Mutant epitopes encoded by cancer genes are virtually always located in the interior of cells, making them invisible to conventional antibodies. We here describe an approach to identify single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) specific for mutant peptides presented on the cell surface by HLA molecules. We demonstrate that these scFvs can be successfully converted to full-length antibodies, termed MANAbodies, targeting "Mutation-Associated Neo-Antigens" bound to HLA. A phage display library representing a highly diverse array of single-chain variable fragment sequences was first designed and constructed. A competitive selection protocol was then used to identify clones specific for mutant peptides bound to predefined HLA types. In this way, we obtained two scFvs, one specific for a peptide encoded by a common KRAS mutant and the other by a common epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutant. The scFvs bound to these peptides only when the peptides were complexed with HLA-A2 (KRAS peptide) or HLA-A3 (EGFR peptide). We converted one scFv to a full-length antibody (MANAbody) and demonstrate that the MANAbody specifically reacts with mutant peptide-HLA complex even when the peptide differs by only one amino acid from the normal, WT form.
Keywords: antibody engineering; immunotherapy; oncogene; personalized; therapy.