Susan Schiffer

Antibody blockade of the Cripto CFC domain suppresses tumor cell growth in vivo

Cripto, a cell surface-associated protein belonging to the EGF-CFC family of growth factor-like molecules, is overexpressed in many human solid tumors, including 70-80% of breast and colon tumors, yet how it promotes cell transformation is unclear. During embryogenesis, Cripto complexes with Alk4 via its unique cysteine-rich CFC domain to facilitate signaling by the TGF-beta ligand Nodal. We report, for the first time to our knowledge, that Cripto can directly bind to another TGF-beta ligand, Activin B, and that Cripto overexpression blocks Activin B growth inhibition of breast cancer cells. This result suggests a novel mechanism for antagonizing Activin signaling that could promote tumorigenesis by deregulating growth homeostasis. We show that an anti-CFC domain antibody, A8.G3.5, both disrupts Cripto-Nodal signaling and reverses Cripto blockade of Activin B-induced growth suppression by blocking Criptos association with either Alk4 or Activin B. In two xenograft models, testicular and colon cancer, A8.G3.5 inhibited tumor cell growth by up to 70%. Both Nodal and Activin B expression was found in the xenograft tumor, suggesting that either ligand could be promoting tumorigenesis. These data validate that functional blockade of Cripto inhibits tumor growth and highlight antibodies that block Cripto signaling mediated through its CFC domain as an important class of antibodies for further therapeutic development.

Expression and functional characterization of a soluble form of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1

Vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1) is a leukocyte adhesion molecule induced on human endothelium in vitro and in vivo by inflammatory stimuli. A truncated cDNA for VCAM1 was constructed, stably expressed in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells, and the secreted recombinant soluble form of VCAM1 (rsVCAM1) purified to homogeneity by immunoaffinity chromatography. Immobilized rsVCAM1 is a functional adhesion protein, and selectively binds only VLA4-expressing cells, including human B and T lymphocytes, NK cells, and certain lymphoblastoid cell lines. T cell subset analyses indicate preferential binding of CD8+ memory cells. rsVCAM1 should prove valuable for the further study of the role of VCAM1 during inflammatory and immune responses in vivo.