Development of LAG-3/FGL1 blocking peptide and combination with radiotherapy for cancer immunotherapy.

Aside from antibodies, peptides show great potential as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) due to several advantages, such as better tumor penetration and lower cost. Lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3) is an immune checkpoint which can induce T cell dysfunction through interaction with its soluble ligand fibrinogen like protein-1 (FGL1). Here, we found that LAG-3 expression was higher than programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) in multiple human cancers by TCGA databases, and successfully identified a LAG-3 binding peptide LFP-6 by phage display bio-panning, which specifically blocks the interaction of LAG-3/FGL1 but not LAG-3/MHC-II. Subsequently, d-amino acids were introduced to substitute the N- and C-terminus of LFP-6 to obtain the proteolysis-resistant peptide LFP-D1, which restores T cell function in vitro and inhibits tumor growth in vivo. Further, a bispecific peptide LFOP targeting both PD-1/PD-L1 and LAG-3/FGL1 was designed by conjugating LFP-D1 with PD-1/PD-L1 blocking peptide OPBP-1(8-12), which activates T cell with enhanced proliferation and IFN-γ production. More importantly, LFOP combined with radiotherapy significantly improve the T cell infiltration in tumor and elevate systemic antitumor immune response. In conclusion, we developed a novel peptide blocking LAG-3/FGL1 which can restore T cell function, and the bispecific peptide synergizes with radiotherapy to further enhance the antitumor immune response.

Discovery of a novel small molecule as CD47/SIRPα and PD-1/PD-L1 dual inhibitor for cancer immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME) has emerged as a promising strategy in cancer treatment, particularly through the utilization of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) agents such as PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Despite partial success, the presence of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) contributes to an immunosuppressive TME that fosters tumor progression, and diminishes the therapeutic efficacy of ICB. Blockade of the CD47/SIRPα pathway has proven to be an effective intervention, that restores macrophage phagocytosis and yields substantial antitumor effects, especially when combined with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. Therefore, the identification of small molecules capable of simultaneously blocking CD47/SIRPα and PD-1/PD-L1 interactions has remained imperative. METHODS: SMC18, a small molecule with the capacity of targeting both SIRPα and PD-L1 was obtained using MST. The efficiency of SMC18 in interrupting CD47/SIRPα and PD-1/PD-L1 interactions was tested by the blocking assay. The function of SMC18 in enhancing the activity of macrophages and T cells was tested using phagocytosis assay and co-culture assay. The antitumor effects and mechanisms of SMC18 were investigated in the MC38-bearing mouse model. RESULTS: SMC18, a small molecule that dual-targets both SIRPα and PD-L1 protein, was identified. SMC18 effectively blocked CD47/SIRPα interaction, thereby restoring macrophage phagocytosis, and disrupted PD-1/PD-L1 interactions, thus activating Jurkat cells, as evidenced by increased secretion of IL-2. SMC18 demonstrated substantial inhibition of MC38 tumor growths through promoting the infiltration of CD8+ T and M1-type macrophages into tumor sites, while also priming the function of CD8+ T cells and macrophages. Moreover, SMC18 in combination with radiotherapy (RT) further improved the therapeutic efficacy. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that the small molecule compound SMC18, which dual-targets the CD47/SIRPα and PD-1/PD-L1 pathways, could be a candidate for promoting macrophage- and T-cell-mediated phagocytosis and immune responses in cancer immunotherapy.

Hemin blocks TIGIT/PVR interaction and induces ferroptosis to elicit synergistic effects of cancer immunotherapy.

The immune checkpoint TIGIT/PVR blockade exhibits significant antitumor effects through activation of NK and CD8+ T cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) could induce tumor ferroptosis through IFN-γ released by immune cells, indicating the synergetic effects of ICB with ferroptosis in inhibiting tumor growth. However, the development of TIGIT/PVR inhibitors with ferroptosis-inducing effects has not been explored yet. In this study, the small molecule Hemin that could bind with TIGIT to block TIGIT/PVR interaction was screened by virtual molecular docking and cell-based blocking assay. Hemin could effectively restore the IL-2 secretion from Jurkat-hTIGIT cells. Hemin reinvigorated the function of CD8+ T cells to secrete IFN-γ and the elevated IFN-γ could synergize with Hemin to induce ferroptosis in tumor cells. Hemin inhibited tumor growth by boosting CD8+ T cell immune response and inducing ferroptosis in CT26 tumor model. More importantly, Hemin in combination with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade exhibited more effective antitumor efficacy in anti-PD-1 resistant B16 tumor model. In summary, our finding indicated that Hemin blocked TIGIT/PVR interaction and induced tumor cell ferroptosis, which provided a new therapeutic strategy to combine immunotherapy and ferroptosis for cancer treatment.

Identification and optimization of peptide inhibitors to block VISTA/PSGL-1 interaction for cancer immunotherapy.

