Identification of Epinastine as CD96/PVR inhibitor for cancer immunotherapy

Abstract Background Poliovirus receptor (PVR) and its receptor system, including TIGIT, CD226, and CD96, play a pivotal role in orchestrating tumor immune evasion. Upon engagement with PVR on tumor cells, CD96 exerts inhibitory effects on the function of T cells and NK cells, thereby fostering tumor...

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Main Authors: Xiangrui Zhang, Lihan Zhang, Beibei Li, Qingchao Wang, Peixin Chen, Ranran Shi, Xiuman Zhou, Xiaoshuang Niu, Wenjie Zhai, Yahong Wu, Wenhui Shen, Xiaowen Zhou, Wenshan Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-01-01
Series:BMC Biology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02132-y
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Summary:Abstract Background Poliovirus receptor (PVR) and its receptor system, including TIGIT, CD226, and CD96, play a pivotal role in orchestrating tumor immune evasion. Upon engagement with PVR on tumor cells, CD96 exerts inhibitory effects on the function of T cells and NK cells, thereby fostering tumor immune evasion. Therefore, screening of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting the CD96/PVR pathway will provide promising candidates for tumor immunotherapy. Results In this investigation, we employed MOE software to conduct virtual screening of small molecules from the FDA-approved drug library. Our results demonstrated that Epinastine exhibited high affinity for CD96, thereby effectively disrupting the interaction between CD96 and PVR. In vitro co-culture experiments further revealed that Epinastine effectively restored the ability of Jurkat cells to secrete IL-2. In the MC38 tumor-bearing model, Epinastine significantly enhanced the infiltration of T cells and NK cells into the tumor site and augmented their secretion of IFN-γ, leading to effective suppression of tumor growth. Conclusions Our results demonstrated that the development of small molecule inhibitor Epinastine targeting CD96/PVR pathway, which proposed a promising strategy and drug candidate for cancer immunotherapy. Graphical Abstract
ISSN:1741-7007