scholarly journals Gene Augmentation and Editing to Improve TCR Engineered T Cell Therapy against Solid Tumors

Vaccines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 733
Author(s):  
Vania Lo Presti ◽  
Frank Buitenwerf ◽  
Niek P. van Til ◽  
Stefan Nierkens
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Solid Tumors ◽  
Gene Editing ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Potential Treatment ◽  
Cell Reactivity ◽  
T Cell Therapy

Recent developments in gene engineering technologies have drastically improved the therapeutic treatment options for cancer patients. The use of effective chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells and recombinant T cell receptor engineered T (rTCR-T) cells has entered the clinic for treatment of hematological malignancies with promising results. However, further fine-tuning, to improve functionality and safety, is necessary to apply these strategies for the treatment of solid tumors. The immunosuppressive microenvironment, the surrounding stroma, and the tumor heterogeneity often results in poor T cell reactivity, functionality, and a diminished infiltration rates, hampering the efficacy of the treatment. The focus of this review is on recent advances in rTCR-T cell therapy, to improve both functionality and safety, for potential treatment of solid tumors and provides an overview of ongoing clinical trials. Besides selection of the appropriate tumor associated antigen, efficient delivery of an optimized recombinant TCR transgene into the T cells, in combination with gene editing techniques eliminating the endogenous TCR expression and disrupting specific inhibitory pathways could improve adoptively transferred T cells. Armoring the rTCR-T cells with specific cytokines and/or chemokines and their receptors, or targeting the tumor stroma, can increase the infiltration rate of the immune cells within the solid tumors. On the other hand, clinical “off-tumor/on-target” toxicities are still a major potential risk and can lead to severe adverse events. Incorporation of safety switches in rTCR-T cells can guarantee additional safety. Recent clinical trials provide encouraging data and emphasize the relevance of gene therapy and gene editing tools for potential treatment of solid tumors.

scholarly journals New Generation Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy (CoupledCAR) Induces High Rate Remissions in Solid Tumor

Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 4631-4631
Author(s):  
Lei Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
T Cells ◽  
Thyroid Cancer ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Solid Tumors ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
T Cell Therapy ◽  
Car T Cells ◽  
Car T

New Generation Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy ( CoupledCAR ) Induces High Rate Remissions in Solid Tumor Yu Liu1,Song Li2,Youli Luo3,Haixia Song4,Chengfei Pu5, Zhiyuan Cao 5, Cheng Lu5,Yang Hang5,Xi Huang5,Xiaogang Shen5 ,Xiaojun Hu3 , Renbin Liu1,Xiuwen Wang2,Junjie Mao3,Shihong Wei4 ,Zhao Wu5and Lei Xiao5* 1.The Third Affiliated Hospital, SUN YAT-SEN University 2.Qilu Hospital of Shandong University 3.The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, SUN YAT-SEN University 4.Gansu Procincial Cancer Hospital 5.Innovative Cellular Therapeutics *Corresponding to: Lei Xiao, [email protected] Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy made significant progress for treating blood cancer such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. However, the therapy faces many challenges, such as physical barrier, tumor microenvironment immunosuppression, tumor heterogeneity, target specificity, and cell expansion in vivo for treatment of solid tumors Conventional CAR T cell therapy showed weak CAR T expansion in patients and thus achieved no or little response for treating solid tumors. Here, we generated "CoupledCAR" T cells including an anti-TSHR CAR molecule. Compared with conventional CART cells,these "CoupledCAR" T cells successfully improved the expansion of CART cells more than 100 times and enhanced CAR T cells' migration ability, allowing the CAR T cells to resist and infiltrate the tumor microenvironment and killed tumor cells. To verify the effect of "CoupledCAR" T cells on solid tumors, we have completed several clinical trials for different solid tumors, including two patients with thyroid cancer. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) results showed that thyroid stimulating hormone receptors (TSHR) were highly expressed in thyroid cancer cells. In vitro co-culture experiments showed that TSHR CAR T cells specifically recognized and killed TSHR-positive tumor cells. Animal experiments showed that TSHR CAR T cells inhibited the proliferation of TSHR-positive tumor cells. Therefore, we designed "CoupledCAR" T cells expressing a binding domain against TSHR. Further,we did clinical trials of two group patients that were successfully treated using conventional TSHR CAR T cells and the "CoupledCAR" T cells, respectively. In the first group using conventional TSHR CAR T cells, patients showed weak cell expansion and less migration ability. In the group using TSHR "CoupledCAR" T cells, patients showed rapid expansion of CAR T cells and killing of tumor cells. One month after infusion (M1), the patient was evaluated as PR(Partial Response): the lymph node metastasis disappeared, and thoracic paratracheal tumors decreased significantly. Three months after infusion (M3), the patient was evaluated as a durable response, and the tumor tissue was substantially smaller than M1. Further, two patients with colonrectal cancer were enrolled in this trial and infused "CoupledCAR" T cells. One patient achieved PR and the other one achieved SD (Stable Disease). Therefore, "CoupledCAR" T cells can effectively promote expansion, migration and killing ability of CAR T cells in patients with thyroid cancer. "CoupledCAR" T cell technology is a technological platform, which may be used to treat other cancer types. Next, we are recruiting more patients with solid tumors in clinical trials using "CoupledCAR" T cells. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

scholarly journals Cell membrane-anchored and tumor-targeted IL-12 (attIL12)-T cell therapy for eliminating large and heterogeneous solid tumors

