Abstract B81: Efficacy of nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and atezolizumab against MC38 colon cancer expressing human PD-1 in transgenic C57BL/6 mice expressing human PD-1 and PD-L1 checkpoint genes

Abstract

Abstract The human checkpoint genes PD-1 and PD-L1 have been the target of extensive research for the treatment of human malignancies. Checkpoint inhibitor therapy has shown great promise in the clinic. Animal models that can use the human clinical antibodies will be beneficial for evaluating new therapies. A novel transgenic mouse model was developed that expresses the human PD-1 and PD-L1 in place of the murine genes. Additionally, a murine MC38 colon tumor cell line was modified to express human PD-L1. We evaluated the efficacy of human check point antibodies nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and atezolizumab in the transgenic animal model with modified MC38 colon cancer cells. Five hundred thousand transgenic MC38 cells were implanted in the C57BL/6 PD-1/PD-L1 knock in mice and allowed to grow for three days. The tumor-implanted mice were treated with nivolumab and pembrolizumab at 100 μg per animal and atezolizumab at 1 mg per animal on Days 3, 7, 10, and 14. Treatment with nivolumab and pembrolizumab caused tumor regression by Day 17. Growth inhibition was 84%, 58%, and 94% on Day 17 for nivolumab, atezolizumab, and pembrolizumab, respectively, compared to the control animals. There was no significant body weight loss and no signs of toxicity in any of the treated animals. We have shown that both PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors are effective in treating genetically modified MC38 colon tumors in transgenic mice. Further research will involve combining each of the checkpoint antibodies with various chemotherapeutic agents. Citation Format: Murray Stackhouse, Ted Green, Jay Liu, Charlotte Hammond, LaJuana Durbin, Anna Chen, Mike Koratich. Efficacy of nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and atezolizumab against MC38 colon cancer expressing human PD-1 in transgenic C57BL/6 mice expressing human PD-1 and PD-L1 checkpoint genes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy; 2018 Nov 27-30; Miami Beach, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2020;8(4 Suppl):Abstract nr B81.