Chemotoxins: Specific Killers of Cancer Cells and Other Cells
Background:
The National Institute on Aging's
Laboratory of Immunology demonstrated that chemokines can be used
to deliver tumor antigens to dendritic cells and elicit anti-tumor
responses. The Lab is seeking Cooperative Research and Development
Agreement (CRADA) collaborator(s) to develop chemotoxins. A
potential area of application is in anti-tumor therapy,
specifically, immunotherapeutics for hematological malignancies
such as leukemia/lymphomas and multiple myeloma.
Technology:
Recently, the Lab found that
chemokines can also be used to deliver toxin moieties into cells
expressing respective chemokine receptors to achieve specific
deletion of these cells. Thus, these chemotoxins are an exciting
new mechanism of tumor therapy. In addition, chemotoxins may also
be used to preferentially deplete various immunosuppressive cells.
Chemotoxins directly kill tumor cells that express chemokine
receptors, such as CLL, multiple myeloma and cutaneous T-cell
leukemia. In addition, chemotoxins may be injected systemically or
locally into tumor sites to kill infiltrating immunosuppressive
immune cells such as macrophages, NKT and T regulatory cells to
upregulate the natural immune response.
Value
Proposition:
Potential for personalized cancer
therapy.
IP Status:
U.S. Patent
Application filed in September, 2005
Development Status:
- LI has produced chemotoxins that target a number of chemokine
receptors expressed by tumors. The TARC-chemotoxin has been shown
to effectively eradicate established cutaneous T cell leukemia in
mice. The CCL27-chemotoxin preferentially kills B16 melanoma cells
that express chemokine receptor CCR10.
- Chemotoxins are also being used as a research tool to answer
biology and immunology questions. For example, LI has demonstrated
that the presence of immunosuppressive T regulatory cells can be
efficiently depleted with TARC-chemotoxin to augment T cell
responses.
Further R&D
Required:
- Development of optimal purification and production
strategies.
- Development of chemotoxins to all 18 chemokine receptors as a
tool for studying various immunological questions.
- Full analysis of the potency of chemotoxins for treatment of
human diseases and cancer.
Contact
Information:
John D. Hewes, Ph.D., NCI
Technology Transfer Center
Phone: 301-435-3121
E-mail: Hewesj@mail.nih.gov
Reference: #374 ND
Updated 10/31/2007