News Releases & Research Results A cyclic peptide that enhances the anticancer effects of antibody drugs

The results of collaborative research by Associate Professor Yoji Murata and Professor Takashi Matozaki of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Signaling, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine; Professor Hiroaki Suga of the Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo; and Professor Atsushi Nakagawa of the Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University.

• A cyclic peptide* that specifically binds to a membrane protein called “SIRPα” on macrophages, which are phagocytose cancer cells, was found.
  *A substance with several to several tens of amino acids (protein components) connected.
• The peptide enhanced the antibody drug-induced phagocytic effects of macrophages on cancer cells and promoted the elimination of cancer cells transplanted into mice.
• This research demonstrated the potential effectiveness of the SIRPα-binding cyclic peptide as an agent to enhance the anticancer effects of antibody drugs.

This program was conducted with the support of the Project for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Evolution (P-CREATE) and the Basis for Supporting Innovative Drug Discovery and Life Science Research (BINDS) by AMED.

The results of this research project were published online in the American scientific journal Cell Chemical Biology on July 8.

Hazama D., et al. Macrocyclic Peptide–Mediated Blockade of the CD47-SIRPα Interaction as a Potential Cancer Immunotherapy Cell Chemical Biology
DOI：10.1016/j.chembiol.2020.06.008