Immunogenic Cell Death Inducing Fluorinated Mitochondria-Disrupting Helical Polypeptide Synergizes with PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Blockade

Abstract

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is distinguished by the release of tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) and danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). This cell death has been studied in the field of cancer immunotherapy due to the ability of ICD to induce antitumor immunity. Herein, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated ICD inducing fluorinated mitochondria-disrupting helical polypeptides (MDHPs) are reported. The fluorination of the polypeptide provides a high helical structure and potent anticancer ability. This helical polypeptide destabilizes the mitochondrial outer membrane, leading to the overproduction of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis. In addition, this oxidative stress triggers ER stress-mediated ICD. The in vivo results show that cotreatment of fluorinated MDHP and antiprogrammed death-ligand 1 antibodies (αPD-L1) significantly regresses tumor growth and prevents metastasis to the lungs by activating the cytotoxic T cell response and alleviating the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. These results indicate that fluorinated MDHP synergizes with the immune checkpoint blockade therapy to eliminate established tumors and to elicit antitumor immune responses.

Keywords: combination cancer immunotherapy; immune checkpoint blockade; immunogenic cell death; mitochondrial membrane destabilization; α‐helical polypeptide.