Summary Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) treated with a combination of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab show a high response rate. However, only a poor response is observed following rituximab monotherapy. The use of chemo‐immunotherapy is often associated with haematological and infectious complications. Thus, an antibody with an enhanced ability to kill CLL cells could lead to better clinical responses to antibody monotherapy and the possibility of lowering drug doses during chemo‐immunotherapy. We generated a chimeric anti‐CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb), EMAB‐6, which has a low fucose content. Apoptosis and complement activities for EMAB‐6 were similar to those seen for rituximab. By contrast, EMAB‐6 mAb showed improved Fcγ receptor IIIA (FcγRIIIA)/CD16 binding and FcγRIIIA‐dependent effector functions. It induced a higher in vitro antibody‐dependent cellular cytotoxicity against CLL cells and a higher FcγRIIIA‐mediated interleukin‐2 production by FcγRIIIA+ Jurkat cells in the presence of CLL cells at both low and maximally saturating concentrations. Comparative studies between CLL and lymphoma cells coated with EMAB‐6 or rituximab indicated that the difference of efficacy was more pronounced at low doses and when target cells expressed fewer CD20 molecules. Thus, EMAB‐6 mAb represents a promising drug candidate for the treatment of CLL by inducing a strong cytotoxicity against tumour cells that express low CD20 levels.

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. We have identified the liver-regulating protein (LRP), a cell surface protein involved in the maintenance of hepatocyte differentiation when cocultured with rat liver epithelial cells (RLEC) . LRP was defined by immunoreactivity to a monoclonal antibody (mAb L8) prepared from RLEC. mAb L8 specifically detected two polypeptides of 85 and 73 kD in immunoprecipitation of both hepatocyte-and RLECiodinated plasma membranes . The involvement of these polypeptides, which are integral membrane proteins, in cell interaction-mediated regulation of hepatocytes was assessed by evaluating the perturbing effects of the antibody on cocultures with RLEC. Several parameters characteristic of differentiated hepatocytes were studied, such as liver-specific and house-keeping

SummaryA human anti-RhD immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibody (mAb), R297, was tested in a phase I study to assess its ability to induce the clearance of antibody-coated autologous RhD + red blood cells (RBCs) in healthy male volunteers. The clearance potency of R297 was compared with that of a marketed human polyclonal anti-D product (Rhophylac. This mAb has been selected for its ability to strongly engage Fc-gamma receptor IIIA and to mediate a potent antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC) against RhD + RBCs. Autologous RhD + RBCs were sensitized with either Rhophylac Ò or R297 at three different coating percentages (25, 12AE5 and 6AE25%), before re-infusion. This phase I study showed that the human R297 mAb promoted rapid and complete clearance of RBCs, and showed activity that was at least as potent as the human polyclonal anti-D antibody preparation. Clearance of RBCs could still be observed when the percentage of R297 used to coat the RBCs was reduced to 6AE25%. Finally, none of the adverse events was severe or considered to be related to R297. Thus, R297 is a promising candidate for the prevention of allo-immunization and represents a new generation of Fc-modified monoclonal antibodies with increased FccRIII binding and increased ADCC.

NK cells can kill antibody-coated target cells following engagement of FcgammaRIIIA, the major activating FcgammaR expressed by these cells. The presence of FcgammaRIIC (CD32C) has also been reported, but its contribution to the FcgammaR-dependent effector functions of NK cells remains debated. We demonstrate here that inhibitory FcgammaRIIB is also expressed by a small subset of CD56+/NKp46+ NK cells and can efficiently down-modulate their FcgammaR-dependent effector function. Immunofluorescence analyses of NK cells from 52 healthy donors showed the presence of CD56bright/FcgammaRII(-) (5.2%+/-3.4), CD56dim/FcgammaRII(lo/-) (94.1%+/-3.4), and CD56dim/FcgammaRIIbright (0.64%+/-0.72) cells. QRT-PCR and protein analyses performed on isolated FcgammaRIIbright NK cells indicated that FcgammaRIIB is strongly expressed by these cells but not by FcgammaRII(lo/-) cells. In addition, FcgammaRIIbright cells showed a weaker antibody-dependent degranulation when incubated with IgG-coated target cells compared with FcgammaRII(lo/-) NK cells, although a strong FcgammaRIIIA expression was detected in both cells. Furthermore, the addition of anti-FcgammaRII Fab paralleled a higher degranulation of FcgammaRIIbright NK cells, indicating a direct role for FcgammaRIIB in this down-modulating effect. Thus, it is proposed that FcgammaRIIBbright NK cells represent a new NK cell compartment able to down-modulate NK cell functions triggered by the engagement of activating FcgammaR.