Revisiting Coley's Toxins: Immunogenic Cardiolipins from Streptococcus pyogenes

J Am Chem Soc. 2023 Oct 4;145(39):21183-21188. doi: 10.1021/jacs.3c07727. Epub 2023 Sep 22.

Abstract

Coley's toxins, an early and enigmatic form of cancer (immuno)therapy, were based on preparations of Streptococcus pyogenes. As part of a program to explore bacterial metabolites with immunomodulatory potential, S. pyogenes metabolites were assayed in a cell-based immune assay, and a single membrane lipid, 18:1/18:0/18:1/18:0 cardiolipin, was identified. Its activity was profiled in additional cellular assays, which showed it to be an agonist of a TLR2-TLR1 signaling pathway with a 6 μM EC50 and robust TNF-α induction. A synthetic analog with switched acyl chains had no measurable activity in immune assays. The identification of a single immunogenic cardiolipin with a restricted structure-activity profile has implications for immune regulation, cancer immunotherapy, and poststreptococcal autoimmune diseases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Cardiolipins
  • Humans
  • Neoplasms*
  • Streptococcus pyogenes*
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Substances

  • Cardiolipins
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha