scholarly journals Preclinical Assessment of CDR101 - a BCMAxCD3xPD-L1 Trispecific Antibody with Superior Anti-Tumor Efficacy

Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 1583-1583
Author(s):  
Melissa Vrohlings ◽  
Jan Müller ◽  
Stephanie Jungmichel ◽  
David Senn ◽  
Anna Bianca Howald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Myeloma ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Target Cell ◽  
Stock Options ◽  
Cell Killing ◽  
Clinical Development ◽  
Cellular Interaction ◽  
Immune Synapse ◽  
Privately Held

Abstract BCMAxCD3 targeting therapies have demonstrated anti-myeloma activity, and high minimal residual disease negativity rates can be achieved with this approach in heavily pre-treated patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Despite these promising clinical results, patients eventually develop resistant disease and relapse. Thus, there is a high need for novel BCMA therapies that can evade the resistance mechanisms and provide more durable responses. Recently, we reported on the promising activity of the Local Activator and T cell Engager (LocATE) technology, a trispecific molecule that targets CD3, BCMA and PD-L1, redirecting T cells to multiple myeloma (MM) cells while selectively counteracting PD-L1/PD-1 induced immunosuppression at the immune synapse (ASH, 2020). Here we present CDR101, an optimized LocATE candidate with potential for clinical development. First, we analyzed the ability of CDR101 to induce PBMC-mediated cytotoxicity in two MM cell-lines expressing BCMA (U-266 and NCI-H929) and compared it to four BCMAxCD3 bispecific formats currently in clinical development (a half-life extended BCMAxCD3 BiTE, a BCMA-TCB, and two different BCMAxCD3 bispecific monoclonal antibodies) alone or in combination with a separate PD-L1 blocking antibody. CDR101 resulted in at least 10-fold increased T cell-mediated target cell lysis compared to control BCMAxCD3 bispecifics. Strikingly, CDR101 also resulted in increased MM cell killing when compared to free, independent combinations of BCMAxCD3 bispecifics and the PD-L1 inhibitor. These results, together with the observation that MM cells upregulate the expression of PD-L1 in response to treatment with BCMAxCD3 bispecifics, suggest that the superior effect of CDR101 could be attributed to preferential and highly selective inhibition of the PD-1/PD-L1 axis at the cellular interaction within the immune synapse. Next, bone marrow aspirates from newly diagnosed and RRMM patients were treated with increasing concentrations of CDR101 or a BCMAxCD3 bispecific control. After 24h of incubation, percentage of viable CD138-positive cells and activation status of autologous T cells were analyzed by FACS. Overall, CDR101 potently induced lysis of primary MM cells independently of the E:T ratio (range of E:T ratio between 1.3:1 and 33:1). CDR101 achieved higher target cell killing in all samples compared to the bispecific control, with at least 2-fold difference in 3 out of 4 samples at the highest concentration tested. Concomitantly, CDR101 induced a dose-dependent increase of the T cell activation marker CD25, corroborating the ability of CDR101 to counteract PD-L1/PD-1 induced immunosuppression. In vivo anti-tumor activity of CDR101 was evaluated using a human MM (NCI-H929) xenograft model in NPG mice. Treatment with four different doses of CDR101 or BCMAxCD3 bispecific control demonstrated that CDR101 induced stronger and more durable responses compared to the bispecific control leading to complete tumor regression in 55 out of 60 mice at the last day of treatment (day 29) with no relapse until the end of the observation time (day 41). Collectively, CDR101 demonstrated that targeting BCMA with simultaneous blockade of PD-L1 leads to improved myeloma cell killing compared to clinically validated therapies. In contrast to high-affinity PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors, CDR101 selectively inhibits PD-L1 at the immune synapse preventing on-target off-tumor effects. This is expected to translate into a decreased incidence of immune related adverse events (irAEs) and better efficacy arguing for a high clinical potential and swift translation into the clinic. Disclosures Vrohlings: CDR-Life Inc: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Jungmichel: CDR-Life Inc: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Senn: CDR-Life Inc: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Howald: CDR-Life Inc: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Schleier: CDR-Life Inc: Current Employment, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Scheifele: CDR-Life Inc: Current Employment, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Wendelspiess: CDR-Life Inc: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Richle: CDR-Life Inc: Current Employment, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Merten: CDR-Life Inc: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Lenherr-Frey: CDR-Life Inc: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Leisner: CDR-Life Inc: Current Employment, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Manz: CDR-Life Inc: Consultancy, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company; University of Zurich: Patents & Royalties: CD117xCD3 TEA. Borras: CDR-Life Inc: Current Employment, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company.

scholarly journals Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Gamma Delta CAR-T Cells for Cancer Immunotherapy

Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 2771-2771
Author(s):  
Mark A Wallet ◽  
Toshinobu Nishimura ◽  
Christina Del Casale ◽  
Andriana Lebid ◽  
Brenda Salantes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Stock Options ◽  
Γδ T Cells ◽  
Differentiation Process ◽  
Cell Therapies ◽  
Car T Cells ◽  
Car T ◽  
Privately Held

Abstract Introduction Allogenic CAR-T cell therapies for cancer provide a new option to reduce barriers faced by autologous cell therapies, but several challenges remain. One challenge is the risk of graft versus host disease (GvHD) caused by the infused T cells. A potential solution is the use of a subset of gamma delta (γδ) CAR-T cells whose T cell receptors (TCRs) recognize invariant antigens rather than hypervariable MHC molecules. Here we describe an off-the-shelf, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived γδ CAR-T (γδ CAR-iT) for treatment of cancer and a process for deriving such cells. Methods T cell-derived iPSCs (TiPSC) are generated by reprogramming γδ T cells to yield pluripotent stem cells. For proof-of-concept studies, TiPSC were engineered using CRISPR gene editing to deliver a CD19 CAR transgene. TiPSC are then subjected to a two-stage differentiation process. First, TiPSC are differentiated into CD34-expressing hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs). HPCs are then exposed to a feeder-free differentiation process that results in uniform γδ CAR-iT cells. The purity and identity of γδ CAR-iT cells were assessed by flow cytometry and the ability of γδ CAR-iT cells to respond to homeostatic growth factors was determined by intracellular staining of phosphorylated signaling proteins and mRNA transcriptome analysis. Cytokine production by CAR-iT cells was measured by immunoassays following stimulation of the CAR. Tumor cell killing by γδ CAR-iT cells was performed using IncuCyte cytotoxicity assays. In vivo control of tumors by γδ CAR-iT in immunodeficient mice was determined using a NALM-6 B cell lymphoblastic xenograft model. Results A research-grade γδ TiPSC line was used to develop an iT differentiation process. This γδ TiPSC line was engineered to express a CD19 CAR molecule and then subjected to the differentiation process after which >95% of cells were CD3 + γδ TCR + CAR + iT cells. These γδ CAR-iT cells responded to IL-2 and IL-15. STAT5 phosphorylation levels were similar but STAT3 phosphorylation levels were greater in response to IL-15 compared to IL-2 at equimolar concentrations of cytokine. IL-2 and IL-15 elicited qualitatively similar transcriptional responses, but the magnitude of cytokine-induced gene expression was generally greater in IL-15-treated cells. Upon activation, γδ CAR-iT cells released markedly less IFN-γ and other inflammatory cytokines than conventional blood-derived ab CAR-T cells. In an IncuCyte serial killing assay, γδ CAR-iT cells exhibited sustained killing of NALM-6 tumor cells for at least one week in the presence of IL-15. In vivo, γδ CAR-iT cells caused a significant reduction in NALM-6 tumor burden with a single dose of γδ CAR-iT resulting in >95% tumor growth inhibition. To establish an efficient method for derivation of clinical grade γδ TiPSC lines, we investigated methods to isolate, expand, and reprogram human γδ T cells. When γδ T cells were expanded by exposure to the chemical zoledronic acid (zoledronate) and IL-2, we found a large disparity between donors; some donors exhibit robust expansion while others are seemingly resistant to zoledronate. In order to enhance γδ T cell expansion we screened dozens of activation conditions and eventually established a universal activation protocol that can elicit robust expansion of γδ T cells from all donors tested. When expanded γδ T cells were subjected to reprogramming conditions, dozens to hundreds of individual TiPSC colonies were obtained from each donor. The identity of the rearranged γδ TCR locus was confirmed using molecular assays. New γδ TiPSC lines were engineered with a CD19 CAR molecule and killing activity was confirmed in an in vitro serial killing assay. Conclusions γδ CAR-iT cells provide a new opportunity to treat cancers with an off-the-shelf universal T cell platform without the risk for GvHD. γδ CAR-iT cells are readily manufacturable, and we have derived an end-to-end process that enables new TiPSC line reprogramming, genetic modification of TiPSC lines, and feeder-free differentiation. γδ CAR-iT cells exhibit potent antigen-specific tumor killing and they release less inflammatory cytokine than conventional CAR-T cells, potentially reducing the risk for cytokine-mediated toxicities. We believe that this off-the-shelf platform will enable safer and more accessible allogenic cell therapies for hematologic and solid cancers. Disclosures Wallet: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Nishimura: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Del Casale: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Lebid: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Salantes: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Santostefano: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Bucher: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Mendonca: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Beqiri: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Thompson: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Morse: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Millar Quinn: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Borges: Century Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company.

