultaneously observed in electron microphotographs. In addition to cells with condensed chromatin and an intact plasma membrane (apoptotic cells), cells having many vacuoles in the cytoplasm (autophagic cells), and enlarged cells with ruptured plasma membranes (necrosis-like cells) were observed in DT40 cells treated with the mAbs, however, the latter two types of dead cells were not detected upon treatment with staurosporine, a typical apoptosis inducer. In autophagic cells, numerous membrane-bound vesicles occupying most of the cytoplasmic space, which frequently contained electron-dense materials from cytoplasmic fragments and organelles, were observed. The simultaneous induction of multiple death signals from a stimulus via the TfR is of great interest to those researching cell death. In addition, activation of caspases was observed in DT40 cells treated with D19, however, the cell death was not inhibited with z-VAD-fmk, a pan-caspase inhibitor, suggesting that at least in part, a caspase-independent pathway is involved in the TfR-mediated cell death.