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Antibody–lectin chimeras: new checkpoint inhibitors in the toolbox

By
  1. M. Teresa Villanueva

Despite the transformative effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors, fewer than 20% of cancer patients achieve durable responses. One mechanism of cancer evasion involves glyco-immune checkpoints, in which tumour-associated glycans engage inhibitory lectin receptors on immune cells. However, these pathways have proved difficult to target therapeutically. Stark et al. now describe a modular antibody–lectin chimera (AbLec) platform that enables targeted blockade of glyco-immune checkpoints and enhances antitumour immunity in vitro and in mice.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41573-026-00023-7

References

  1. Stark, J. C. et al. Antibody-lectin chimeras for glyco-immune checkpoint blockade. Nat. Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-025-02884-6 (2025)

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