New immunotherapy approach boosts anti-tumor immune response by targeting glycan checkpoints

MIT
MIT
3w ago
Researchers developed AbLecs to block glycan immune checkpoints, boosting immune attack on tumors and expanding immunotherapy options.
New immunotherapy approach boosts anti-tumor immune response by targeting glycan checkpoints
A What happened
The study demonstrates a new immunotherapy strategy by attaching lectins to antibodies to block glycan-based immune checkpoints, which cancer cells use to suppress immune attack. Cancer cells often overexpress sialic acid-containing glycans that engage Siglec receptors on immune cells, dampening immune activation. AbLecs bind these glycans, preventing their interaction with immune cell lectins. This effectively removes a major immunosuppressive mechanism across various cancer types. The approach showed efficacy in lab and mouse metastasis models and provides modularity to target different tumor antigens or checkpoints, representing a potential platform for more universal cancer immunotherapies.
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Key insights

  • 1

    Targeting glycan-based immune checkpoints broadens immunotherapy scope: Current checkpoint inhibitors focus on PD-1/PD-L1; glycans offer an alternative immunosuppressive mechanism cancer exploits across many tumor types.

  • 2

    Modular AbLec design supports adaptable cancer targeting: By combining lectins with antibodies specific to different tumor antigens, the approach can be tailored per cancer type and checkpoint involved.

  • 3

    Enhancing lectin binding via antibody conjugation solves previous affinity: Lectins alone bind weakly to sialic acids, but antibody linkage allows accumulation on tumor cells, effectively blocking glycan-mediated immune suppression.

Takeaways

This study introduces a promising new immunotherapy technique that interferes with glycan-mediated immune suppression. Its modularity and preclinical success suggest potential for wide application against diverse cancers, pending further clinical development.

Topics

Science & Research Biology Health & Medicine Medicine Medical Research

Read the full article on MIT

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