Breast Cancer Suppression by IDO Inhibition

Abstract

Immune escape is a crucial feature of cancer progression about which little is known. Elevation of the immunomodulatory enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) in tumor cells can facilitate immune escape. Not known is how IDO becomes elevated or whether IDO inhibitors will be useful for cancer treatment. Based on evidence that Bin1 loss elevates IDO and enhances immune evasion by tumor cells, we hypothesized that reversing IDO activity with chemical inhibitors would enhance immune recognition and rejection of tumor cells. We aimed to (1) generate an antibody to IDO to assess its expression in normal and malignant breast tissue, (2) identify pharmacologically attractive lead' inhibitors of IDO, and (3) investigate the ability of new compounds with IDO inhibitory activity to block tumor growth in the MMTV-neu transgenic mouse model of breast cancer. In Year 2 of this project all Aims as proposed originally are essentially complete. This year we report new bioactive inhibitors, development of a second model for efficacy testing, and compound formulation studies. Two important outcomes this year were publication of the core findings of our study in Nature Medicine and funding of an NIH grant to drive medicinal chemistry and drug development of new lead inhibitors.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA439068

Entities

People

  • George C. Prendergast

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biological Factors
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cell Physiological Processes
  • Cells
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Health Services
  • Lymphocytes
  • Organic Chemistry

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • Oncology