June 13 Preclinical Quick Takes: A*STAR's mAb against tumor-displayed antigen; plus Columbia, Genentech and more
A*STAR targets externalized antigen to kill tumor cells
The Agency for Science Technology and Research has licensed PTP4A3-targeting cancer therapy PRL3-zumab to spinout company Intra-Immu SG Pte Ltd. (Singapore). A*STAR and colleagues reported in a Nature Communications paper the mAb directs immune cells to kill tumor cells that externally express the antigen in mice with liver cancer. PTP4A3, an intracellular enzyme, was displayed on the cell surface in tumor tissue but not adjacent normal tissues in patient samples covering 11 types of solid and blood cancers.
Columbia finds new integrase-based CRISPR system to insert genes
A Columbia University team developed INTEGRATE, based on a programmable RNA-guided CRISPR-associated transposase from Vibrio cholerae, to insert DNA into specific loci in the E. coli genome without using the bacteria's existing DNA repair machinery. The researchers described the technology in a Nature paper and plan to test the system in mammalian cells...