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

MIT
MIT
1m ago
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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

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