A humanized anti-VEGF rabbit monoclonal antibody inhibits angiogenesis and blocks tumor growth in xenograft models.
Rabbit antibodies have been widely used in research and diagnostics due to their high antigen specificity and affinity. Though these properties are also highly desirable for therapeutic applications, rabbit antibodies have remained untapped for human disease therapy. To evaluate the therapeutic potential of rabbit monoclonal antibodies (RabMAbs), we generated a panel of neutralizing RabMAbs against human vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF). These neutralizing RabMAbs are specific to VEGF and do not cross-react to other members of the VEGF protein family. Guided by sequence and lineage analysis of a panel of neutralizing RabMAbs, we humanized the lead candidate by substituting non-critical residues with human residues within both the frameworks and the CDR regions. We showed that the humanized RabMAb retained its parental biological properties and showed potent inhibition of the growth of H460 lung carcinoma and A673 rhabdomyosarcoma xenografts in mice. These studies provide proof of principle for the feasibility of developing humanized RabMAbs as therapeutics.
Department of Urology, Sir Run-Run Shaw Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Yanlan
Y
Yu
Pierre
P
Lee
Yaohuang
Y
Ke
Yongke
Y
Zhang
Qiu
Q
Yu
Jonathan
J
Lee
Mingzhen
M
Li
Jialiang
J
Song
Jungang
J
Chen
Jihong
J
Dai
Fernando Jose Rebelo
FJ
Do Couto
Zhiqiang
Z
An
Weimin
W
Zhu
Guo-Liang
GL
Yu
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000915:Antibody Affinity / Q000276:immunology; D000918:Antibody Specificity / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D011817:Rabbits; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D047368:Tumor Burden / Q000187:drug effects; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000276:immunology* / Q000494:pharmacology; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2