Abstract 4109: Discovery of a novel cancer-specific antigen for therapeutic targeting using the Oncotope platform
Authors: Manavalan John Sanil , Mor Danielle , Davis Joseph , Saini Sharanjot , Pal Ipsita , Feith David , Hikichi Yuichi , Davis Elliot 
Published: March 2024

Identification of druggable cancer-specific surface antigens is hindered by the complexity of cancer's molecular diversity and the risk of normal cell cross-reactivity. We developed the Oncotope Platform that rapidly identifies multiple cancer-specific cell surface targets not expressed on normal cells (JCO 2022). In this study, we generated polyclonal antibodies to human Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC; Hs578T, ATCC). Following this, we used the Oncotope Platform to filter the anti-TNBC antibody-enriched serum, to yield cancer specific polyclonal antibodies. Using a Protein Microarray, we assessed the binding affinity of both the Total Anti-TNBC Serum (before filtration) and the Oncotope Filtered Anti-TNBC Serum towards approximately 25,000 human proteins. Our results identified antigens that exhibited significantly higher affinity binding to the Oncotope Filtered Anti-TNBC Serum than the Total Anti-TNBC Serum. One of these antigens ZIP7, a zinc transporter situated in the ER and Golgi, has been shown to activate cell proliferation related signaling pathways in TNBC. Our findings revealed the aberrant cell surface expression of ZIP7 on TNBC cells and its potential as a therapeutic target. Flow cytometry analysis using rabbit polyclonal antibodies against ZIP7 revealed substantial binding to TNBC cells, while no significant binding was observed with normal breast epithelial (NBE) cells from the same patient (Hs578BsT, ATCC). Additionally, cytotoxicity assays, employing the same antibodies and a secondary anti-rabbit ADC, showed the preferential killing of TNBC cells over NBE cells (Table 1). In summary, our study marks a breakthrough in identifying cancer-specific antigens with therapeutic potential. The Oncotope Platform, in combination with protein microarrays, enables rapid identification of unique cancer-specific antigens absent in normal cells. Specifically targeting ZIP7 on TNBC cell surfaces highlights its promise for precision cancer therapy.

Table 1. Cell Line Incubated with: %Binding Flow Cytometry (1:400 Ab dilution) %Cytotoxicity (4ug/ml Ab conc.) TNBC (Hs578T) Total Anti-TNBC Serum 96.65 94.5 +/- 2.5 Oncotope Filtered Anti-TNBC Serum 97.46 79.2 +/- 2.1 ZIP7 Polyclonal antibody ((Proteintech 11200-1-AP) 46.2 73.2 +/- 0.5 Normal Breast Epithelial cells (Hs578Bst) Total Anti-TNBC Serum 92.95 92.3 +/- 3.0 Oncotope Filtered Anti-TNBC Serum 20.39 17.9 +/- 4.5 ZIP7 Polyclonal antibody ((Proteintech 11200-1-AP) 6.37 14.1 +/- 1.6

Citation Format: John Sanil Manavalan, Danielle Mor, Joseph Davis, Sharanjot Saini, Ipsita Pal, David Feith, Yuichi Hikichi, Elliot Davis. Discovery of a novel cancer-specific antigen for therapeutic targeting using the Oncotope platform [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 4109.