Blocking the immunoinhibitory PD-1:PD-L1 pathway using monoclonal antibodies has led to dramatic clinical responses by reversing tumor immune evasion and provoking robust and durable antitumor responses. Anti-PD-1 antibodies have now been approved for the treatment of melanoma, and are being clinically tested in a number of other tumor types as both a monotherapy and as part of combination regimens. Here, we report the development of DNA aptamers as synthetic, nonimmunogenic antibody mimics, which bind specifically to the murine extracellular domain of PD-1 and block the PD-1:PD-L1 interaction. One such aptamer, MP7, functionally inhibits the PD-L1-mediated suppression of IL-2 secretion in primary T-cells. A PEGylated form of MP7 retains the ability to block the PD-1:PD-L1 interaction, and significantly suppresses the growth of PD-L1+ colon carcinoma cells in vivo with a potency equivalent to an antagonistic anti-PD-1 antibody. Importantly, the anti-PD-1 DNA aptamer treatment was not associated with off-target TLR-9-related immune responses. Due to the inherent advantages of aptamers including their lack of immunogenicity, low cost, long shelf life, and ease of synthesis, PD-1 antagonistic aptamers may represent an attractive alternative over antibody-based anti PD-1 therapeutics.

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Mutations in the oligomerization domain of p53 are genetically linked to cancer susceptibility in Li-Fraumeni Syndrome. These mutations typically alter the oligomeric state of p53 and impair its transcriptional activity. Activation of p53 through tetramerization is required for its tumor suppressive function by inducing transcriptional programs that lead to cell fate decisions such as cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. How p53 chooses between these cell fate outcomes remains unclear. Here, we use 5 oligomeric variants of p53, including 2 novel p53 constructs, that yield either monomeric, dimeric or tetrameric forms of p53 and demonstrate that they induce distinct cellular activities and gene expression profiles that lead to different cell fate outcomes. We report that dimeric p53 variants are cytostatic and can arrest cell growth, but lack the ability to trigger apoptosis in p53-null cells. In contrast, p53 tetramers induce rapid apoptosis and cell growth arrest, while a monomeric variant is functionally inactive, supporting cell growth. In particular, the expression of pro-arrest CDKN1A and pro-apoptotic P53AIP1 genes are important cell fate determinants that are differentially regulated by the oligomeric state of p53. This study suggests that the most abundant oligomeric species of p53 present in resting cells, namely p53 dimers, neither promote cell growth or cell death and that shifting the oligomeric state equilibrium of p53 in cells toward monomers or tetramers is a key parameter in p53-based cell fate decisions.