Proimmunogenic impact of MEK inhibition synergizes with agonist anti-CD40 immunostimulatory antibodies in tumor therapy

Cancer types with lower mutational load and a non-permissive tumor microenvironment are intrinsically resistant to immune checkpoint blockade. While the combination of cytostatic drugs and immunostimulatory antibodies constitutes an attractive concept for overcoming this refractoriness, suppression of immune cell function by cytostatic drugs may limit therapeutic efficacy. Here we show that targeted inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase (MEK) does not impair dendritic cell-mediated T cell priming and activation. Accordingly, combining MEK inhibitors (MEKi) with agonist antibodies (Abs) targeting the immunostimulatory CD40 receptor results in potent synergistic antitumor efficacy. Detailed analysis of the mechanism of action of MEKi shows that this drug exerts multiple pro-immunogenic effects, including the suppression of M2-type macrophages, myeloid derived suppressor cells and T-regulatory cells. The combination of MEK inhibition with agonist anti-CD40 Ab is therefore a promising therapeutic concept, especially for the treatment of mutant Kras-driven tumors such as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have limited efficacy in tumors with lower mutational burden and non-permissive microenvironment. Here, the authors show that combining MEK inhibition with an agonist anti-CD40 immunostimulatory antibody improves antitumor treatment by inducing immunogenic changes in the tumor microenvironment.