TROP-2 is a glycoprotein first described as a surface marker of trophoblast cells, but subsequently shown to be increased in many solid cancers, with lower expression in certain normal tissues. It regulates cancer growth, invasion and spread by several signaling pathways, and has a role in stem cell biology and other diseases. This review summarizes TROP-2's properties, especially in cancer, and particularly its role as a target for antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) or immunotherapy. When the irinotecan metabolite, SN-38, is conjugated to a humanized anti-TROP-2 antibody (sacituzumab govitecan), it shows potent broad anticancer activity in human cancer xenografts and in patients with advanced triple-negative breast, non-small cell and small-cell lung, as well as urothelial cancers.

CD74 is an integral membrane protein that functions as a MHC class II chaperone. Moreover, it has recently been shown to have a role as an accessory-signaling molecule and has been implicated in malignant B-cell proliferation and survival.These biological functions combined with expression of CD74 on malignant B cells and limited expression on normal tissues implicate CD74 as a potential therapeutic target. The anti-CD74 monoclonal antibody LL1 has been humanized (hLL1milatuzumab or IMMU-115) and can provide the basis for novel therapeutic approaches to B-cell malignancies, particularly because this antibody shows rapid internalization into CD74 + malignant cells. This article reviews the preclinical evaluations of LL1, its humanized form, and isotope, drug, and toxin conjugates. These studies show that unconjugated hLL1and conjugates of hLL1constructs with radioisotopes, doxorubicin, and frog RNase have high antitumor activity innon^Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma invitro andin tumor xenograft models. Singledose studies of hLL1 in monkeys showed no adverse effects but did decrease circulating B and T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. When evaluated in combination with rituximab, either equivalent or improved efficacy, compared with either antibody alone, was observed. CD74 is a new candidate target for the immunotherapy of neoplasms expressing this antigen, which can be exploited using either a naked antibody or conjugated to isotopes, drugs, or toxins. CD74 (invariant chain, Ii) is a type II transmembraneglycoprotein that associates with the MHC class II a and h chains and directs the transport of the ahIi (invariant chain) complexes to endosomes and lysosomes (1 -4). In addition, CD74 is involved in signaling pathway functioning as a survival receptor (5). These biological functions, combined with expression of CD74 on malignant B cells and limited expression on normal tissues, implicate CD74 as a potential therapeutic target. The anti-CD74 monoclonal antibody (mAb) LL1 has been humanized (hLL1 milatuzumab or IMMU-115) and can provide the basis for novel therapeutic approaches to B-cell malignancies. This article reviews the preclinical evaluations of LL1, its humanized form, and isotope, drug, and toxin conjugates. The evidence suggests that hLL1 is a promising candidate antibody for the therapy of CD74-expressing malignancies, such as non -Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and multiple myeloma (MM). Due to its rapid internalization property, hLL1 also shows considerable promise as a drug, isotope, or toxin immunoconjugate. CD74 Molecule: Structure, Function, and ExpressionCD74 has 30 NH 2 -terminal, intracytoplasmic amino acid residues, a 26-amino acid hydrophobic transmembrane region, and a 160-amino acid extracytoplasmic domain containing two N-linked carbohydrate chains (1, 6). Once synthesized, CD74, DRa, and DRh begin to associate within the endoplasmic reticulum. This is believed to occur by sequential addition of DRa/h heterodimers to a trimeric core of CD74 molecules until a nine-subunit...

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Purpose: A new humanized anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (MAb), IMMU-106, was evaluated to elucidate its action as an antilymphoma therapeutic, as a single agent, and in combination with the anti-CD22 MAb, epratuzumab.Experimental Design: Antiproliferative effects, apoptotic effects, and the ability of IMMU-106 to mediate complement-mediated cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity on a panel of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) cell lines were compared with the chimeric anti-CD20 MAb, rituximab, and evaluated in light of the various levels of antigen expression by the cell lines. In vivo therapy studies were performed in SCID mice bearing disseminated Raji lymphoma.Results: The mechanisms of cytotoxicity of IMMU-106 were found to be similar to rituximab, and include direct apoptosis, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and complement-mediated cytotoxicity. IMMU-106 was also found to be very similar to rituximab in terms of antigenbinding specificity, binding avidity, and dissociation constant. Treatment of Raji-bearing SCID mice with IMMU-106 yielded median survival increases of up to 4.2-fold compared with control mice. Survival in mice treated with IMMU-106 plus epratuzumab was compared with IMMU-106 treatment alone. Although the combined treatment did not improve median survival, an increased proportion of long-term survivors was observed. An enhanced antiproliferative effect was also observed in vitro in SU-DHL-6 cells when IMMU-106 was combined with epratuzumab. These findings are consistent with the up-regulation of CD22 expression observed after pretreatment of NHL cells in vitro with CD20 MAb (IMMU-106).Conclusions: It is expected that in humans IMMU-106 should be at least as effective as rituximab and, due to its human framework construction, it may exhibit different pharmacokinetic, toxicity, and therapy profiles. In addition, it may be possible to enhance efficacy by combination therapy comprised of anti-CD20 and other B-cell lineage targeting MAbs, such as epratuzumab. The current results emphasize that in vitro as well as in vivo studies with many of the NHL cell lines were generally predictive of the known activity of anti-CD20 MAbs in NHL patients, as well as the enhanced efficacy of epratuzumab combined with rituximab observed in early clinical trials.

The humanized anti-CD74 monoclonal antibody (mAb) hLL1 is under evaluation as a therapeutic agent. The effects of hLL1-at times in comparison with the CD20 mAb rituximab-were assessed on non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and multiple myeloma (