Bis(benzonitrile) dichloroplatinum (II) interrupts PD-1/PD-L1 interaction by binding to PD-1.

Checkpoint inhibitors such as PD-1/PD-L1 antibody therapeutics are a promising option for the treatment of multiple cancers. Due to the inherent limitations of antibodies, great efforts have been devoted to developing small-molecule PD-1/PD-L1 signaling pathway inhibitors. In this study we established a high-throughput AlphaLISA assay to discover small molecules with new skeletons that could block PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. We screened a small-molecule library of 4169 compounds including natural products, FDA approved drugs and other synthetic compounds. Among the 8 potential hits, we found that cisplatin, a first-line chemotherapeutic drug, reduced AlphaLISA signal with an EC50 of 8.3 ± 2.2 µM. Furthermore, we showed that cisplatin-DMSO adduct, but not semplice cisplatin, inhibited PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. Thus, we assessed several commercial platinum (II) compounds, and found that bis(benzonitrile) dichloroplatinum (II) disturbed PD-1/PD-L1 interaction (EC50 = 13.2 ± 3.5 µM). Its inhibitory activity on PD-1/PD-L1 interaction was confirmed in co-immunoprecipitation and PD-1/PD-L1 signaling pathway blockade bioassays. Surface plasmon resonance assay revealed that bis(benzonitrile) dichloroplatinum (II) bound to PD-1 (KD = 2.08 µM) but not PD-L1. In immune-competent wild-type mice but not in immunodeficient nude mice, bis(benzonitrile) dichloroplatinum (II) (7.5 mg/kg, i.p., every 3 days) significantly suppressed the growth of MC38 colorectal cancer xenografts with increasing tumor-infiltrating T cells. These data highlight that platinum compounds are potential immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of cancers.

Discovery of benzo[d]isothiazole derivatives as novel scaffold inhibitors targeting the programmed cell death-1/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) interaction through "ring fusion" strategy.

The inhibition of programmed cell death-1/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) interaction by monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) has achieved promising outcomes in cancer immunotherapy. Due to the inherent deficiencies of mAbs drugs, such as high cost of treatment, immunogenicity, poor pharmacokinetics and penetration of solid tumors, researchers are encouraged to develop small molecule inhibitors, to overcome mAbs drugs' deficiencies and change the situation where small molecule drugs are not available on the market. Herein, we reported a series of benzo[d]isothiazole derivatives targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction through "ring fusion" strategy using BMS-202 as a starting point. Among them, compound D7 exhibited the best inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 5.7 nM by homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) binding assay. In immunotoxicity analysis, D7 showed low cytotoxicity to Jurkat T cells in CCK-8 assay compared to BMS-202. The binding mode between D7 and PD-L1 protein was explored by molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which revealed crucial chemical groups, such as biphenyl group interacting with Ile54A, Tyr56A, Met115A, Ala121A, Ile54B, Met115B, Ala121B and Tyr123B by hydrophobic interactions, bromobenzene moiety forming π-π stacking interaction with Tyr56B, as well as l-serine moiety forming hydrogen bond (H-bond) and salt bridge interactions with Asp122A and Lys124A. Furthermore, molecular modeling studies showed that D7 is likely to bind to the FA8 (fatty acid 8) binding site of human serum albumin (HSA). Taken together, D7 significantly inhibits the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction with low cytotoxicity, indicating that D7 is a promising starting point for further drug development in cancer immunotherapy.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of 1-methyl-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-b]pyridine derivatives as novel small-molecule inhibitors targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction.

