Abstract
The development of the monoclonal antibody technique1 has led to renewed interest in whether the growth of tumour cells may be specifically inhibited by antibodies or antibody–toxin conjugates directed against antigenic determinants selectively expressed on tumour cells2–10. We have recently obtained monoclonal antibodies against the transferrin receptor of human cells11,12, which is thought to have an essential role in transport of Fe across the cell membrane and which is selectively expressed on proliferating cells in vivo and in vitro13–17. In some cases, transferrin receptors can be used as a marker to distinguish between tumour cells and normal tissue11,15–17. Here we show that human tumour cells are specifically killed in vitro by anti-transferrin receptor antibody covalently coupled to ricin or diphtheria toxic subunits. In experiments designed to test the effectiveness of these antibody–toxin conjugates in vivo, we found that anti-transferrin receptor antibody alone inhibits the growth of human melanoma cells in nude mice.
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Trowbridge, I., Domingo, D. Anti-transferrin receptor monoclonal antibody and toxin–antibody conjugates affect growth of human tumour cells. Nature 294, 171–173 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/294171a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/294171a0
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