A single-chain triplebody with specificity for CD19 and CD33 mediates effective lysis of mixed lineage leukemia cells by dual targeting

Abstract

A single-chain triplebody (sctb) 33-ds16-ds19 comprising two distal single-chain Fv fragments (scFvs) specific for the lymphoid antigen CD19 and the myeloid antigen CD33 flanking a central scFv specific for CD16, which is the low affinity Fc-receptor (FcγRIII) present on natural killer cells and macrophages, was produced and its properties were investigated. CD33 and CD19 in combina-tion are present on acute leukemiablasts with mixed lineage phenotype, but not on normal human hematopoietic cells. For comparison, two bispecific scFvs (bsscFvs), ds19-ds16 and 33-ds16, with monovalent binding to CD19 and CD33, respectively, were also studied. The sctb 33-ds16-ds19 specifically interacted with all 3 antigens. On the antigen double-positive cell line BV-173, the sctb bound with 2-fold greater avidity than bsscFv ds19-ds16 (KD = 21 vs. 42 nM) and with 1.4-fold greater avidity than bsscFv 33-ds16 (KD = 29 nM). All 3 fusion proteins had similar affinity for CD16 and sufficient thermic stability in human serum. In antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) reactions with human mononuclear cells as effectors, the sctb promoted lysis of BV-173 cells at 23-fold lower concentrations than bsscFv ds19-ds16 and at 1.4-fold lower concentrations than bsscFv 33-ds16. The sctb also mediated potent ADCC of the antigen double-positive mixed lineage leukemia cell line SEM, and the half-maximal concentration EC50 for BV-173 cells was 7 pM. Therefore, CD19 and CD33 are present on the surface of these leukemic cell lines such that they can be connected by a single sctb molecule, permitting the recruitment of NK cells via CD16 and tumor cell lysis.