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Abstract

The programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) participates in an immune checkpoint system involved in preventing autoimmunity. PD-L1 is expressed on tumor cells, tumor-associated macrophages, and other cells in the tumor microenvironment. Anti-PD-L1 antibodies are active against a variety of cancers, and combined anti-PD-L1 therapy with external beam radiotherapy has been shown to increase therapeutic efficacy. PD-L1 expression status is an important indicator of prognosis and therapy responsiveness, but methods to precisely capture the dynamics of PD-L1 expression in the tumor microenvironment are still limited. In this study, we developed a murine anti-PD-L1 antibody conjugated to the radionuclide Indium-111 ((111)In) for imaging and biodistribution studies in an immune-intact mouse model of breast cancer. The distribution of (111)In-DTPA-anti-PD-L1 in tumors as well as the spleen, liver, thymus, heart, and lungs peaked 72 hours after injection. Coinjection of labeled and 100-fold unlabeled antibody significantly reduced spleen uptake at 24 hours, indicating that an excess of unlabeled antibody effectively blocked PD-L1 sites in the spleen, thus shifting the concentration of (111)In-DTPA-anti-PD-L1 into the blood stream and potentially increasing tumor uptake. Clearance of (111)In-DTPA-anti-PD-L1 from all organs occurred at 144 hours. Moreover, dosimetry calculations revealed that radionuclide-labeled anti-PD-L1 antibody yielded tolerable projected marrow doses, further supporting its use for radiopharmaceutical therapy. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the feasibility of using anti-PD-L1 antibody for radionuclide imaging and radioimmunotherapy and highlight a new opportunity to optimize and monitor the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibition therapy. 

Author information

Josefsson A1, Nedrow JR1, Park S1, Banerjee SR1, Rittenbach A1, Jammes F1, Tsui B1, Sgouros G2.​

1Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.

2Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. gsgouros@jhmi.edu.