Prolactin Receptor Antibodies For Targeted Cancer Therapy And Diagnosis

SUMMARY

Novel antibodies precisely targeting cancer cells by binding to the Prolactin Receptor (PRLR) to diagnose cancer, direct immune cells to destroy tumors, and inhibit cancer growth signals, without affecting healthy cells

The Unmet Need: Novel antibodies to effectively modulate cancer cell receptor signaling with minimized off-target effects and unwanted immune activation

• Cancer remains a formidable global health challenge, necessitating the continuous development of innovative and effective treatment strategies. Traditional cancer therapies often face limitations, including severe systemic side effects, the development of drug resistance, and a lack of specificity for malignant cells. There is a critical need for advanced therapeutic modalities that can precisely target cancer cells while sparing healthy tissues, thereby improving patient outcomes and reducing treatment-related toxicities. This demand drives research into highly selective molecular targets and immunotherapeutic approaches.

• Current cancer treatment approaches frequently struggle with achieving sufficient selectivity, leading to significant off-target damage to healthy cells and tissues. Many existing therapies lack the ability to effectively differentiate between cancerous and non-cancerous cells, resulting in systemic toxicity that limits dosage and patient tolerance. Furthermore, conventional methods may not fully exploit the body's immune system for targeted eradication of tumors or adequately address specific growth-promoting signaling pathways that drive cancer progression. This often leads to incomplete responses or disease recurrence, highlighting the urgent need for more precise and immunologically potent interventions.

The Proposed Solution: A panel of highly specific antibodies targeting cancer cell Prolactin Receptors (PRLR), while exhibiting no binding to healthy cells, and can be engineered into bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs) and CAR-T constructs for targeted T-cell-mediated cancer cytotoxicity

• The faculty inventor developed a panel of high-affinity, specific antibodies targeting the Prolactin Receptor (PRLR) for diagnostic and therapeutic cancer applications. The antibodies effectively stain various cancer cell lines (e.g., ovarian, breast) without binding to healthy cells. These antibodies are adaptable into bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs) and CAR-T constructs, enabling targeted T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Additionally, some antibodies inhibit prolactin-mediated signaling by sharing an epitope with the PRLR binding site, reducing phosphorylated STAT5 levels.

• This technology is differentiated by its highly selective targeting of PRLR, which is overexpressed in cancers but minimally present in healthy tissues, ensuring precision. The competitive phage display method yields antibodies with exceptional specificity and affinity. Their versatility into diverse therapeutic formats like BiTEs and CAR-T cells offers broad applicability. A key advantage is the dual mechanism: enabling targeted cell killing while some antibodies also act as PRLR antagonists, inhibiting a critical cancer-promoting signaling pathway. Extensive validation across various cancer and healthy cell lines, including primary tumor tissue, confirms their efficacy and specificity.

ADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES

• Enables highly targeted cancer therapy with minimal impact on healthy cells due to high specificity for PRLR on cancer cells

• Facilitates potent, targeted T-cell-mediated destruction of cancer cells when reformatted into BiTEs and CAR-T constructs

• Inhibits cancer cell proliferation and survival by blocking prolactin-mediated signaling pathways

APPLICATIONS

• Immunotherapy
• Diagnostics
• Research tools