Xiao Youmei, He Zhuoying, Li Wanqiong, Chen Danhong, Niu Xiaoshuang, Yang Xin, Zeng Wenxuan, Wang Mengfan, Qian Yuzhen, Su Ye, Luo Feiyu, Chen Guanyu, Liu Juan, Sui Xinghua, Zhou Xiuman, Gao Yanfeng
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, Guangdong Province, China.
The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, Guangdong Province, China.
Nat Commun. 2025 Feb 6;16(1):1388. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-56648-6.
The lysosome-targeting chimera (LYTAC) strategy provided a very powerful tool for the degradation of membrane proteins. However, the synthesis of LYTACs, antibody-small molecule conjugates, is challenging. The ability of antibody-based LYTACs to penetrate solid tumor is limited as well, especially to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Here, we propose a covalent chimeric peptide-based targeted degradation platform (Pep-TACs) by introducing a long flexible aryl sulfonyl fluoride group, which allows proximity-enabled cross-linking upon binding with the protein of interest. The Pep-TACs platform facilitates the degradation of target proteins through the mechanism of recycling transferrin receptor (TFRC)-mediated lysosomal targeted endocytosis. Biological experiments demonstrate that covalent Pep-TACs can significantly degrade the expression of PD-L1 on tumor cells, dendritic cells and macrophages, especially under acidic conditions, and markedly enhance the function of T cells and tumor phagocytosis by macrophages. Furthermore, both in anti-PD-1-responsive and -resistant tumor models, the Pep-TACs exert significant anti-tumor immune response. It is noteworthy that Pep-TACs can cross the BBB and prolong the survival of mice with in situ brain tumor. As a proof-of-concept, this study introduces a modular TFRC-based covalent peptide degradation platform for the degradation of membrane protein, and especially for the immunotherapy of brain tumors.
溶酶体靶向嵌合体(LYTAC)策略为膜蛋白的降解提供了一个非常强大的工具。然而,LYTACs(抗体-小分子偶联物)的合成具有挑战性。基于抗体的LYTACs穿透实体瘤的能力也有限,尤其是穿过血脑屏障(BBB)。在这里,我们通过引入一个长的柔性芳基磺酰氟基团,提出了一种基于共价嵌合肽的靶向降解平台(Pep-TACs),该基团在与目标蛋白结合时能够实现邻近交联。Pep-TACs平台通过回收转铁蛋白受体(TFRC)介导的溶酶体靶向内吞作用机制促进目标蛋白的降解。生物学实验表明,共价Pep-TACs能够显著降解肿瘤细胞、树突状细胞和巨噬细胞上PD-L1的表达,尤其是在酸性条件下,并显著增强T细胞的功能和巨噬细胞的肿瘤吞噬作用。此外,在抗PD-1敏感和耐药的肿瘤模型中,Pep-TACs均能发挥显著的抗肿瘤免疫反应。值得注意的是,Pep-TACs能够穿过血脑屏障并延长原位脑肿瘤小鼠的生存期。作为概念验证,本研究引入了一种基于TFRC的模块化共价肽降解平台,用于膜蛋白的降解,特别是用于脑肿瘤的免疫治疗。