A monoclonal antibody against annexin A2 targets stem and progenitor cell fractions in tumors

• Published in: Translational oncology 2022-01, Vol.15 (1), p.101257-101257, Article 101257
• Main Authors: Kalra, Rajkumar S., Soman, Gaurav S., Parab, Pradeep B., Mali, Avinash M., Varankar, Sagar S., Naik, Rutika R., Kamble, Swapnil C., Dhanjal, Jaspreet K., Bapat, Sharmila A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Active cooperative cell migration; Annexin A2; Cancer stem cells; Epigenetic potentiation; Monoclonal antibody; Original Research; Progenitors
• ISSN: 1936-5233; 1936-5233
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tranon.2021.101257

•Development of a novel antibody (termed as mAb150) developed in our lab which targets annexin A2.•Although there are earlier reports of another monoclonal antibody with the same target, the epitope recognized by mAb150 is novel.•mAb150 is specifically recognized to target the achilles heel of cancer viz. cancer stem cells and progenitors that persist after treatments and potentially give rise to minimal residual disease. The involvement of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in driving tumor dormancy and drug resistance is well established. Most therapeutic regimens however are ineffective in targeting these regenerative populations. We report the development and evaluation of a monoclonal antibody, mAb150, which targets the metastasis associated antigen, Annexin A2 (AnxA2) through recognition of a N-terminal epitope. Treatment with mAb150 potentiated re-entry of CSCs into the cell cycle that perturbed tumor dormancy and facilitated targeting of CSCs as was validated by in vitro and in vivo assays. Epigenetic potentiation further improved mAb150 efficacy in achieving total tumor regression by targeting regenerative populations to achieve tumor regression, specifically in high-grade serous ovarian adenocarcinoma.