AGI-134: a fully synthetic alpha-Gal glycolipid that converts tumors into in situ autologous vaccines, induces anti-tumor immunity and is synergistic with an anti-PD-1 antibody in mouse melanoma models
Shaw, Stephen M. ; Wigglesworth, Kim ; Whalen, Giles F. ; Zur, Arik A.
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Keywords
Abscopal effect
Cancer vaccine
Checkpoint inhibition
Immunotherapy
Intratumoral injection
Melanoma
alpha-Gal
anti-Gal
anti-PD-1
Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins
Biological Factors
Biological Phenomena, Cell Phenomena, and Immunity
Cancer Biology
Hemic and Immune Systems
Immunoprophylaxis and Therapy
Neoplasms
Pharmaceutics and Drug Design
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Abstract
Background: Treatments that generate T cell-mediated immunity to a patient's unique neoantigens are the current holy grail of cancer immunotherapy. In particular, treatments that do not require cumbersome and individualized ex vivo processing or manufacturing processes are especially sought after. Here we report that AGI-134, a glycolipid-like small molecule, can be used for coating tumor cells with the xenoantigen Galalpha1-3Galbeta1-4GlcNAc (alpha-Gal) in situ leading to opsonization with pre-existing natural anti-alpha-Gal antibodies (in short anti-Gal), which triggers immune cascades resulting in T cell mediated anti-tumor immunity.
Methods: Various immunological effects of coating tumor cells with alpha-Gal via AGI-134 in vitro were measured by flow cytometry: (1) opsonization with anti-Gal and complement, (2) antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) by NK cells, and (3) phagocytosis and antigen cross-presentation by antigen presenting cells (APCs). A viability kit was used to test AGI-134 mediated complement dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) in cancer cells. The anti-tumoral activity of AGI-134 alone or in combination with an anti-programmed death-1 (anti-PD-1) antibody was tested in melanoma models in anti-Gal expressing galactosyltransferase knockout (alpha1,3GT(-/-)) mice. CDC and phagocytosis data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, ADCC results by paired t-test, distal tumor growth by Mantel-Cox test, C5a data by Mann-Whitney test, and single tumor regression by repeated measures analysis.
Results: In vitro, alpha-Gal labelling of tumor cells via AGI-134 incorporation into the cell membrane leads to anti-Gal binding and complement activation. Through the effects of complement and ADCC, tumor cells are lysed and tumor antigen uptake by APCs increased. Antigen associated with lysed cells is cross-presented by CD8alpha+ dendritic cells leading to activation of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. In B16-F10 or JB/RH melanoma models in alpha1,3GT(-/-) mice, intratumoral AGI-134 administration leads to primary tumor regression and has a robust abscopal effect, i.e., it protects from the development of distal, uninjected lesions. Combinations of AGI-134 and anti-PD-1 antibody shows a synergistic benefit in protection from secondary tumor growth.
Conclusions: We have identified AGI-134 as an immunotherapeutic drug candidate, which could be an excellent combination partner for anti-PD-1 therapy, by facilitating tumor antigen processing and increasing the repertoire of tumor-specific T cells prior to anti-PD-1 treatment.
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Cancer Cell Int. 2019 Dec 19;19:346. doi: 10.1186/s12935-019-1059-8. eCollection 2019. Link to article on publisher's site
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Full author list omitted for brevity. For the full list of authors, see article.