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Harrer DC, Li SS, Kaljanac M, Bezler V, Barden M, Pan H, Herr W, Abken H. Magnetic CAR T cell purification using an anti-G4S linker antibody. J Immunol Methods 2024; 528:113667. [PMID: 38574803 DOI: 10.1016/j.jim.2024.113667] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Revised: 03/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) redirected T cells are successfully employed in the combat against several hematological malignancies, however, are often compromised by low transduction rates making refinement of the CAR T cell products necessary. Here, we report a broadly applicable enrichment protocol relying on marking CAR T cells with an anti-glycine4-serine (G4S) linker antibody followed by magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS). The protocol is broadly applicable since the G4S peptide is an integral part of the vast majority of CARs as it links the VH and VL recognition domains. We demonstrate the feasibility by using the canonical second generation CARs specific for CEA and Her2, respectively, obtaining highly purified CAR T cell products in a one-step procedure without impairing cell viability. The protocol is also applicable to a dual specific CAR (tandem CAR). Except for CD39, T cell activation/exhaustion markers were not upregulated after separation. Purified CAR T cells retained their functionality with respect to antigen-specific cytokine secretion, cytotoxicity, and the capacity to proliferate and eliminate cognate tumor cells upon repetitive stimulation. Collectively, the one-step protocol for purifying CAR T cells extends the toolbox for preclinical research and specifically for clinical CAR T cell manufacturing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Christoph Harrer
- Department of Internal Medicine III - Hematology and Medical Oncology, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, and Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Sin-Syue Li
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, and Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Germany; Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Marcell Kaljanac
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, and Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Germany
| | - Valerie Bezler
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, and Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Germany
| | - Markus Barden
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, and Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hong Pan
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, and Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Herr
- Department of Internal Medicine III - Hematology and Medical Oncology, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, and Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Germany
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2
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Fischer-Riepe L, Kailayangiri S, Zimmermann K, Pfeifer R, Aigner M, Altvater B, Kretschmann S, Völkl S, Hartley J, Dreger C, Petry K, Bosio A, von Döllen A, Hartmann W, Lode H, Görlich D, Mackensen A, Jungblut M, Schambach A, Abken H, Rossig C. Preclinical Development of CAR T Cells with Antigen-Inducible IL18 Enforcement to Treat GD2-Positive Solid Cancers. Clin Cancer Res 2024:OF1-OF14. [PMID: 38593230 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-23-3157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Cytokine-engineering of chimeric antigen receptor-redirected T cells (CAR T cells) is a promising principle to overcome the limited activity of canonical CAR T cells against solid cancers. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We developed an investigational medicinal product, GD2IL18CART, consisting of CAR T cells directed against ganglioside GD2 with CAR-inducible IL18 to enhance their activation response and cytolytic effector functions in the tumor microenvironment. To allow stratification of patients according to tumor GD2 expression, we established and validated immunofluorescence detection of GD2 on paraffin-embedded tumor tissues. RESULTS Lentiviral all-in-one vector engineering of human T cells with the GD2-specific CAR with and without inducible IL18 resulted in cell products with comparable proportions of CAR-expressing central memory T cells. Production of IL18 strictly depends on GD2 antigen engagement. GD2IL18CART respond to interaction with GD2-positive tumor cells with higher IFNγ and TNFα cytokine release and more effective target cytolysis compared with CAR T cells without inducible IL18. GD2IL18CART further have superior in vivo antitumor activity, with eradication of GD2-positive tumor xenografts. Finally, we established GMP-compliant manufacturing of GD2IL18CART and found it to be feasible and efficient at clinical scale. CONCLUSIONS These results pave the way for clinical investigation of GD2IL18CART in pediatric and adult patients with neuroblastoma and other GD2-positive cancers (EU CT 2022-501725-21-00).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Fischer-Riepe
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Sareetha Kailayangiri
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Katharina Zimmermann
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Rita Pfeifer
- Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
| | - Michael Aigner
- Department of Internal Medicine 5 - Hematology and Oncology, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Immuntherapie (DZI), Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Bianca Altvater
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Sascha Kretschmann
