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Gonzalez-Martinez N, Gibson MI. Post-thaw application of ROCK-inhibitors increases cryopreserved T-cell yield. RSC Med Chem 2023; 14:2058-2067. [PMID: 37859712 PMCID: PMC10583820 DOI: 10.1039/d3md00378g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Emerging cell-based therapies such as CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T) cells require cryopreservation to store and deliver intact and viable cells. Conventional cryopreservation formulations use DMSO to mitigate cold-induced damage, but do not address all the biochemical damage mechanisms induced by cold stress, such as programmed cell death (apoptosis). Rho-associated protein kinases (ROCK) are a key component of apoptosis, and their activation contributes to apoptotic blebbing. Here we demonstrate that the ROCK inhibitor fasudil hydrochloride, when supplemented into the thawing medium of T-cells increases the overall yield of healthy cells. Cell yield was highest using 5 or 10% DMSO cryopreservation solutions, with lower DMSO concentrations (2.5%) leading to significant physical damage to the cells. After optimisation, the post-thaw yield of T-cells increased by approximately 20% using this inhibitor, a significant increase in the context of a therapy. Flow cytometry analysis did not show a significant reduction in the relative percentage of cell populations undergoing apoptosis, but there was a small reduction in the 8 hours following thawing. Fasudil also led to a reduction in reactive oxygen species. Addition of fasudil into the cryopreservation solution, followed by dilution (rather than washing) upon thaw also gave a 20% increase in cell yield, demonstrating how this could be deployed in a cell-therapy context, without needing to change clinical thawing routines. Overall, this shows that modulation of post-thaw biochemical pathways which lead to apoptosis (or other degradative pathways) can be effectively targeted as a strategy to increase T-cell yield and function post-thaw.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthew I Gibson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick Gibbet Hill Road Coventry CV4 7AL UK
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick Gibbet Hill Road Coventry CV4 7AL UK
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Martinez-Cibrian N, Español-Rego M, Pascal M, Delgado J, Ortiz-Maldonado V. Practical aspects of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell administration: From commercial to point-of-care manufacturing. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1005457. [PMID: 36238283 PMCID: PMC9550897 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1005457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor T-cells targeting the CD19 antigen have achieved impressive results in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell malignancies, leading to their approval in the European Union and other jurisdictions. In Spain, the 100% academic anti-CD19 CART-cell product varnimcabtagene autoleucel (var-cel, ARI-0001 cells) has been extraordinarily approved under the Hospital Exemption clause for the treatment of patients older than 25 years of age with R/R acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Var-cel has also been granted PRIority MEdicines designation by the European Medicines Agency for the same indication. In this review we reveal some practical aspects related to the preparation and administration of academic point-of-care CART-cell products, using var-cel as an example, and put them into the context of commercial products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nuria Martinez-Cibrian
- Department of Haematology, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Español-Rego
- Department of Immunology, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mariona Pascal
- Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Immunology, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Julio Delgado
- Department of Haematology, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- *Correspondence: Julio Delgado,
| | - Valentín Ortiz-Maldonado
- Department of Haematology, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona, Spain
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Hort S, Herbst L, Bäckel N, Erkens F, Niessing B, Frye M, König N, Papantoniou I, Hudecek M, Jacobs JJL, Schmitt RH. Toward Rapid, Widely Available Autologous CAR-T Cell Therapy – Artificial Intelligence and Automation Enabling the Smart Manufacturing Hospital. Front Med (Lausanne) 2022; 9:913287. [PMID: 35733863 PMCID: PMC9207622 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.913287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
CAR-T cell therapy is a promising treatment for acute leukemia and lymphoma. CAR-T cell therapies take a pioneering role in autologous gene therapy with three EMA-approved products. However, the chance of clinical success remains relatively low as the applicability of CAR-T cell therapy suffers from long, labor-intensive manufacturing and a lack of comprehensive insight into the bioprocess. This leads to high manufacturing costs and limited clinical success, preventing the widespread use of CAR-T cell therapies. New manufacturing approaches are needed to lower costs to improve manufacturing capacity and shorten provision times. Semi-automated devices such as the Miltenyi Prodigy® were developed to reduce hands-on production time. However, these devices are not equipped with the process analytical technology necessary to fully characterize and control the process. An automated AI-driven CAR-T cell manufacturing platform in smart manufacturing hospitals (SMH) is being developed to address these challenges. Automation will increase the cost-effectiveness and robustness of manufacturing. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to interpret the data collected on the platform will provide valuable process insights and drive decisions for process optimization. The smart integration of automated CAR-T cell manufacturing platforms into hospitals enables the independent manufacture of autologous CAR-T cell products. In this perspective, we will be discussing current challenges and opportunities of the patient-specific but highly automated, AI-enabled CAR-T cell manufacturing. A first automation concept will be shown, including a system architecture based on current Industry 4.0 approaches for AI integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Hort
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen, Germany
- *Correspondence: Simon Hort
| | - Laura Herbst
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen, Germany
| | - Niklas Bäckel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen, Germany
| | - Frederik Erkens
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen, Germany
| | - Bastian Niessing
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen, Germany
| | - Maik Frye
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen, Germany
| | - Niels König
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen, Germany
| | - Ioannis Papantoniou
- Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology-Greece (FORTH), Patras, Greece
- Skeletal Biology and Engineering Research Centre, Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Prometheus the Leuven R&D Translational Division of Skeletal Tissue Engineering, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Michael Hudecek
- Lehrstuhl für Zelluläre Immuntherapie, Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik II, Universitätsklinikum Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | | | - Robert H. Schmitt
- Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen, Germany
- Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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Abstract
The field of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modified T cell therapy has rapidly expanded in the past few decades. As of today, there are six CAR T cell products that have been approved by the FDA: KYMRIAH (tisagenlecleucel, CD19 CAR T cells), YESCARTA (axicabtagene ciloleucel, CD19 CAR T cells), TECARTUS (brexucabtagene autoleucel, CD19 CAR T cells), BREYANZI (lisocabtagene maraleucel, CD19 CAR T cells), ABECMA (idecabtagene vicleucel, BCMA CAR T cells) and CARVYKTI (ciltacabtagene autoleucel, BCMA CAR T cells). With this clinical success, CAR T cell therapy has become one of the most promising treatment options to combat cancers. Current research efforts focus on further potentiating its efficacy in non-responding patients and solid tumor settings. To achieve this, recent evidence suggested that, apart from developing next-generation CAR T cells with additional genetic modifications, ex vivo culture conditions could significantly impact CAR T cell functionality – an often overlooked aspect during clinical translation. In this review, we focus on the ex vivo manufacturing process for CAR T cells and discuss how it impacts CAR T cell function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norihiro Watanabe
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, United States
- *Correspondence: Norihiro Watanabe,
| | - Feiyan Mo
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, United States
- Graduate Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Mary Kathryn McKenna
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, United States
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De Santis GC, Langhi Junior DM, Feitoza A, Mendrone Junior A, Kutner JM, Covas DT, Couto SCF, Guerino-Cunha RL, Orellana MD, Rizzo SRCP. Associação Brasileira de Hematologia, Hemoterapia e Terapia Celular Consensus on genetically modified cells. V: Manufacture and quality control. Hematol Transfus Cell Ther 2021; 43 Suppl 2:S35-S41. [PMID: 34794795 PMCID: PMC8606711 DOI: 10.1016/j.htct.2021.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T), especially against CD19 marker, present in lymphomas and acute B leukemia, enabled a revolution in the treatment of hematologic neoplastic diseases. The manufacture of CAR-T cells requires the adoption of GMP-compatible methods and it demands the collection of mononuclear cells from the patient (or from the donor), generally through the apheresis procedure, T cell selection, activation, transduction and expansion ex vivo, and finally storage, usually cryopreserved, until the moment of their use. An important aspect is the quality control testing of the final product, for example, the characterization of its identity and purity, tests to detect any contamination by microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, and mycoplasma) and its potency. The product thawing and intravenous infusion do not differ much from what is established for the hematopoietic progenitor cell product. After infusion, it is important to check for the presence and concentration of CAR-T cells in the patient's peripheral blood, as well as to monitor their clinical impact, for instance, the occurrence of short-term, such as cytokine release syndrome and neurological complications, and long-term complications, which require patient follow-up for many years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gil Cunha De Santis
- Hemocentro de Ribeirão Preto, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (HCFMRP-USP), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
| | | | | | | | | | - Dimas Tadeu Covas
- Hemocentro de Ribeirão Preto, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (HCFMRP-USP), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil; Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Renato L Guerino-Cunha
- Departamento de Imagens Médicas, Hematologia e Oncologia Clínica, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
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Ying Z, He T, Wang X, Zheng W, Lin N, Tu M, Xie Y, Ping L, Zhang C, Liu W, Deng L, Wu M, Feng F, Leng X, Du T, Qi F, Hu X, Ding Y, Lu XA, Song Y, Zhu J. Distribution of chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells against CD19 in B-cell malignancies. BMC Cancer 2021; 21:198. [PMID: 33632155 PMCID: PMC7908740 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-021-07934-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The unprecedented efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell immunotherapy of CD19+ B-cell malignancies has opened a new and useful way for the treatment of malignant tumors. Nonetheless, there are still formidable challenges in the field of CAR-T cell therapy, such as the biodistribution of CAR-T cells in vivo. METHODS NALM-6, a human B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) cell line, was used as target cells. CAR-T cells were injected into a mice model with or without target cells. Then we measured the distribution of CAR-T cells in mice. In addition, an exploratory clinical trial was conducted in 13 r/r B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) patients, who received CAR-T cell infusion. The dynamic changes in patient blood parameters over time after infusion were detected by qPCR and flow cytometry. RESULTS CAR-T cells still proliferated over time after being infused into the mice without target cells within 2 weeks. However, CAR-T cells did not increase significantly in the presence of target cells within 2 weeks after infusion, but expanded at week 6. In the clinical trial, we found that CAR-T cells peaked at 7-21 days after infusion and lasted for 420 days in peripheral blood of patients. Simultaneously, mild side effects were observed, which could be effectively controlled within 2 months in these patients. CONCLUSIONS CAR-T cells can expand themselves with or without target cells in mice, and persist for a long time in NHL patients without serious side effects. TRIAL REGISTRATION The registration date of the clinical trial is May 17, 2018 and the trial registration numbers is NCT03528421 .
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhitao Ying
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Ting He
- Beijing Immunochina Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Xiaopei Wang
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Wen Zheng
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Ningjing Lin
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Meifeng Tu
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Xie
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Lingyan Ping
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Chen Zhang
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Weiping Liu
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Lijuan Deng
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Meng Wu
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Feier Feng
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Leng
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Tingting Du
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Feifei Qi
- Beijing Immunochina Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Xuelian Hu
- Beijing Immunochina Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Yanping Ding
- Beijing Immunochina Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Xin-An Lu
- Beijing Immunochina Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Beijing, China.
| | - Yuqin Song
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China.
| | - Jun Zhu
- Department of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China.
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