Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn (Nymphaeaceae), a perennial aquatic plant, has been used as a medicinal herb in China and India. It has been recorded in the most famous medicinal book in China for more than 400 years. Different part of plant (leaves, seeds, flower, and rhizome) can be used in traditional system of medicine. In traditional system of medicine, the different parts of plant is reported to possess beneficial effects as in for the treatment of pharyngopathy, pectoralgia, spermatorrhoea, leucoderma, smallpox, dysentery, cough, haematemesis, epistaxis, haemoptysis, haematuria, metrorrhagia, hyperlipidaemia, fever, cholera, hepatopathy and hyperdipsia. Following the traditional claims for the use of N.nucifera as cure of numerous diseases considerable efforts have been made by researchers to verify it’s utility through scientific pharmacological screenings. The pharmacological studies have shown that N.nucifera posseses various notable pharmacological activities like amti-ischemic, antioxidant, anticancer, antiviral, antiobesity, lipolytic, hypocholestemic, antipyretic, hepatoprotective, hypoglycaemic, antidiarrhoeal, antifungal, antibacterial, antiinflammatory and diuretic activities. A wide variety of phytoprinciples have been isolated from the plant. The present review is an effort to consolidate traditional, ethnobotanic, phytochemical and pharmacological information available on N.nucifera.

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BackgroundInterleukin-12 (IL-12) is a proinflammatory cytokine which bridges innate and adaptive immunity via induction of T helper 1 differentiation and promoting cytolytic activity of natural killer and T cells. IL-12 has demonstrated potent antitumor activity in syngeneic mouse models and promising anti-tumor efficacy in humans. However, development of IL-12 has been limited by severe systemic toxicities. To overcome toxicity and improve the therapeutic index of IL-12, we employed protein engineering to generate XTX301, a highly potent, half-life extended and masked IL-12. The masking domain of XTX301 is designed to pharmacologically inactivate IL-12 systemically and render an active IL-12 moiety upon cleavage by proteases that are enriched in the tumor microenvironment.MethodsWe conducted experiments to assess the binding, bioactivity, safety, and anti-tumor efficacy of XTX301. Binding interactions were measured via SPR, bioactivity was measured using STAT-4 phosphorylation in a reporter cell line, and IFN-g production was assessed in human PBMCs via ELISA. Anti-tumor efficacy and pharmacodynamics were assessed in MC38 and B16F10 syngeneic tumor mouse models using a XTX301 murine surrogate, mXTX301. Safety and pharmacokinetics of XTX301 were evaluated in non-human primates (NHP).ResultsXTX301 showed no detectable binding to the high affinity IL12RB2 demonstrating that the masking domain indeed prevents interaction with the receptor. Upon cleavage of the masking domain by relevant proteases, binding was observed and was comparable to XTX300 unmasked control. Likewise, restoration of activity upon proteolytic cleavage was observed in an IL-12-dependent reporter gene assay and in primary human PBMCs. Human IL-12 does not cross react with mouse IL-12 receptors; hence a murine surrogate (mXTX301) was created for in vivo anti-tumor efficacy evaluation. A single dose of mXTX301 demonstrated up to 90% tumor growth inhibition in an inflamed MC38 and non-inflamed B16F10 syngeneic mouse models. mXTX301 induced a ~3 fold increase in IFN-g in tumors compared to vehicle control and ~150 fold less peripheral IFN-g compared to mXTX300. XTX301 exhibits minimal elevation in liver enzymes and a 50-fold improvement in tolerability compared to XTX300, in a repeat dose NHP safety study.ConclusionsOur data demonstrates that both XTX301 and mXTX301 are inactive when in masked form and become activated upon proteolytic cleavage to exert bioactivity comparable to recombinant IL-12. For efficacy, mXTX301 demonstrated tumor selective activity in syngeneic mouse models. XTX301 was well tolerated in repeat dose NHP safety study. In conclusion, XTX301 has potential for exerting potent anti-tumor activity with a favorable tolerability profile.

TPS2697 Background: High-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) has been approved in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and metastatic melanoma, and can result in durable complete responses, including cures. Its use has been limited by life-threatening treatment-related multisystem toxicities, consisting mainly of vascular leak syndrome. XTX202 is a masked, tumor-selective IL-2 that is designed to be pharmacologically inactive in non-tumor tissue when circulating systemically and unmasked by matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) found preferentially in the tumor microenvironment (TME). XTX202 is expected, therefore, to achieve a wider therapeutic index resulting in increased efficacy and lower toxicity compared to existing non-tumor selective IL-2 based-therapies. The IL-2 domain of the XTX202 molecule is modified to reduce binding to the high-affinity IL-2 receptor while maintaining binding to the intermediate-affinity IL-2 receptor, thereby decreasing activation of regulatory T-cells relative to wild-type IL-2, while still activating effector T cells. A masking domain is designed to pharmacologically inactivate IL-2 until it is activated by MMPs that are enriched in the TME. Cleavage at a protease cleavage site in the XTX202 linker by MMPs results in an active IL-2 moiety when the masking domain is released. XTX202 is designed with the goal of producing a localized anti-tumor immune response and limiting exposure of the active form of XTX202 in non-tumor tissue. Preclinically, XTX202 exhibited tumor-selective activity in mice without peripheral toxicities in non-human primates [O’Neil et al. ASCO 2021]. Methods: XTX202-01 trial (NCT05052268) is a first-in-human Phase 1/2 study to determine a recommended Phase 2 dose of XTX202 (Phase 1) and to evaluate the efficacy of XTX202 monotherapy in patients with metastatic RCC and unresectable or metastatic melanoma (Phase 2). Patients with advanced solid tumors are eligible for Phase 1 and will receive XTX202 monotherapy administered every 21 days in an accelerated and standard 3+3 dose escalation design. Phase 2 will consist of 2 parts: Part 2a will enroll patients with metastatic RCC who have received a prior tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy and have been treated and progressed on an anti-PD-1 therapy. Part 2b will enroll patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma who have received immune-checkpoint therapy with an anti-PD-1 therapy and an anti-CTLA-4 therapy to determine the efficacy of XTX202 monotherapy in this population. Enrollment to the study began in January 2022. Clinical trial information: NCT05052268.

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