Blockade of the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) signalling pathway is a promising tumour immunotherapeutic approach, and small molecule drugs have more advantages than monoclonal antibody macromolecules in clinical applications. Therefore, a series of 1-methyl-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-b]pyridine derivatives as PD-1/PD-L1 interaction novel small-molecule inhibitors were designed employing a ring fusion strategy. The inhibitory activity of compounds was evaluated by the HTRF assay, among which D38 was identified as the most potent PD-1/PD-L1 interaction inhibitor with an IC50 value of 9.6 nM. Furthermore, D38 exhibited prominent inhibitory activity against the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction with an EC50 value of 1.61 µM in a coculture model of PD-L1/TCR activator-expressing CHO cells and PD-1-expressing Jurkat cells. In addition, the preliminary structure-activity relationships (SARs) of compounds were elucidated, and the binding mode of D38 with the PD-L1 dimer was analysed by molecular docking. Overall, D38 could be employed as a prospective lead compound of PD-1/PD-L1 interaction inhibitors for further development.

An Avidity-Based PD-L1 Antagonist Using Nanoparticle-Antibody Conjugates for Enhanced Immunotherapy.

Upregulation of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) allows cancer cells to evade antitumor immunity. Despite tremendous efforts in developing PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), clinical trials using such ICIs have shown inconsistent benefits. Here, we hypothesized that the ICI efficacy would be dictated by the binding strength of the inhibitor to the target proteins. To assess this, hyperbranched, multivalent poly(amidoamine) dendrimers were employed to prepare dendrimer-ICI conjugates (G7-aPD-L1). Binding kinetics measurements using SPR, BLI, and AFM revealed that G7-aPD-L1 exhibits significantly enhanced binding strength to PD-L1 proteins, compared to free aPD-L1. The binding avidity of G7-aPD-L1 was translated into in vitro efficiency and in vivo selectivity, as the conjugates improved the PD-L1 blockade effect and enhanced accumulation in tumor sites. Our results demonstrate that the dendrimer-mediated multivalent interaction substantially increases the binding avidity of the ICIs and thereby improves the antagonist effect, providing a novel platform for cancer immunotherapy.

PLGA Nanoparticles Codelivering siRNAs against Programmed Cell Death Protein-1 and Its Ligand Gene for Suppression of Colon Tumor Growth.

Tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes highly express programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) that interacts with its ligand, programmed cell death protein ligand-1 (PD-L1) on tumors. PD-1/PD-L1 interactions cause functional exhaustion of effector T cells and impair antitumor immunity, allowing tumors to escape immune surveillance. In addition to such extrinsic interactions, tumors proliferate by transmitting intrinsic PD-L1 signals via the mTOR pathway. Here, we simultaneously silenced PD-1 and PD-L1 expressions on CTLs and colon tumors using PD-1 siRNA/PD-L1 siRNA-loaded PLGA nanoparticles and investigated functional activation of tumor-specific CTLs. When compared to a single PD-1 silencing on CTLs or a single PD-L1 silencing on tumors, cosilencing of PD-1/PD-L1 on CTLs and tumors more efficiently promoted effector functions of tumor-specific CTLs. Moreover, PD-L1-silenced tumors inhibited mTOR signaling and showed an antiproliferative response independent of the adaptive immune response. Ultimately, systemic administration of PD-1 and PD-L1 siRNA via PLGA nanoparticles restored the effector functions of tumor-specific CTLs in MC38 tumor-bearing mice. Compared with antitumor effects of single silencing of PD-1 or PD-L1 alone, cosilencing of PD-1 and PD-L1 showed more significant tumor growth suppression and long-term tumor inhibition in colon cancer. Thus, this study provides an efficient therapeutic strategy for achieving immunotherapy in colon cancer.

Inhibition of PD1:PD-L1 interaction by an E. coli-derived optimized PD1 variant.

