RON is a member of the c-MET receptor tyrosine kinase family. Like c-MET, RON is expressed by a variety of epithelial-derived tumors and cancer cell lines and it is thought to play a functional role in tumorigenesis. To date, antagonists of RON activity have not been tested in vivo to validate RON as a potential cancer target. In this report, we used an antibody phage display library to generate IMC-41A10, a human immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) antibody that binds with high affinity (ED 50 = 0.15 nmol/L) to RON and effectively blocks interaction with its ligand, macrophage-stimulating protein (MSP; IC 50 = 2 nmol/L). We found IMC-41A10 to be a potent inhibitor of receptor and downstream signaling, cell migration, and tumorigenesis. It antagonized MSP-induced phosphorylation of RON, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and AKT in several cancer cell lines. In HT-29 colon, NCI-H292 lung, and BXPC-3 pancreatic cancer xenograft tumor models, IMC-41A10 inhibited tumor growth by 50% to 60% as a single agent, and in BXPC-3 xenografts, it led to tumor regressions when combined with Erbitux. Western blot analyses of HT-29 and NCI-H292 xenograft tumors treated with IMC-41A10 revealed a decrease in MAPK phosphorylation compared with control IgG-treated tumors, suggesting that inhibition of MAPK activity may be required for the antitumor activity of IMC-41A10. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that a RON antagonist and specifically an inhibitory antibody of RON negatively affects tumorigenesis. Another major contribution of this report is an extensive analysis of RON expression in f100 cancer cell lines and f300 patient tumor samples representing 10 major cancer types. Taken together, our results highlight the potential therapeutic usefulness of RON activity inhibition in human cancers. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(18): 9162-70)

Tyrosine 984 in the juxtamembrane region of the insulin receptor, between the transmembrane helix and the cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase domain, is conserved among all insulin receptor-like proteins from hydra to humans. Crystallographic studies of the tyrosine kinase domain and proximal juxtamembrane region reveal that Tyr-984 interacts with several other conserved residues in the N-terminal lobe of the kinase domain, stabilizing a catalytically nonproductive position of ␣-helix C. Steady-state kinetics measurements on the soluble kinase domain demonstrate that replacement of Tyr-984 with phenylalanine results in a 4-fold increase in k cat in the unphosphorylated (basal state) enzyme. Moreover, mutation of Tyr-984 in the full-length insulin receptor results in significantly elevated receptor phosphorylation levels in cells, both in the absence of insulin and following insulin stimulation. These data demonstrate that Tyr-984 plays an important structural role in maintaining the quiescent, basal state of the insulin receptor. In addition, the structural studies suggest a possible target site for small molecule activators of the insulin receptor, with potential use in the treatment of noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.The insulin receptor is a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) 1 family of cell surface receptors. Unlike the majority of RTKs, which are monomeric in the absence of ligand, the insulin receptor is a disulfide-linked heterotetramer comprising two extracellular ␣ subunits and two membrane-spanning ␤ subunits (1, 2). Upon insulin binding to the ␣ subunits, the insulin receptor undergoes a poorly characterized structural rearrangement that facilitates autophosphorylation of specific tyrosine residues in the cytoplasmic portion of the ␤ subunits. Tyrosine autophosphorylation stimulates receptor catalytic (tyrosine kinase) activity (3) and creates recruitment sites for downstream signaling molecules such as the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins (4) and APS (5).Three tyrosine residues in the cytoplasmic juxtamembrane region of the insulin receptor, Tyr-965, Tyr-972, and Tyr-984, are conserved to various extents in the insulin receptor subfamily of RTKs (Fig. 1). This subfamily includes the insulin receptor, the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) receptor, the insulin receptor-related receptor (IRR), and insulin receptorlike proteins in invertebrates such as Daf-2 in Caenorhabditis elegans and DIR in Drosophila melanogaster. Tyr-965, an autophosphorylation site that is not conserved in the invertebrate receptors, appears to be involved in receptor endocytosis (6, 7). Tyr-972, invariant in the insulin receptor subfamily, is an essential autophosphorylation site (NPXY motif) that recruits IRS proteins (4), Shc (8), and Stat-5b (9) via a phosphotyrosinebinding domain in these adapter proteins. Tyr-984 is also invariant in this subfamily, yet its role in insulin receptor signaling has not been determined. Biochemical studies indicate that Tyr-984 is not, to any appreciable extent, a site of a...

Bi-specific antibodies (BsAbs), which can simultaneously block 2 tumor targets, have emerged as promising therapeutic alternatives to combinations of individual monoclonal antibodies. Here, we describe the engineering and development of a novel, human bi-functional antibody-receptor domain fusion molecule with ligand capture (bi-AbCap) through the fusion of the domain 2 of human vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR1) to an antibody directed against insulin-like growth factor – type I receptor (IGF-IR). The bi-AbCap possesses excellent stability and developability, and is the result of minimal engineering. Beyond potent neutralizing activities against IGF-IR and VEGF, the bi-AbCap is capable of cross-linking VEGF to IGF-IR, leading to co-internalization and degradation of both targets by tumor cells. In multiple mouse xenograft tumor models, the bi-AbCap improves anti-tumor activity over individual monotherapies. More importantly, it exhibits superior inhibition of tumor growth, compared with the combination of anti-IGF-IR and anti-VEGF therapies, via powerful blockade of both direct tumor cell growth and tumor angiogenesis. The unique “capture-for-degradation” mechanism of the bi-AbCap is informative for the design of next-generation bi-functional anti-cancer therapies directed against independent signaling pathways. The bi-AbCap design represents an alternative approach to the creation of dual-targeting antibody fusion molecules by taking advantage of natural receptor-ligand interactions.