Local activator and T cell engager (LocATE) selectively blocks PD-L1 at the cytolytic synapse for deeper responses in multiple myeloma.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 8045-8045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Leisner ◽  
Leonardo Borras ◽  
Stephanie Jungmichel ◽  
Philipp Richle ◽  
Fabian Scheifele ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Myeloma ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
T Cell Activation ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Checkpoint Inhibition ◽  
Bone Marrow Biopsies ◽  
Immune Synapse

8045 Background: The BCMA-targeting bispecific T-cell engager AMG420 emerged as the first bispecific that achieved responses similar to CAR-T therapies in patients with relapsed/refractory (RR) multiple myeloma (MM). Despite improved ORR, the median duration until relapse is currently limited to approximately 12 months. Persistent minimal residual disease drives relapse and is characterized by increased expression of PD-1/PD-L1. Efficacy with checkpoint inhibitors is compromised by 1) their activity not been targeted specifically to the immune synapse between T cells and cancer cells, and 2) dose-limiting broadly distributed immune-related adverse events, which has halted several clinical trials. This underscores the need for localized checkpoint inhibition within the cytolytic synapse. We developed a Local Activator and T cell Engager (LocATE) antibody that combines binding to CD3 and BCMA with selective blockade of PD-L1 at the immune synapse in just one scaffold. Selectivity is achieved via low afffinity for PD-L1 and high affinity for BCMA. Methods: Antibody mediated Cytotoxicity (LDH assay) and T cell activation (IL-2 release) was measured in vitro using MM cell lines together with isolated human CD3+ T cells. Human ex vivo T cell activity and redirection was evaluated on fresh bone marrow biopsies from MM patients with different disease stages by automated microscopy (pharmacoscopy) and image analysis. Results: The LocATE antibody showed a 5-fold increase in T cell activation and MM cell killing in vitro compared to a BCMAxCD3 BiTE. Furthermore, patient-derived MM cells showed up to a 19-fold increase in T cell activation as compared to a BCMAxCD3 BiTE or a combination of BiTE and PD-L1 inhibitor, while no activity was observed on healthy cells. Conclusions: These results suggest that T cell redirection with simultaneous checkpoint inhibition in the synapse is highly potent while minimizing off-tumor toxicity, therefore, has high therapeutic potential for patients with relapsed MM.

scholarly journals Leveraging a physiologically based quantitative translational modeling platform for designing bispecific T cell engagers for treatment of multiple myeloma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoki Yoneyama ◽  
Mi-Sook Kim ◽  
Konstantin Piatkov ◽  
Haiqing Wang ◽  
Andy Z.X. Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Myeloma ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Synapse Formation ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Immune Synapse ◽  
Immune Synapses ◽  
Physiologically Based

Bispecific T cell engager (TCE) is an emerging anti-cancer modality which redirects cytotoxic T cells to tumor cells expressing tumor-associated antigen (TAA) thereby forming immune synapses to exerts anti-tumor effects. Considering the protein engineering challenges in designing and optimizing size and pharmacokinetically acceptable TCEs in the context of the complexity of intercellular bridging between T cells and tumor cells, a physiologically relevant and clinically verified computational modeling framework is of crucial importance to guide the process to understand the protein engineering trade offs. In this study, we developed a quantitative, physiologically based computational framework to predict immune synapse formation for a variety of molecular format of TCEs in tumor tissue. Our model incorporated the molecular size dependent biodistribution using the two pore theory, extra-vascularization of T cells and hematologic cancer cells, mechanistic bispecific intercellular binding of TCEs and competitive inhibitory interaction by shed targets. The biodistribution of TCE was verified by positron emission tomography imaging of [89Zr]AMG211 (a carcinoembryonic antigen-targeting TCE) in patients. Parameter sensitivity analyses indicated that immune synapse formation was highly sensitive to TAA expression, degree of target shedding and binding selectivity to tumor cell surface TAA over shed target. Interestingly, the model suggested a “sweet spot” for TCE’s CD3 binding affinity which balanced the trapping of TCE in T cell rich organs. The final model simulations indicated that the number of immune synapses is similar (~50/tumor cell) between two distinct clinical stage B cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-targeting TCEs, PF-06863135 in IgG format and AMG420 in BiTE format, at their respective efficacious dose in multiple myeloma patients, demonstrating the applicability of the developed computational modeling framework to molecular design optimization and clinical benchmarking for TCEs. This framework can be employed to other targets to provide a quantitative means to facilitate the model-informed best in class TCE discovery and development.

