Bisdemethoxycurcumin in combination with α-PD-L1 antibody may be promising for bladder cancer patients. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Bisdemethoxycurcumin in combination withα-PD-L1 antibody boosts immune response against bladder cancer.
Onco Targets Ther. 2017 ;10:2675-2683. Epub 2017 May 22. PMID: 28579805
Yiqun Shao
Curcumin was recently discovered to strengthen immune response through multiple mechanisms. Cytotoxic CD8(+) T-cells play a critical role in modulating anticancer immune response, but is severely restricted by T-cell exhaustion. Bladder carcinomas express PD-L1 and can abrogate CD8(+) T-cell response. Thus, we hypothesized that bisdemethoxycurcumin, a natural dimethoxy derivative of curcumin, may provide a favorable environment for T-cell response against bladder cancer when used in combination withα-PD-L1 antibody. Immunocompetent C56BL/6 mouse models bearing subcutaneous or lung metastasized MB79 bladder cancer were established to validate this conjecture. We found that bisdemethoxycurcumin significantly increased intratumoral CD8(+) T-cell infiltration, elevated the level of IFN-γ in theblood, and decreased the number of intratumoral myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Furthermore, α-PD-L1 antibody protected these amplified CD8(+) T-cells from exhaustion, and therefore facilitated the secretion of IFN-γ, granzyme B, and perforin through these CD8(+) T-cells. As a result, this combination treatment strategy significantly prolonged survival of intraperitoneal metastasized bladder cancer bearing mice, suggesting that bisdemethoxycurcumin in combination with α-PD-L1 antibody may be promising for bladder cancer patients.