Determination of the Binding Epitope of an Anti-Mouse CCR9 Monoclonal Antibody (C9Mab-24) Using the 1x Alanine and 2x Alanine-Substitution Method

C-C chemokine receptor 9 (CCR9) is a receptor for C-C-chemokine ligand 25 (CCL25). CCR9 is crucial in the chemotaxis of immune cells and inflammatory responses. Moreover, CCR9 is highly expressed in tumors, including several solid tumors and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Several preclinical studies have shown that anti-CCR9 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) exert antitumor activity. Therefore, CCR9 is an attractive target for tumor therapy. In this study, we conducted the epitope mapping of an anti-mouse CCR9 (mCCR9) mAb, C(9)Mab-24 (rat IgG(2a), kappa), using the 1x alanine (1x Ala)- and 2x alanine (2x Ala)-substitution methods via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We first performed the 1x Ala-substitution method using one alanine-substituted peptides of the mCCR9 N-terminus (amino acids 1-19). C(9)Mab-24 did not recognize two peptides (F14A and F17A), indicating that Phe14 and Phe17 are critical for C(9)Mab-24-binding to mCCR9. Furthermore, we conducted the 2x Ala-substitution method using two consecutive alanine-substituted peptides of the mCCR9 N-terminus, and showed that C(9)Mab-24 did not react with four peptides (M13A-F14A, F14A-D15A, D16A-F17A, and F17A-S18A), indicating that 13-MFDDFS-18 is involved in C(9)Mab-24-binding to mCCR9. Overall, combining, the 1x Ala- or 2x Ala-scanning methods could be useful for understanding for target-antibody interaction.