Production of nanobodies against prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) recognizing LnCaP cells

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men. The antibody-mediated therapy for cancer treatment depends on the identification of selected molecular targets. The prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a potential molecular target in prostate cancer and is abundantly expressed in this type of cancer. This study is aimed at designing and producing a recombinant PSMA epitope and a monoclonal nanobody with a high affinity toward the PSMA protein. A DNA fragment encoding the dominant epitopes of PSMA was designed, synthesized, and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). A camel was immunized with the purified recombinant PSMA (rPSMA). Following mRNA isolation and cDNA synthesis, the variable fragment of heavy-chain antibodies (VHH) fragments were cloned and displayed on the surface of an M13 phage and used in sequential panning rounds. After phage ELISA and selection of colonies with the highest affinity, soluble nanobodies were produced and evaluated. Affinity of the nanobodies to rPSMA was estimated to be 3.5 × 10-7. Adherence of the purified anti-PSMA VHH was tested in cell-ELISA in the LnCaP and PC3 cell lines. VHH efficiently bound to LnCaP cells. The high specificity and affinity of this nanobody suggests its possible application as an effective tool in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.