New immunotherapeutic strategy against cancer designed by USC CiQUS researchers

Researchers from the CiQUS of the USC have just published an article that opens up a new immunotherapeutic path against cancer. The international study, led by the Centre's PI Eddy Sotelo and Andreas Lundqvist from Karolinska Institutet(link is external) in Sweden, also involves researchers from CiMUS and the USC(link is external) Faculty of Pharmacy and the Uppsala University(link is external) in Sweden. Published in the prestigious Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer(link is external), the study demonstrates that blocking adenosine A2B receptors reactivates the immune system and restores its effectiveness against tumours.

Blocking the immunosuppressive effect

The study demonstrated the remarkable immunosuppressive effect of the adenosine A2B receptor in the tumour microenvironment, as well as the benefits of blocking it in the context of cancer immunotherapy. Treatment with the new drugs reduces the suppression of immune system cells in the tumour microenvironment and increases the infiltration of lymphocytes into the tissue, resulting in significant tumour remission.

New cancer drugs

The work also revealed the potent anti-cancer effect of two families of drugs developed at USC, which opens the door to innovative treatments. Cancer immunotherapy, based on reactivating the patient's immune system to fight cancer, is one of the most effective and disruptive therapeutic strategies. Monoclonal antibodies, artificial proteins that act like human antibodies, are used to neutralise the blockade of the immune system induced by cancer cells, but are complex to produce and costly, making them difficult to use extensively. In this sense, the development of drugs capable of acting like these antibodies is a new strategy that opens the door to innovative treatments and synergistic combinations.

USC team alliance and international collaboration

The study has been carried out by several teams worldwide. Led by the principal investigator of CiQUS, Eddy Sotelo, USC researchers from different centres have joined forces for this project: from the Singular Centre for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS), from the Singular Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), from the BioFarma group led by Mabel Loza; and from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the USC (Xerardo García Mera and Eddy Sotelo). In addition, the alliance has also involved researchers from Karolinska Institutet, Uppsala University and Singapore University of Technology.

Referencia: Apple Hui Min Tay, Rubén Prieto-Díaz, Shiyong Neo, Le Tong, Xinsong Chen, Valentina Carannante, Björn Önfelt,
Johan Hartman, Felix Haglund, Maria Majellaro, Jhonny Azuaje, Xerardo Garcia-Mera, Jose M Brea, Maria I Loza, Willem Jespers,
Hugo Gutierrez-de-Teran, Eddy Sotelo and Andreas Lundqvist. A2B adenosine receptor antagonists rescue lymphocyte activity
in adenosine-producing patient-derived cancer models. Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer 2022.
https://jitc.bmj.com/content/10/5/e004592