Integrin-targeted cancer immunotherapy

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biological Engineering, 2016.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kwan, Byron H. (Byron Hua)
Other Authors: K. Dane Wittrup.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/104220
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author Kwan, Byron H. (Byron Hua)
author2 K. Dane Wittrup.
author_facet K. Dane Wittrup.
Kwan, Byron H. (Byron Hua)
author_sort Kwan, Byron H. (Byron Hua)
collection MIT
description Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biological Engineering, 2016.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1042202019-04-10T18:00:08Z Integrin-targeted cancer immunotherapy Kwan, Byron H. (Byron Hua) K. Dane Wittrup. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering. Biological Engineering. Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biological Engineering, 2016. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references. Integrins are a family of heterodimeric cell surface receptors that are functionally important for cell adhesion, migration and proliferation. Certain integrins, especially those that are known to recognize the arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) motif, are heavily overexpressed in many cancers relative to healthy tissue, making them attractive targets for therapeutic intervention. However, prior attempts to antagonize these integrins as a cancer therapy have all failed in the clinic. In this thesis, we instead exploit integrins as a target tumor antigen in the context of immunotherapy. The engineered cysteine knot peptide, 2.5F, is highly crossreactive and capable of recognizing multiple RGD-binding integrins. Our initial attempts to utilize this binder as a targeting moiety for delivering IL-2 as an immunocytokine failed. Mathematical modeling results indicated that immunocytokines, unless adhering to specific design criteria, are unlikely to benefit from targeting and may actually exhibit limited efficacy. Therefore, we "deconstructed" this immunocytokine into its functional parts: extended half-life IL-2 and 2.5F-Fc, the antibody-like construct directed against RGD-binding integrins. This combination immunotherapeutic approach was able to synergistically control tumor growth in three syngeneic murine models of cancer, including durable cures and development of immunological memory. Contrary to prior attempts at integrin-targeting, the mechanism of action was independent of functional integrin antagonism, including effects on angiogenesis and tumor proliferation. In fact, efficacy of this therapy depended solely upon the adaptive and innate arms of immunity, specifically CD8+ T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. Furthermore, checkpoint blockade, the gold standard for immunotherapy to date, can further enhance the efficacy of this therapeutic approach. This signifies that the combination of IL-2 and 2.5F-Fc exerts a distinct, yet complementary immune response that opens the door for clinical translation. by Byron H. Kwan. Ph. D. 2016-09-13T19:13:59Z 2016-09-13T19:13:59Z 2016 2016 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/104220 958141358 eng MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 160 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Biological Engineering.
Kwan, Byron H. (Byron Hua)
Integrin-targeted cancer immunotherapy
title Integrin-targeted cancer immunotherapy
title_full Integrin-targeted cancer immunotherapy
title_fullStr Integrin-targeted cancer immunotherapy
title_full_unstemmed Integrin-targeted cancer immunotherapy
title_short Integrin-targeted cancer immunotherapy
title_sort integrin targeted cancer immunotherapy
topic Biological Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/104220
work_keys_str_mv AT kwanbyronhbyronhua integrintargetedcancerimmunotherapy