title: Cloning of a human antibody directed against human neuroblastoma cells and specific for human translation elongation factor 1alpha.
abstract: Human sera have shown antitumor effects mediated by tumor-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies. Most people who have cytotoxic serum are in good health and show no evidence of exposure to tumor antigens. We characterized the serum of a healthy female adult that was highly lytic to a neuroblastoma cell line via IgM-activated complement (>60% of malignant cells were killed during the 60-min assay). Complement-dependent lysis was not mediated by other classes of serum antibodies (data not shown) which is consistent with the findings of Ollert et al. To identify the target antigen on neuroblastoma cells, we fractionated neuroblastoma cell lysates by ion-exchange chromatography. In the fraction that showed maximal IgM binding, the dominant protein was identified as the 47-kDa translational elongation factor 1alpha (eEF1alpha). We used the donor's B-cells to create hybridomas producing the antibody (B12.6.22) that bound to neuroblastoma cells and mediated cytotoxicity. This antibody recognized eEF1alpha in a specific manner. Sequence analysis of the heavy chain of B12.6.22 showed usage of VH3-23 and JH6 gene segments, with no somatic mutation. The structural similarity of B12.6.22 to antibodies of the innate immune system supports the assumption that natural antibodies are a potential source of therapeutic antibodies.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, University of Tuebingen, Department of Hematology and Oncology I, Tuebingen, Germany. knschilib@med.uni-tuebingen.de
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schilbach
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kreyenberg
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Geiselhart
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Niethammer
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Handgretinger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000912:Antibodies, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D000918:Antibody Specificity / Q000276:immunology*; D000920:Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D002051:Burkitt Lymphoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D015321:Gene Rearrangement; D006801:Humans; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004915:Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D020648:Peptide Elongation Factor 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000912:Antibodies, Neoplasm; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D020648:Peptide Elongation Factor 1; D003165:Complement System Proteins