Immune-checkpoint receptors are a set of signal transduction proteins that can stimulate or inhibit specific anti-tumor responses. It is well established that cancer cells interact with different immune checkpoints to shut down T-cell response, thereby enabling cancer proliferation. Given the importance of immune checkpoint receptors, a structure-function analysis of these systems is imperative. However, recombinant expression and purification of these membrane originated proteins is still a challenge. Therefore, many attempts are being made to improve their expression and solubility while preserving their biological relevance. For this purpose, we designed an E. coli-based optimization system that enables the acquisition of mutations that increases protein solubility and affinity towards its native ligand, while maintaining biological activity. Here we focused on the well-characterized extracellular domain of the 'programmed cell death protein 1' (PD1), an immune checkpoint receptor known to inhibit T-cell proliferation by interacting with its ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2. The simple ELISA-based screening system shown here enabled the identification of high-affinity, highly soluble, functional variants derived from the extracellular domain of human PD1. The system was based on the expression of a GST-tagged variants library in E. coli, which enabled the selection of improved PD1 variants after a single optimization round. Within only two screening rounds, the most active variant showed a 5-fold higher affinity and 2.4-fold enhanced cellular activity as compared to the wild type protein. This scheme can be translated toward other types of challenging receptors toward development of research tools or alternative therapeutics.

A platinum@polymer-catechol nanobraker enables radio-immunotherapy for crippling melanoma tumorigenesis, angiogenesis, and radioresistance.

Malignant melanoma cell-intrinsic PD-1:PD-L1 interaction thrusts tumorigenesis, angiogenesis, and radioresistance via mTOR hyperactivation to aggravate circumjacent aggression. Interdicting melanoma intrinsic growth signals, including the blockade of PD-L1 and mTOR signaling concurrently, cooperative with radiotherapy may provide a vigorous repertoire to alleviate the tumor encumbrance. Thence, we design a three-pronged platinum@polymer-catechol nanobraker to deliver mTOR inhibitor TAK228 and anti-PD-L1 antibody (aPD-L1) for impeding the melanoma-PD-1-driven aggression and maximizing the melanoma eradication. The aPD-L1 collaborated with TAK228 restrains melanoma cell-intrinsic PD-1: PD-L1 tumorigenic interaction via blocking melanoma-PD-L1 ligand and the melanoma-PD-1 receptor-driven mTOR signaling; corresponding downregulation of mTOR downstream protumorigenic cellular MYC and proangiogenic hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha is conducive to preventing tumorigenesis and angiogenesis, respectively. Further, high-Z metal platinum sensitizing TAK228-enhanced radiotherapy confers the nanobraker on remarkable tumoricidal efficacy. Hereto, the customized three-pronged nanobrakers efficiently suppress melanoma tumorigenesis and angiogenesis concomitant with the amplification of radiotherapeutic efficacy. Such an ingenious tactic may provide substantial benefits to clinical melanoma patients.

Advances of biphenyl small-molecule inhibitors targeting PD-1/PD-L1 interaction in cancer immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy inhibiting the programmed death-1/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-1/PD-L1) interaction has emerged as one of the most attractive cancer treatment strategies. So far, the clinically used PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors are monoclonal antibodies, but monoclonal antibodies have several limitations, such as poor pharmacokinetic properties, unchecked immune responses and high production cost. The development of small-molecule inhibitors targeting PD-1/PD-L1 interaction is showing great promise as a potential alternative or complementary therapeutic approach of monoclonal antibodies. In this article, the authors classify the reported biphenyl small-molecule inhibitors into symmetrical and asymmetrical types based on their structural features and further review their representative inhibitors and biological activities, as well as the binding models for providing insight into further exploration of more potent biphenyl small-molecule inhibitors targeting PD-1/PD-L1 interaction.

Discovery of quinazoline derivatives as novel small-molecule inhibitors targeting the programmed cell death-1/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) interaction.

Development of small molecule PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors as a novel immunotherapy strategy exhibits great promise. Herein, a novel series of quinazoline derivatives were designed, synthesized and their inhibitory activity against the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction was evaluated through a homogenous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) assay. Among them, the compound 39 exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 1.57 nM. Furthermore, the cellular level assays revealed that 39 could inhibit the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction and restore T-cell function, and showed low toxicity on the PBMCs. In addition, the structure-activity relationships (SARs) of the novel quinazoline derivatives were explored and the binding mode of 39 with dimeric PD-L1 was analyzed by molecular docking. This work demonstrates that incorporation of pyrimidine group between the 2 and 3-positions of the biphenyl structure is an effective strategy for designing novel and more potent small molecule PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, and 39 can be regarded as a promising lead compound for further investigation.