- Department of Internal Medicine 5 - Hematology and Oncology, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Immuntherapie (DZI), Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Simon Völkl
- Department of Internal Medicine 5 - Hematology and Oncology, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Immuntherapie (DZI), Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Jordan Hartley
- Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT) and University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Celine Dreger
- Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT) and University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Katja Petry
- Miltenyi Biomedicine GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
| | - Andreas Bosio
- Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
| | - Angelika von Döllen
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Hartmann
- Gerhard-Domagk-Institute of Pathology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Holger Lode
- Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Department, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Dennis Görlich
- Institute of Biostatistics and Clinical Research, University of Muenster
| | - Andreas Mackensen
- Department of Internal Medicine 5 - Hematology and Oncology, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Immuntherapie (DZI), Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | | | - Axel Schambach
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT) and University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Rossig
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
- Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence (EXC 1003 - CiM), University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
- Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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3
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Kath J, Franke C, Drosdek V, Du W, Glaser V, Fuster-Garcia C, Stein M, Zittel T, Schulenberg S, Porter CE, Andersch L, Künkele A, Alcaniz J, Hoffmann J, Abken H, Abou-El-Enein M, Pruß A, Suzuki M, Cathomen T, Stripecke R, Volk HD, Reinke P, Schmueck-Henneresse M, Wagner DL. Integration of ζ-deficient CARs into the CD3-zeta gene conveys potent cytotoxicity in T and NK cells. Blood 2024:blood.2023020973. [PMID: 38493479 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2023020973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-redirected immune cells hold significant therapeutic potential for oncology, autoimmune diseases, transplant medicine, and infections. All approved CAR-T therapies rely on personalized manufacturing using undirected viral gene transfer, which results in non-physiological regulation of CAR-signaling and limits their accessibility due to logistical challenges, high costs and biosafety requirements. Random gene transfer modalities pose a risk of malignant transformation by insertional mutagenesis. Here, we propose a novel approach utilizing CRISPR-Cas gene editing to redirect T-cells and natural killer (NK) cells with CARs. By transferring shorter, truncated CAR-transgenes lacking a main activation domain into the human CD3ζ (CD247) gene, functional CAR fusion-genes are generated that exploit the endogenous CD3ζ gene as the CAR's activation domain. Repurposing this T/NK-cell lineage gene facilitated physiological regulation of CAR-expression and redirection of various immune cell types, including conventional T-cells, TCRγ/δ T-cells, regulatory T-cells, and NK-cells. In T-cells, CD3ζ in-frame fusion eliminated TCR surface expression, reducing the risk of graft-versus-host disease in allogeneic off-the-shelf settings. CD3ζ-CD19-CAR-T-cells exhibited comparable leukemia control to T cell receptor alpha constant (TRAC)-replaced and lentivirus-transduced CAR-T-cells in vivo. Tuning of CD3ζ-CAR-expression levels significantly improved the in vivo efficacy. Notably, CD3ζ gene editing enabled redirection of NK-cells without impairing their canonical functions. Thus, CD3ζ gene editing is a promising platform for the development of allogeneic off-the-shelf cell therapies using redirected killer lymphocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Kath
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Weijie Du
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Viktor Glaser
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Maik Stein
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Sarah Schulenberg
- Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charite Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Joshua Alcaniz
- Experimental Pharmacology & Oncology Berlin Buch GmbH, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Hoffmann
- Experimental Pharmacology & Oncology Berlin Buch GmbH, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Mohamed Abou-El-Enein
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States
| | - Axel Pruß
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Toni Cathomen
- Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | | | | | - Petra Reinke
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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4
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Delacher M, Schmidleithner L, Simon M, Stüve P, Sanderink L, Hotz-Wagenblatt A, Wuttke M, Schambeck K, Ruhland B, Hofmann V, Bittner S, Ritter U, Pant A, Helbich SS, Voss M, Lemmermann NA, Bessiri-Schake L, Bohn T, Eigenberger A, Menevse AN, Gebhard C, Strieder N, Abken H, Rehli M, Huehn J, Beckhove P, Hehlgans T, Junger H, Geissler EK, Prantl L, Werner JM, Schmidl C, Brors B, Imbusch CD, Feuerer M. The effector program of human CD8 T cells supports tissue remodeling. J Exp Med 2024; 221:e20230488. [PMID: 38226976 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20230488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024] Open
