Antigens for the selection of pan-variable number of tandem repeats motif-specific human antibodies against Mucin-1.

Epitopes found on Mucin-1 are differentially expressed on tumour versus normal tissue. Such epitopes have also been shown to have a potential in immunotherapy and tumour detection. The major epitope explored in this context is located within the variable number of tandem repeats. It has however recently been demonstrated that this epitope exists in several sequence variants. The standard sequence is highly antigenic while the most common sequence variant is much less so. We have now explored routes employing defined synthetic antigens to ensure the development of human recombinant antibody specificities targeting both sequence variants of this epitope. These antibodies may serve as a platform for the development of human antibodies for efficient targeting of Mucin-1 in human disease.