IKAROS modulates CD19 surface expression and CD19-directed CAR-T response [ATAC-seq]
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: To elucidate how IKAROS modulates CD19 surface expression in B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemic cells, we analyzed chromatin landscape profile from isogenic IKAROS wild type (WT) or knock down (KD) B-ALL cell lines.
Project description:To elucidate how IKAROS modulates CD19 surface expression in B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemic cells, we analyzed gene expression profile from isogenic IKAROS wild type (WT) or knock down (KD) B-ALL cell lines.
Project description:In contrast to patients with B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL), patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have not yet benefited from recent advances in targeted immunotherapy. Repurposing immunotherapies that have been successfully used to target other hematological malignancies could, in case of a shared target antigen, represent a promising opportunity to expand the immunotherapeutic options for AML. Here, we evaluated the expression of CD19 in a large pediatric AML cohort, assessed the ex vivo AML killing efficacy of CD19-directed immunotherapies, and characterized the bone marrow immune microenvironment in pediatric AML, BCP-ALL, and non-leukemic controls. Out of 167 newly diagnosed de novo pediatric AML patients, 18 patients (11%) had CD19+ AML, with 61% carrying the translocation t(8;21)(q22;q22). Among CD19+ samples, we observed a continuum of CD19 expression levels on AML cells. In individuals exhibiting unimodal and high CD19 expression, the antigen was consistently present on nearly all CD34+CD38- and CD34+CD38+ subpopulations. In ex vivo AML-T cell co-cultures, blinatumomab demonstrated substantial AML killing, with an efficacy similar to BCP-ALL. In addition, CAR T cells could effectively eliminate CD19+ AML cells ex vivo. Furthermore, our immunogenomic assessment of the bone marrow immune microenvironment of newly diagnosed pediatric t(8;21) AML revealed that T- and NK cells had a less exhausted and senescent phenotype in comparison to pediatric BCP-ALL. Altogether, our study underscores the promise of CD19-directed immunotherapies for the treatment of pediatric CD19+ AML.
Project description:Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) targeting the CD19 antigen represents an innovative therapeutic approach to improve the outcome of relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Yet, despite a high initial remission rate, CAR-T therapy ultimately fails for some patients. Notably, around half of relapsing patients develop CD19 negative (CD19neg) B-ALL allowing leukemic cells to evade CD19-targeted therapy. Herein, we investigate leukemic cells of a relapsing B-ALL patient, at two-time points: before (T1) and after (T2) anti-CD19 CAR-T treatment. We show that at T2, the B-ALL relapse is CD19 negative due to the expression of a non-functional CD19 transcript retaining intron 2. Then, using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) approach, we demonstrate that CD19neg leukemic cells were present before CAR-T cell therapy and thus that the relapse results from the selection of these rare CD19neg B-ALL clones. In conclusion, our study shows that scRNAseq profiling can reveal pre-existing CD19neg subclones, raising the possibility to assess the risk of targeted therapy failure.
Project description:Zebley et al. show that CD8+ CD19-CAR T cells undergo genome-wide DNA methylation changes during an anti-tumor response in patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Post-infusion CAR T cell differentiation involves acquisition of DNA methylation programs associated with effector function, repression of memory potential, and transition toward exhaustion.
Project description:Long-lived, self-renewing, multipotent T memory stem cells (TSCM) can trigger profound and sustained tumor regression but their rareness poses a major hurdle to their clinical application. Presently, clinically compliant procedures to generate relevant numbers of this T cell population are undefined. Here, we provide a strategy for deriving large numbers of clinical grade tumor-redirected TSCM cells starting from naïve precursors. CD8+CD62L+CD45RA+ naïve T cells enriched by streptamer-based serial positive selection were activated by CD3/CD28 engagement in the presence of IL-7, IL-21 and the glycogen synthase-3β inhibitor TWS119, and genetically engineered to express a CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CD19-CAR). These conditions allowed for the generation of CD19-CAR modified TSCM cells that were phenotypically, functionally and transcriptomically equivalent to their naturally occurring counterpart. Compared with T cell products currently under clinical investigation, CD19-CAR modified TSCM cells exhibit enhanced metabolic fitness, persistence and anti-tumor activity against systemic acute lymphoblastic leukemia xenografts. Based on these findings, we have initiated a phase 1 clinical study to evaluate the activity of CD19-CAR modified TSCM in patients with B-cell malignancies refractory to prior allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Three healthy human blood donors provided lymphocyte-enriched apheresis blood for this study after informed consent. From all samples, total RNA was isolated using an miRNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen), processed by Ambionâ??s WT expression kit, fragmented and labeled with a WT Terminal Labeling Kit (Affymetrix), hybridized to WT Human Gene 1.0 ST arrays (Affymetrix) and stained on a Genechip Fluidics Station 450 (Affymetrix), all according to the respective manufacturer's instructions. Samples represent exon-level and gene-level analyses.
Project description:Long-lived, self-renewing, multipotent T memory stem cells (TSCM) can trigger profound and sustained tumor regression but their rareness poses a major hurdle to their clinical application. Presently, clinically compliant procedures to generate relevant numbers of this T cell population are undefined. Here, we provide a strategy for deriving large numbers of clinical grade tumor-redirected TSCM cells starting from naïve precursors. CD8+CD62L+CD45RA+ naïve T cells enriched by streptamer-based serial positive selection were activated by CD3/CD28 engagement in the presence of IL-7, IL-21 and the glycogen synthase-3β inhibitor TWS119, and genetically engineered to express a CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CD19-CAR). These conditions allowed for the generation of CD19-CAR modified TSCM cells that were phenotypically, functionally and transcriptomically equivalent to their naturally occurring counterpart. Compared with T cell products currently under clinical investigation, CD19-CAR modified TSCM cells exhibit enhanced metabolic fitness, persistence and anti-tumor activity against systemic acute lymphoblastic leukemia xenografts. Based on these findings, we have initiated a phase 1 clinical study to evaluate the activity of CD19-CAR modified TSCM in patients with B-cell malignancies refractory to prior allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.