Single-chain antibodies against human insulin-like growth factor I receptor: expression, purification, and effect on tumor growth (original) (raw)

Abstract

Insulin-like growth factors (IGF) I and II are potent mitogens for a variety of cancer cells. The proliferative and anti-apoptotic actions of IGF are mediated by the IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR), to which both IGF-I and IGF-II bind with high affinity. To investigate the mitogenic and anti-apoptotic activities of IGF-IR and to achieve better inhibition of IGF-IR function, single-chain antibodies against human IGF-IR (αIGF-IR scFvs) were constructed and expressed. IgG cDNA encoding variable regions of light and heavy chains (VL and VH) from mouse IgG were cloned from a hybridoma producing the 1H7 αIGF-IR monoclonal antibody [Li et al., Biochem Biophys Res Commun 196: 92–98 (1993)]. The splice-overlap extension polymerase chain reaction was used to assemble a gene encoding the αIGF-IR scFv, including the N-terminal signal peptide, VL, linker peptide, VH, and C-terminal DYKD tag. Two types of soluble αIGF-IR scFvs, a prototype αIGF-IR scFv and its alternative type αIGF-IR scFv-Fc, were constructed and expressed in murine myeloma cells. αIGF-IR scFv-Fc, containing the human IgG1 Fc domain, was stably expressed in NS0 myeloma cells, using a glutamine synthase selection system, and purified from the conditioned medium of stable clones by protein-A–agarose chromatography. Levels of αIGF-IR scFv-Fc expression ranged from 40 mg/l to 100 mg/l conditioned medium. Sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis under reducing and nonreducing conditions indicated that αIGF-IR scFv-Fc is a dimeric antibody. αIGF-IR scFv-Fc retained general characteristics of the parental 1H7 monoclonal antibody except that its binding affinity for IGF-IR was estimated to be approximately 108 M−1, which was one-order of magnitude lower than that of 1H7 monoclonal antibody. Injection of αIGF-IR scFv-Fc (500 μg/mouse, twice a week) significantly suppressed MCF-7 tumor growth in athymic mice. These results suggest that the αIGF-IR scFv-Fc is a first-generation recombinant αIGF-IR for the potential development of future αIGF-IR therapeutics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, 1450 East Duarte Road, Duarte, CA 91010, USA e-mail: yyamaguchi@coh.org Tel.: +1-626-301-8247 Fax: +1-626-301-8280, , , , , , US
    Shu-Lian Li, Shu-Jian Liang, Ning Guo, Anna M. Wu & Yoko Fujita-Yamaguchi

Authors

  1. Shu-Lian Li
  2. Shu-Jian Liang
  3. Ning Guo
  4. Anna M. Wu
  5. Yoko Fujita-Yamaguchi

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Received: 21 January 2000 / Accepted: 7 March 2000

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Li, SL., Liang, SJ., Guo, N. et al. Single-chain antibodies against human insulin-like growth factor I receptor: expression, purification, and effect on tumor growth.Cancer Immunol Immunother 49, 243–252 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002620000115

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