Abstract
CD8 T lymphocytes are classically viewed as cytotoxic T cells. Whether human CD8 T cells can, in parallel, induce a tissue regeneration program is poorly understood. Here, antigen-specific assay systems revealed that human CD8 T cells not only mediated cytotoxicity but also promoted tissue remodeling. Activated CD8 T cells could produce the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-ligand amphiregulin (AREG) and sensitize epithelial cells for enhanced regeneration potential. Blocking the EGFR or the effector cytokines IFN-γ and TNF could inhibit tissue remodeling. This regenerative program enhanced tumor spheroid and stem cell-mediated organoid growth. Using single-cell gene expression analysis, we identified an AREG+, tissue-resident CD8 T cell population in skin and adipose tissue from patients undergoing abdominal wall or abdominoplasty surgery. These tissue-resident CD8 T cells showed a strong TCR clonal relation to blood PD1+TIGIT+ CD8 T cells with tissue remodeling abilities. These findings may help to understand the complex CD8 biology in tumors and could become relevant for the design of therapeutic T cell products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Delacher
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
- Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
- Research Center for Immunotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
| | - Lisa Schmidleithner
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | - Malte Simon
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University , Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Applied Bioinformatics, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Philipp Stüve
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | - Lieke Sanderink
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | - Agnes Hotz-Wagenblatt
- Core Facility Omics IT and Data Management, German Cancer Research Center , Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marina Wuttke
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | - Kathrin Schambeck
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | - Brigitte Ruhland
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | - Veronika Hofmann
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Bittner
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | - Uwe Ritter
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | - Asmita Pant
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sara Salome Helbich
- Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
- Research Center for Immunotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
| | - Morten Voss
- Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
- Research Center for Immunotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
| | - Niels A Lemmermann
- Research Center for Immunotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Virology, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Virology, University of Bonn , Bonn, Germany
| | - Lisa Bessiri-Schake
- Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
- Research Center for Immunotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
| | - Toszka Bohn
- Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
- Research Center for Immunotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
| | - Andreas Eigenberger
- Department of Plastic, Hand- and Reconstructive Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Ayse Nur Menevse
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Interventional Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | | | | | - Hinrich Abken
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | - Michael Rehli
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jochen Huehn
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
- Hannover Medical School , Hannover, Germany
- RESIST, Cluster of Excellence 2155, Hannover Medical School , Hannover, Germany
| | - Philipp Beckhove
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Interventional Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
- Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Hehlgans
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
| | - Henrik Junger
- Department of Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Edward K Geissler
- Department of Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Lukas Prantl
- Department of Plastic, Hand- and Reconstructive Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jens M Werner
- Department of Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | | | - Benedikt Brors
- Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University , Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine Heidelberg, Heidelberg University , Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Applied Bioinformatics, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases , Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium, German Cancer Research Center , Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Charles D Imbusch
- Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
- Research Center for Immunotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz , Mainz, Germany
- Division of Applied Bioinformatics, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Markus Feuerer
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy , Regensburg, Germany
- Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg , Regensburg, Germany
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5
