Agonist Target Proteins to Accelerate Immunotherapy Development

Derived from the Nobel Prize-winning work of Dr. James P. Allison and Dr. Tasuku Honjo, immune checkpoint proteins were identified to be the key regulators of the immune system. However, current approved drugs are checkpoint inhibitors. This means that these drugs are meant to prevent an ‘OFF’ signal from reaching the immune system. But what if the immune response just isn’t enough?

Agonists, otherwise called stimulatory checkpoint molecules, are here to ‘hit the gas’ or accelerate your immune response. Rather than inhibiting the ‘OFF’signal, the key of this target is to constantly give a green light to maximize the immune response. This means utilizing multiple costimulatory to activate T cells. For example, B7-CD28 signaling is a major costimulatory signaling cascade contributing to T-cell activation and cytokine release. 4-1BB, OX40, glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor (GITR) and other receptors in the TNF superfamily can synergize with TCR signaling to enhance T-cell responses and survival. As such, agonists of co-stimulatory receptors of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily (TNF-SF) and B7 family are emerging as promising options to expand the immunomodulatory toolbox.

ACROBiosystems has developed a series of products targeting immune co-stimulatory molecules of TNFSF and B7-CD28 family, including proteins, overexpression cell lines, and inhibitor screening kits. All products are verified and validated, not only as a final product, but starting from antibody preparation, initial screening, production to quality control; ensuring the best reagents and tools to develop your agonist immunotherapies.

Product Features

Structurally accurate with high purity, verified by SEC-MALS.

Verified binding bioactivity against receptor or antibodies through multiple technology platforms.

Various species labels and tags available, including Human, Mouse, Rat, Cynomolgus, etc. for cross-species studies.

Looking for other tools to assist with your research?

Stable Cell Lines for 4-1BB, OX40, etc. are available!

Inhibitor screening kits for CD27, etc. are also available!

Related Products

Assay Data

Authentic polymer structure and purity verified by SEC-MALS

Authentic polymer structure and purity verified by SEC-MALS

The purity of Human OX40 Ligand, His Tag (active trimer) (Cat. No. OXL-H52Q8 ) is more than 95% in HP-SEC, and the molecular weight of this protein is around 60-80 kDa verified by SEC-MALS.

Authentic polymer structure and purity verified by SEC-MALS

The purity of Human / Cynomolgus / Rhesus macaque CD28 Protein, His Tag (Cat. No. CD8-H52H3) is more than 90% and the molecular weight of this protein is around 65-75 kDa verified by SEC-MALS.

Validation of high bioactivity of binding with receptor or antibody

Validation of high bioactivity of binding with receptor or antibody

Immobilized Human 4-1BB, His Tag (Cat. No. 41B-H52Hc) at 1 μg/mL (100 μL/well) can bind Utomilumab with a linear range of 0.1-4 ng/mL (Routinely tested).


Validation of high bioactivity of binding with receptor or antibody

Human UreluMab captured on CM5 chip via Anti-human IgG Fc antibodies surface can bind Human 4-1BB, His Tag (Cat. No. 41B-H52Hc) with an affinity constant of 3.59 nM as determined in a SPR assay (Biacore 8K) (Routinely tested)

Validation of high bioactivity of binding with receptor or antibody

FACS assay shows that Monoclonal UreluMab antibody, Human IgG4 can bind to HEK293/Human 4-1BB / TNFRSF9 Stable Cell Line (CHEK-ATP038). HEK293/Human 4-1BB / TNFRSF9 Stable Cell Line was red line, Negative control HEK293 cells was grey line(QC tested).

Cell functional activity verified by FACS and cell-based assay

Cell functional activity verified by FACS and cell-based assay

Flow Cytometry assay shows that Human 4-1BB Protein, Mouse IgG2a Fc Tag (Cat. No. 41B-H5256) can bind to 293T cells overexpressing Human 4-1BBL. The concentration of 4-1BB used is 0.03 μg/mL (Routinely tested).

Cell functional activity verified by FACS and cell-based assay

Human CD40 Ligand, His,Flag Tag (Cat. No. CDL-H52Db) stimulates secretion of IL-6 by human B cells. The ED50 for this effect is 18.76-19.45 ng/mL in the presence of 5 ng/mL of Recombinant Human IL4 (Routinely tested).

Cell functional activity verified by FACS and cell-based assay

Human B7-H3, His Tag (Cat. No. B73-H52E2) inhibits Anti-CD3-induced proliferation of PBMC. The EC50 for this effect is 2.24-3.36 μg/mL (Routinely tested).


Reference

  • 1. Choi Y, Shi Y, Haymaker CL, Naing A, Ciliberto G, Hajjar J. T-cell agonists in cancer immunotherapy. J Immunother Cancer. 2020 Oct;8(2):e000966. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2020-000966.

  • 2. Elgueta R, Benson MJ, de Vries VC, et al.. Molecular mechanism and function of CD40/CD40L engagement in the immune system. Immunol Rev 2009;229:152–72.

FAQ

Q

What reagent differences can complicate cross-species data comparisons?

Beyond species matching, variations in construct boundaries, tag formats, oligomeric states, and validation levels can introduce unwanted variables. ACROBiosystems supplies recombinant co-stimulatory proteins across multiple species with clear product-specific construct and activity info to ensure data comparability.
Q

For a bispecific agonist, how can the binding of each arm be verified after assembly?

Recombinant proteins of the individual targets should be used to independently characterize the binding and affinity of each arm. ACROBiosystems provides these targets in multiple formats, alongside selected reporter cells to assess the activation of the agonist receptor arm.
Q

Once target binding is confirmed, what readouts are typically used to assess agonist activity?

Agonist activity is typically assessed with receptor-specific signaling or cell-based functional readouts. ACROBiosystems provides recombinant targets for binding characterization and reporter cell lines for selected co-stimulatory receptors, supporting the transition from target binding to functional activity assessment.
Q

For TNFSF ligands, how important is oligomeric state when selecting a reagent for agonist antibody studies?

For TNFSF ligand-dependent studies, defined oligomeric state can be an important reagent attribute and should be considered alongside binding activity and purity. ACROBiosystems offers selected TNFSF ligands with SEC-MALS-verified multimeric states, including active-trimer OX40L proteins.
Q

What specifications should be evaluated when selecting a recombinant protein for agonist studies?

Reagent selection should match the intended application by evaluating the species, construct boundaries, tag format, molecular format, purity, and bioactivity. ACROBiosystems provides comprehensive product-level characterization (SDS-PAGE, SEC-MALS, and binding validation) to back your choice with rigorous data.
Q

We have binding data with soluble ligands. When is membrane-bound ligand presentation needed?

Membrane-presented ligands are necessary when the study requires target presentation within a cell-surface context beyond soluble protein binding. ACROBiosystems provides complementary reagent formats, offering both recombinant proteins and selected ligand-expressing stable cell lines for membrane-context studies.
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