A rapid in vitro methodology for simultaneous target discovery and antibody generation against functional cell subpopulations.

ABSTRACT: Cell surface antigen discovery is of great interest for biomedical research both for isolation of rare cell populations and therapeutic targeting. We developed a rapid, cost-effective, fully in vitro technology which facilities the simultaneous target discovery and human antibody generation on the surface of virtually any cell population of interest. We apply our technique to human colorectal cancer-initiating cells (CICs) and identify hundreds of unique human antibodies. We characterized the top three antibody candidates targeting these CICs and identify their protein targets as integrin ?7 (ITGA7), HLA-A1 and integrin ?6 (ITGB6). We demonstrate that these antibodies can be used to isolate self-renewing colorectal CICs, and that the integrin ?7 antibody can prospectively identify glioblastoma brain tumor initiating cells as well as human muscle stem cells. We also demonstrate that genetic ablation of integrin ?6 impedes colorectal CIC function. The methodology can be readily applied to other cell populations including stem cells, cancer, or immune cells to facilitate the rapid identification of novel targets and simultaneous generation of potent and specific antibodies with therapeutic potential.

SUBMITTER: Nixon AML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6351593 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature