Fully human VEGFR2 monoclonal antibody BC001 attenuates tumor angiogenesis and inhibits tumor growth

The critical role of VEGFR2 in tumor neovascularization and progression has allowed the design of clinically beneficial therapies based on it. Here we show that BC001, a new fully human anti-VEGFR2 monoclonal antibody, inhibits VEGF-stimulated endothelial cell migration, tube formation, and effectively suppressed the transdifferentiation of cancer stem cells into endothelial cells in vitro. Since BC001 exhibited no activity against the mouse VEGFR2 and mouse based study was required to confirm its efficacy in vivo, BC101, the mouse analogue of BC001, was developed. BC101 significantly attenuated angiogenesis according to Matrigel plug assay and resulted in ~80% growth inhibition of mouse B16F10 homograft tumors relative to vehicle control. Similarly, human analogue BC001 suppressed the growth of human xenograft tumors HCT116 and BGC823. Furthermore, immunohistochemical results showed reduced expression of CD31, VEGFR2 and Ki-67, as well as increased expression of Caspase 3 in BC001-treated tumor, which indicated BC001 was able to significantly decrease microvessel density, suppress proliferation and promote apoptosis. These results demonstrate the fully human VEGFR2 monoclonal antibody BC001 can work as an effective inhibitor of tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo.