New antibodies for Cancer Treatment

Out of a library with billions of artificial antibodies, researchers have identified ten that can possibly prevent cancer tumours from growing.
A research team at Aarhus University i Denmark has developed ten new antibodies that can possibly be used in the battle against cancer. They work by inhibiting the body's blood vessel formation close to the tumour, which is thereby cut off from oxygen and nutrient supply.
Up to now, the researchers have tested some of the antibodies on mice and, in the laboratory they have succeeded in using them to stop the development of malignant tumours. "The antibodies we've found prevent a cancer tumour from growing. They appear to work perfectly in the laboratory, and this means, of course, that they've got incredibly interesting therapeutic potential that we'll investigate further. However, we're still quite early in the experimental stage," says Associate Professor Peter Kristensen.
The antibodies neutralize the effects of signal substances released by carcinoma cells to get blood vessels to replicate, thus cutting off the blood supply to the tumor.
A cancer tumor deprived of oxygen and nutrients becomes dormant and is thereby made harmless. If it receives a supply from the bloodstream, however, it grows and spreads, and the researchers appear to be able to prevent this deadly process.
The researchers isolated their antibodies from a library consisting of billions of different antibodies, and they subsequently analyzed the ability of the individual antibodies to inhibit blood vessel formation. This sounds like incredibly extensive laboratory work, and it would have been far from possible just a few years ago. However, they used a biological technology for this purpose that they developed and published in Nature Protocols three years ago. It helps them to identify and extract the antibodies with specific binding properties regarding the surface proteins in blood vessel cells.