The Neuropilin-2 Targeting Antibody Atyr2810 Inhibits Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Monotherapy And Combination Therapy

Abstract Lung cancer remains one of the leading cancer types and is the foremost cause of cancer-related deaths, yet treatment options for advanced lung cancer remain limited. Novel therapies targeting factors critical to the progression of lung cancer are essential. Neuropilin-2 (NRP2) acts as a co-receptor for VEGF and has been correlated with aggressive cancer growth and metastasis. The expression of NRP2 has been shown to be upregulated in several cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and the expression of NRP2 in NSCLC is associated with increased invasive tumor growth in vitro as well as a significant decrease in patient survival. As shown previously, aTyr has developed ATYR2810, a domain-specific anti-human monoclonal antibody to NRP2 which blocks its binding to VEGF. Importantly, ATYR2810 blocks VEGF binding in a highly specific manner and does not affect the binding of Semaphorin-3F or subsequent Semaphorin-3F-induced dimerization of NRP2 and PlexinA1. In this study, we have used ATYR2810 to examine the effects of blocking VEGF-mediated NRP2 signaling both as monotherapy and in combination therapy. Using in vitro 3D colony formation assays, we found that ATYR2810 used as monotherapy led to a significant reduction in colony formation in the A549 NSCLC cell line. The effects of ATYR2810 were also examined in NSCLC xenografts, where the use of ATYR2810 as a single agent was found to result in the inhibition of tumor growth. Interestingly, the tumor growth inhibition observed with ATYR2810 as monotherapy was comparable to that of cisplatin monotherapy, suggesting that ATYR2810 may be a potent inhibitor of tumor growth in the A549 xenograft model. The effects of ATYR2810 combination therapy in NSCLC xenografts was also examined, and we found that the use of ATYR2810 in combination with either 5-FU or cisplatin enhanced tumor growth inhibition as compared to the use of either chemotherapeutic agent alone. Taken together, these results suggest that NRP2 may be an important target in aggressive NSCLC and that the use of our novel ATYR2810 antibody to block VEGF-mediated NRP2 signaling may serve as a valuable therapeutic agent both as monotherapy as well as in combination therapy. Citation Format: Alison G. Barber, Zhiwen Xu, Justin Rahman, Hira Lal Goel, Arthur M. Mercurio, Christoph Burkart, Leslie A. Nangle. The Neuropilin-2 targeting antibody ATYR2810 inhibits non-small cell lung cancer tumor growth in monotherapy and combination therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr LB234.