Development of a cell-based assay measuring the activation of FcγRIIa for the characterization of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies

PLoS One. 2014 Apr 21;9(4):e95787. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095787. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) is one of the important mechanisms of action of the targeting of tumor cells by therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Among the human Fcγ receptors (FcγRs), FcγRIIIa is well known as the only receptor expressed in natural killer (NK) cells, and it plays a pivotal role in ADCC by IgG1-subclass mAbs. In addition, the contributions of FcγRIIa to mAb-mediated cytotoxicity have been reported. FcγRIIa is expressed in myeloid effector cells including neutrophils and macrophages, and it is involved in the activation of these effector cells. However, the measurement of the cytotoxicity via FcγRIIa-expressing effector cells is complicated and inconvenient for the characterization of therapeutic mAbs. Here we report the development of a cell-based assay using a human FcγRIIa-expressing reporter cell line. The FcγRIIa reporter cell assay was able to estimate the activation of FcγRIIa by antigen-bound mAbs by a very simple method in vitro. The usefulness of this assay for evaluating the activity of mAbs with different abilities to activate FcγRIIa was confirmed by the examples including the comparison of the activity of the anti-CD20 mAb rituximab and its Fc-engineered variants, and two anti-EGFR mAbs with different IgG subclasses, cetuximab (IgG1) and panitumumab (IgG2). We also applied this assay to the characterization of a force-oxidized mAb, and we observed that oxidation significantly decreased the FcγRIIa activation by EGFR-bound cetuximab. These results suggest that our FcγRIIa reporter assay is a promising tool for the characterization of therapeutic mAbs, including Fc-engineered mAbs, IgG2-subclass mAbs, and their product-related variants.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / therapeutic use*
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / therapeutic use
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / therapeutic use
  • Biological Assay / methods*
  • Cell Line
  • Cetuximab
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Humans
  • Jurkat Cells
  • Panitumumab
  • Receptors, IgG / metabolism*
  • Rituximab

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived
  • Fc gamma receptor IIA
  • Receptors, IgG
  • Rituximab
  • Panitumumab
  • Cetuximab

Grants and funding

This study was supported in part by the Advanced Research for Medical Products Mining Programme of the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation (NIBIO), by the Health and Labor Sciences Research Grants from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare of Japan, and by KAKENHI from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.