Abstract

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have shown clinical efficacy in colorectal cancer and other solid cancers. Enhancing the effector functions of these anti-EGFR mAbs is believed to be a valuable approach to achieve improved efficacy in clinical setting. Here, we report the development of an effector function-enhanced antibody by rhamnose (Rha) functionalization. Cetuximab, a human/mouse chimeric anti-EGFR mAb, was selected and site-specifically conjugated with Rha haptens. The obtained cetuximab-Rha conjugate was shown to be able to selectively redirect amounts of endogenous anti-Rha antibodies onto EGFR-positive solid tumor cells and thereby provide more Fc domains to achieve enhancement of effector functions including complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and antibody-dependent cell-mediated phagocytosis (ADCP). Particularly, CDC, one powerful cell killing mechanism which is inactive in cetuximab, was dramatically improved. This study demonstrates the potential of rhamnose-modified antibody for EGFR-positive solid tumor immunotherapy.

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