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Soto KEG, Loureiro LR, Bartsch T, Arndt C, Kegler A, Mitwasi N, Drewitz L, Hoffmann L, Saleh HA, Crespo E, Mehnert M, Daglar C, Abken H, Momburg F, Bachmann M, Feldmann A. Targeting colorectal cancer cells using AND-gated adaptor RevCAR T-cells. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1302354. [PMID: 38169746 PMCID: PMC10758449 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1302354] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite the success of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells especially for treating hematological malignancies, critical drawbacks, such as "on-target, off-tumor" toxicities, need to be addressed to improve safety in translating to clinical application. This is especially true, when targeting tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) that are not exclusively expressed by solid tumors but also on hea9lthy tissues. To improve the safety profile, we developed switchable adaptor CAR systems including the RevCAR system. RevCAR T-cells are activated by cross-linking of bifunctional adaptor molecules termed target modules (RevTM). In a further development, we established a Dual-RevCAR system for an AND-gated combinatorial targeting by splitting the stimulatory and co-stimulatory signals of the RevCAR T-cells on two individual CARs. Examples of common markers for colorectal cancer (CRC) are the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), while these antigens are also expressed by healthy cells. Here we describe four novel structurally different RevTMs for targeting of CEA and EpCAM. All anti-CEA and anti-EpCAM RevTMs were validated and the simultaneous targeting of CEA+ and EpCAM+ cancer cells redirected specific in vitro and in vivo killing by Dual-RevCAR T-cells. In summary, we describe the development of CEA and EpCAM specific adaptor RevTMs for monospecific and AND-gated targeting of CRC cells via the RevCAR platform as an improved approach to increase tumor specificity and safety of CAR T-cell therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karla E. G. Soto
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Liliana R. Loureiro
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Tabea Bartsch
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Claudia Arndt
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
- Mildred Scheel Early Career Center, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Alexandra Kegler
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Nicola Mitwasi
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Laura Drewitz
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Lydia Hoffmann
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Haidy A. Saleh
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Eugenia Crespo
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Maria Mehnert
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
- Mildred Scheel Early Career Center, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Cansu Daglar
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Department of Gene-Immunotherapy, Leibniz-Institute of Immunotherapy, and University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Frank Momburg
- Antigen Presentation and T/NK Cell Activation Group, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Bachmann
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden (NCT/UCC), partner site Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Anja Feldmann
- Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden (NCT/UCC), partner site Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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6
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Harrer DC, Li SS, Kaljanac M, Barden M, Pan H, Abken H. Fine-tuning the antigen sensitivity of CAR T cells: emerging strategies and current challenges. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1321596. [PMID: 38090558 PMCID: PMC10711209 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1321596] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are "living drugs" that specifically recognize their target antigen through an antibody-derived binding domain resulting in T cell activation, expansion, and destruction of cognate target cells. The FDA/EMA approval of CAR T cells for the treatment of B cell malignancies established CAR T cell therapy as an emerging pillar of modern immunotherapy. However, nearly every second patient undergoing CAR T cell therapy is suffering from disease relapse within the first two years which is thought to be due to downregulation or loss of the CAR target antigen on cancer cells, along with decreased functional capacities known as T cell exhaustion. Antigen downregulation below CAR activation threshold leaves the T cell silent, rendering CAR T cell therapy ineffective. With the application of CAR T cells for the treatment of a growing number of malignant diseases, particularly solid tumors, there is a need for augmenting CAR sensitivity to target antigen present at low densities on cancer cells. Here, we discuss upcoming strategies and current challenges in designing CARs for recognition of antigen low cancer cells, aiming at augmenting sensitivity and finally therapeutic efficacy while reducing the risk of tumor relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Christoph Harrer
- Deptartment of Hematology and Internal Oncology, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sin-Syue Li
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Marcell Kaljanac
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Markus Barden
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hong Pan
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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7
