Targeting Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors to Cell-Surface Markers on Tumors

Megan Garris*, Shohel Rana, and Mark McLaughlin
Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown WV 26505

Presentation No.: 77

Assigned Category (Presentation Format): Health Sciences (Poster Presentations)

Student’s Major: Chemistry and Biology

Immune checkpoints consist of regulatory and inhibitory pathways that allow the immune system to respond to infection and cancerous cells. In cancer patients, negative T cell regulatory pathways are activated by malignant cells and anti-tumor immune responses are inhibited, allowing cancer cells to grow and spread throughout the body. Immune checkpoint inhibitors block these pathways to enhance the body’s immune response against cancerous cells. This study aims to target immune checkpoint inhibitors to cell-surface markers on tumors to enhance the immune response in cancerous cells. Immune checkpoint inhibitors can be attached to malignant cells using antibodies and a resin. A linker molecule connecting the resin to the immune checkpoint inhibitor has successfully been synthesized, and another linker molecule to connect the antibodies to the resin is in the process of being synthesized through a series of reactions involving 6-(boc-amino) hexanoic acid, DOTA-tris(tert-butyl ester), and lanthanide metals. The effectiveness of directly targeting tumors using immune checkpoint inhibitors will be confirmed in future in vivo studies.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's SURE program (Rita Rio & Michelle Richards-Babb)