Modularly Designed Peptide Nanoprodrug Augments Antitumor Immunity of PD-L1 Checkpoint Blockade by Targeting Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase

Xuexiang Han, Keman Cheng, Ying Xu, Yazhou Wang, Huan Min, Yinlong Zhang, Xiao Zhao, Ruifang Zhao, Gregory J. Anderson, Lei Ren, Guangjun Nie, Yiye Li

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

104 Scopus citations

Abstract

The limited efficacy of single-agent immune checkpoint inhibitors in treating tumors has prompted investigations on their combination partners. Here, a tumor-homing indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) nanoinhibitor is reported to selectively inhibit immunosuppressive IDO pathway in the tumor microenvironment. It is self-assembled from a modularly designed peptide-drug conjugate containing a hydrophilic targeting motif (arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid; RGD), two protonatable histidines, and an ester bond-linked hydrophobic IDO inhibitor, which exhibits pH-responsive disassembly and esterase-catalyzed drug release. Markedly, it achieved potent and persistent inhibition of intratumoral IDO activity with a reduced systemic toxicity, which greatly enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of programmed cell death-ligand 1 blockade in vivo. Overall, this study provides a promising paradigm of combinatorial normalization immunotherapy by exploiting a targeted IDO nanoinhibitor to augment the antitumor immunity of checkpoint inhibitors.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2490-2496
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume142
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 5 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • General Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

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