scholarly journals Effects of Prior Exposure to Tec Kinase(BTK/ITK) Inhibitors on Kte-X19 Products

Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 3849-3849
Author(s):  
Irene Scarfò ◽  
Kathleen M.E. Gallagher ◽  
Mark B. Leick ◽  
Michael C. Kann ◽  
Justin Budka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Stock Options ◽  
Effector Function ◽  
Prior Exposure ◽  
Publicly Traded ◽  
Car T Cells ◽  
Car T ◽  
Post Infusion ◽  
Privately Held

Abstract Introduction: Frequent and durable responses were recently reported in relapsed or refractory (R/R) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) patients treated with KTE-X19, an autologous CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor-engineered T-cell (CAR-T) product (Wang et al. N Engl J Med. 2020). Most patients enrolled had received at least one line of Tec kinase inhibitor prior to KTE-X19 manufacturing, either in the form of ibrutinib, a Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) and Inducible T cell kinase (ITK) inhibitor, or acalabrutinib, a more selective BTK inhibitor. Pharmacokinetic expansion of KTE-X19 was higher in ibrutinib-treated patients relative to acalabrutinib-treated patients. We previously showed that prolonged exposure to ibrutinib enhanced T cell effector function and proliferation in patients with CLL (Fraietta et al, Blood, 2016). To assess the impact of Tec kinase inhibitor on KTE-X19 products and downstream clinical outcomes, we examined the phenotype, transcriptional profile and cytokine production of KTE-X19 infusion products and post-infusion lymphocytes from patients with R/R MCL treated on the Zuma-2 study. Study Design and Methods: We evaluated biospecimens from MCL patients who enrolled on the Zuma-2 clinical trial (NCT02601313) and who were previously treated with ibrutinib (n=14) or acalabrutinib (n=6). Samples analyzed consisted of KTE-X19 CAR T products and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) collected 7 days after infusion. Lymphocytes were assessed for CAR expression, T cell phenotype, transcriptional profile and cytokine production. In addition, CAR T cell phenotypes and cytokines were profiled following co-culture of KTE-X19 with CD19 + Toledo cells (DLBCL). Results: Flow cytometric analysis of KTE-X19 demonstrated similar distributions of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and comparable frequencies of central and effector memory populations in the CAR+ T cells derived from patients with prior exposure to ibrutinib vs. acalabrutinib. T helper subset analysis trended towards enrichment of Th1/Th17 populations within the CAR+ CD4+ cells of the ibrutinib cohort. This finding was further supported by transcriptional profiling of sorted CAR+ T cells from infusion products, where Th1/Th17, Jak/STAT and activation-related genes were enriched in the cohort with prior ibrutinib exposure. In addition, the Th1 phenotype was more frequent in PBMC of ibrutinib-exposed patients (8/14) compared to acalabrutinib-exposed patients (1/4). Interestingly, a shift from a central memory-dominant product towards an effector memory phenotype was observed in peripheral CD4+ and CD8+ CAR T cells in the ibrutinib cohort, whereas acalabrutinib post-infusion CAR T cells maintained a central memory phenotype. In vitro stimulation of KTE-X19 CAR-T infusion products with tumor cells resulted in a significant enrichment of the Th1 population in patients who had received ibrutinib compared to those that received acalabrutinib (p=0.0058). Following stimulation, CAR-T cells from the acalabrutinib cohort produced higher levels of Th2 cytokines, including IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 as well as GM-CSF compared to the ibrutinib cohort. Conclusions: Analysis of KTE-X19 infusion products and day 7 post-infusion PBMC demonstrated that CAR T cells from patients with prior ibrutinib exposure have a Th1 predominant phenotype, suggesting that ibrutinib but not acalabrutinib promotes Th1 differentiation and effector function, potentially through the inhibition of ITK. Furthermore, our data suggest that inhibition of non-BTK targets such as ITK may play a role in driving a Th17 phenotype. Prior exposure to ibrutinib may increase CAR T cell effector function to a greater extent than exposure to acalabrutinib to enhance clinical outcome in patients with MCL. Disclosures Budka: Kite Pharma: Current Employment. Sowrirajan: Kite Pharma: Current Employment. Nguyen: Kite Pharma: Current Employment. Shen: Gilead Sciences: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Kite, a Gilead Company: Current Employment, Other: Leadership role, Patents & Royalties; Atara: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Other: Leadership role, Patents & Royalties. Bot: Kite, a Gilead Company: Current Employment; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Other: Travel support. Maus: Agenus: Consultancy; Arcellx: Consultancy; Astellas: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Atara: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy; BMS: Consultancy; Cabaletta Bio (SAB): Consultancy; CRISPR therapeutics: Consultancy; In8bio (SAB): Consultancy; Intellia: Consultancy; GSK: Consultancy; Kite Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Micromedicine: Consultancy, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company; Novartis: Consultancy; Tmunity: Consultancy; Torque: Consultancy, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company; WindMIL: Consultancy; Adaptimmune: Consultancy; tcr2: Consultancy, Divested equity in a private or publicly-traded company in the past 24 months; century: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; ichnos biosciences: Consultancy, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company.

