NextCure and Nordic Bioscience Publish Review Article on the Regulation of Tumor Immunity by Tumor Collagen

BELTSVILLE, Md., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NextCure, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering and developing novel, first-in-class immunomedicines to treat cancer and other immune-related diseases, today announced the publication of a review article in the online journal Frontiers in Immunology, highlighting the need for targeting tumor collagen in the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the tumor microenvironment to enhance anti-tumor immunity.

“Emerging data on the effects of dysregulated collagen in the ECM show that it modulates accessibility and activity of immune cells within the TME, leading to suboptimal oncology treatment outcomes,” said Solomon Langermann, Ph.D., NextCure’s chief scientific officer. “A key aspect of what we highlighted in this review is that an expanded understanding and cross-fertilization within the fields of tumor matrix biology, cancer biology, and immunology will contribute to improving the efficacy of cancer therapeutics. Importantly, it will enable the development of new classes of therapeutics to address the unmet needs of cancer patients who do not benefit from current therapies. This is a key focus of our ongoing NC410 clinical trial.”

The publication, titled “Regulation of Tumor Immunity and Immunotherapy by the Tumor Collagen Extracellular Matrix,” details how ECM components, specifically collagen, have an active role in immune regulation when dysregulated. Collagen acts as a ligand and interacts with receptors on immune cells to inhibit immune cell subpopulations in the TME. Such interactions disable anti-tumor immune responses and promote tumor growth. In addition, the review highlights how the structural components of the dysregulated ECM create a physical barrier to immune infiltration, further impeding the overall immune response and contributing to tumor progression. The ECM is a major factor in facilitating not only tumor progression, but resistance to various therapeutic treatments, including immunotherapy.

The review was published in collaboration with Nordic Bioscience A/S, a world-leading ECM biomarker specialist.

About NC410
NC410 is a first-in-class immunomedicine designed to block immune suppression mediated by LAIR-1, an immunomodulatory receptor expressed on T cells and myeloid cells, including dendritic cells, a type of antigen presenting cell. In preclinical research, it has been shown that LAIR-1 inhibits T cell function and myeloid activity. In preclinical studies, NC410 blocks the negative effects of LAIR-1 and promotes T cell function and myeloid cell activity. NextCure believes NC410 has the potential to treat multiple cancer types.