Macrophage and NK-mediated killing of precursor-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells targeted with a-fucosylated anti-CD19 humanized antibodies

This work reports the tumoricidal effects of a novel investigational humanized anti-CD19 monoclonal antibody (Medi-551). An a-fucosylated antibody with increased affinity for human FcγRIIIA, Medi-551 is shown to mediate both antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP). Medi-551/CD19 complexes internalize slowly (>5 h) and thus remain accessible to effector cells for prolonged periods. We evaluated in vitro ADCC and ADCP activities of primary human natural killer (NK) cells and macrophages against precursor-B (pre-B) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cell lines and pediatric patient blasts. Fluorescent imaging studies document immunological synapses formed between anti-CD19-bound target leukemia cells and effector cells and capture the kinetics of both NK-mediated killing and macrophage phagocytosis. Genetic polymorphisms in FcγRIIIA-158F/V modulate in vitro activities of effector cells, with FcγRIIIA-158V homozygotes or heterozygotes showing the strongest activity. Medi-551 treatment of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice engrafted with human pre-B cells led to prolonged animal survival and markedly reduced disease burden in blood, liver and bone marrow. These data show that anti-CD19 antibodies effectively recruit immune cells to pre-B ALL cells and support a move forward to early phase trials in this disease.