Description:
The use of monoclonal antibodies in cancer diagnosis and treatment, while promising, is also problematic. Current cancer therapies that rely on this technology require the identification of specific epitopes that are expressed at high levels for a given form of cancer but are expressed at low levels on normal tissues and the development of monoclonal antibodies specific for those epitopes that show minimal cross-reactivity with normal tissues. While most studies have worked to identify epitopes and their corresponding antibodies in order to diagnose and treat specific forms of cancer, researchers at the University of Virginia have discovered an epitope universally expressed in all cancer cells and have developed monoclonal antibodies specific to this epitope.
The glycosylation patterns of the vast majority of cancer cells are substantially different from those of normal cells. IgM antibodies, which are present at substantial levels in most humans, bind to improperly glycosylated proteins on the surfaces of cancer cells. These IgM antibodies activate the complement system, an immune response designed to destroy pathogens, by depositing complement activation protein fragment C3b(i). This deposited C3b(i) is the universal epitope for the targeting of cancer cells. Targeted monoclonal antibodies can be used to preferentially bind to the C3b(i) epitopes on the cancer cells. These antibodies can be delivered alone or in combination with other therapies such as monoclonal antibodies that specifically recruit effector cells to the cancer, monoclonal antibodies with increased valency to a dimer or IgM-like pentamer, or other biologically effective devices such as cellular poisons or radioactive labels.
This technology has been patented (U.S. 6,572,856) and is available for licensing.
The University of Virginia is seeking a partner to work with us to commercialize these antibodies. If you are interested in finding out additional details about this work, please don't hesitate to contact me. You can also find numerous articles on PubMed published by Ronald P. Taylor, Ph.D., and his colleagues. A humanized antibody has been prepared but is not a property of the University of Virginia Patent Foundation.