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Kath J, Franke C, Drosdek V, Du W, Glaser V, Fuster-Garcia C, Stein M, Zittel T, Schulenberg S, Porter CE, Andersch L, Künkele A, Alcaniz J, Hoffmann J, Abken H, Abou-El-Enein M, Pruß A, Suzuki M, Cathomen T, Stripecke R, Volk HD, Reinke P, Schmueck-Henneresse M, Wagner DL. Integration of ζ-deficient CARs into the CD3-zeta gene conveys potent cytotoxicity in T and NK cells. bioRxiv 2023:2023.11.10.565518. [PMID: 38116030 PMCID: PMC10729737 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.10.565518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-reprogrammed immune cells hold significant therapeutic potential for oncology, autoimmune diseases, transplant medicine, and infections. All approved CAR-T therapies rely on personalized manufacturing using undirected viral gene transfer, which results in non-physiological regulation of CAR-signaling and limits their accessibility due to logistical challenges, high costs and biosafety requirements. Here, we propose a novel approach utilizing CRISPR-Cas gene editing to redirect T cells and natural killer (NK) cells with CARs. By transferring shorter, truncated CAR-transgenes lacking a main activation domain into the human CD3 ζ (CD247) gene, functional CAR fusion-genes are generated that exploit the endogenous CD3 ζ gene as the CAR's activation domain. Repurposing this T/NK-cell lineage gene facilitated physiological regulation of CAR-expression and reprogramming of various immune cell types, including conventional T cells, TCRγ/δ T cells, regulatory T cells, and NK cells. In T cells, CD3 ζ in-frame fusion eliminated TCR surface expression, reducing the risk of graft-versus-host disease in allogeneic off-the-shelf settings. CD3 ζ-CD19-CAR-T cells exhibited comparable leukemia control to T cell receptor alpha constant ( TRAC )-replaced and lentivirus-transduced CAR-T cells in vivo . Tuning of CD3 ζ-CAR-expression levels significantly improved the in vivo efficacy. Compared to TRAC -edited CAR-T cells, integration of a Her2-CAR into CD3 ζ conveyed similar in vitro tumor lysis but reduced susceptibility to activation-induced cell death and differentiation, presumably due to lower CAR-expression levels. Notably, CD3 ζ gene editing enabled reprogramming of NK cells without impairing their canonical functions. Thus, CD3 ζ gene editing is a promising platform for the development of allogeneic off-the-shelf cell therapies using redirected killer lymphocytes. Key points Integration of ζ-deficient CARs into CD3 ζ gene allows generation of functional TCR-ablated CAR-T cells for allogeneic off-the-shelf use CD3 ζ-editing platform allows CAR reprogramming of NK cells without affecting their canonical functions.
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8
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Ciulean IS, Fischer J, Quaiser A, Bach C, Abken H, Tretbar US, Fricke S, Koehl U, Schmiedel D, Grunwald T. CD44v6 specific CAR-NK cells for targeted immunotherapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1290488. [PMID: 38022580 PMCID: PMC10667728 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1290488] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a major challenge for current therapies. CAR-T cells have shown promising results in blood cancers, however, their effectiveness against solid tumors remains a hurdle. Recently, CD44v6-directed CAR-T cells demonstrated efficacy in controlling tumor growth in multiple myeloma and solid tumors such as HNSCC, lung and ovarian adenocarcinomas. Apart from CAR-T cells, CAR-NK cells offer a safe and allogenic alternative to autologous CAR-T cell therapy. In this paper, we investigated the capacity of CAR-NK cells redirected against CD44v6 to execute cytotoxicity against HNSCC. Anti-CD44v6 CAR-NK cells were generated from healthy donor peripheral blood-derived NK cells using gamma retroviral vectors (gRVs). The NK cell transduction was optimized by exploring virus envelope proteins derived from the baboon endogenous virus envelope (BaEV), feline leukemia virus (FeLV, termed RD114-TR) and gibbon ape leukemia virus (GaLV), respectively. BaEV pseudotyped gRVs induced the highest transduction rate compared to RD114-TR and GaLV envelopes as measured by EGFP and surface CAR expression of transduced NK cells. CAR-NK cells showed a two- to threefold increase in killing efficacy against various HNSCC cell lines compared to unmodified, cytokine-expanded primary NK cells. Anti-CD44v6 CAR-NK cells were effective in eliminating tumor cell lines with high and low CD44v6 expression levels. Overall, the improved cytotoxicity of CAR-NK cells holds promise for a therapeutic option for the treatment of HNSCC. However, further preclinical trials are necessary to test in vivo efficacy and safety, as well to optimize the treatment regimen of anti-CD44v6 CAR-NK cells against solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioana Sonya Ciulean
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Joe Fischer
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Andrea Quaiser
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christoph Bach
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Uta Sandy Tretbar
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stephan Fricke
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ulrike Koehl
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Clinical Immunology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dominik Schmiedel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Clinical Immunology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Thomas Grunwald
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig, Germany
