Description
Nivolumab is a human immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) monoclonal antibody that binds to the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) receptor and selectively blocks interaction with its programmed death ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2. Upregulation of PD-1 ligands occurs in some tumors and signalling through this pathway can contribute to inhibition of active T-cell immune surveillance of tumour tissue. The inhibitory effect of PD-1 and its ligands occurs through the promotion of apoptosis in antigen specific T cells while simultaneously blocking apoptosis in suppressor T cells. Blocking PD-1 activity has been shown to lead to decreased tumour growth in mouse tumour models