Abstract
Despite impressive clinical success, cancer immunotherapy based on immune checkpoint blockade remains ineffective in colorectal cancer (CRC). Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is a novel potential target and STING agonists have shown potential anti-tumor efficacy. Combined therapy based on synergistic mechanism can overcome the resistance. However, STING agonists-based combination therapies are deficient. We designed different immunotherapy combinations, including STING agonist, indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) inhibitor and PD-1 blockade, with purpose of exploring which option can effectively inhibit CRC growth. To further explore the possible reasons of therapeutic effectiveness, we observed the combination therapy in C57BL/6Tmem173gt mice. Our findings demonstrated that STING agonist diABZI combined with IDO inhibitor 1-MT significantly inhibited tumor growth, even better than the three-drug combination, promoted the recruitment of CD8+ T cells and dendritic cells, and decreased the infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells. We conclude that diABZI combined with 1-MT is a promising option for CRC.