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Casey NP, Kleinmanns K, Forcados C, Gelebart PF, Joaquina S, Lode M, Benard E, Kaveh F, Caulier B, Helgestad Gjerde C, García de Jalón E, Warren DJ, Lindemann K, Rokkones E, Davidson B, Myhre MR, Kvalheim G, Bjørge L, McCormack E, Inderberg EM, Wälchli S. Efficient CAR T cell targeting of the CA125 extracellular repeat domain of MUC16. J Immunother Cancer 2024; 12:e008179. [PMID: 38604812 PMCID: PMC11015285 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2023-008179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ovarian cancer (OC) is the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies in the Western world. Contributing factors include a high frequency of late-stage diagnosis, the development of chemoresistance, and the evasion of host immune responses. Currently, debulking surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy are the treatment cornerstones, although recurrence is common. As the clinical efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade is low, new immunotherapeutic strategies are needed. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy empowers patients' own T cells to fight and eradicate cancer, and has been tested against various targets in OC. A promising candidate is the MUC16 ectodomain. This ectodomain remains on the cell surface after cleavage of cancer antigen 125 (CA125), the domain distal from the membrane, which is currently used as a serum biomarker for OC. CA125 itself has not been tested as a possible CAR target. In this study, we examined the suitability of the CA125 as a target for CAR T cell therapy. METHODS We tested a series of antibodies raised against the CA125 extracellular repeat domain of MUC16 and adapted them to the CAR format. Comparisons between these candidates, and against an existing CAR targeting the MUC16 ectodomain, identified K101 as having high potency and specificity. The K101CAR was subjected to further biochemical and functional tests, including examination of the effect of soluble CA125 on its activity. Finally, we used cell lines and advanced orthotopic patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models to validate, in vivo, the efficiency of our K101CAR construct. RESULTS We observed a high efficacy of K101CAR T cells against cell lines and patient-derived tumors, in vitro and in vivo. We also demonstrated that K101CAR functionality was not impaired by the soluble antigen. Finally, in direct comparisons, K101CAR, which targets the CA125 extracellular repeat domains, was shown to have similar efficacy to the previously validated 4H11CAR, which targets the MUC16 ectodomain. CONCLUSIONS Our in vitro and in vivo results, including PDX studies, demonstrate that the CA125 domain of MUC16 represents an excellent target for treating MUC16-positive malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas P Casey
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Katrin Kleinmanns
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Christopher Forcados
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Pascal F Gelebart
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Sandy Joaquina
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Martine Lode
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Emmanuelle Benard
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Fatemeh Kaveh
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Benjamin Caulier
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Center for Cancer Cell Reprogramming (CanCell), Institute for Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Christiane Helgestad Gjerde
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Elvira García de Jalón
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - David J Warren
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Kristina Lindemann
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Institute for Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Erik Rokkones
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ben Davidson
- Institute for Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Pathology, Division of Laboratory Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marit Renee Myhre
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Gunnar Kvalheim
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Line Bjørge
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Emmet McCormack
- Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Centre for Pharmacy, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology Section, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Else Marit Inderberg
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Sébastien Wälchli
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
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Chen Z, Han S, Kim S, Lee C, Sanny A, Tan AHM, Park S. A 3D hanging spheroid-filter plate for high-throughput drug testing and CAR T cell cytotoxicity assay. Analyst 2024; 149:475-481. [PMID: 38050728 DOI: 10.1039/d3an01904g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Tumour spheroids are widely used in immune cell cytotoxicity assays and anticancer drug testing, providing a physiologically relevant model replicating the tumour microenvironment. However, co-culture of immune and tumour cells complicates quantification of immune cell killing efficiency. We present a novel 3D hanging spheroid-filter plate that efficiently facilitates spheroid formation and separates unbound/dead cells during cytotoxicity assays. Optical imaging directly measures the cytotoxic effects of anti-cancer drugs on tumour spheroids, eliminating the need for live/dead fluorescent staining. This approach enables cost-effective evaluation of T-cell cytotoxicity with specific chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), enhancing immune cell-based assays and drug testing in three-dimensional tumour models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenzhong Chen
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, Korea
| | - Seokgyu Han
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, Korea
| | - Sein Kim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, Korea
| | - Chanyang Lee
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, Korea
| | - Arleen Sanny
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 20 Biopolis Way, Centros, Singapore 138668, Republic of Singapore
| | - Andy Hee-Meng Tan
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 20 Biopolis Way, Centros, Singapore 138668, Republic of Singapore
| | - Sungsu Park
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, Korea
- Department of Biophysics, Institute of Quantum Biophysics (IQB), Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, Korea.