Developing new therapeutic agents for cancer immunotherapy is highly demanding due to the low response ratio of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in cancer patients. Here, we discovered that the novel immune checkpoint VISTA is highly expressed on a variety of tumor-infiltrating immune cells, especially myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and CD8+ T cells. Then, peptide C1 with binding affinity to VISTA was developed by phage displayed bio-panning technique, and its mutant peptide VS3 was obtained by molecular docking based mutation. Peptide VS3 could bind VISTA with high affinity and block its interaction with ligand PSGL-1 under acidic condition, and elicit anti-tumor activity in vivo. The peptide DVS3-Pal was further designed by d-amino acid substitution and fatty acid modification, which exhibited strong proteolytic stability and significant anti-tumor activity through enhancing CD8+ T cell function and decreasing MDSCs infiltration. This is the first study to develop peptides to block VISTA/PSGL-1 interaction, which could act as promising candidates for cancer immunotherapy.

Discovery of a novel dual-targeting D-peptide to block CD24/Siglec-10 and PD-1/PD-L1 interaction and synergize with radiotherapy for cancer immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Aside from immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), intervention of CD47/Sirpα mediated 'don't eat me' signal between macrophage and tumor cell is considered as a promising therapeutic approach for cancer immunotherapy. Compared with CD47, the novel immune checkpoint CD24/Siglec-10 can also deliver 'don't eat me' signal and CD24 shows much lower expression level in normal tissue which might avoid unwanted side effects. METHODS: Cell-based phage display biopanning and D-amino acid modification strategy were used to identify the CD24/Siglec-10 blocking peptide. Cell-based blocking assay and microscale thermophoresis assay were used to validate the blocking and binding activities of the peptide. Phagocytosis and co-culture assays were used to explore the in vitro function of the peptide. Flow cytometry was performed to assess the immune microenvironment after the peptide treatment in vivo. RESULTS: A CD24/Siglec-10 blocking peptide (CSBP) with hydrolysis-resistant property was identified. Surprisingly, we found that CSBP could not only block the interaction of CD24/Siglec-10 but also PD-1/PD-L1. CSBP could induce the phagocytosis of tumor cell by both the macrophages and monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (M-MDSCs), which can further activate CD8+ T cells. Besides, combination of radiotherapy and CSBP synergistically reduced tumor growth and altered the tumor microenvironment in both anti-PD-1-responsive MC38 and anti-PD-1-resistant 4T1 tumor models. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, this is the first CD24/Siglec-10 blocking peptide which blocked PD-1/PD-L1 interaction as well, functioned via enhancing the phagocytosis of tumor cells by macrophages and M-MDSCs, and elevating the activity of CD8+ T cells for cancer immunotherapy.

Identification of a novel small-molecule inhibitor targeting TIM-3 for cancer immunotherapy.

PD-1/PD-L1 blockade has achieved substantial clinical results in cancer treatment. However, the expression of other immune checkpoints leads to resistance and hinders the efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM-3), a non-redundant immune checkpoint, synergizes with PD-1 to mediate T cell dysfunction in tumor microenvironment. Development of small molecules targeting TIM-3 is a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy. Here, to identify small molecule inhibitors targeting TIM-3, the docking pocket in TIM-3 was analyzed by Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) and the Chemdiv compound database was screened. The small molecule SMI402 could bind to TIM-3 with high affinity and prevent the ligation of PtdSer, HMGB1, and CEACAM1. SMI402 reinvigorated T cell function in vitro. In the MC38-bearing mouse model, SMI402 inhibited tumor growth by increasing CD8+ T and natural killing (NK) cells infiltration at the tumor site, as well as restoring the function of CD8+ T and NK cells. In conclusions, the small molecule SMI402 shows promise as a leading compound which targets TIM-3 for cancer immunotherapy.

Metallic Oxide-Induced Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers to Form Polymeric Hybrid Micelles with Tunable Stability for Tumor Microenvironment-Responsive Drug Delivery.

Since block copolymers are able to self-assemble into various polymeric architectures, it is intriguing to explore a unique self-assembly strategy for polymers. Two different metallic oxides [manganese dioxide (MnO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO)] are displayed herein to demonstrate this self-assembly mechanism of polymers. In situ generation of metallic oxides induces self-assembly of block copolymers to form polymeric hybrid micelles with tunable stability in aqueous solutions. These final ZnO-cross-linked polymeric micelles exhibited a high drug loading capacity of 0.41 mg mg-1 toward doxorubicin (DOX), whereas DOX-loaded ZnO-cross-linked polymeric micelles could be broken down into Zn2+ and polymer scraps, which facilitated drug release in tumor microenvironments. Both in vitro and in vivo investigations showed that the drug-loaded ZnO-cross-linked polymeric micelles effectively suppressed tumor growth. Accordingly, the present study demonstrates a novel strategy of polymer self-assembly for fabricating polymeric architectures that can potentially provide insight for developing other polymeric architectures.