2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. e003633
Author(s):  
Jiemiao Hu ◽  
Qing Yang ◽  
Wendong Zhang ◽  
Hongwei Du ◽  
Yuhui Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Membrane ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Solid Tumors ◽  
Cell Transfer ◽  
T Cell Therapy ◽  
A Cell ◽  
T Cell Transfer ◽  
Heterogeneous Solid

BackgroundAdoptive T-cell transfer has become an attractive therapeutic approach for hematological malignancies but shows poor activity against large and heterogeneous solid tumors. Interleukin-12 (IL-12) exhibits potent antitumor efficacy against solid tumors, but its clinical application has been stalled because of toxicity. Here, we aimed to develop a safe approach to IL-12 T-cell therapy for eliminating large solid tumors.MethodsWe generated a cell membrane-anchored IL-12 (aIL12), a tumor-targeted IL-12 (ttIL12), and a cell membrane-anchored and ttIL-12 (attIL12) and a cell membrane-anchored and tumor-targeted ttIL-12 (attIL12) armed T cells, chimeric antigen receptor-T cells, and T cell receptor-T (TCR-T) cells with each. We compared the safety and efficacy of these armed T cells in treating osteosarcoma patient-derived xenograft tumors and mouse melanoma tumors after intravenous infusions of the armed T cells.ResultsattIL12-T cell infusion showed remarkable antitumor efficacy in human and mouse large solid tumor models. Mechanistically, attIL12-T cells targeted tumor cells expressing cell-surface vimentin, enriching effector T cell and interferon γ production in tumors, which in turn stimulates dendritic cell maturation for activating secondary T-cell responses and tumor antigen spreading. Both attIL12- and aIL12-T-cell transfer eliminated peripheral cytokine release and the associated toxic effects.ConclusionsThis novel approach sheds light on the safe application of IL-12-based T-cell therapy for large and heterogeneous solid tumors.

scholarly journals CAR T-cell therapy of solid tumors: promising approaches to modulating antitumor activity of CAR T cells

2019 ◽  
pp. 5-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya.Yu. Kiseleva ◽  
A.M. Shishkin ◽  
A.V. Ivanov ◽  
T.M. Kulinich ◽  
V.K. Bozhenko
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Solid Tumors ◽  
Functional Activity ◽  
T Cell Therapy ◽  
Car T Cells ◽  
Car T Cell ◽  
Car T Cell Therapy ◽  
Car T

Adoptive immunotherapy that makes use of genetically modified autologous T cells carrying a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) with desired specificity is a promising approach to the treatment of advanced or relapsed solid tumors. However, there are a number of challenges facing the CAR T-cell therapy, including the ability of the tumor to silence the expression of target antigens in response to the selective pressure exerted by therapy and the dampening of the functional activity of CAR T cells by the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. This review discusses the existing gene-engineering approaches to the modification of CAR T-cell design for 1) creating universal “switchable” synthetic receptors capable of attacking a variety of target antigens; 2) enhancing the functional activity of CAR T cells in the immunosuppressive microenvironment of the tumor by silencing the expression of inhibiting receptors or by stimulating production of cytokines.

scholarly journals Advancing CAR T-Cell Therapy for Solid Tumors: Lessons Learned from Lymphoma Treatment

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksei Titov ◽  
Aygul Valiullina ◽  
Ekaterina Zmievskaya ◽  
Ekaterina Zaikova ◽  
Alexey Petukhov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Solid Tumors ◽  
B Cell Lymphoma ◽  
T Cell Therapy ◽  
Car T Cells ◽  
Car T Cell ◽  
Car T Cell Therapy ◽  
Car T

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) immunotherapy is one of the most promising modern approaches for the treatment of cancer. To date only two CAR T-cell products, Kymriah® and Yescarta®, have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of lymphoblastic leukemia and B-cell lymphoma. Administration of CAR T-cells to control solid tumors has long been envisaged as one of the most difficult therapeutic tasks. The first two clinical trials conducted in sarcoma and neuroblastoma patients showed clinical benefits of CAR T-cells, yet multiple obstacles still hold us back from having accessible and efficient therapy. Why did such an effective treatment for relapsed and refractory hematological malignancies demonstrate only relatively modest efficiency in the context of solid tumors? Is it due to the lucky selection of the “magic” CD19 antigen, which might be one of a kind? Or do lymphomas lack the immunosuppressive features of solid tumors? Here we review the existing knowledge in the field of CAR T-cell therapy and address the heterogeneity of solid tumors and their diverse strategies of immunoevasion. We also provide an insight into prospective developments of CAR T-cell technologies against solid tumors.