ISB 1342: A first-in-class CD38 T cell engager for the treatment of relapsed refractory multiple myeloma.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 8044-8044
Author(s):  
Marie-Agnès Doucey ◽  
Blandine Pouleau ◽  
Carole Estoppey ◽  
Cian Stutz ◽  
Amelie Croset ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Myeloma ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Cell Killing ◽  
Fragment Antigen Binding ◽  
Tumor Cell Killing

8044 Background: ISB 1342 is a bispecific antibody heterodimer based on the Ichnos proprietary Bispecific Engagement by Antibodies based on T cell receptor (BEAT) platform. ISB 1342 is a first-in-class CD38 T cell engager under investigation in subjects with relapsed multiple myeloma refractory to proteasome inhibitors (PIs), immunomodulators (IMiDs) and daratumumab (study ISB 1342-101). Methods: ISB 1342 was engineered with a single chain variable fragment (scFv) arm that specifically recognizes a cluster of differentiation (CD)3-epsilon (CD3ε) and a fragment antigen binding (Fab) arm which specifically recognizes CD38 and does not compete with daratumumab. By co-engaging CD3ε on T cells and CD38 on tumor cells, ISB 1342 redirects T cells to kill CD38-expressing tumor cells. This mechanism of action is differentiated from existing monospecific CD38 targeting therapies and was designed to overcome resistance to daratumumab in multiple myeloma. Results: In vitro, ISB 1342 killed a large range of CD38-expressing tumor cell lines (EC50:12 to 90 pM) with 8 to 239-fold superior efficacy than daratumumab. ISB 1342 was also able to efficiently kill CD38 low-intermediate-expressing tumor cells that were poorly killed by daratumumab. ISB 1342 retained the potency to kill CD38 low-intermediate-expressing tumor cells when used in sequential or concomitant combination with daratumumab. In addition, the presence of soluble CD38 or glucocorticoid did not impact ISB 1342 killing potency. ISB 1342 was constructed with a double LALA mutation that dampens the binding to Fcγ receptors and C1q. Consistently, ISB 1342 showed only residual Fc-mediated effector functions and its mechanism of tumor cell killing critically relies on the engagement and the activation of T lymphocytes. ISB 1342 showed a favorable on target specificity profile in vitro and was unable to activate T cells in the absence of CD38 positive target cells. Further, ISB 1342-induced tumor cell killing was not associated with a detectable T cell fratricide in vitro. Finally, the potency of ISB 1342 was assessed in vivo in a therapeutic model of a subcutaneously established Daudi tumor co-xenografted with human PBMCs. In marked contrast to daratumumab, which induced only a partial tumor control, ISB 1342 induced complete tumor eradication when injected intravenously weekly at 0.5 mg/kg. As anticipated, the ISB 1342 control molecule (ISB 1342_13DU) made of an irrelevant CD38 binder failed to control tumor growth. The release of the Granzyme A and B, TNF-alpha and CXCL-10 in the tumor micro-environment one week post-treatment was strongly and significantly increased by ISB 1342 but not by daratumumab and ISB 1342_13DU; this represents a correlate of anti-tumor immunity associated with ISB 1342 efficacy in vivo. Conclusions: Hence the higher potency of ISB 1342 relative to daratumumab supports the ongoing clinical development in multiple myeloma patients.

scholarly journals A Novel T Cell-Engaging Bispecific Antibody for Treating Mesothelin-Positive Solid Tumors

Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 399
Author(s):  
Aerin Yoon ◽  
Shinai Lee ◽  
Sua Lee ◽  
Sojung Lim ◽  
Yong-Yea Park ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Solid Tumors ◽  
T Cell Activation ◽  
Target Cell ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
Cell Killing ◽  
Bispecific Antibodies ◽  
Target Cells

