A new humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody,
NEO-201, has been developed that homes in on a specific neoantigen found on
ovarian and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Unlike
CEACAM, this antigen is unique to
tumor tissues, making it a promising target for cancer therapy. The study had two primary goals: to assess the presence of this antigen in various tumor cell lines from ovarian and GI cancers, and to examine the effectiveness of NEO-201.
The antigen's presence was confirmed through western blot analysis and flow cytometry. The functionality of NEO-201 was evaluated using an antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) assay with cell lines that tested positive for the antigen. Non-expressing cell lines served as negative controls. The ADCC assay utilized natural killer (NK) cells derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy donors, as well as high-affinity activated NK (haNK) cells. HaNK cells, which are NK-92 cells modified to express a high-affinity human CD16 variant and the human
IL-2 gene, lack inhibitory killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors, potentially enhancing their cytotoxic capabilities.
Results from the western blot analysis identified the NEO-201 antigen in two ovarian cancer cell lines (OV90 and PE01) and one
colorectal cancer cell line (LS174T). Flow cytometry further confirmed the antigen's expression in additional cancer cell lines, including one ovarian (OV90), one colorectal (LS174T), and two
pancreatic cancer cell lines (ASPC-1 and CFPAC-1). The ADCC assay showed that NEO-201 could induce tumor cell death on its own; however, the presence of NK cells or haNK cells significantly increased the lysis of tumor cells expressing the NEO-201 antigen.
The study concludes that the NEO-201 antigen is expressed in several tumor cell lines from ovarian and GI cancers, and that NEO-201 can effectively mediate ADCC activity with NK cells and NK cell lines. Moreover, NEO-201 can trigger apoptosis in tumor cell lines that express the antigen. Preliminary data also indicates the antigen's presence in a variety of cancer types. The team plans to conduct in vivo studies and investigations related to the Investigational New Drug (IND) application process.
The research was presented by Kristen Zeligs and colleagues at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in 2017.
How to Use Synapse Database to Search and Analyze Translational Medicine Data?
The transational medicine section of the Synapse database supports searches based on fields such as drug, target, and indication, covering the T0-T3 stages of translation. Additionally, it offers a historical conference search function as well as filtering options, view modes, translation services, and highlights summaries, providing you with a unique search experience.

Taking obesity as an example, select "obesity" under the indication category and click search to enter the Translational Medicine results list page. By clicking on the title, you can directly navigate to the original page.

By clicking the analysis button, you can observe that GLP-1R treatment for obesity has gained significant attention over the past three years, with preclinical research still ongoing in 2023. Additionally, there are emerging potential targets, such as GDF15, among others.

Click on the image below to go directly to the Translational Medicine search interface.
