Disialoganglioside GD2 is a tumor-associated antigen that is overexpressed on tumor cells of neuroectodermal origin, such as melanoma and neuroblastoma. Anti-idiotypic antibodies that mimic GD2 may induce more effective immune responses than GD2 antigen itself, because they are protein antigens and are known to be able to break immune tolerance. In this study, to explore the potential of anti-idiotypic antibodies as tumor vaccines, the ability of anti-idiotypic antibodies (Ab2) to induce anti-anti-idiotypic antibodies (Ab3) that bind to the original antigen GD2 was investigated.

Six monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibodies (1A8, 1G5, 2B6, 3A4, 3D6, 3H9) to monoclonal antibody M2058, which is a monoclonal antibody to GD2, were produced in mice. Three (1A8, 3A4, 3H9) of them were selected based on their ability to inhibit the binding of Ab1 to D142.34 (murine melanoma cell expressing GD2). These 3 different Ab2 were injected into rabbits, and rabbit Ab3 induced by each of them were characterized.

Ab3-containing sera from two rabbits immunized with 1A8, 3A4, or 3H9 bound significantly (P<0.05) to D142.34 but not to B78.96 (GD2-negative cell), and bound significantly (P<0.05) to isolated GD2 but not to GD1a. Ab3-containing sera from two rabbits immunized with 3A4 or 3H9 inhibited significantly (P<0.05) the binding of Ab1 M2058 to D142.34, and inhibited significantly (P<0.05) the binding of Ab1 M2058 to the Ab2.

These results suggest that anti-idiotypic antibodies 3A4 and 3H9 have a potential to be used as vaccines against tumors expressing GD2 by inducing GD2-specific antibodies (Ab3).