Monoclonal antibody 806 inhibits the growth of tumor xenografts expressing either the de2-7 or amplified epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) but not wild-type EGFR

The monoclonal antibody (mAb) 806 was raised against the delta2-7 epidermal growth factor receptor (de2-7 EGFR or EGFRvIII), a truncated version of the EGFR commonly expressed in glioma. Unexpectedly, mAb 806 also bound the EGFR expressed by cells exhibiting amplification of the EGFR gene but not to cells or normal tissue expressing the wild-type receptor in the absence of gene amplification. The unique specificity of mAb 806 offers an advantage over current EGFR antibodies, which all display significant binding to the liver and skin in humans. Therefore, we examined the antitumor activity of mAb 806 against human tumor xenografts grown in nude mice. The growth of U87 MG xenografts, a glioma cell line that endogenously expresses approximately 10(5) EGFRs in the absence of gene amplification, was not inhibited by mAb 806. In contrast, mAb 806 significantly inhibited the growth of U87 MG xenografts transfected with the de2-7 EGFR in a dose-dependent manner using both preventative and established tumor models. Significantly, U87 MG cells transfected with the wild-type EGFR, which increased expression to approximately 10(6) EGFRs/cell and mimics the situation of gene amplification, were also inhibited by mAb 806 when grown as xenografts in nude mice. Xenografts treated with mAb 806 all displayed large areas of necrosis that were absent in control tumors. This reduced xenograft viability was not mediated by receptor down-regulation or clonal selection because levels of antigen expression were similar in control and treated groups. The antitumor effect of mAb 806 was not restricted to U87 MG cells because the antibody inhibited the growth of new and established A431 xenografts, a cell line expressing >10(6) EGFRs/cell. This study demonstrates that mAb 806 possesses significant antitumor activity.