Development of a reporter gene method to measure the bioactivity of anti-CD38 × CD3 bispecific antibody

Background A T cell-redirecting bispecific antibody consisting of a tumor-binding unit and a T cell-binding unit is a large group of antibody-based biologics against death-causing cancer diseases. The anti-CD38 × anti-CD3 bispecific antibody (Y150) is potential for treating multiple myeloma (MM). When developing a cell-based reporter gene bioassay to assess the activities of Y150, it was found that the expression of CD38 on the human T lymphocyte cells (Jurkat) caused the nonspecific activation which interfered with the specific T cells activation of mediated by the Y150 and CD38(+) tumor cells. Methods Here we first knocked-out the CD38 expression on Jurkat T cell line by CRISPR-Cas9 technology, then developed a stable monoclonal CD38(−) Jurkat T cell line with an NFAT-RE driving luciferase expressing system. Further based on the CD38(−) Jurkat cell, we developed a reporter gene method to assess the bioactivity of the anti-CD38 × anti-CD3 bsAb. Results Knocking out CD38 expression abolished the nonspecific self-activation of the Jurkat cells. The selected stable monoclonal CD38(−) Jurkat T cell line assured the robustness of the report genes assay for the anti-CD38 × anti-CD3 bsAb. The relative potencies of the Y150 measured by the developed reporter gene assay were correlated with those by the flow-cytometry-based cell cytotoxicity assay and by the ELISA-based binding assay. Conclusions The developed reporter gene assay was Mechanism of Action (MOA)-reflective for the bioactivity of anti-CD38 × anti-CD3 antibody, and suitable for the quality control for the bsAb product.