Generation of a rabbit VH domain antibody polyspecific to c-Met and adenoviral knob protein

Abstract

Several types of bispecific antibodies with affinity to both adenoviral coat proteins and a targeted antigen have been developed with the aim of providing the specific delivery of adenoviral gene therapy vehicle. From a phage display library of combinatorial dAb2s (each with an anti-adenoviral knob protein VH fragment linked with an anti-c-Met VH), we serendipitously enriched and isolated a clone, JS5, that has polyspecificity such that it binds both the adenoviral knob protein and c-Met, despite having only one VH domain. Our indirect observations suggest that the polyspecificity of JS5 is developed through accumulation of antibody specificity. The method of sequential immunization of a rabbit, first with the adenoviral knob protein and then with target antigens, may provide a method by which monoclonal antibodies with stand-alone polyspecificity may be developed. Such targeted polyspecific antibodies could readily be used for re-directing adenoviral vectors to target cells.