Development of monoclonal antibodies against human gastrointestinal cancer

We have evaluated approximately 10,000 monoclonal antibodies resulting from 14 hybridization of spleen cells from mice immunized with established cancer cell lines. They were screened by binding assays using cancer cell lines or normal fibroblast cells, followed by immunohistochemical study on tissue sections. Ninety-one monoclonal antibodies were obtained by above binding assays. One of them, named KM10 was further investigated. Isotype of KM10 was IgG1 with kappa-light chain. It was shown that KM10 has strong reactivity with tumors of colon, stomach, papilla Vater, and pancreas, while the limited reactivity displayed with normal tissues. The electron microscopic observation revealed that the antigen recognized by KM10 is expressed on the surface of cancer cells. KM10 could mediate ADCC. These results indicate that KM10 is a good candidate for a probe of diagnosis and therapy of cancer.