Abstract
BackgroundInterleukin-15 (IL-15) is a critical cytokine for the development, proliferation, and function of natural killer (NK) cells, NKT cells, and CD8+ memory T cells and has become one of the most promising protein molecules for the treatment of cancer and viral diseases. However, there are several limitations in applying IL-15 in therapy, such as its low yield in vitro, limited potency, and short half-life in vivo. To date, there are several recombinant IL-15 agonists based on configurational modifications that are being pursued in the treatment of cancer, such as ALT-803, which are mainly produced from mammalian cells.ResultsIn this study, we designed two different forms of the IL-15 complex, which were formed by the noncovalent assembly of IL-15 with dimeric or monomeric sushi domain of IL-15 receptor α (SuIL-15Rα)-IgG4 Fc fusion protein and designated IL-15/SuIL-15Rα-dFc and IL-15/SuIL-15Rα-mFc, respectively. The two IL-15 complexes were expressed in Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris), and their activities and half-lives were evaluated and compared. Pharmacokinetic analysis showed that IL-15/SuIL-15Rα-dFc had a half-life of 14.26 h while IL-15/SuIL-15Rα-mFc had a half-life of 9.16 h in mice, which were much longer than the 0.7-h half-life of commercial recombinant human IL-15 (rhIL-15). Treatment of mice with intravenous injection of the two IL-15 complexes resulted in significant increases in NK cells, NKT cells, and memory CD8+ T cells, which were not observed after rhIL-15 treatment. Treatment of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors with the two IL-15 complexes yielded enhanced NK and CD8+ T cell activation and proliferation, which was comparable to the effect of rhIL-15.ConclusionsThese findings indicate that the IL-15/SuIL-15Rα-dFc and IL-15/SuIL-15Rα-mFc produced in P. pastoris exhibit potent activities and prolonged half-lives and may serve as superagonists for immunotherapy in further research and applications.
Highlights
IntroductionImmunotherapy has become a promising strategy for cancer treatment [1]
After decades of development, immunotherapy has become a promising strategy for cancer treatment [1]
The results indicate that the two IL-15/SuIL-15Rα-IgG4 Fc complexes have been successfully produced in P. pastoris with potent activities and prolonged half-lives and could be potentially applied in research and clinical practice
Summary
Immunotherapy has become a promising strategy for cancer treatment [1]. As one of the most promising immunotherapy drug candidates for cancer treatment [3], IL-15 was initially found to mediate. IL-15 has a great potential for clinical applications in the treatment of cancer. There are several limitations in the clinical application of IL-15, including its low yield in vitro, limited potency and short half-life in vivo. Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a critical cytokine for the development, proliferation, and function of natural killer (NK) cells, NKT cells, and CD8+ memory T cells and has become one of the most promising protein molecules for the treatment of cancer and viral diseases. There are several limitations in applying IL-15 in therapy, such as its low yield in vitro, limited potency, and short half-life in vivo. There are several recombinant IL-15 agonists based on configurational modifications that are being pursued in the treatment of cancer, such as ALT-803, which are mainly produced from mammalian cells
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