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9
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Altvater B, Kailayangiri S, Spurny C, Flügge M, Meltzer J, Greune L, Urban K, Schwöppe C, Brand C, Schliemann C, Hintelmann H, Harrach S, Hartmann W, Abken H, Kuehle J, Schambach A, Görlich D, Berdel WE, Rossig C. CAR T cells as micropharmacies against solid cancers: Combining effector T-cell mediated cell death with vascular targeting in a one-step engineering process. Cancer Gene Ther 2023; 30:1355-1368. [PMID: 37391502 PMCID: PMC10581901 DOI: 10.1038/s41417-023-00642-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023]
Abstract
To enhance the potency of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engineered T cells in solid cancers, we designed a novel cell-based combination strategy with an additional therapeutic mode of action. CAR T cells are used as micropharmacies to produce a targeted pro-coagulatory fusion protein, truncated tissue factor (tTF)-NGR, which exerts pro-coagulatory activity and hypoxia upon relocalization to the vascular endothelial cells that invade tumor tissues. Delivery by CAR T cells aimed to induce locoregional tumor vascular infarction for combined immune-mediated and hypoxic tumor cell death. Human T cells that were one-vector gene-modified to express a GD2-specific CAR along with CAR-inducible tTF-NGR exerted potent GD2-specific effector functions while secreting tTF-NGR that activates the extrinsic coagulation pathway in a strictly GD2-dependent manner. In murine models, the CAR T cells infiltrated GD2-positive tumor xenografts, secreted tTF-NGR into the tumor microenvironment and showed a trend towards superior therapeutic activity compared with control cells producing functionally inactive tTF-NGR. In vitro evidence supports a mechanism of hypoxia-mediated enhancement of T cell cytolytic activity. We conclude that combined CAR T cell targeting with an additional mechanism of antitumor action in a one-vector engineering strategy is a promising approach to be further developed for targeted treatment of solid cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca Altvater
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Sareetha Kailayangiri
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Christian Spurny
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Maike Flügge
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Jutta Meltzer
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Lea Greune
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Katja Urban
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | | | - Caroline Brand
- Department of Medicine A, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | | | - Heike Hintelmann
- Department of Medicine A, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Saliha Harrach
- Department of Medicine A, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Hartmann
- Division of Translational Pathology, Gerhard-Domagk-Institute of Pathology, Münster University Hospital, Münster, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT), and University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Johannes Kuehle
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany
| | - Axel Schambach
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Dennis Görlich
- Institute of Biostatistics and Clinical Research, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Wolfgang E Berdel
- Department of Medicine A, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
- Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence (EXC 1003 - CiM), University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Claudia Rossig
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
- Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence (EXC 1003 - CiM), University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
- Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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10
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Harrer DC, Bezler V, Hartley J, Herr W, Abken H. IRF4 downregulation improves sensitivity and endurance of CAR T cell functional capacities. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1185618. [PMID: 37287982 PMCID: PMC10243527 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1185618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modified T cells can induce complete remissions in patients with advanced hematological malignancies. Nevertheless, the efficacy is mostly transient and remains so far poor in the treatment of solid tumors. Crucial barriers to long-term CAR T cell success encompass loss of functional capacities known as "exhaustion", among others. To extend CAR T cell functionality, we reduced interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) levels in CAR T cells using a one-vector system encoding a specific short-hairpin (sh) RNA along with constitutive CAR expression. At baseline, CAR T cells with downregulated IRF4 showed equal cytotoxicity and cytokine release compared to conventional CAR T cells. However, under conditions of repetitive antigen encounter, IRF4low CAR T cells displayed enhanced functionality with superior cancer cell control in the long-term compared with conventional CAR T cells. Mechanistically, the downregulation of IRF4 in CAR T cells resulted in prolonged functional capacities and upregulation of CD27. Moreover, IRF4low CAR T cells were more sensitive to cancer cells with low levels of target antigen. Overall, IRF4 downregulation capacitates CAR T cells to recognize and respond to target cells with improved sensitivity and endurance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Christoph Harrer
