Abstract 5659: Targeting solid cancers with a cancer-specific monoclonal antibody to surface expressed aberrant O-glycosylated proteins

Abstract The lack of antibodies with sufficient cancer selectivity is currently limiting the treatment of solid tumors by immunotherapies. Most current immunotherapeutic targets are tumor-associated antigens also found in healthy tissues. Such targets often do not display sufficient cancer selectivity to be used for potent antibody based immunotherapeutic treatments, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. Many solid tumors, however, display aberrant glycosylation that results in the expression of tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens that are not present on healthy tissues. Targeting aberrantly glycosylated glycopeptide epitopes within existing or novel glycoprotein targets may provide the cancer selectivity needed for immunotherapy of solid tumours, but only a few such glycopeptide epitopes have been targeted. Here, we used O-glycoproteomics data from multiple cell lines to identify a glycopeptide epitope in CD44v6, a cancer-associated CD44 isoform, and through a glycopeptide immunization strategy developed a cancer-specific monoclonal antibody, 4C8. 4C8 selectively binds to Tn-glycosylated CD44v6 in a site-specific manner with low nanomolar affinity. 4C8 was shown to be highly cancer selective by immunohistochemistry of sections from multiple healthy and cancerous tissues. 4C8 CAR T cells demonstrated target-specific cytotoxicity in vitro and significant tumor regression, and increased survival in vivo. Importantly, 4C8 CAR T cells selectively killed target cells in a mixed organotypic skin cancer model without affecting healthy CD44v6+ keratinocytes, indicating tolerability and safety. Targeting aberrantly glycosylated glycopeptide epitopes may provide the cancer selectivity needed for solid tumour immunotherapy. Citation Format: Mikkel K.M. Aasted, Aaron C. Groen, John T. Keane, Sally Dabelsteen, Edwin Tan, Julia Schnabel, Fang Liu, Hyeon-Gyu S. Lewis, Constantine Theodoropulos, Avery D. Posey, Hans H. Wandall. Targeting solid cancers with a cancer-specific monoclonal antibody to surface expressed aberrant O-glycosylated proteins. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 5659.