Design, synthesis, and structure-activity relationship of programmed cell death-1/programmed cell death-ligand 1 interaction inhibitors bearing a benzo[d]isothiazole scaffold.

Blockade of the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) pathway is an attractive strategy for immunotherapy. A novel series of compounds bearing a benzo[d]isothiazole scaffold were developed, among which CH20 exhibited promising activity, with an IC50 value of 8.5 nM. Further cell-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade bioassays indicated that CH20 can inhibit the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction at the cellular level, with an EC50 value of 5.6 µM CH20 could have better potency in restoring the activity of effector cells, as the maximal luminescence values (RLUmax) of CH20 were equivalent to those of PD-L1 mAbs. The docking analysis of CH20 with the PD-L1 dimer complex (PDB ID: 6R3K) confirmed that CH20 is a promising lead compound for the development of inhibitors of the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. The preliminary structure-activity relationship was investigated in this paper, with the aim of future drug development.

Discovery of phenyl-linked symmetric small molecules as inhibitors of the programmed cell death-1/programmed cell death-ligand 1 interaction.

Programmed cell death-1/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) is one of the most promising targets in the field of immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Beginning with our exploration of linkers and structure-activity relationship research, we found that the aromatic ring could replace the linker and aryl group to maintain the satisfactory activity of classic triaryl scaffold inhibitor. Based on previous studies, we designed and synthesized a series of C2-symmetric phenyl-linked compounds, and further tail optimization afforded the inhibitors, which displayed promising inhibitory activity against the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction with IC50 value at the single nanomolar range (C13-C15). Further cell-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade bioassays indicated that these C2-symmetric molecules could significantly inhibit the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction at the cellular level and restore T cells' immune function at the safety concentrations. The discovery of these phenyl-linked symmetric small molecules showed the potential of simplified-linker and C2-symmetric strategy and provided a basis for developing symmetric small molecule inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. Moreover, C13 and C15 performed stable binding modes to PD-L1 dimeric after computational docking and dynamic simulation, which may serve as a good starting point for further development.

Discovery of the programmed cell death-1/programmed cell death-ligand 1 interaction inhibitors bearing an indoline scaffold.

Inhibiting the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) pathway is an attractive strategy for tumor immunotherapy. Here, a novel series of indoline-containing compounds were developed, among which, A13 was identified as the most promising PD-1/PD-L1 pathway inhibitor. At the biochemical level, A13 demonstrated strong inhibition of the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction, with an IC50 of 132.8 nM. Notably, it exhibited outstanding immunoregulatory activity, and significantly elevated interferon-γ secretion in a Hep3B/OS-8/hPD-L1 and CD3 T cell co-culture model, without significant toxic effect. Therefore, A13 could be employed as a suitable lead compound for further design of non-peptide inhibitors targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. In addition, the preliminary structure-activity relationships of these new indoline compounds were investigated in this study, providing valuable information for future drug development.

Crystal clear: visualizing the intervention mechanism of the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction by two cancer therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.

Antibody-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapies have taken center stage in immunotherapies for cancer, with multiple clinical successes. PD-1 signaling plays pivotal roles in tumor-driven T-cell dysfunction. In contrast to prior approaches to generate or boost tumor-specific T-cell responses, antibody-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade targets tumor-induced T-cell defects and restores pre-existing T-cell function to modulate antitumor immunity. In this review, the fundamental knowledge on the expression regulations and inhibitory functions of PD-1 and the present understanding of antibody-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapies are briefly summarized. We then focus on the recent breakthrough work concerning the structural basis of the PD-1/PD-Ls interaction and how therapeutic antibodies, pembrolizumab targeting PD-1 and avelumab targeting PD-L1, compete with the binding of PD-1/PD-L1 to interrupt the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. We believe that this structural information will benefit the design and improvement of therapeutic antibodies targeting PD-1 signaling.