Identification and Characterization of Specific Nanobodies against Trop-2 for Tumor Targeting

Trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (Trop-2) is a tumor-associated antigen that is connected with the development of various tumors and has been identified as a promising target for tumor immunotherapy. To date, the immunotherapy against Trop-2 mainly relies on the specific targeting by monoclonal antibody in antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). Alternatively, the single domain antibodies of nanobodies (Nbs) possesses unique properties such as smaller size, better tissue penetration, etc., to make them good candidates for tumor targeting. Thus, it was proposed to develop anti-Trop-2 Nbs for tumor targeting in this study. Generally, three consecutive rounds of bio-panning were performed against immobilized recombinant Trop-2, and yielded three Nbs (Nb60, Nb65, and Nb108). The affinity of selected Nbs was determined in the nanomolar range, especially the good properties of Nb60 were verified as a promising candidate for tumor labeling. The binding to native Trop-2 was confirmed by flow cytometry against tumor cells. The inhibitory effects of the selected Nbs on tumor cell proliferation and migration were confirmed by wound healing and Transwell assay. The clear localization of the selected Nbs on the surface of tumor cells verified the potent labeling efficiency. In conclusion, this study provided several Nbs with the potential to be developed as targeting moiety of drug conjugates.