Pekar Lukas, Klausz Katja, Busch Michael, Valldorf Bernhard, Kolmar Harald, Wesch Daniela, Oberg Hans-Heinrich, Krohn Steffen, Boje Ammelie Svea, Gehlert Carina Lynn, Toleikis Lars, Krah Simon, Gupta Tushar, Rabinovich Brian, Zielonka Stefan, Peipp Matthias
Protein Engineering and Antibody Technologies, Merck KGaA, D-64293 Darmstadt, Germany.
Discovery Pharmacology, Merck KGaA, D-64293 Darmstadt, Germany.
J Immunol. 2021 Jan 1;206(1):225-236. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.2001004. Epub 2020 Dec 2.
Activating NK cell receptors represent promising target structures to elicit potent antitumor immune responses. In this study, novel immunoligands were generated that bridge the activating NK cell receptor NKp30 on NK cells with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on tumor cells in a bispecific IgG-like format based on affinity-optimized versions of B7-H6 and the Fab arm derived from cetuximab. To enhance NKp30 binding, the solitary N-terminal IgV domain of B7-H6 (ΔB7-H6) was affinity matured by an evolutionary library approach combined with yeast surface display. Biochemical and functional characterization of 36 of these novel ΔB7-H6-derived NK cell engagers revealed an up to 45-fold-enhanced affinity for NKp30 and significantly improved NK cell-mediated, EGFR-dependent killing of tumor cells compared with the NK cell engager based on the wild-type ΔB7-H6 domain. In this regard, potencies (EC killing) of the best immunoligands were substantially improved by up to 87-fold. Moreover, release of IFN-γ and TNF-α was significantly increased. Importantly, equipment of the ΔB7-H6-based NK cell engagers with a human IgG1 Fc part competent in Fc receptor binding resulted in an almost 10-fold superior killing of EGFR-overexpressing tumor cells compared with molecules either triggering FcγRIIIa or NKp30. Additionally, INF-γ and TNF-α release was increased compared with molecules solely triggering FcγRIIIa, including the clinically approved Ab cetuximab. Thus, incorporating affinity-matured ligands for NK cell-activating receptors might represent an effective strategy for the generation of potent novel therapeutic agents with unique effector functions in cancer immunotherapy.
激活型自然杀伤(NK)细胞受体是引发强大抗肿瘤免疫反应的有前景的靶标结构。在本研究中,基于亲和力优化的B7-H6和西妥昔单抗衍生的Fab臂,生成了新型免疫配体,其以双特异性IgG样形式将NK细胞上的激活型NK细胞受体NKp30与肿瘤细胞上的表皮生长因子受体(EGFR)连接起来。为增强NKp30结合力,通过进化文库方法结合酵母表面展示对B7-H6的单个N端IgV结构域(ΔB7-H6)进行亲和力成熟优化。对36种这些新型ΔB7-H6衍生的NK细胞衔接子进行生化和功能表征,结果显示与基于野生型ΔB7-H6结构域的NK细胞衔接子相比,其对NKp30的亲和力提高了45倍,且显著改善了NK细胞介导的、EGFR依赖性的肿瘤细胞杀伤作用。在这方面,最佳免疫配体的效力(EC杀伤)大幅提高了87倍。此外,γ干扰素(IFN-γ)和肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)的释放也显著增加。重要的是,基于ΔB7-H6的NK细胞衔接子配备具有Fc受体结合能力的人IgG1 Fc部分后,与触发FcγRIIIa或NKp30的分子相比,对EGFR过表达肿瘤细胞的杀伤作用提高了近10倍。此外,与仅触发FcγRIIIa的分子(包括临床批准的抗体西妥昔单抗)相比,IFN-γ和TNF-α的释放增加。因此,纳入亲和力成熟的NK细胞激活受体配体可能是在癌症免疫治疗中生成具有独特效应功能的强效新型治疗药物的有效策略。