Immune Modulating Antibody-Drug Conjugate (IM-ADC) for Cancer Immunotherapy

J Med Chem. 2021 Nov 11;64(21):15716-15726. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00961. Epub 2021 Nov 3.

Abstract

Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) and immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) offer promising approaches for cancer treatment. Here, we describe an ADC constructed by conjugating anti-PD-L1 THIOMAB with a bifunctional immunomodulator D18 via a redox-cleavable linker. The resulting ADC HE-S2 not only triggers a potent antitumor immune response by blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction and activating the Toll-like receptor 7/8 (TLR7/8) signaling pathway but also upregulates its targeted PD-L1 expression via epigenetic regulation and/or IFN-γ induction, thus conferring more sensitivity to the PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. We identify that ADC HE-S2 treatment could lead to more pronounced tumor suppression than the treatment of D18 in combination with the anti-PD-L1 antibody. Accordingly, this study provides a novel ADC strategy to enhance the antitumor immune response to ICB therapy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • B7-H1 Antigen / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Epigenesis, Genetic / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Immunoconjugates / therapeutic use*
  • Immunotherapy / methods*
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Toll-Like Receptor 7 / metabolism
  • Toll-Like Receptor 8
  • Tumor Microenvironment / drug effects

Substances

  • B7-H1 Antigen
  • CD274 protein, human
  • Immunoconjugates
  • PDCD1 protein, human
  • Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor
  • TLR7 protein, human
  • TLR8 protein, human
  • Toll-Like Receptor 7
  • Toll-Like Receptor 8