Thaw-and-use target cells pre-labeled with calcein AM for antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity assays

In vitro antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) assays are routinely performed to support the research and development of therapeutic antibodies. In ADCC assays, target cells bound by the antibodies are lysed by activated effector cells following interactions between the Fc region of the bound antibody and Fcγ receptors on effector cells. Target cell lysis is typically measured by quantification of released endogenous enzymes, e.g., lactate dehydrogenase, or measurement of released exogenous labels, e.g., ⁵¹Cr, europium or calcein. ADCC assays based on the detection of exogenous labels released from lysed target cells generally show higher sensitivity and require shorter incubation times. However, target cells are usually labeled immediately prior to assay, which inadvertently introduces additional assay variations due to differences in target cell conditions and labeling/handling processes. In this report, we describe the use of thaw-and-use pre-labeled target cells for ADCC assays. Thaw-and-use target cells in our experiments were pre-labeled with the fluorescent dye calcein AM, cryopreserved in single-use aliquots and used directly in assays after thawing. Upon thaw, the pre-labeled cells displayed viability and label retention comparable to freshly labeled cells, responded to ADCC mediated by both peripheral blood mononuclear cells and engineered natural killer cells, performed stably for at least 3 years and provided favorable precision and accuracy to ADCC assays. Implementation of thaw-and-use pre-labeled target cells in ADCC assays can help to alleviate both cell culture and dye labeling derived variability, increase the flexibility of assay scheduling and improve assay consistency and robustness.