HPK1 as a novel target for cancer immunotherapy

Identifying the appropriate drug targets for the development of a novel anti-tumor immunotherapy is one of the most risky steps in the drug development cycle. We have identified a hematopoietic cell-restricted serine/threonine kinase, hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1), as a possible target for therapeutic intervention. Targeted disruption of HPK1 alleles confers T cells with an elevated Th1 cytokine production in response to TCR engagement. HPK1 ^-/- T cells proliferate more rapidly than the haplotype-matched wild-type counterpart and are resistant to prostaglandin E2 (PGE ₂)-mediated suppression. Most strikingly, mice that received adoptive transfer of HPK1 ^-/- T cells became resistant to lung tumor growth. Also, the loss of HPK1 from dendritic cells (DCs) endows them with superior antigen presentation ability, enabling HPK1 ^-/- DCs to elicit a more potent anti-tumor immune response when used as cancer vaccine. It is probable that blocking the HPK1 kinase activity with a small molecule inhibitor may activate the superior anti-tumor activity of both cell types, resulting in a synergistic amplification of anti-tumor potential. Given that HPK1 is not expressed in any major organs, it is less likely that an inhibitor of HPK1 kinase activity would cause any serious side effects.