Research center, Mustbio, 102 Edu town-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, 16509, Republic of Korea.
Department of Global Innovative Drugs, Graduate School of Chung-Ang University, 84 Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, 06974, Republic of Korea.
Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2024 Jun 4;73(8):157. doi: 10.1007/s00262-024-03742-1.
Interleukin-2 (IL-2), a cytokine with pleiotropic immune effects, was the first approved cancer immunotherapy agent. However, IL-2 is associated with systemic toxicity due to binding with its ligand IL-2Rα, such as vascular leakage syndrome, limiting its clinical applications. Despite efforts to extend the half-life of IL-2 and abolish IL-2Rα interactions, the risk of toxicity remains unresolved. In this study, we developed the bispecific fusion protein MB2033, comprising a novel IL-2 variant (IL-2v) connected to anti-programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) via a silenced Fc domain. The IL-2v of MB2033 exhibits attenuated affinity for IL-2Rβγ without binding to IL-2Rα. The binding affinity of MB2033 for PD-L1 is greater than that for IL-2Rβγ, indicating its preferential targeting of PD-L1 tumor cells to induce tumor-specific immune activation. Accordingly, MB2033 exhibited significantly reduced regulatory T cell activation, while inducing comparable CD8 T cell activation to recombinant human IL-2 (rhIL-2). MB2033 induced lower immune cell expansion and reduced cytokine levels compared with rhIL-2 in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, indicating a decreased risk of peripheral toxicity. MB2033 exhibited superior anti-tumor efficacy, including tumor growth inhibition and complete responses, compared with avelumab monotherapy in an MC38 syngeneic mouse model. In normal mice, MB2033 was safer than non-α IL-2v and tolerable up to 30 mg/kg. These preclinical results provide evidence of the dual advantages of MB2033 with an enhanced safety and potent clinical efficacy for cancer treatment.
白细胞介素-2 (IL-2) 是一种具有多种免疫效应的细胞因子,是第一个获得批准的癌症免疫治疗药物。然而,由于与配体 IL-2Rα 的结合,IL-2 会引起血管渗漏综合征等全身性毒性,限制了其临床应用。尽管人们努力延长 IL-2 的半衰期并消除 IL-2Rα 的相互作用,但毒性风险仍未得到解决。在本研究中,我们开发了一种双特异性融合蛋白 MB2033,它由一种新型的 IL-2 变体 (IL-2v) 通过沉默的 Fc 结构域与抗程序性死亡配体 1 (PD-L1) 连接而成。MB2033 的 IL-2v 对 IL-2Rβγ 的亲和力减弱,而不与 IL-2Rα 结合。MB2033 与 PD-L1 的结合亲和力大于与 IL-2Rβγ 的结合亲和力,表明其优先靶向 PD-L1 肿瘤细胞,以诱导肿瘤特异性免疫激活。因此,MB2033 表现出显著降低的调节性 T 细胞激活,同时诱导与重组人白细胞介素-2 (rhIL-2) 相当的 CD8 T 细胞激活。与 rhIL-2 相比,MB2033 在人外周血单核细胞中引起的免疫细胞扩增和细胞因子水平降低,表明外周毒性的风险降低。与 avelumab 单药治疗相比,MB2033 在 MC38 同基因小鼠模型中表现出更好的抗肿瘤疗效,包括肿瘤生长抑制和完全反应。在正常小鼠中,MB2033 比非-α IL-2v 更安全,耐受剂量可达 30 mg/kg。这些临床前结果为 MB2033 提供了双重优势的证据,即增强安全性和强大的临床疗效,用于癌症治疗。
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