On October 31, Professor Yu Ye's team from the School of Basic Medical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacy, in collaboration with Fan Yingzhe's team from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine's Putuo Hospital, published a research paper titled “Cancer Immunotherapy via Disruption of Integrin αvβ3 and CD47 Co-Stabilization on Cancer Cell Surface” in Advanced Science. Based on the discovery of high expression and novel co-stabilization mechanisms of integrin αvβ3/CD47 on cancer cell surfaces, the study designed precision-interfering peptides targeting the αvβ3/CD47 complex. This led to the development of a novel CD47-SIRPα immune checkpoint therapy free from anemia side effects (Figure 1).
The team demonstrated that highly expressed αvβ3 and CD47 on the cancer cell membrane mutually stabilize each other in a specific conformation, enhancing tumor immune escape. Furthermore, the strategy of specifically interfering with the αvβ3/CD47-SIRPα interaction exhibits safety and multi-tumor efficacy.
Figure 1. Direct interaction between CD47-SIRPα and integrin αvβ3 formed between tumors and macrophages, and the novel CD47-SIRPα immune checkpoint peptide therapy without anemia side effects
This paper features co-first authorship by PhD candidates Yu Pengcheng and Yue Chenqian, along with master's students Dong Wenzhong and Hao Cuiyun. Professor Yu Ye and Dr. Fan Yingzhe serve as co-corresponding authors, with China Pharmaceutical University listed as the primary corresponding institution.
Paper link: http://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202501602
