ANTAGONIST ANTIBODIES TO VE-CADHERIN WITHOUT ADVERSE EFFECTS ON VASCULAR PERMEABILITY

摘要

This invention relates to antibodies, or immunologically active fragments thereof, specific for the N-terminal 15 amino acids of a mammalian VE-cadherin and which act as antagonists of VE-cadherin-mediated homophilic interactions between adjacent endothelial cells without adversely affecting normal vasculature. In a preferred embodiment, the antibodies are humanized antibodies directed that react with human VE-cadherin for use in a human. The invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising these antibodies and antibody fragments, methods of preparing the antibodies, and methods of using the antibodies and antibody fragments to inhibit angiogenesis, inhibit tumor metastasis, or treat cell proliferative disorders.