Glycan immune checkpoints cooperate with canonical protein checkpoints to drive immune suppression at the tumor–immune interface. However, current tumor immunotherapies typically target these pathways separately, and coordinated regulation of glycan- and protein-mediated signaling remains challenging because of their spatial and functional interdependence. Here, we developed a branched tetraspecific nanobody for simultaneous protein checkpoint blockade and localized glycocalyx remodeling on both tumor cells and immune cells. Through SpyTag/SpyCatcher-mediated bioorthogonal ligation, a sialidase module, anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-L1 nanobodies, and a pharmacokinetic extension domain were chemically integrated into a branched four-arm macromolecular framework. This branched architecture minimizes steric interference between functional modules while maintaining their independent activities and target accessibility at the tumor–immune interface. As a result, the branched tetraspecific nanobody restores the effector functions of T cells, NK cells, and macrophages, thereby enhancing antitumor immunity. In multiple murine tumor models, including large, established tumors, this nanobody induced complete tumor regression in a subset of mice and generated a durable antitumor immune memory. These results establish branched multivalent macromolecular architectures as a strategy for coordinated glycan and protein immune checkpoint modulation and glycoimmunology reprogramming.
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Zhu et al. (2026) studied this question.
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