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Current Pharmaceutical Design

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1381-6128
ISSN (Online): 1873-4286

Research Article

Specific Targeting of Zinc Transporter LIV-1 with Immunocytokine Containing Anti-LIV-1 VHH and Human IL-2 and Evaluation of its In vitro Antitumor Activity

Author(s): Rada Dehghan, Arezoo Beig Parikhani, Reza Ahangari Cohan, Mohammad Ali Shokrgozar, Esmat Mirabzadeh, Soheila Ajdary, Sirous Zeinali, Hajarossadat Ghaderi, Yeganeh Talebkhan* and Mahdi Behdani*

Volume 30, Issue 11, 2024

Published on: 12 March, 2024

Page: [868 - 876] Pages: 9

DOI: 10.2174/0113816128295195240305060103

Abstract

Background: Interleukin 2 (IL-2) is a vital cytokine in the induction of T and NK cell responses, the proliferation of CD8+ T cells, and the effective treatment of human cancers such as melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. However, widespread use of this cytokine is limited due to its short half-life, severe toxicity, lack of specific tumor targeting, and activation of Treg cells mediated by high-affinity interleukin-2 receptors.

Objective: In this study, a tumor-targeting LIV-1 VHH-mutIL2 immunocytokine with reduced CD25 (α chain of the high-affinity IL-2 receptor) binding activity was developed to improve IL-2 half-life by decreasing its renal infiltration in comparison with wild and mutant IL-2 molecules.

Methods: The recombinant immunocytokine was designed and expressed. The biological activity of the purified fusion protein was investigated in in vitro and in vivo experiments.

Results: The fusion protein represented specific binding to MCF7 (the breast cancer cell line) and more efficient cytotoxicity than wild-type IL-2 and mutant IL-2. The PK parameters of the recombinant immunocytokine were also improved in comparison to the IL-2 molecules.

Conclusion: The observed results showed that LIV1-mIL2 immunocytokine could be considered as an effective agent in the LIV-1-targeted treatment of cancers due to its longer half-life and stronger cytotoxicity.

Keywords: Immunotherapy, interleukin-2, immunocytokine, LIV-1, nanobody, pharmacokinetics.

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