A phase Ia/Ib, open-label first-in-human study of the safety, tolerability, and feasibility of gene-edited autologous NeoTCR-T cells (NeoTCR-P1) administered to patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors.

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. TPS3151-TPS3151
Author(s):  
Bartosz Chmielowski ◽  
Samuel Ejadi ◽  
Roel Funke ◽  
Todd Stallings-Schmitt ◽  
Mitch Denker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Solid Tumors ◽  
Cd8 T Cells ◽  
Adoptive T Cell Therapy ◽  
Autologous Tumor ◽  
T Cell Therapy ◽  
Trial Phase

TPS3151 Background: Neoepitopes (neoE) derived from private tumor-exclusive mutations represent compelling targets for personalized TCR-T cell therapy. An ultra-sensitive and high-throughput process was developed to capture tumor mutation-targeted CD8 T cells from patient blood. NeoTCRs cloned from the captured CD8 T cells, when engineered into fresh CD8 and CD4 T cells, effected killing of patients’ autologous tumor cells in vitro. These observations have been leveraged for the development of a fully personalized adoptive T cell therapy (NeoTCR-P1). A Phase 1 clinical trial testing NeoTCR-P1 in subjects with solid tumors is ongoing (NCT03970382). Methods: During the initial trial phase, escalating doses of NeoTCR-P1 T cells administered without and with IL-2 in the regimen, and following conditioning chemotherapy, will be evaluated in subjects with advanced or metastatic solid tumors (melanoma, urothelial cancer, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, HR+ breast cancer, and prostate cancer). The objective of the Phase 1a study is to establish a recommended Phase 2 dose. Primary endpoints include the incidence and nature of DLTs and overall process feasibility. The proliferation, persistence, and trafficking of NeoTCR-T cells will be characterized. In the expansion trial phase, preliminary anti-tumor activity of NeoTCR-P1 will be assessed in selected tumors. The combination of NeoTCR-P1 dosing plus nivolumab will be tested in a Phase 1b study. Conclusion: This is the first clinical study of an autologous, fully personalized adoptive T cell therapy directed against private tumor-exclusive mutations, generated without using recombinant viral vectors. Clinical trial information: NCT03970382 .

scholarly journals CAR T cell therapy as a promising approach in cancer immunotherapy: challenges and opportunities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Akhoundi ◽  
Mahsa Mohammadi ◽  
Seyedeh Saeideh Sahraei ◽  
Mohsen Sheykhhasan ◽  
Nashmin Fayazi
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Solid Tumors ◽  
Hematologic Malignancies ◽  
T Cell Therapy ◽  
Car T Cell ◽  
Car T Cell Therapy ◽  
Car T

Abstract Background Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cell therapy has shown great potential in the immunotherapy of patients with hematologic malignancies. In spite of this striking achievement, there are still major challenges to overcome in CAR T cell therapy of solid tumors, including treatment-related toxicity and specificity. Also, other obstacles may be encountered in tackling solid tumors, such as their immunosuppressive microenvironment, the heterogeneous expression of cell surface markers, and the cumbersome arrival of T cells at the tumor site. Although several strategies have been developed to overcome these challenges, aditional research aimed at enhancing its efficacy with minimum side effects, the design of precise yet simplified work flows and the possibility to scale-up production with reduced costs and related risks is still warranted.Conclusions Here, we review main strategies to establish a balance between the toxicity and activity of CAR T cells in order to enhance their specificity and surpass immunosuppression. In recent years, many clinical studies have been conducted that eventually led to approved products. To date, the FDA has approved two anti-CD19 CAR T cell products for non-Hodgkin lymphoma therapy, i.e., axicbtagene ciloleucel and tisagenlecleucel. With all the advances that have been made in the field of CAR T cell therapy for hematologic malignancies therapy, ongoing studies are focused on optimizing its efficacy and specificity, as well as reducing the side effects. Also, the efforts are poised to broaden CAR T cell therapeutics for other cancers, especially solid tumors.

