Tumor targeting with newly designed biparatopic antibodies directed against two different epitopes of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)

In an attempt to improve tumor targeting and tumor retention time of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), we prepared biparatopic antibodies (BpAbs) having the capability of binding 2 different non-overlapping epitopes on the same target antigen molecule, namely, the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Six BpAbs were constructed by coupling 2 different Fab′ fragments from 4 different specific anti-CEA MAbs recognizing 4 CEA epitopes (Gold 1–4). Demonstration of the double paratopic binding of these antibodies for CEA was confirmed in vitro by inhibition radioimmunoassay and cross-inhibition analysis by surface plasmon resonance (SPR; BIACORE) technology. Using the latter technique, the affinity constants for CEA immobilized onto the sensor chip were found to range from 0.37 to 1.54 × 109 M−1 for the 4 parental F(ab′)2 fragments and from 1.88 to 10.14 × 109 M−1 for the BpAbs, demonstrating the advantage of biparatopic binding over conventional F(ab′)2 binding. The Ka improvement was particularly high for BpAb F6/35A7 and BpAb F6/B17 with a 9.5- and 8.1-fold increase, respectively, as compared with the parental F(ab′)2. In vivo, the 6 BpAbs were compared with their 2 respective parental F(ab′)2 by injection of 131I-BpAb/125I-F(ab′)2 parental fragments into nude mice xenografted with the human colon carcinoma T380. Dissection 72 hr post-injection demonstrated that BpAb B17/CE25 and BpAb F6/B17 gave higher tumor uptake than that of their parental F(ab′)2. This finding is particularly interesting for BpAb F6/B17, which compared favorably with the F6 F(ab′)2, one of the best parental F(ab′)2 fragments used in our study. Int. J. Cancer 81:285–291, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.