As mesothelin is overexpressed in various types of cancer, it is an attractive target for therapeutic antibodies. T-cell bispecific antibodies bind to target cells and engage T cells via binding to CD3, resulting in target cell killing by T-cell activation. However, the affinity of the CD3-binding arm may influence CD3-mediated plasma clearance or antibody trapping in T-cell-containing tissues. This may then affect the biodistribution of bispecific antibodies. In this study, we used scFab and knob-into-hole technologies to construct novel IgG-based 1 + 1 MG1122-A and 2 + 1 MG1122-B bispecific antibodies against mesothelin and CD3ε. MG1122-B was designed to be bivalent to mesothelin and monovalent to CD3ε, using a 2 + 1 head-to-tail format. Activities of the two antibodies were evaluated in mesothelin-positive tumor cells in vitro and xenograft models in vivo. Although both antibodies exhibited target cell killing efficacy and produced regression of xenograft tumors with CD8+ T-cell infiltration, the antitumor efficacy of MG1122-B was significantly higher. MG1122-B may improve tumor targeting because of its bivalency for tumor antigen. It may also reduce systemic toxicity by limiting the activation of circulating T cells. Thus, MG1122-B may be useful for treating mesothelin-positive solid tumors.

scholarly journals Identification of molecular candidates which regulate calcium-dependent CD8+ T-cell cytotoxicity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Zöphel ◽  
Gertrud Schwär ◽  
Maryam Nazarieh ◽  
Verena Konetzki ◽  
Cora Hoxha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Target Cell ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Immunological Synapse ◽  
Differential Expression Analysis ◽  
Cell Killing ◽  
Calcium Dependent ◽  
Cell Clones ◽  
Regulator Genes

AbstractCytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes (CTL) eliminate infected cells or transformed tumour cells by releasing perforin-containing cytotoxic granules at the immunological synapse. The secretion of such granules depends on Ca2+-influx through store operated Ca2+ channels, formed by STIM-activated Orai proteins. Whereas molecular mechanisms of the secretion machinery are well understood, much less is known about the molecular machinery that regulates the efficiency of Ca2+-dependent target cell killing. Here, we isolated total RNA from natural killer (NK) cells, non-stimulated CD8+ T-cells, and from Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin A (SEA) stimulated CD8+ T-cells (SEA-CTL) and conducted whole genome expression profiling by microarray experiments. Based on differential expression analysis of the transcriptome data and analysis of master regulator genes, we identified 31 candidates which potentially regulate Ca2+-homeostasis in CTL. To investigate a putative function of these candidates in CTL cytotoxicity, we transfected either SEA-stimulated CTL (SEA-CTL) or antigen specific CD8+ T-cell clones (CTL-MART-1) with siRNAs specific against the identified candidates and analyzed the killing capacity using a real-time killing assay. In addition, we complemented the analysis by studying the effect of inhibitory substances acting on the candidate proteins if available. Finally, to unmask their involvement in Ca2+ dependent cytotoxicity, candidates were also analyzed under Ca2+-limiting conditions. Overall, this strategy led to the identification of KCNN4, RCAN3, CCR5 and BCL2 as potential candidates to regulate the efficiency of Ca2+-dependent target cell killing.

scholarly journals Characterization of Aleta-001, a CAR T Engager Designed to Optimize Responses and Prevent Relapses from CAR-19 Therapy

Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 1713-1713
Author(s):  
Paul Rennert ◽  
Lihe Su ◽  
Lan Wu ◽  
Roy Lobb ◽  
Christine Ambrose
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Stock Options ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Complete Response ◽  
Car T ◽  
Cd19 Expression ◽  
Privately Held

Abstract Adoptive T cell therapies directed to the B cell malignancy antigen CD19 (CAR19 T cells) have transformed the care of otherwise refractory, last-line leukemia and lymphoma patients. The overall response rates achieved are very high, routinely above 60%, and a substantial number of responding patients have durable responses that can last many years. However, 50% of responders relapse within 6 months, and outcomes for these relapsed patients are poor. Relapses occur most often in patients whose initial CAR19 T cell expansion is suboptimal, and whose tumor cells reduce or lose expression of the target antigen, CD19. We have created a CAR T Engager protein that is designed to improve responses to anti-CD19 CAR T treatment and is further designed to prevent relapses. This modular protein contains an anti-CD20 llama VHH linked to an optimized CD19 protein and further linked to an anti-albumin llama VHH. Thus, this CAR T Engager, called Aleta-001, binds to CD20 on B cell tumor cells, displays CD19 on the tumor cell surface thereby activating anti-CD19 CAR T cells, and binds to albumin, providing for a long half-life upon injection. Aleta-001 increases CD19 antigen density and/or replaces lost CD19 expression by coating cell surface CD20 with CD19. Here we present studies that establish the efficacious dose to support the upcoming Phase 1/2 clinical trial to be run in collaboration with Cancer Research UK. Extensive in vitro modeling established that the Aleta-001 CAR T Engager specifically bound to CD20-positive/CD19 negative lymphoma cells, JeKo-1-CD19KO, that represent the phenotype of a lymphoma relapsing after losing CD19 expression. In the presence of CAR19 T cells, the Engager protein mediated cytotoxicity against the JeKo-1-CD19KO cells at sub-nM concentrations. The JeKo-1-CD19KO cells induced a rapid and lethal lymphoma when implanted into NSG mice. Administration of the Aleta-001 CAR T Engager and CAR19 T cells eliminated the JeKo-1-CD19KO lymphoma at administered protein concentrations as low as 0.5mg/kg. These results support the clinical development of the Aleta-001 Engager protein. The protein is designed to be administered to patients who have received CAR19 T cell therapy and who fail to achieve a complete response at the time of their first clinical evaluation, or who relapse from a complete response thereafter. Patients who are enrolled will be dosed with the Aleta-001 Engager protein every two weeks. Aleta-001 has entered GMP production and IND enabling studies and will then enter Phase 1 dose escalation clinical studies in the UK. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Rennert: Aleta Biotherapeutics Inc.: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Su: Aleta Biotherapeutics Inc.: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Wu: Aleta Biotherapeutics Inc.: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Lobb: Aleta Biotherapeutics Inc.: Consultancy, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Ambrose: Aleta Biotherapeutics Inc.: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company.

91 Directly link T cell phenotype and function to genotype with the opto™ cell therapy development 1.0 workflow

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A102-A102
Author(s):  
Yelena Bronevetsky
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Target Cell ◽  
Cell Killing ◽  
Cytokine Secretion ◽  
Tumor Cell Death ◽  
Car T ◽  
Therapy Development

BackgroundThe key challenges to developing T cell-based therapies center on the fact that T cell-mediated tumor death relies on complicated cell-cell interactions and several complex mechanisms. These therapies have also been associated with significant side effects related to cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity, placing importance on understanding T cell anti-tumor functions like cytokine release and killing kinetics. Ideally, T cell therapies would be tailored to mediate the rapid destruction of multiple tumor cells while reducing these side effects.MethodsThe Berkeley Lights Opto™ Cell Therapy Development Workflow is a collection of software capabilities, reagents, and protocols that allow scientists to selectively measure cytokine secretion, visualize killing behavior, and sequence TCRs from individual cells in parallel. Here, we demonstrate its use for CAR-T cell phenotypic and functional screening as well as the discovery of TCRs associated with specific T cell behaviors.ResultsThe cumulative percentage of pens with tumor cell caspase-3 activity increased over time in pens loaded with CD19+ tumors, peaking at 50% tumor cell death after 16 hours of incubation. This is in contrast to only 10% of pens displaying tumor cell death in control pens loaded with CD19- tumor cells; control pens also exhibited slower killing kinetics. The single-cell resolution of the OptoSelect™ microfluidic chip enabled us to analyze each significant T cell-tumor cell interaction. We were able to directly compare differences in killing kinetics of individual T cells and link this tumor killing behavior to IFNγ secretion. We identified fast-killing and slow-killing CAR-T cells in a single-day experiment, which could then be exported for genomic analysis. We highlight an example where TCR alpha and beta sequences are recovered from single T cells after export.ConclusionsThe Opto™ Cell Therapy Development Workflow on Berkeley Lights systems enables researchers to correlate cytokine secretion to target cell killing behavior in CAR-mediated antigen recognition, discriminate CAR-T cell subsets based on kinetics of target cell killing, and link cytokine secretion and target cell killing behavior to TCR sequence in TCR-mediated antigen recognition.

scholarly journals 653 Dasatinib as a rapid pharmacological ON/OFF switch for T cell bispecific antibody-induced T cell activation and cytokine release

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A690-A690
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Leclercq ◽  
Helene Haegel ◽  
Anneliese Schneider ◽  
Estelle Marrer Berger ◽  
Antje Walz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
T Cell Activation ◽  
Target Cell ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
Bispecific Antibody ◽  
Tumor Antigens ◽  
Cell Killing ◽  
Cytokine Release ◽  
Car T

BackgroundT cell bispecific antibodies (TCBs) are extremely potent T cell engagers, harboring a 2+1 format with one binder to the CD3ε chain and two binders to specific tumor antigens. Crosslinking of CD3 with tumor antigens triggers T cell activation, proliferation and cytokine release, leading to tumor cell killing.1 2 TCB treatment is sometimes associated with safety liabilities due to on-target on-tumor, on-target off-tumor cytotoxic activity and cytokine release. Patients treated with TCBs may experience a Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS), characterized by fever, hypotension and respiratory deficiency and associated with the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-1β.3 Off-tumor toxicity may occur if target antigens are expressed in healthy cells, which may potentially result in tissue damages and compromise the patient‘s safety. Rapid pharmacological blockade of T cell activation and proliferation is a promising approach to mitigate these life-threatening toxicities. Tyrosine kinases such as SRC, LCK or ZAP70 are involved in downstream signaling pathways after engagement of the T cell receptor and blocking these kinases might serve to abrogate T cell activation when required. Dasatinib was identified as a potent candidate that switches off CAR T cell functionality.4 5MethodsUsing an in vitro model of target cell killing by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, we assessed the reversible effects of dasatinib combined with CEA-TCB or HLA-A2-WT1-TCB on T cell activation and proliferation, target cell killing and cytokine release. At assay endpoints, T cell phenotype and target cell killing were measured by flow cytometry and supernatants were analyzed by Luminex to assess cytokine release. To determine the effective dose of dasatinib, the Incucyte system was used to follow kinetics of target cells killing by TCB in the presence of a dose response of dasatinib concentrations.Results100 nM dasatinib prevented TCB-mediated target cell killing when added in the system upon restimulation of activated T cells (figure 1). Dasatinib concentrations above 50 nM fully switched off target cell killing (figure 2) which was restored upon removal of dasatinib. These data confirm that dasatinib act as a potent and reversible on/off switch for activated T cells at pharmacologically relevant doses as they are applied in patients according to the label.6ConclusionsTaken together, we provide evidence for the use of dasatinib as a pharmacological on/off switch to mitigate off-tumor toxicities or CRS by T cell engaging therapies. These data are being validated in vivo.ReferencesBacac M, Fauti T, Sam J, Colombetti S, Weinzierl T, Ouaret D, et al. A novel carcinoembryonic antigen T-Cell Bispecific Antibody [CEA TCB] for the treatment of solid tumors. Clin Cancer Res 2016;22(13):3286–97.Bacac M, Klein C, Umana P. CEA TCB: A novel head-to-tail 2:1 T cell bispecific antibody for treatment of CEA-positive solid tumors. Oncoimmunology 2016;5(8):e1203498.Shimabukuro-Vornhagen A, Gödel P, Subklewe M, Stemmler HJ, Schlößer HA, Schlaak M, et al. Cytokine release syndrome. J Immunother Cancer 2018;6(1):56.Weber EW, Lynn RC, Sotillo E, Lattin J, Xu P, Mackall CL. Pharmacologic control of CAR-T cell function using dasatinib. Blood Advances 2019;3(5):711–7.Mestermann K, Giavridis T, Weber J, Rydzek J, Frenz S, Nerreter T, et al. The tyrosine kinase inhibitor dasatinib acts as a pharmacologic on/off switch for CAR T cells. Science Translational Medicine 2019;11(499):eaau5907.Wang X, Roy A, Hochhaus A, Kantarjian HM, Chen TT, Shah NP. Differential effects of dosing regimen on the safety and efficacy of dasatinib: retrospective exposure-response analysis of a Phase III study. Clinical pharmacology : advances and applications 2013;5:85–97.Abstract 653 Figure 1Representative flow cytometry experiment reporting SKM-1 target cell viability upon first stimulation with 10 nM HLA-A2 WT-1-TCB in the absence of dasatinib (left pannel) and upon second stimulation with 10 nM HLA-A2 WT-1-TCB in the presence of 100 nM dasatinib (right pannel)Abstract 653 Figure 2Real time killing (Incucyte) of red fluorescent A375 cells loaded with RMF peptides by 10 nM HLA-A2 WT-1-TCB (left pannel) and of red fluorescent MKN45 cells by 1 nM CEA-TCB (right pannel) in the presence of different dasatinib concentrations ranging from 100 nM to 0 nM. Mean of technical duplicates + SEM

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