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3
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van der Schans JJ, Wang Z, van Arkel J, van Schaik T, Katsarou A, Ruiter R, Baardemans T, Yuan H, de Bruijn J, Zweegman S, van de Donk NWCJ, Groen RWJ, Themeli M, Mutis T. Specific Targeting of Multiple Myeloma by Dual Split-signaling Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells Directed against CD38 and CD138. Clin Cancer Res 2023; 29:4219-4229. [PMID: 37527004 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-23-0132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE The success of B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells illustrates the potential of this novel therapy for multiple myeloma. Nonetheless, broadening CAR T-cell therapy beyond BCMA requires inventive strategies as there are only a few multiple myeloma- or plasma cell-specific target antigens. We investigated the feasibility of achieving multiple myeloma specificity by dual-split CD38/CD138 CAR targeting, whereby the stimulatory and costimulatory signals for T-cell activation are split into two separate stimulatory (sCAR) and costimulatory CARs (cCAR). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Using various combinations of CD38 and CD138 sCARs and cCARs with different affinities, we generated several dual-split CAR T cells and analyzed them for multiple myeloma-specific effector functions in vitro. The best-functioning CAR T cells were tested in vivo in a murine xenograft model. RESULTS We found optimal designs of both CD38sCAR/CD138cCAR and CD138sCAR/CD38cCAR combinations, that effectively lysed multiple myeloma cells but spared single CD38- or CD138-positive healthy hematopoietic cells. While the CD38sCAR/CD138cCAR T cells achieved multiple myeloma-specific activity solely due to the low affinity of the CD38sCARs, the multiple myeloma-specific cytotoxicity, cytokine release, and proliferation of CD138sCAR/CD38cCAR T cells were established through a true combinatorial stimulatory and costimulatory effect. The most optimal combination comprised a low-affinity CD138sCAR combined with a high-affinity CD38cCAR. These CD138sCAR/CD38cCAR T cells also showed dual-antigen specific anti-multiple myeloma effects in vivo. Importantly, they were also effective against multiple myeloma cells from daratumumab pretreated patients with decreased CD38 expression levels. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate the possibility to specifically target multiple myeloma cells, even after CD38 targeted therapy, with carefully-designed dual-split CARs directed against CD38 and CD138.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jort J van der Schans
- Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Ziyu Wang
- Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jennemiek van Arkel
- Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Thijs van Schaik
- Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Afroditi Katsarou
- Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Ruud Ruiter
- Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Thomas Baardemans
- Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Huipin Yuan
- Kuros Biosciences BV, Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | | | - Sonja Zweegman
- Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Niels W C J van de Donk
- Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Richard W J Groen
- Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Maria Themeli
- Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Tuna Mutis
- Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, Location VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Klee CH, Villatoro A, Casey NP, Inderberg EM, Wälchli S. In vitro re-challenge of CAR T cells. Methods Cell Biol 2023; 183:335-353. [PMID: 38548418 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mcb.2023.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells (CAR T) have emerged as a potential therapy for cancer patients. CAR T cells are capable of recognizing membrane proteins on cancer cells which initiates a downstream signaling in T cells that ends in cancer cell death. Continuous antigen exposure over time, activation of inhibitory signaling pathways and/or chronic inflammation can lead to CAR T cell exhaustion. In this context, the design of CARs can have a great impact on the functionality of CAR T cells, on their potency and exhaustion. Here, using CD19CAR as model, we provide a re-challenge protocol where CAR T cells are cultured weekly with malignant lymphoid cell lines BL-41 and Nalm-6 to simulate them with continuous antigen pressure over a four-week period. This protocol can be value for assessing CAR T cell functionality and for the comparison of different CAR constructs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Helena Klee
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Alicia Villatoro
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Nicholas Paul Casey
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Else Marit Inderberg
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Sébastien Wälchli
- Translational Research Unit, Section of Cellular Therapy, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
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5
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Joaquina S, Forcados C, Caulier B, Inderberg EM, Wälchli S. Determination of CAR T cell metabolism in an optimized protocol. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1207576. [PMID: 37409169 PMCID: PMC10318902 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1207576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Adoptive transfer of T cells modified to express chimeric antigenic receptors (CAR) has emerged as a solution to cure refractory malignancies. However, although CAR T cell treatment of haematological cancers has now shown impressive improvement in outcome, solid tumours have been more challenging to control. The latter type is protected by a strong tumour microenvironment (TME) which might impact cellular therapeutic treatments. Indeed, the milieu around the tumour can become particularly inhibitory to T cells by directly affecting their metabolism. Consequently, the therapeutic cells become physically impeded before being able to attack the tumour. It is therefore extremely important to understand the mechanism behind this metabolic break in order to develop TME-resistant CAR T cells. Historically, the measurement of cellular metabolism has been performed at a low throughput which only permitted a limited number of measurements. However, this has been changed by the introduction of real-time technologies which have lately become more popular to study CAR T cell quality. Unfortunately, the published protocols lack uniformity and their interpretation become confusing. We herein tested the essential parameters to perform a metabolic study on CAR T cells and propose a check list of factors that should be set in order to draw sound conclusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandy Joaquina
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Christopher Forcados
