Anticancer agent comprising anti-PD-1 antibody or anti-PD-L1 antibody

Abstract

Provided is an anticancer agent which comprises an anti-PD-1 antibody or an anti-PD-L1 antibody as an active ingredient, functioning to reverse the unresponsiveness of iNKT cells in which anergy has been induced by administration with an iNKT cell ligand. The anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 antibody blocks the PD-1/PD-L1-mediated signaling pathway not only to prevent the iNKT cell ligand-induced iNKT cell anergy, but also to reverse the unresponsiveness of already anergic iNKT cells to produce cytokines. In addition, the anti-PD1 or anti-PD-L1 antibody ensures the potent anti-tumor activity of iNKT cells as demonstrated by a significant reduction in the number of metastatic nodules in B16F10 melanoma metastasis models in vivo. Collectively, the anticancer agent can be very useful in the treatment of cancer, particularly metastatic cancer.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.