Development of a human antibody that exhibits antagonistic activity toward CC chemokine receptor 7.

Background: CC chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) is a member of G-protein-coupled receptor family and mediates chemotactic migration of immune cells and different cancer cells induced via chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 19 (CCL19) or chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 21 (CCL21). Hence, the identification of blockade antibodies against CCR7 could lead to the development of therapeutics targeting metastatic cancer.

Methods: CCR7 was purified and stabilized in its active conformation, and antibodies specific to purified CCR7 were screened from the synthetic M13 phage library displaying humanized scFvs.