A bispecific antibody targeting GPC3 and CD47 induced enhanced antitumor efficacy against dual antigen-expressing HCC

Abstract

Glypican-3 (GPC3) is a well-characterized hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-associated antigen, yet anti-GPC3 therapies have achieved only minimal clinical progress. CD47 is a ubiquitously expressed innate immune checkpoint that promotes evasion of tumors from immune surveillance. Given both the specific expression of GPC3 in HCC and the known phagocytosis inhibitory effect of CD47 in liver cancer, we hypothesized that a bispecific antibody (BsAb) that co-engages with GPC3 and CD47 may offer excellent antitumor efficacy with minimal toxicity. Here, we generated a novel BsAb: GPC3/CD47 biAb. With the use of both in vitro and in vivo assays, we found that GPC3/CD47 biAb exerts strong antitumor activity preferentially against dual antigen-expressing tumor cells. In hCD47/human signal regulatory protein alpha (hCD47/hSIRPα) humanized mice, GPC3/CD47 biAb had an extended serum half-life without causing systemic toxicity. Importantly, GPC3/CD47 biAb induced enhanced Fc-mediated effector functions to dual antigen-expressing HCC cells in vitro, and both macrophages and neutrophils are required for its strong efficacy against xenograft HCC tumors. Notably, GPC3/CD47 biAb outperformed monotherapies and a combination therapy with anti-CD47 and anti-GPC3 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in a xenograft HCC model. Our study illustrates a strategy for improving HCC treatment by boosting innate immune responses and presents new insights to inform antibody design for the future development of innovative immune therapies.

Keywords: CD47; GPC3; bispecific antibody; cancer immunotherapy; hepatocellular carcinoma.