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Benjamin Caulier
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Center for Cancer Cell Reprogramming (CanCell), Institute for Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Else Marit Inderberg
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Sébastien Wälchli
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
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6
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Mensali N, Köksal H, Joaquina S, Wernhoff P, Casey NP, Romecin P, Panisello C, Rodriguez R, Vimeux L, Juzeniene A, Myhre MR, Fåne A, Ramírez CC, Maggadottir SM, Duru AD, Georgoudaki AM, Grad I, Maturana AD, Gaudernack G, Kvalheim G, Carcaboso AM, de Alava E, Donnadieu E, Bruland ØS, Menendez P, Inderberg EM, Wälchli S. ALPL-1 is a target for chimeric antigen receptor therapy in osteosarcoma. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3375. [PMID: 37291203 PMCID: PMC10250459 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39097-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Osteosarcoma (OS) remains a dismal malignancy in children and young adults, with poor outcome for metastatic and recurrent disease. Immunotherapies in OS are not as promising as in some other cancer types due to intra-tumor heterogeneity and considerable off-target expression of the potentially targetable proteins. Here we show that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells could successfully target an isoform of alkaline phosphatase, ALPL-1, which is highly and specifically expressed in primary and metastatic OS. The target recognition element of the second-generation CAR construct is based on two antibodies, previously shown to react against OS. T cells transduced with these CAR constructs mediate efficient and effective cytotoxicity against ALPL-positive cells in in vitro settings and in state-of-the-art in vivo orthotopic models of primary and metastatic OS, without unexpected toxicities against hematopoietic stem cells or healthy tissues. In summary, CAR-T cells targeting ALPL-1 show efficiency and specificity in treating OS in preclinical models, paving the path for clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Mensali
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Hakan Köksal
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Sandy Joaquina
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Patrik Wernhoff
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Nicholas P Casey
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Paola Romecin
- Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
- Red Española de Terapias Avanzadas (TERAV)-Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (RICORS, RD21/0017/0029), Madrid, Spain
| | - Carla Panisello
- Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
- Red Española de Terapias Avanzadas (TERAV)-Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (RICORS, RD21/0017/0029), Madrid, Spain
| | - René Rodriguez
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain
- Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red-Oncología (CIBER-ONC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Lene Vimeux
- Université de Paris, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, Equipe labellisée Ligue Contre le Cancer, F-75014, PARIS, France
| | - Asta Juzeniene
- Department of Radiation Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marit R Myhre
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Anne Fåne
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Carolina Castilla Ramírez
- Institute of Biomedicine of Sevilla (IBiS), Virgen del Rocio University Hospital, CSIC, University of Sevilla, CIBER-ONC, 41013, Seville, Spain
| | | | - Adil Doganay Duru
- NSU Cell Therapy Institute, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
| | - Anna-Maria Georgoudaki
- NSU Cell Therapy Institute, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Iwona Grad
- Department of Radiation Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Andrés Daniel Maturana
- Laboratory of Animal Cell Physiology, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Gustav Gaudernack
- Department of Cancer Immunology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Gunnar Kvalheim
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Angel M Carcaboso
- SJD Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Deu, Barcelona, 08950, Spain
| | - Enrique de Alava
- Institute of Biomedicine of Sevilla (IBiS), Virgen del Rocio University Hospital, CSIC, University of Sevilla, CIBER-ONC, 41013, Seville, Spain
- Department of Normal and Pathological Cytology and Histology, School of Medicine, University of Seville, 41009, Seville, Spain
| | - Emmanuel Donnadieu
- Université de Paris, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS, Equipe labellisée Ligue Contre le Cancer, F-75014, PARIS, France
| | - Øyvind S Bruland
- Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital and Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Pablo Menendez
- Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
- Red Española de Terapias Avanzadas (TERAV)-Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (RICORS, RD21/0017/0029), Madrid, Spain
- CIBER-ONC, ISCIII, Barcelona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biomedicine, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Else Marit Inderberg
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Sébastien Wälchli
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
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7
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Forcados C, Joaquina S, Casey NP, Caulier B, Wälchli S. How CAR T Cells Breathe. Cells 2022; 11:cells11091454. [PMID: 35563759 PMCID: PMC9102061 DOI: 10.3390/cells11091454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The manufacture of efficacious CAR T cells represents a major challenge in cellular therapy. An important aspect of their quality concerns energy production and consumption, known as metabolism. T cells tend to adopt diverse metabolic profiles depending on their differentiation state and their stimulation level. It is therefore expected that the introduction of a synthetic molecule such as CAR, activating endogenous signaling pathways, will affect metabolism. In addition, upon patient treatment, the tumor microenvironment might influence the CAR T cell metabolism by compromising the energy resources. The access to novel technology with higher throughput and reduced cost has led to an increased interest in studying metabolism. Indeed, methods to quantify glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration have been available for decades but were rarely applied in the context of CAR T cell therapy before the release of the Seahorse XF apparatus. The present review will focus on the use of this instrument in the context of studies describing the impact of CAR on T cell metabolism and the strategies to render of CAR T cells more metabolically fit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Forcados
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, 0379 Oslo, Norway; (C.F.); (S.J.); (N.P.C.); (B.C.)
