Appraisal of LRG1 antibody internalisation and as a dual acting antibody-drug conjugate (360G-Wellcome-203859_Z_16_A)

Abnormal blood vessel formation contributes to diseases such as cancer, and is the result of inappropriate angiogenic signalling. In recent years, it has been shown that in the presence of the transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFbeta1), leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1) promotes the formation of new blood vessels, via a process known as angiogenesis. Blocking the activity of LRG1 by using an antibody against it leads to reduced blood vessel growth, and thus, could be exploited to inhibit cancer growth. We aim to combine the blood vessel normalisation achieved by LRG1 blockade with affecting cancer cell deterioration. To do this, we aim to modify the LRG1 antibody vehicle, using state-of-the-art biotechnology, with a suitable fluorophore to evaluate internalisation into a cancer cell (i.e. its ability to deliver cargo), followed by decoration with a suitable toxic drug to evaluate efficiency in cells.