Profiling mutational significance in germline-to-affinity mature 3F8 variants

FARE Award Winner

Authors

• E Sterner
• JC Gildersleeve

Abstract

Antibody immunotherapy is rapidly becoming the standard-of-care practice in the treatment of many cancers. One such instance is the treatment of the childhood extra-cranial cancer neuroblastoma. In this case, the up-regulation of the disialoganglioside GD2 on the cellular surface is a hallmark of tumor cells and as such has become a clinically critical target. Two clinically successful anti-GD2 candidates, 14.18 and 3F8, demonstrate remarkable affinity and have become integral to neuroblastoma treatment. Considering the difficulty of developing high affinity antibodies against carbohydrate antigens, we wanted to better understand how the immune system evolved these antibodies. Our work explores the immunological evolution of 3F8, including the synthesis of germline, mutational intermediates, and affinity mature antibodies.

Scientific Focus Area: Chemical Biology

This page was last updated on Friday, March 26, 2021