Synergistic and low adverse effect cancer immunotherapy by immunogenic chemotherapy and locally expressed PD-L1 trap

Nat Commun. 2018 Jun 8;9(1):2237. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04605-x.

Abstract

Although great success has been obtained in the clinic, the current immune checkpoint inhibitors still face two challenging problems: low response rate and immune-related adverse effects (irAEs). Here we report the combination of immunogenic chemotherapy and locally expressed PD-L1 trap fusion protein for efficacious and safe cancer immunotherapy. We demonstrate that oxaliplatin (OxP) boosts anti-PD-L1 mAb therapy against murine colorectal cancer. By design of a PD-L1 trap and loading its coding plasmid DNA into a lipid-protamine-DNA nanoparticle, PD-L1 trap is produced transiently and locally in the tumor microenvironment, and synergizes with OxP for tumor inhibition. Significantly, unlike the combination of OxP and anti-PD-L1 mAb, the combination of OxP and PD-L1 trap does not induce obvious Th17 cells accumulation in the spleen, indicating better tolerance and lower tendency to irAEs. The reports here may highlight the potential of applying PD-L1 inhibitor, especially locally expressed PD-L1 trap, in cancer therapy following OxP-based chemotherapy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / pharmacology*
  • B7-H1 Antigen / chemistry
  • B7-H1 Antigen / genetics
  • Base Sequence
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / immunology
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / therapy*
  • DNA / chemistry
  • DNA / genetics
  • Drug Synergism
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy / methods*
  • Lipids / chemistry
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Nanoparticles / administration & dosage
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Oxaliplatin / administration & dosage
  • Protamines / chemistry
  • Survival Analysis

Substances

  • B7-H1 Antigen
  • Lipids
  • Protamines
  • Oxaliplatin
  • DNA