Combination of anti-angiogenic therapy and immune checkpoint blockade normalizes vascular-immune crosstalk to potentiate cancer immunity

Abstract Cancer immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has revolutionized the treatment of advanced cancers. However, the tumor microenvironment (TME) functions as a formidable barrier that severely impairs the efficacy of ICIs. While the crosstalk between tumor vessels and immune cells determines the nature of anti-tumor immunity, it is skewed toward a destructive cycle in growing tumors. First, the disorganized tumor vessels hinder CD8 + T cell trafficking into the TME, disable effector functions, and even kill T cells. Moreover, VEGF, the key driver of angiogenesis, interferes with the maturation of dendritic cells, thereby suppressing T cell priming, and VEGF also induces TOX-mediated…

• NR
  National Research Foundation
• NR
  National Research Foundation of Korea

  Awards: NRF-2020R1C1C1010722, 2020R1C1C1010722, NRF-2020R1A2C2004530, 2020R1A2C2004530
• MO
  Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea