Project description:Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies have shown great success in treating hematologic malignancies. Nonetheless, their therapeutic effect on solid tumors remains to be improved. Recently, macrophages have attracted great attention, given their ability to infiltrate solid tumors, phagocytize tumor cells as well as their immunomodulatory capacities. The first generation of CD3ζ-based CAR-macrophages demonstrated that the CAR could stimulate macrophage phagocytosis in a tumor antigen-dependent way. Here, we genetically engineered induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived macrophages (iMACs) with TLR4 intracellular TIR domain-containing CARs against EGFRvIII and GPC3, which yielded markedly enhanced antitumor effect in two different solid tumor models including glioblastoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma in which complete remission was achieved with CAR-iMACs alone or in combination with CD47 antibody. Moreover, the tandem CD3ζ-TIR-CAR, or the “second-generation” design of TIR-based dual signaling CAR, endowed iMACs with both target engulfment/efferocytosis capacity against antigen-expressing solid tumor cells, and potency of antigen-dependent M1 state polarization and M2 state resistance in an NF-κB dependent manner. We also illustrated a surprising mechanism of tumor cell elimination by CAR-induced efferocytosis against tumor cell apoptotic bodies. Taken together, we established the next generation CAR-iMACs equipped with orthogonal phagocytosis and polarization capacity for better antitumor functions in treating solid tumors.
Project description:Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T-cell receptor (TCR) T-cell therapies are effective in a subset of patients with solid tumors, but new approaches are needed to enhance efficacy and universally improve patient outcomes. IL-15 and IL-21 are common cytokine-receptor gamma chain family members with distinct, pleiotropic effects on T-cells and other lymphocytes. We found that self-delivery of these cytokines by CAR or TCR T-cells prevents functional exhaustion by repeated stimulation and limits the emergence of dysfunctional natural killer (NK)-like T-cells. Across different preclinical murine solid tumor models, we observe enhanced regression with each individual cytokine but the greatest anti-tumor efficacy when T-cells are armored with both. Thus, the co-expression of membrane-tethered IL-15 and IL-21 represents a technology to enhance the resilience and function of engineered T-cells against solid tumors and could be applicable to multiple therapy platforms and diseases.
Project description:Vδ1T cells, a rare subset of γδT cells, hold promise for treating solid tumors. Unlike conventional T cells, they recognize tumor antigens independently of the MHC antigen-presentation pathway, making them a potential “off-the-shelf” cell therapy product. However, isolation and activation of Vδ1T cells is challenging, which has limited their clinical investigation. Here, we developed a large-scale clinical-grade manufacturing process for Vδ1T cells and validated the therapeutic potential of B7-H3-CAR-modified Vδ1T cells in treating solid tumors. Co-expression of interleukin-2 with the B7-H3-CAR led to durable anti-tumor activity of Vδ1T cells in vitro and in vivo. In multiple subcutaneous and orthotopic mouse xenograft tumor models, a single intravenous administration of the CAR-Vδ1T cells resulted in complete tumor regression. These modified cells demonstrated significant in vivo expansion and robust homing ability to tumors, akin to natural tissue-resident immune cells.Additionally, the B7-H3-CAR-Vδ1T cells exhibited a favorable safety profile. In conclusion, B7-H3-CAR-modified Vδ1T cells represent a promising strategy for treating solid tumors.
Project description:Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapies for B cell malignancies demonstrate high response rate and durable disease control. However, in the case of solid tumors, CAR-T cells have shown dysfunction ascribed to some intrinsic defects in CAR signaling. Here, we construct a multi-chain chimeric receptor, termed as Synthetic T Cell Receptor and Antigen Receptor (STAR), which incorporates antigen-recognition domain of antibody and engages entire CD3 signaling machinery of T cell receptor (TCR). In multiple solid tumor models, STAR-T cells prominently outperform CAR-T cells without notable toxicity. STAR triggers strong and sensitive TCR-like signaling upon antigen stimulation. We compared the transcriptional profiles of STAR/CAR/TCR-T cells after stimulation for different time points (0, 6, 24, 72 hours), in order to figure out whether signaling difference of these receptors led to distinct gene expression. Our results showd that STAR activation phencopied TCR, while CAR drove a different program, displayed as various pathways related to effector function, cytokine response and cell survival were altered.
Project description:This is a single arm, open-label, uni-center, phase I-II study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of CAR-T/TCR-T cell immunotherapy in treating with different malignancies patients.
Project description:Although chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have demonstrated remarkable therapeutic activity in hematopoietic malignancies, antigen escape and tumor heterogeneity have in part impeded the durable efficacy of CAR T cells and their extension into successful solid tumor treatment. To address these challenges, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) - derived T (iT) cells were specifically engineered to uniformly express both CAR and T cell receptors (TCR), enabling targeting of both surface and intracellular antigens, respectively, along with a high-affinity, non-cleavable variant of CD16a (hnCD16) to support antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC) when combined with therapeutic antibodies. Co-expression of each of these unique anti-tumor targeting strategies on engineered iT cells enabled independent and antigen-specific tumor cell killing across a diverse set of liquid and solid tumors. In heterogenous tumor models, coactivation of two or more of these effector modalities was required for measurable anti-tumor efficacy, with all three displaying maximal efficacy. These data highlight the therapeutic potential of an off-the-shelf engineered iPSC-derived Trimodal T cell expressing CAR, TCR, and hnCD16 to combat difficult to treat heterogeneous tumors.
Project description:Interleukin-15 (IL15) enhances the antitumor properties of CAR T cells in preclinical solid tumor models but its effects on CAR T cells in humans are not known. Here, we report the first-in-human evaluation of IL15 co-expression in CAR T cells in two cohorts of a total of 24 patients with glypican-3 (GPC3) expressing solid neoplasms. In cohort 1, GPC3-CAR T cells were safe, no objective antitumor responses were detected. In cohort 2, co-expression of IL15 in GPC3-CAR T cells was associated with increased peak expansion in blood and measurable antitumor responses. Cytokine release syndrome was controlled with immunomodulation or with the inducible caspase 9 safety switch. Single cell transcriptomic analyses identified gene expression of tumor infiltrating CAR T cells associated with antitumor responses.
Project description:Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells have shown remarkable success in the therapy of hematological malignancies, but they have not yet proven nearly as effective in treating non-hematopoietic cancers. This study proposes augmentation of CAR T-cell function and accumulation in solid tumors by modifying the epigenetic landscape that governs early memory differentiation and adaptation to tissue residency. We identified that a key factor in human tissue-resident memory CAR T-cell (CAR-TRM) formation is activation in the presence of the pleotropic cytokine, TGF-β, which epigenetically enforces a core transcriptional program of both ‘stemness’ and sustained tissue residency. This strategy results in a readily actionable in vitro production method for engineering peripheral blood T-cells into large numbers of ‘stem-like’ CAR-TRM cells resistant to epigenetically-imposed exhaustion that possess enhanced ability to accumulate in situ and rapidly kill cancer cells for more effective immunotherapy.