| | - Sandy Joaquina
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, 0379 Oslo, Norway; (C.F.); (S.J.); (N.P.C.); (B.C.)
| | - Nicholas Paul Casey
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, 0379 Oslo, Norway; (C.F.); (S.J.); (N.P.C.); (B.C.)
| | - Benjamin Caulier
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, 0379 Oslo, Norway; (C.F.); (S.J.); (N.P.C.); (B.C.)
- Center for Cancer Cell Reprogramming (CanCell), Institute for Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 0372 Oslo, Norway
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, 0379 Oslo, Norway
| | - Sébastien Wälchli
- Translational Research Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Oslo University Hospital, 0379 Oslo, Norway; (C.F.); (S.J.); (N.P.C.); (B.C.)
- Correspondence:
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8
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Chen Z, Han S, Sanny A, Chan DLK, van Noort D, Lim W, Tan AHM, Park S. 3D hanging spheroid plate for high-throughput CAR T cell cytotoxicity assay. J Nanobiotechnology 2022; 20:30. [PMID: 35012567 PMCID: PMC8744335 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-021-01213-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Most high-throughput screening (HTS) systems studying the cytotoxic effect of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells on tumor cells rely on two-dimensional cell culture that does not recapitulate the tumor microenvironment (TME). Tumor spheroids, however, can recapitulate the TME and have been used for cytotoxicity assays of CAR T cells. But a major obstacle to the use of tumor spheroids for cytotoxicity assays is the difficulty in separating unbound CAR T and dead tumor cells from spheroids. Here, we present a three-dimensional hanging spheroid plate (3DHSP), which facilitates the formation of spheroids and the separation of unbound and dead cells from spheroids during cytotoxicity assays. Results The 3DHSP is a 24-well plate, with each well composed of a hanging dripper, spheroid wells, and waste wells. In the dripper, a tumor spheroid was formed and mixed with CAR T cells. In the 3DHSP, droplets containing the spheroids were deposited into the spheroid separation well, where unbound and dead T and tumor cells were separated from the spheroid through a gap into the waste well by tilting the 3DHSP by more than 20°. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive tumor cells (BT474 and SKOV3) formed spheroids of approximately 300–350 μm in diameter after 2 days in the 3DHSP. The cytotoxic effects of T cells engineered to express CAR recognizing HER2 (HER2-CAR T cells) on these spheroids were directly measured by optical imaging, without the use of live/dead fluorescent staining of the cells. Our results suggest that the 3DHSP could be incorporated into a HTS system to screen for CARs that enable T cells to kill spheroids formed from a specific tumor type with high efficacy or for spheroids consisting of tumor types that can be killed efficiently by T cells bearing a specific CAR. Conclusions The results suggest that the 3DHSP could be incorporated into a HTS system for the cytotoxic effects of CAR T cells on tumor spheroids. Graphical Abstract ![]()
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12951-021-01213-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenzhong Chen
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, South Korea
| | - Seokgyu Han
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, South Korea
| | - Arleen Sanny
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, 138668, Singapore
| | - Dorothy Leung-Kwan Chan
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, 138668, Singapore
| | - Danny van Noort
- Centro de Investigación en Bioingeniería, Universidad de Ingenieria y Tecnologia - UTEC, Lima 04, Peru.,Biotechnology, Linköping University, SE-581 83, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Wanyoung Lim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, South Korea
| | - Andy Hee-Meng Tan
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, 138668, Singapore.
| | - Sungsu Park
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, South Korea. .,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, South Korea. .,Institute of Quantum Biophysics (IQB), Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon, 16419, South Korea.
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