Target Profiling of an Iridium(III)-Based Immunogenic Cell Death Inducer Unveils the Engagement of Unfolded Protein Response Regulator BiP

Clinical chemotherapeutic drugs have occasionally been observed to induce antitumor immune responses beyond the direct cytotoxicity. Such effects are coined as immunogenic cell death (ICD), representing a second hit from the host immune system to tumor cells. Although chemo-immunotherapy is highly promising, ICD inducers remain sparse with vague drug-target mechanisms. Here, we report an endoplasmic reticulum stress-inducing cyclometalated Ir(III)-bisNHC complex (1a) as a new ICD inducer, and based on this compound, a clickable photoaffinity probe was designed for target identification, which unveiled the engagement of the master regulator protein BiP (binding immunoglobulin protein)/GRP78 of the unfolded protein response pathway. This has been confirmed by a series of cellular and biochemical studies including fluorescence microscopy, cellular thermal shift assay, enzymatic assays, and so forth, showing the capability of 1a for BiP destabilization. Notably, besides 1a, the previously reported ICD inducers including KP1339, mitoxantrone, and oxaliplatin were also found to engage BiP interaction, suggesting the important role of BiP in eliciting anticancer immunity. We believe that the ICD-related target information in this work will help to understand the mode of action of ICD that is beneficial to designing new ICD agents with high specificity and improved efficacy.

Automated summary

This study reports a new ICD inducer and reveals its interaction with the master regulator protein BiP in the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the mode of action of ICD and provide important information for the design of new ICD agents with high specificity and improved efficacy.