Discovery of Highly Active Kynureninases for Cancer Immunotherapy through Protein Language Model

Abstract

Overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment is a promising strategy in anticancer therapy. L-kynurenine, a strong immunosuppressive metabolite can be degraded through kynureninases. Through homology searches and protein language models, we identified and then experimentally determined the efficacy of four top-ranked kynureninases. The catalytically most active one nearly doubles turnover number over the prior best, reducing tumor weight by 3.42 times in mouse model comparisons, and thus, presenting substantial therapeutic potential.