IL-15 synergizes with CD40 agonist antibodies to induce durable immunity against bladder cancer Journal Article
| Authors: | Wong, J. L.; Smith, P.; Angulo-Lozano, J.; Ranti, D.; Bochner, B. H.; Sfakianos, J. P.; Horowitz, A.; Ravetch, J. V.; Knorr, D. A. |
| Article Title: | IL-15 synergizes with CD40 agonist antibodies to induce durable immunity against bladder cancer |
| Abstract: | CD40 is a central costimulatory receptor implicated in productive antitumor immune responses across multiple cancers, including bladder cancer. Despite strong preclinical rationale, systemic administration of therapeutic agonistic antibodies targeting the CD40 pathway has demonstrated dose-limiting toxicities with minimal clinical activity, emphasizing an important need for optimized CD40-targeted approaches, including rational combination therapy strategies. Here, we describe a role for the endogenous IL-15 pathway in contributing to the therapeutic activity of CD40 agonism in orthotopic bladder tumors, with upregulation of transpresented IL-15/IL-15Rα surface complexes, particularly by cross-presenting conventional type 1 DCs (Dendritic Cells), and associated enrichment of activated CD8 T cells. In bladder cancer patient samples, we identify DCs as the primary source of IL-15, although they lack high levels of IL-15Rα at baseline. Using humanized immunocompetent orthotopic bladder tumor models, we demonstrate the ability to therapeutically augment this interaction through combined treatment with anti-CD40 agonist antibodies and exogenous IL-15, including the fully-human Fc-optimized antibody 2141-V11 currently in clinical development for the treatment of bladder cancer. Collectively, these data reveal an important role for IL-15 in mediating antitumor CD40 agonist responses in bladder cancer and provide key proof-of-concept for combined use of Fc-optimized anti-CD40 agonist antibodies and agents targeting the IL-15 pathway. These data support expansion of ongoing clinical studies evaluating anti-CD40 agonist antibodies and IL-15-based approaches to develop combinations of these promising therapeutics for the treatment of patients with bladder cancer. |
| Keywords: | multimodality cancer therapy; combined modality therapy; bladder tumor; urinary bladder neoplasms; monoclonal antibody; dendritic cells; antibodies, monoclonal; immunotherapy; urinary bladder; interleukin 15; bladder; immunoglobulin fc fragments; interleukin-15; cd40 antigen; nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer; cd40; immunoglobulin fc fragment; humans; human; cd40 antigens; fcγriib inhibitory receptor |
| Journal Title: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| Volume: | 120 |
| Issue: | 35 |
| ISSN: | 0027-8424 |
| Publisher: | National Academy of Sciences |
| Date Published: | 2023-08-29 |
| Start Page: | e2306782120 |
| Language: | English |
| DOI: | 10.1073/pnas.2306782120 |
| PUBMED: | 37607227 |
| PROVIDER: | scopus |
| PMCID: | PMC10467355 |
| DOI/URL: | |
| Notes: | Article -- MSK Cancer Center Support Grant (P30 CA008748) acknowledged in PubMed and PDF -- Source: Scopus |
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