KROS 101 can activate T-cells to target brain cancer in lab studies
Promising immunotherapy for clinical trials in melanoma, glioblastoma
An experimental immune-modulating therapy called KROS 101 was able to activate immune cells to kill glioma cells in laboratory experiments, according to new preclinical data from the therapy’s developer, Kairos Pharma.
Findings were presented earlier this month at a joint conference held by the American Association for Cancer Research and Japanese Cancer Association in Maui, Hawaii. The presentation was titled “KROS 101: A next-generation GITR agonist boosting anti-tumor T cell responses and reprogramming the tumor microenvironment.”
“The performance of KROS 101 as a central mediator of T cell expansion in cancer has been supported by these studies,” Ramachandran Murali, PhD, vice president of research and development at Kairos and co-inventor of KROS 101, said in a company press release.
In most people with cancer, fighting abilities of T-cells become impaired
T-cells are a type of immune cell that are able to kill cancer cells, but in most people with cancer, this fighting ability becomes impaired. KROS 101 is a small molecule designed to activate GITR (glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor), which is a receptor protein expressed on T-cells. By activating this receptor, the experimental therapy is thought to increase the cancer-killing activity of these immune cells.
In preclinical experiments, researchers conducted tests using cells in dishes to evaluate KROS 101’s ability to induce T-cells to kill glioblastoma cells, an aggressive type of glioma, or brain tumor. The therapy was also tested against glioma cancer stem cells, which are rapidly dividing cells thought to play a central role in the growth of glioma tumors.
Results from these cell experiments showed KROS 101 treatment significantly increased the ability of T-cells to kill the glioma cells.
“The preclinical data support the potential to exploit GITR as a lever for T cell expansion and novel therapy for cancer,” said John Yu, MD, CEO of Kairos and co-inventor of KROS 101.
In subsequent experiments, KROS 101 was tested in a mouse model of melanoma, which is an aggressive form of skin cancer. Mice with melanoma were treated either with KROS 101 or with an antibody designed to activate the GITR protein. Results showed mice given KROS 101 had significantly smaller tumors and signs of greater activation of cancer-killing T-cells than mice given the antibody.
Collectively, these data “support KROS 101 as a promising candidate for clinical trials in cancer immunotherapy, warranting further investigation as a therapeutic agent for melanoma and glioblastoma,” the researchers concluded.
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