scholarly journals CAR T cell therapy in solid tumors: A review of current clinical trials

eJHaem ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Urvi Patel ◽  
John Abernathy ◽  
Bipin N Savani ◽  
Olalekan Oluwole ◽  
Salyka Sengsayadeth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Solid Tumors ◽  
T Cell Therapy ◽  
Car T Cell ◽  
Car T Cell Therapy ◽  
Car T

scholarly journals Adoptive T-cell Therapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie Ho ◽  
Marco Ruella ◽  
Bruce L. Levine ◽  
Jakub Svoboda
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Adoptive Immunotherapy ◽  
Adoptive T Cell Therapy ◽  
T Cell Therapy ◽  
Car T Cells ◽  
Car T Cell Therapy ◽  
Car T

While CAR T-cell therapy is FDA-approved for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas, the development of adoptive immunotherapy for the treatment of classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) has not accelerated at a similar pace. Adoptive T-cell therapy with EBV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes and CD30 CAR T cells have demonstrated significant clinical responses in early clinical trials of patients with cHL. Additionally, CD19 and CD123 CAR T cells that target the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in cHL have also been investigated. Here we discuss the landscape of clinical trials of adoptive immunotherapy for patients with cHL with a view towards current challenges and novel strategies to improve the development of CAR T-cell therapy for cHL.

Combination of metabolic intervention and T cell therapy enhances solid tumor immunotherapy

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (571) ◽  
pp. eaaz6667
Author(s):  
Meixi Hao ◽  
Siyuan Hou ◽  
Weishuo Li ◽  
Kaiming Li ◽  
Lingjing Xue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Solid Tumors ◽  
T Cell Receptor ◽  
Chimeric Antigen Receptor ◽  
Cell Receptor ◽  
T Cell Therapy ◽  
Engineered T Cells

Treatment of solid tumors with T cell therapy has yielded limited therapeutic benefits to date. Although T cell therapy in combination with proinflammatory cytokines or immune checkpoints inhibitors has demonstrated preclinical and clinical successes in a subset of solid tumors, unsatisfactory results and severe toxicities necessitate the development of effective and safe combinatorial strategies. Here, the liposomal avasimibe (a metabolism-modulating drug) was clicked onto the T cell surface by lipid insertion without disturbing the physiological functions of the T cell. Avasimibe could be restrained on the T cell surface during circulation and extravasation and locally released to increase the concentration of cholesterol in the T cell membrane, which induced rapid T cell receptor clustering and sustained T cell activation. Treatment with surface anchor-engineered T cells, including mouse T cell receptor transgenic CD8+ T cells or human chimeric antigen receptor T cells, resulted in superior antitumor efficacy in mouse models of melanoma and glioblastoma. Glioblastoma was completely eradicated in three of the five mice receiving surface anchor-engineered chimeric antigen receptor T cells, whereas mice in other treatment groups survived no more than 64 days. Moreover, the administration of engineered T cells showed no obvious systemic side effects. These cell-surface anchor-engineered T cells hold translational potential because of their simple generation and their safety profile.

scholarly journals The Emerging World of TCR-T Cell Trials Against Cancer: A Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 153303381983106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianxiang Zhang ◽  
Lingyu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Solid Tumors ◽  
T Cell Receptor ◽  
Chimeric Antigen Receptor ◽  
Hematological Malignancies ◽  
Antigen Receptor ◽  
Cell Receptor ◽  
T Cell Therapy

T-cell receptor–engineered T-cell therapy and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy are 2 types of adoptive T-cell therapy that genetically modify natural T cells to treat cancers. Although chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy has yielded remarkable efficacy for hematological malignancies of the B-cell lineages, most solid tumors fail to respond significantly to chimeric antigen receptor T cells. T-cell receptor–engineered T-cell therapy, on the other hand, has shown unprecedented promise in treating solid tumors and has attracted growing interest. In order to create an unbiased, comprehensive, and scientific report for this fast-moving field, we carefully analyzed all 84 clinical trials using T-cell receptor–engineered T-cell therapy and downloaded from ClinicalTrials.gov updated by June 11, 2018. Informative features and trends were observed in these clinical trials. The number of trials initiated each year is increasing as expected, but an interesting pattern is observed. NY-ESO-1, as the most targeted antigen type, is the target of 31 clinical trials; melanoma is the most targeted cancer type and is the target of 33 clinical trials. Novel antigens and underrepresented cancers remain to be targeted in future studies and clinical trials. Unlike chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, only about 16% of the 84 clinical trials target against hematological malignancies, consistent with T-cell receptor–engineered T-cell therapy’s high potential for solid tumors. Six pharma/biotech companies with novel T-cell receptor–engineered T-cell ideas and products were examined in this review. Multiple approaches have been utilized in these companies to increase the T-cell receptor’s affinity and efficiency and to minimize cross-reactivity. The major challenges in the development of the T-cell receptor–engineered T-cell therapy due to tumor microenvironment were also discussed here.

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