Interleukin-15 combined with an anti-CD40 antibody provides enhanced therapeutic efficacy for murine models of colon cancer.
IL-15 has potential as an immunotherapeutic agent for cancer treatment because it is a critical factor for the proliferation and activation of natural killer (NK) and CD8(+) T cells. Administration of anti-CD40 antibodies has shown anti-tumor effects in vivo through a variety of mechanisms. Furthermore, activation of CD40 led to increased expression of IL-15 receptor-alpha by dendritic cells, an action that is critical for trans-presentation of IL-15 to NK and CD8(+) T cells. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic efficacy of the combination regimen of murine IL-15 (mIL-15) with an agonistic anti-CD40 antibody (FGK4.5) in murine lung metastasis models involving CT26 and MC38, which are murine colon cancer cell lines syngeneic to BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice, respectively. Treatment with mIL-15 or the anti-CD40 antibody alone significantly prolonged survival of both CT26 and MC38 tumor-bearing mice compared with the mice in the PBS solution control group (P < 0.01). Furthermore, combination therapy with both mIL-15 and the anti-CD40 antibody provided greater therapeutic efficacy as demonstrated by prolonged survival of the mice compared with either mIL-15 or the anti-CD40 antibody-alone groups (P < 0.001). We found that NK cells isolated from the mice that received the combination regimen expressed increased levels of intracellular granzyme B and showed stronger cytotoxic activity on the target cells. The findings from this study provide the scientific basis for clinical trials using the combination regimen of IL-15 with an anti-CD40 antibody for the treatment of patients with cancer.
Zhang
Meili
M
Metabolism Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Yao
Zhengsheng
Z
Dubois
Sigrid
S
Ju
Wei
W
Müller
Jürgen R
JR
Waldmann
Thomas A
TA
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D024221:Antineoplastic Protocols; D019013:CD40 Antigens / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D053720:Interleukin-15 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D019013:CD40 Antigens; D019409:Interleukin-15; D053720:Interleukin-15 Receptor alpha Subunit