Anti-CD22/CD20 Bispecific antibody with enhanced trogocytosis for treatment of Lupus

PLoS One. 2014 May 19;9(5):e98315. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098315. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

The humanized anti-CD22 antibody, epratuzumab, has demonstrated therapeutic activity in clinical trials of lymphoma, leukemia and autoimmune diseases, treating currently over 1500 cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemias, Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, Sjögren's syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Because epratuzumab reduces on average only 35% of circulating B cells in patients, and has minimal antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and negligible complement-dependent cytotoxicity when evaluated in vitro, its therapeutic activity may not result completely from B-cell depletion. We reported recently that epratuzumab mediates Fc/FcR-dependent membrane transfer from B cells to effector cells via trogocytosis, resulting in a substantial reduction of multiple BCR modulators, including CD22, CD19, CD21, and CD79b, as well as key cell adhesion molecules, including CD44, CD62L, and β7 integrin, on the surface of B cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from normal donors or SLE patients. Rituximab has clinical activity in lupus, but failed to achieve primary endpoints in a Phase III trial. This is the first study of trogocytosis mediated by bispecific antibodies targeting neighboring cell-surface proteins, CD22, CD20, and CD19, as demonstrated by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence microscopy. We show that, compared to epratuzumab, a bispecific hexavalent antibody comprising epratuzumab and veltuzumab (humanized anti-CD20 mAb) exhibits enhanced trogocytosis resulting in major reductions in B-cell surface levels of CD19, CD20, CD21, CD22, CD79b, CD44, CD62L and β7-integrin, and with considerably less immunocompromising B-cell depletion that would result with anti-CD20 mAbs such as veltuzumab or rituximab, given either alone or in combination with epratuzumab. A CD22/CD19 bispecific hexavalent antibody, which exhibited enhanced trogocytosis of some antigens and minimal B-cell depletion, may also be therapeutically useful. The bispecific antibody is a candidate for improved treatment of lupus and other autoimmune diseases, offering advantages over administration of the two parental antibodies in combination.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Bispecific / immunology
  • Antibodies, Bispecific / pharmacology*
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / immunology
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / pharmacology*
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / immunology
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / pharmacology
  • B-Lymphocytes / drug effects*
  • B-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Humans
  • Immunological Synapses / metabolism*
  • Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / drug therapy*
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / metabolism*
  • Rituximab

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bispecific
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived
  • Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell
  • epratuzumab
  • Rituximab
  • veltuzumab

Grants and funding

The authors have no support or funding to report.