Abstract 6788: Comparative analysis of anti-HER2 antibody-drug conjugates in tumor spheroid models
Authors: McBain Kirsty , Barnes Kalpana , Bevan Nicola 
Published: March 2024

Robust techniques are needed to screen the anti-tumor activity of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in vitro. Traditional monolayer models provide a cost-effective and scalable option but lack many features of the tumor microenvironment, such as complex cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions. Tumor spheroids afford a more translational model for quantification of ADCs. Here, spheroids are used to compare the mechanism of action (MoA) of anti-HER2 ADCs. Single spheroids were formed from mono- or co-cultures of HER2 over-expressing cancer cells and HER2 negative control cells. Incucyte® Nuclight Green Lentivirus was used to label HER2 positive BT474 cells, whilst HER2 negative MDA-MB-231 cells were left unlabeled. Antibodies were added after 72 hours of spheroid formation in 96-well ultra-low attachment plates. Brightfield and fluorescence images were captured every 3 hours using the Incucyte® Live-Cell Analysis System and quantified, for metrics such as spheroid size and fluorescence intensity, to give an indication of ADC cytotoxicity. Co-culture spheroids were dissociated at assay endpoint and the remaining proportion of green and unlabeled cells was measured using the iQue® Advanced Flow Cytometry Platform. The area of the BT474 mono-culture spheroids decreased in a concentration-dependent manner in the presence of both ADCs tested (trastuzumab emtansine and trastuzumab deruxtecan), indicating increased cytotoxicity. In contrast, only the highest concentration of trastuzumab, which is the monoclonal antibody backbone on which they are based, resulted in a reduction in spheroid size. This displays the increased anti-tumor activity due to the addition of the ADC payloads. In the co-culture model, only the trastuzumab deruxtecan induced a reduction in spheroid area, with the size of the spheroids in the presence of trastuzumab emtansine and trastuzumab remaining comparable to control levels. Analysis of the spheroid composition using flow cytometry showed that for the BT474 cells, again, percentage cell death compared to the IgG control was greater for the two ADCs, at 96.4% and 97.2%, respectively. This death was greater than with trastuzumab, which induced 46.4% cell death. Unlike in the mono-culture assays, a high level of death of the HER2 low expressing cells was also seen in the co-culture in the presence of trastuzumab deruxtecan (94.1% death compared to control). This displays the unique bystander activity of trastuzumab deruxtecan, which has led to its approval as a treatment for both HER2 high and HER2 low breast cancers. These data display how the Incucyte® Live-Cell Analysis System combined with iQue® Advanced Flow Cytometry can be leveraged to provide comprehensive assessment of the in vitro function of ADCs and how it can enable differences in their MoAs to be distinguished in 3D spheroid models.

Citation Format: Kirsty McBain, Kalpana Barnes, Nicola Bevan. Comparative analysis of anti-HER2 antibody-drug conjugates in tumor spheroid models [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 6788.