The sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectins (siglecs) comprise a family of receptors that are differentially expressed on leukocytes and other immune cells. The restricted expression of several siglecs to one or a few cell types makes them attractive targets for cell-directed therapies. The anti-CD33 (Siglec-3) antibody Gemtuzumab (Mylotarg™) is approved for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and antibodies targeting CD22 (Siglec-2) are currently in clinical trials for treatment of B cell non-Hodgkins lymphomas and autoimmune diseases. Because siglecs are endocytic receptors, they are well suited for a ‘Trojan horse’ strategy, whereby therapeutic agents conjugated to an antibody, or multimeric glycan ligand, bind to the siglec and are efficiently carried into the cell. Although the rapid internalization of unmodified siglec antibodies reduces their utility for induction of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) or complement-mediated cytotoxicity (CDC), antibody binding of Siglec-8, Siglec-9, and CD22 have been demonstrated to induce apoptosis of eosinophils, neutrophils, and depletion of B cells, respectively. Here we review the properties of siglecs that make them attractive for cell-targeted therapies.

CD22 is a member of the sialic acid-binding Ig-like lectin (Siglec) family that is known to be a regulator of B cell signaling. Its B cell-specific expression makes it an attractive target for immunotoxin-mediated B cell depletion therapy for the treatment of B cell lymphomas and autoimmune diseases. Although CD22 is well documented to be an endocytic receptor, it is believed that after internalization, it is targeted for degradation. We show in this study that CD22 is instead constitutively recycled to the cell surface. We also find that glycan ligand-based cargo is released from CD22 and accumulates intracellularly as CD22 recycles between the cell surface and endosomal compartments. In contrast, Abs to CD22 do not accumulate but remain bound to CD22 and recycle to the cell surface. The results have implications for development of agents that target CD22 as an endocytic receptor for delivery of cytotoxic cargo to B cells.

CD22 is a B cell specific sialic-acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin (Siglec) whose function as a regulator of B cell signaling is modulated by its interaction with glycan ligands bearing the sequence NeuAcα2-6Gal. To date, only highly multivalent polymeric ligands (n=450) have achieved sufficient avidity to bind to CD22 on native B cells. Here we demonstrate that a synthetic bi-functional molecule comprising a ligand of CD22 linked to an antigen (nitrophenol; NP) can use a monoclonal anti-NPIgM as a decavalent protein scaffold to efficiently drive assembly of IgM-CD22 complexes on the surface of native B cells. Surprisingly, anti-NP antibodies of lower valency, IgA (n =4) and IgG (n =2), were also found to drive complex formation, though with lower avidity. Ligands bearing alternate linkers of variable length and structure were constructed to establish the importance of a minimal length requirement, and versatility in the structural requirement. We show that the ligand drives assembly of IgM complexes exclusively on the surface of B cells and not other classes of white blood cells that do not express CD22, which lends itself to the possibility of targeting B cells in certain hematopoietic malignancies.