Near infrared photoimmunotherapy of B-cell lymphoma

Near infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is a new, highly-selective cancer theranostics that employs an antibody-photo absorber conjugate (APC). NIR-PIT has successfully treated preclinical tumor models with APCs and is now in the first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial for head and neck cancer patients against EGFR. CD20 is highly expressed in many B-cell lymphomas and is emerging as a molecular target for this disease. Here, we describe the use of the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb), rituximab-IR700 APC for NIR-PIT of B-cell lymphoma in two CD20-expressing lymphoma mouse models. CD20 expressing B-cell lymphoma cell lines (Daudi and Ramos) were used in this study. Rituximab-IR700, rituximab conjugated with IRDye700DX, showed specific binding, and cell-specific killing only after exposure of NIR light to both cells in vitro. To evaluate effects of NIR-PIT in vivo, tumor-bearing mice were separated into 4 groups: (1) control; (2) APC i.v. only; (3) NIR light exposure only; (4) APC and NIR light (NIR-PIT). These were performed every week for up to 3 weeks. Rituximab-IR700 showed high tumor accumulation and high target-to-background ratio in vivo. Tumor growth was significantly inhibited by NIR-PIT in comparison with the other groups ( p < 0.001 for both tumors), and survival was significantly prolonged in both tumors ( p < 0.001 for Daudi tumors and p < 0.0001 for Ramos tumors vs other groups). More than half of tumors were cured with this single regimen of NIR-PIT. In conclusion, anti-CD20 rituximab-IR700 works as a highly effective APC for NIR-PIT against B-cell lymphoma. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Federation of European Biochemical Societies.