On December 18, 2018 OncoSec Medical Incorporated (OncoSec) (NASDAQ:ONCS), reported a company developing novel cancer immunotherapies, reported the publication of new research in the journal Immunity that finds that IL-12 producing dendritic cells play an essential role in enabling tumor responses to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy (Press release, OncoSec Medical, DEC 18, 2018, View Source [SID1234532123]). The study was conducted by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and OncoSec, among others. As noted in the study, OncoSec’s lead compound, TAVO (tavokinogene telseplasmid; plasmid plasmid IL-12), which delivers IL-12 directly into tumors, was found to play in important role in enhancing the expression of cytolytic genes within tumors that are associated with anti-tumor responses. The paper, titled "Successful Anti-PD-1 Cancer Immunotherapy Requires T Cell-Dendritic Cell Crosstalk Involving the Cytokines IFN-γ and IL-12" appears in the December 18, 2018 issue of Immunity.
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"The evidence continues to build that IL-12 plays an important role in eliciting anti-tumor responses with anti-PD-1 immunotherapies. We’ve seen this in our own pre-clinical data and in our clinical programs to date," said Christopher G. Twitty, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of OncoSec. "This study elegantly demonstrated that a critical subset of IL-12-producing dendritic cells in concert with IFN-g+ T cells are necessary for an effective anti-PD-1 therapy. Additionally, it was reported that intratumoral delivery of IL-12 with our TAVO system dramatically enhanced the tumor’s immunogenicity as well as cytolytic signature, further supporting this important mechanism of action."
The study explored the transcriptional effects of TAVO monotherapy in melanoma patients and found that IL-12 activates a cytolytic gene signature in tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL). Furthermore, this TAVO-related anti-tumor immune signature was more pronounced in patients with better clinical responses compared to those patients with progressive disease. This publication continues to elucidate the power of IL-12 to activate CD8+ TIL in patient’s tumor.