A Comparison of Murine PD-1 and PD-L1 Monoclonal Antibodies.

Blockade of the PD-L1/PD-1 pathway has proven to be a broadly effective cancer immunotherapy. FDA-approved therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting the pathway have high affinity, blocking capacity, and low antibody effector activity. A number of rat antimouse mAbs have been used to model cancer immunotherapy in mouse models. We set forth the amino acid sequences of mAbs specific for mouse PD-1 (29F.1A12) and PD-L1 (10F.9G2) and compare their avidities, blocking capacities, biological activities, and epitope recognition with other commonly used mAbs. Further manipulation of these sequences should facilitate better modeling of immunotherapy in mouse models and the generation of novel agents.

KIR3DL3 Is an Inhibitory Receptor for HHLA2 that Mediates an Alternative Immunoinhibitory Pathway to PD1.

Blockade of the PD1 pathway is a broadly effective cancer therapy, but additional immune-inhibitory pathways contribute to tumor immune evasion. HERV-H LTR-associating 2 (HHLA2; also known as B7H5 and B7H7) is a member of the B7 family of immunoregulatory ligands that mediates costimulatory effects through its interaction with the CD28 family member transmembrane and immunoglobulin domain containing 2 (TMIGD2). However, HHLA2 has also been known to have inhibitory effects on T cells. Here, we report that we have identified killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor, three immunoglobulin domains and long cytoplasmic tail 3 (KIR3DL3) as an inhibitory receptor for HHLA2 in T cells and natural killer (NK) cells and have generated HHLA2 and KIR3DL3 antibodies that block the immune-inhibitory activity of HHLA2, preserving the costimulatory signal. It is known that HHLA2 is frequently expressed in several tumor types, including clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). We found that HHLA2 expression was nonoverlapping with PDL1 expression in ccRCC, suggesting that HHLA2 mediates a mechanism of tumor immune evasion that is independent from PDL1. Blockade of both the PD1 and KIR3DL3 pathways may be a more effective way to reverse tumor immune evasion.See related Spotlight on p. 128.

PD-L1 Binds to B7-1 Only In Cis on the Same Cell Surface.

Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-mediated immunosuppression regulates peripheral tolerance and is often co-opted by tumors to evade immune attack. PD-L1 binds to PD-1 but also binds to B7-1 (CD80) to regulate T-cell function. The binding interaction of PD-L1 with B7-1 and its functional role need further investigation to understand differences between PD-1 and PD-L1 tumor immunotherapy. We examined the molecular orientation of PD-L1 binding to B7-1 using cell-to-cell binding assays, ELISA, and flow cytometry. As expected, PD-L1-transfected cells bound to PD-1-transfected cells, and B7-1 cells bound to CD28 or CTLA-4-transfected cells; however, PD-L1 cells did not bind to B7-1 cells. By ELISA and flow cytometry with purified proteins, we found PD-L1 and B7-1 had a strong binding interaction only when PD-L1 was flexible. Soluble PD-1 and B7-1 competed for binding to PD-L1. Binding of native PD-L1 and B7-1 in cis on the same cell surface was demonstrated with NanoBiT proximity assays. Thus, PD-L1-B7-1 interaction can occur in cis on the same cell but not in trans between two cells, which suggests a model in which PD-L1 can bend via its 11-amino acid, flexible stalk to bind to B7-1 in cis, in a manner that can competitively block the binding of PD-L1 to PD-1 or of B7-1 to CD28. This binding orientation emphasizes the functional importance of coexpression of PD-L1 and B7-1 on the same cell. We found such coexpression on tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells. Our findings may help better utilize these pathways in cancer immunotherapy. Cancer Immunol Res; 6(8); 921-9. ©2018 AACR.