mWTX-330, an IL 12 INDUKINE Molecule, Activates and Reshapes Tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T and NK Cells to Generate Antitumor Immunity

Christopher J. Nirschl, Heather R. Brodkin, Celesztina Domonkos, Connor J. Dwyer, Daniel J. Hicklin, Nesreen Ismail, Cynthia Seidel-Dugan, Philipp Steiner, Zoe Steuert, Jenna M. Sullivan, William M. Winston, Andres Salmeron

IL-12 is a pleotropic inflammatory cytokine that has broad stimulatory effects on various immune cell populations, making it an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy. However, despite generating robust antitumor activity in syngeneic murine tumor models, clinical administration of IL-12 has been limited by severe toxicity. mWTX-330 is a selectively inducible INDUKINE molecule comprised of a half-life extension domain and an inactivation domain linked to chimeric IL-12 by tumor protease-sensitive linkers. Systemic administration of mWTX-330 in mice was well tolerated, resulted in robust antitumor immunity in multiple tumor models, and preferentially activated tumor-infiltrating immune cells rather than immune cells present in peripheral tissues. Antitumor activity was dependent on in vivo processing of the protease cleavable linkers and required CD8+ T cells for full efficacy. Within the tumor, mWTX-330 increased the frequency of cross-presenting dendritic cells (DCs), activated natural killer (NK) cells, skewed conventional CD4+ T cells toward a T helper 1 (TH1) phenotype, drove regulatory T cells (Treg) fragility, and increased the frequency of polyfunctional CD8+ T cells. mWTX-330 treatment also increased the clonality of tumor-infiltrating T cells by expanding underrepresented T-cell receptor (TCR) clones, drove CD8+ T and NK cells towards increased mitochondrial respiration and fitness, and decreased the frequency of TOX+ exhausted CD8+ T cells within the tumor. A fully human version of this INDUKINE molecule was stable in human serum, was reliably and selectively processed by human tumor samples, and is currently in clinical development.  .