Biochemical modifications of avidin improve pharmacokinetics and biodistribution, and reduce immunogenicity.

Pretargeting techniques using the avidin-biotin system have shown encouraging results in both diagnostic and therapeutic clinical trials. It has been shown that in cancer therapy the ideal agent to be used for pretargeting should have a plasma half-life longer than avidin and lower immunogenicity than streptavidin in order for these procedures to be applied safely and repeatedly in patients. We prepared a recombinant form of avidin with no carbohydrates and avidins, biochemically modified either by decreasing the positive charges with succinic anhydride or by linking polyethylene glycol (PEG) at three different molar ratios and evaluated their in vivo behaviour after i.

Three-step monoclonal antibody tumor targeting in carcinoembryonic antigen-positive patients.

We describe a method to postlabel, in vivo, biotinylated monoclonal antibodies pretargeted onto tumor deposits when most of the non-tumor-bound antibodies have already been cleared as avidin-bound complexes. The application of this principle to tumor detection by immunoscintigraphy was tested in 20 patients with histologically documented cancer and increased circulating carcinoembryonic antigen levels. One mg of biotinylated anti-carcinoembryonic antigen monoclonal antibody (FO23C5) was administered i.

Intraperitoneal radio-localization of tumors pre-targeted by biotinylated monoclonal antibodies.

We describe 2-step and 3-step strategies for intraperitoneal tumor radio-localization by means of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Nude mice bearing intraperitoneal human colon carcinoma tumors were injected i.p.

In vivo labelling of biotinylated monoclonal antibodies by radioactive avidin: a strategy to increase tumor radiolocalization.

Several monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), reactive with tumor-associated antigens, selectively persist on tumor sites in vivo for many days. If biotinylated, such highly specific tags on tumor cells could become targets for radioactive avidin, administered after suitable intervals. The proposed strategy is based on a number of assumptions concerning the ability of avidin to preserve its biological properties in heterologous in vivo environments, on its lack of toxicity and on its biodistribution.

Crystallization of hen egg-white avidin in a tetragonal form.

Hen egg-white avidin has been crystallized at pH 5.7 from ammonium sulfate solutions. The crystals belong to the tetragonal space group P4(2)2(1)2, with unit cell edges a = b = 79.