A chimeric SM5-1 antibody inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma cell growth and induces caspase-dependent apoptosis.

cSM5-1 is a mouse-human chimeric antibody which has a high specificity for hepatocellular carcinoma, melanoma and breast cancer. In this study, cSM5-1 was found to be able to inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The antitumor activity of cSM5-1 was closely correlated with the expression level of the SM5-1 binding protein in the cancer cells. The role of caspases in cSM5-1-induced apoptosis was also investigated, indicating that cSM5-1-induced apoptosis was partially caspase-dependent and caspase-10 played a critical role. These in vitro data indicate that cSM5-1 has the potential to be a promising candidate for cancer treatment.