Dual targeting of CTLA-4 and CD47 on T cells promotes immunity against solid tumors.

Blockade of CD47, the "do not eat me" signal, has limited effects in solid tumors despite its potent antitumor effects in hematopoietic malignancies. Taking advantage of the high expression of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) on T cells and abundant Fc receptor-expressing active phagocytes inside the tumor microenvironment (TME), we designed and tested a heterodimer combining an anti-CTLA-4 antibody, which targets T cells, with the CD47 ligand, signal regulatory protein α (SIRPα), to selectively block CD47 on intratumoral T cells. We hypothesized that heterodimer treatment would increase antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis of the targeted T cells. We found that anti-CTLA-4×SIRPα preferentially depleted ICOS immunosuppressive T cells in the TME and enhanced immunity against solid tumors, including MC38 and CT26 murine colon cancers. Mechanistically, we found that CD47 expression on T cells limited anti-CTLA-4-mediated depletion and Fc on the heterodimer-enhanced depletion. Furthermore, anti-human CTLA-4×SIRPα depleted tumor T cells and exhibits less toxicity than anti-human CTLA-4 in a humanized mouse model. Collectively, these results demonstrate that simultaneously modulating both "eat me" and do not eat me signals induces T cell depletion inside the TME and may be an effective strategy for treating solid tumors.