Immune Checkpoint

Introduction

Immune checkpoints are regulators of the immune system. These pathways are crucial for self-tolerance, which prevents the immune system from attacking cells indiscriminately. However, some cancers can protect themselves from attack by stimulating immune checkpoint targets.

Inhibitory checkpoint molecules are targets for cancer immunotherapy due to their potential for use in multiple types of cancers. Currently approved checkpoint inhibitors block CTLA4, PD-1 and PD-L1. For the related basic science discoveries, James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo won the Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2018.

The classic immune checkpoint consists of co-inhibitory receptors (CTLA-4, PD-1, TIGIT, LAG-3), which inhibit T-cell function and co-stimulatory receptors (GITR, 4-1BB, OX40, CD40) which stimulate T cell activation. Research on the co-inhibitory receptor CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4) and PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) showed significantly improved survival rates of patients with metastatic solid tumors after inhibition of these receptor pathways. Therefore, antibody drugs against immune checkpoints for cancer, tumors and other diseases therapeutics is a key mode in cancer therapy.

Clone set information

• Immune Co-inhibitors
• Immune Co-stimulators