Anti-IGF-I receptor antibodies, encoding nucleic acid molecules and methods of using said antibodies

1. An anti-IGF-I (Insulin-like Growth Factor I) receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof that exhibits an activity to induce growth of vertebrate-derived cells,

wherein said antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof comprises a heavy chain variable region comprising three complementarity-determining regions (CDRs H1-H3), and further comprises a light chain variable region comprising three complementarity-determining regions (CDRs L1-L3),

wherein the CDR-H1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, or comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 in which one amino acid is substituted, deleted, or inserted;

wherein the CDR-H2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, or comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 in which up to two amino acids are substituted, deleted, or inserted;

wherein the CDR-H3 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, or comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5 in which up to two amino acids are substituted, deleted, or inserted;

wherein the CDR-L1 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6, or comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6 in which up to two amino acids are substituted, deleted, or inserted;

wherein the CDR-L2 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, or comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 in which one amino acid is substituted, deleted, or inserted;

wherein the CDR-L3 comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8, or comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8 in which up to two amino acids are substituted, deleted, or inserted.

2. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , wherein the activity of said antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof to induce growth of vertebrate-derived cells is equal to or higher than the corresponding activity of a wild-type IGF-I.

3. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , wherein when said antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof is contacted with cultured vertebrate-derived cells, the duration of activity of said antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof to induce growth of the cultured cells relative to the duration of contact is improved as compared to a wild-type IGF-I.

4. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , wherein said antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof binds to wild-type IGF-I receptor comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.

5. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , which exhibits an activity to induce an increase in the muscle mass and/or the body length of a vertebrate when parenterally administered to the vertebrate.

6. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , which is administered to a vertebrate at a frequency of once a week or less.

7. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , wherein the vertebrate is a human; a guinea pig, a mouse, a rat, a monkey, a rabbit, a cow, a pig, a horse, a sheep, a dog, or a chicken; or a non-human vertebrate engineered to express a human IGF-I receptor.

8. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , which does not induce glucose uptake by differentiated muscle cells when administered at a dosage sufficient to induce growth of vertebrate-derived cells.

9. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 8 , which does not induce glucose uptake by differentiated muscle cells when administered at a dosage of 100 times or more of the EC 50 value for inducing growth of vertebrate-derived cells in vitro.

10. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , wherein the vertebrate-derived cells are myoblasts derived from a human or a non-human mammal.

11. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 5 , which does not lower the blood glucose level of a vertebrate when parenterally administered to the vertebrate at a dosage sufficient to induce an increase in the muscle mass and/or the body length of the vertebrate.

12. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim which does not change the blood glucose level of a vertebrate when parenterally administered to the vertebrate at a dosage of 10 times or more of an effective dosage sufficient to induce an increase in the muscle mass and/or the body length of the vertebrate.

13. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , which binds to a CR domain of an IGF-I receptor.

14. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 13 , which binds to an epitope containing ProSerGlyPheIleArgAsnX 1 X 2 GlnSerMet (SEQ ID NO: 31) (where X 1 represents Gly or Ser and X 2 represents Ser or Thr), or a part in the vicinity thereof, in the sequence of the CR domain of the IGF-I receptor.

15. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 14 , which binds to an epitope containing ProSerGlyPheIleArgAsnGlySerGlnSerMet (SEQ ID NO: 32), or a part in the vicinity thereof, in the sequence of the CR domain of the IGF-I receptor.

16. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , which has a cross-reactivity with an IGF-I receptor of a human or a non-human vertebrate selected from the group consisting of a guinea pig, a mouse, a rat, a monkey, a rabbit, a cow, a pig, a horse, a sheep, a dog, and a chicken.

17. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 14 , which has at least one of the features of:

1) exhibiting an activity to induce an increase in the muscle mass and/or the body length of a vertebrate when parenterally administered to the vertebrate;

2) not inducing glucose uptake by differentiated muscle cells when administered at a dosage sufficient to induce growth of vertebrate-derived cells; and

3) not changing the blood glucose level of a vertebrate when parenterally administered to the vertebrate at a dosage sufficient to induce an increase in the muscle mass and/or the body length of the vertebrate.

18. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , which has at least one of the features of:

1) inhibiting growth of vertebrate-derived cells induced by IGF-I;

2) inhibiting IGF-I-induced cell proliferation in a vertebrate suffering a cell proliferative disease when parenterally administered to the vertebrate;

3) not affecting glucose uptake by differentiated muscle cells at a dosage sufficient to inhibit growth of vertebrate-derived cells induced by IGF-I; and

4) not changing the blood glucose level of a vertebrate suffering a cell proliferative disease when parenterally administered to the vertebrate at a dosage sufficient to inhibit IGF-I-induced cell proliferation in the vertebrate.

19. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , which is an immunoglobulin, Fab, scFv, diabody or bispecific antibody, or a derivative thereof.

20. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , wherein said antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof comprises a light chain variable region comprising, as complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) 1-3, the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 6 to 8 respectively, and

wherein said antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof further comprises a heavy chain variable region comprising, as CDRs 1-3, the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOs: 3 to 5 respectively.

21. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 20 , wherein said antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof further comprises a framework sequence of immunoglobulin.

22. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 21 , wherein the immunoglobulin framework sequence is from a vertebrate selected from the group consisting of a human, a guinea pig, a monkey, a rabbit, a cow, a pig, a horse, a sheep, a dog, a chicken, a mouse, and a rat.

23. The anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 , wherein said antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof further comprises an antibody constant region from a vertebrate selected from the group consisting of a human, a guinea pig, a monkey, a rabbit, a cow, a pig, a horse, a sheep, a dog, a chicken, a mouse, and a rat.

24. A nucleic acid molecule comprising one or both of (1) and (2):

(1) a polynucleotide sequence encoding the heavy chain variable region of the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 ; and

(2) a polynucleotide sequence encoding the light chain variable region of the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 .

25. A cloning vector or expression vector comprising at least one nucleic acid molecule according to claim 24 .

26. A recombinant cell comprising the vector according to claim 25 .

27. A process of producing an anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof, comprising:

culturing the recombinant cell according to claim 26 ; and

purifying the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof produced from the recombinant cell.

28. A method of culturing vertebrate-derived cells in vitro, comprising contacting vertebrate-derived cells with the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 .

29. The method according to claim 28 , wherein said contacting results in promoting growth or inducing differentiation of the vertebrate-derived cells.

30. The method according to claim 28 , wherein the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof is adsorbed by, or immobilized to, a solid phase.

31. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 .

32. The pharmaceutical composition according to claim 31 , further comprising an additional active ingredient.

33. The pharmaceutical composition according to claim 32 , wherein said additional active ingredient is one or more selected from the group consisting of a growth hormone or an analog thereof, insulin or an analog thereof, IGF-II or an analog thereof, an anti-myostatin antibody, a myostatin antagonist, an anti-activin type IIB receptor antibody, an activin type IIB receptor antagonist, a soluble activin type IIB receptor or an analog thereof, ghrelin or an analog thereof, follistatin or an analog thereof, a beta-2 agonist, and a selective androgen receptor modulator.

34. The pharmaceutical composition according to claim 32 , wherein said additional active ingredient is one or more selected from the group consisting of: corticosteroid, antiemetic, ondansetron hydrochloride, granisetron hydrochloride, metoclopramide, domperidone, haloperidol, cyclizine, lorazepam, prochlorperazine, dexamethasone, levomepromazine, tropisetron, cancer vaccine, GM-CSF inhibitor, GM-CSF DNA vaccine, cell-based vaccine, dendritic cell vaccine, recombinant virus vaccine, heat shock protein (HSP) vaccine, homologous tumor vaccine, autologous tumor vaccine, analgesic, ibuprofen, naproxen, choline magnesium trisalicylate, oxycodone hydrochloride, anti-angiogenic, antithrombotic, anti-PD-1 antibody, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, anti-PD-L1 antibody, atezolizumab, anti-CTLA4 antibody, ipilimumab, anti-CD20 antibody, rituximab, anti-HER2 antibody, trastuzumab, anti-CCR4 antibody, mogamulizumab, anti-VEGF antibody, bevacizumab, anti-VEGF receptor antibody, soluble VEGF receptor fragment, anti-TWEAK antibody, anti-TWEAK receptor antibody, soluble TWEAK receptor fragment, AMG 706, AMG 386, antiproliferative, farnesyl protein transferase inhibitor, alpha v beta 3 inhibitor, alpha v beta 5 inhibitor, p53 inhibitor, Kit receptor inhibitor, ret receptor inhibitor, PDGFR inhibitor, growth hormone secretion inhibitor, angiopoietin inhibitor, tumor-infiltrating macrophage inhibitor, c-fms inhibitor, anti-c-fms antibody, CSF-1 inhibitor, anti-CSF-1 antibody, soluble c-fms fragment, pegvisomant, gemcitabine, panitumumab, irinotecan, and SN-38.

