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Immunotherapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma pp 103–119Cite as

Glypican-3 as a Target for Immune Based Therapy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

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Abstract

Glypican-3 (GPC3) is expressed on most hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and associated with liver tumorigenesis. This chapter provides a review of GPC3 as an emerging target in various investigational immunotherapies, with a focus on cancer vaccines, human or humanized antibodies, bispecific antibodies, immunotoxins, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. GPC3 peptide-based vaccines have been shown to prevent HCC recurrence after surgery. Interestingly, the patients with the best protection have anti-GPC3 CD4+ T cell response regardless of CD8+ T cell response. Several monoclonal antibodies including GC33, YP7, HN3 and HS20, each with a distinct epitope on GPC3, are being tested in preclinical or clinical stages. GC33 and YP7 recognize the C terminal end of GPC3. HN3 targets a cryptic Wnt binding site in the core protein of GPC3. HS20 binds a Wnt binding domain on the heparan sulfate chain. The HN3 and HS20 antibodies inhibit Wnt/Yap signaling and suppress HCC cell growth. To improve anti-tumor efficacy, anti-GPC3 immunotoxins and CAR-T cell therapies have been developed. The Wnt-blocking HN3 immunotoxin is more potent than YP7 immunotoxin. With an engineered toxin, the HN3-mPE24 immunotoxin can be given at high doses repeatedly to regress HCC xenograft tumor in mice. The CAR T-cell therapy also shows a great promise. The GC33 CAR T cells inhibit established HCC xenograft tumors in mice. Several CARs targeting different epitopes of GPC3 (including HN3) are being tested. Ongoing preclinical and clinical studies will help define the utility of GPC3 as a therapeutic target for liver cancer therapy.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research. We would like to thank Alan Hoofring and Ethan Tyler, NIH Medical Arts Design Section, for making the figure and Douglas Joubert, NIH Library Editing Service, for editing the text.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Yi-Fan Zhang, Jessica Hong & Mitchell Ho

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  1. Yi-Fan Zhang
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  2. Jessica Hong
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  3. Mitchell Ho
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Correspondence to Mitchell Ho .

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  1. National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Tim F. Greten

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Zhang, YF., Hong, J., Ho, M. (2017). Glypican-3 as a Target for Immune Based Therapy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. In: F. Greten, T. (eds) Immunotherapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64958-0_7

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