Definition

A naturally-produced human immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) kappa antibody derived from a tumor-specific B-lymphocyte isolated from the regional draining lymph node of a patient with cervical carcinoma and targeted against the cell surface expressed vimentin, ecto-domain vimentin (EDV), with potential immunomodulating and antineoplastic activities. Upon administration, pritumumab targets and binds to EDV, which is expressed on a variety of tumor cell types but is not expressed by normal tissues and cells. This induces tumor cell death by antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), and inhibits growth of EDV-expressing tumor cells. Pritumumab is able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Vimentin, an intracellular cytoskeletal protein, is overexpressed during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT).