Enhancing the antitumor efficacy of a cell-surface death ligand by covalent membrane display
2015
Nair, Pradeep M. | Flores, Heather | Gogineni, Alvin | Marsters, Scot | Lawrence, David A. | Kelley, Robert F. | Ngu, Hai | Sagolla, Meredith | Komuves, Laszlo | Bourgon, Richard | Settleman, Jeffrey | Ashkenazi, Avi
TNF superfamily death ligands are expressed on the surface of immune cells and can trigger apoptosis in susceptible cancer cells by engaging cognate death receptors. A recombinant soluble protein comprising the ectodomain of Apo2 ligand/TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (Apo2L/TRAIL) has shown remarkable preclinical anticancer activity but lacked broad efficacy in patients, possibly owing to insufficient exposure or potency. We observed that antibody cross-linking substantially enhanced cytotoxicity of soluble Apo2L/TRAIL against diverse cancer cell lines. Presentation of the ligand on glass-supported lipid bilayers enhanced its ability to drive receptor microclustering and apoptotic signaling. Furthermore, covalent surface attachment of Apo2L/TRAIL onto liposomes—synthetic lipid-bilayer nanospheres—similarly augmented activity. In vivo, liposome-displayed Apo2L/TRAIL achieved markedly better exposure and antitumor activity. Thus, covalent synthetic-membrane attachment of a cell-surface ligand enhances efficacy, increasing therapeutic potential. These findings have translational implications for liposomal approaches as well as for Apo2L/TRAIL and other clinically relevant TNF ligands.
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