35. A method for treating a condition associated with IGF-I, comprising administering, to a human subject in need thereof, the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 ,

wherein said condition is selected from the group consisting of: disuse muscle atrophy, dwarfism, diabetic nephropathy, chronic renal failure, Laron syndrome, hepatic cirrhosis, hepatic fibrosis, aging, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), neurological disease, cerebral stroke, spinal cord injury, cardiovascular protection, diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, osteoporosis, cystic fibrosis, wound healing, myotonic dystrophy, AIDS-associated sarcopenia, HIV-associated fat redistribution syndrome, burn, Crohn's disease, Werner's syndrome, X-linked combined immunodeficiency disease, hearing loss, anorexia nervosa and retinopathy of prematurity, Turner's syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Silver-Russell syndrome, idiopathic short stature, obesity, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, ulcerous colitis, low muscle mass, myocardial ischemia and decreased bone density.

36. The method according to claim 35 , wherein the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof is parenterally administered to said human subject.

37. The method according to claim 35 , wherein the administration of the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof to said human subject produces at least one effect selected from the group consisting of an increase in muscle mass, an increase in body length, promotion of growth, an increase in milk production, promotion of reproduction, or prevention of aging.

38. A method for treating a disease caused by an effect of IGF-I or IGF-II on an IGF-I receptor, comprising administering, to a human subject in need thereof, the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 ,

wherein said disease is selected from the group consisting of: liver cancer, neuroblastoma, striated muscle sarcoma, bone cancer, childhood cancer, acromegalia, ovary cancer, pancreas cancer, benignant prostatic hypertrophy, breast cancer, prostate cancer, bone cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, cervix cancer, synovial sarcoma, urinary bladder cancer, stomach cancer, Wilms' tumor, diarrhea associated with metastatic carcinoid and vasoactive intestinal peptide secreting tumor, vipoma, Verner-Morrison syndrome, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, kidney cancer, renal cell cancer, transitional cell cancer, Ewing's sarcoma, leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, brain tumor, glioblastoma, non-glioblastomatic brain tumor, meningioma, pituitary adenoma, vestibular schwannoma, primitive neuroectodermal tumor, medulloblastoma, astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, ependymoma, choroid plexus papilloma, gigantism, psoriasis, atherosclerosis, vascular smooth muscle restenosis, inappropriate microvascular growth, diabetic retinopathy, Graves' disease, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic thyroiditis, myasthenia gravis, autoimmune thyroiditis and Behcet's disease.

39. A method for increasing myoblast proliferation in a human subject, comprising administering, to a human subject in need thereof, the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 .

40. A method for enhancing glucose uptake in a human subject, comprising administering, to a human subject in need thereof, the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 .

41. A method for increasing muscle mass in a human subject, comprising administering, to a human subject in need thereof, the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 .

42. A method for increasing tibia length in a human subject, comprising administering, to a human subject in need thereof, the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 .

43. A method for inducing hypoglycemia in a human subject, comprising administering, to a human subject in need thereof, the anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof according to claim 1 .

44. An anti-IGF-I receptor antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof that exhibits an activity to induce growth of vertebrate-derived cells, wherein said antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof comprises a heavy chain variable region comprising an amino acid sequence at least 90% identical to the entirety of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9; and

wherein said antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof further comprises a light chain variable region comprising an amino acid sequence at least 90% identical to the entirety of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10.