Patient-derived Siglec-6-targeting antibodies engineered for T-cell recruitment have potential therapeutic utility in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Background Despite numerous therapeutic options, safe and curative therapy is unavailable for most patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). A drawback of current therapies such as the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb) rituximab is the elimination of all healthy B cells, resulting in impaired humoral immunity. We previously reported the identification of a patient-derived, CLL-binding mAb, JML-1, and identified sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin-6 (Siglec-6) as the target of JML-1. Although little is known about Siglec-6, it appears to be an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy due to its absence on most healthy cells and tissues. Methods We used a target-specific approach to mine for additional patient-derived anti-Siglec-6 mAbs. To assess the therapeutic utility of targeting Siglec-6 in the context of CLL, T cell-recruiting bispecific antibodies (T-biAbs) that bind to Siglec-6 and CD3 were engineered into single-chain variable fragment–Fc and dual-affinity retargeting (DART)–Fc constructs. T-biAbs were evaluated for their activity in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo. Results We discovered the anti-Siglec-6 mAbs RC-1 and RC-2, which bind with higher affinity than JML-1 yet maintain similar specificity. Both JML-1 and RC-1 T-biAbs were effective at activating T cells and killing Siglec-6+ target cells. The RC-1 clone in the DART–Fc format was the most potent T-biAb tested and was the only anti-Siglec-6 T-biAb that eliminated Siglec-6+ primary CLL cells via autologous T cells at pathological T-to-CLL cell ratios. Tested at healthy T-to-B cell ratios, it also eliminated a Siglec-6+ fraction of primary B cells from healthy donors. The subpicomolar potency of the DART–Fc format was attributed to the reduction in the length and flexibility of the cytolytic synapse. Furthermore, the RC-1 T-biAb was effective at clearing MEC1 CLL cells in vivo and demonstrated a circulatory half-life of over 7 days. Conclusion Siglec-6-targeting T-biAbs are highly potent and specific for eliminating Siglec-6+ leukemic and healthy B cells while sparing Siglec-6− healthy B cells, suggesting a unique treatment strategy for CLL with diminished suppression of humoral immunity. Our data corroborate reports that T-biAb efficacy is dependent on synapse geometry and reveal that synapse architecture can be tuned via antibody engineering. Our fully human anti-Siglec-6 antibodies and T-biAbs have potential for cancer immunotherapy. Trial registration number NCT00923507.