- Dept. Hematology and Medical Oncology, Clinic III Internal Medicine, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Valerie Bezler
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jordan Hartley
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Herr
- Dept. Hematology and Medical Oncology, Clinic III Internal Medicine, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, Germany
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11
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Altvater B, Kailayangiri S, Spurny C, Flügge M, Meltzer J, Greune L, Schwöppe C, Brand C, Schliemann C, Hartmann W, Abken H, Schambach A, Farwick N, Berdel WE, Rossig C. Abstract 3182: CAR T cells as micropharmacies to induce locoregional tumor vascular infarction by antigen-specific delivery of tissue factor to the tumor microenvironment. Cancer Res 2023. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2023-3182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/07/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
CAR T cell therapy of solid tumors is challenged by the heterogeneity of target expression and by mechanical and immune-modulatory barriers in the tumor microenvironment (TME). To combine CAR-retargeted T cell effector functions with a second therapeutic mode of action, we designed an innovative cell-based combination strategy. CAR-engineered antitumor effector T cells are used as micropharmacies to produce and deliver a pro-coagulatory fusion protein, tTF-NGR, in the TME to induce locoregional tumor vascular infarction for combined T-cell mediated and hypoxic tumor cell death. tTF-NGR is a CD13-targeted tissue factor variant with coagulation activity upon relocalization into the phospholipid membranes of the CD13-expressing vascular endothelial cells that invade tumor tissues. Consequent thrombosis in tumor blood vessels induces tumor infarction, growth retardation and regression in preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies and selective reduction of tumor blood flow in a clinical phase I study. Human T cells were co-transduced by retroviral one-vector gene transfer to express genes encoding for a GD2-specific CAR and for tTF-NGR, the latter in an antigen-dependent CAR-mediated manner. The engineered T cells exerted potent GD2 antigen-specific effector functions, including secretion of IFN-γ and TNF-α, upregulation of CD107 and tumor cell lysis, comparable to control CAR T cells producing mutant tTF-NGR lacking pro-coagulatory function. They secreted recombinant tTF-NGR in a strictly antigen-dependent manner upon coincubation with the anti-idiotype antibody ganglidiomab, which selectively engages the extracellular scFv of the CAR, or with GD2-positive tumor cells, shown by ELISA. tTF-NGR produced by human T cells effectively activates the extrinsic coagulation cascade, thus it retains its pro-coagulatory activity. In a murine Ewing sarcoma xenograft model which expresses the CAR target GD2on tumor cells along with CD13 on tumor vascular endothelial cells, GD2-specific CAR T cells with inducible tTF-NGR had noticeably superior therapeutic activity compared with control cells excreting mutant tTF-NGR. Mechanistic evidence hints at hypoxia-induced higher CAR T cell cytolytic activity. We conclude that combined CAR-mediated T cell targeting of cancer cells with CD13-targeted vascular infarction of the TME in a one-vector engineering strategy is a promising approach to overcome limitations of both strategies for effective targeting and eradication of solid cancers.
Citation Format: Bianca Altvater, Sareetha Kailayangiri, Christian Spurny, Maike Flügge, Jutta Meltzer, Lea Greune, Christian Schwöppe, Caroline Brand, Christoph Schliemann, Wolfgang Hartmann, Hinrich Abken, Axel Schambach, Nicole Farwick, Wolfgang E. Berdel, Claudia Rossig. CAR T cells as micropharmacies to induce locoregional tumor vascular infarction by antigen-specific delivery of tissue factor to the tumor microenvironment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 3182.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Maike Flügge
- 2Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
| | - Jutta Meltzer
- 1University Children's Hospital Münster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Lea Greune
- 1University Children's Hospital Münster, Muenster, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Wolfgang Hartmann
- 4Gerhard-Domagk-Institute of Pathology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- 5Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT) and University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Axel Schambach
- 6Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Nicole Farwick
- 1University Children's Hospital Münster, Muenster, Germany
| | | | - Claudia Rossig
- 1University Children's Hospital Münster, Muenster, Germany
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12
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Barden M, Holzinger A, Velas L, Mezősi-Csaplár M, Szöőr Á, Vereb G, Schütz GJ, Hombach AA, Abken H. CAR and TCR form individual signaling synapses and do not cross-activate, however, can co-operate in T cell activation. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1110482. [PMID: 36817444 PMCID: PMC9929185 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1110482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In engineered T cells the CAR is co-expressed along with the physiological TCR/CD3 complex, both utilizing the same downstream signaling machinery for T cell activation. It is unresolved whether CAR-mediated T cell activation depends on the presence of the TCR and whether CAR and TCR mutually cross-activate upon engaging their respective antigen. Here we demonstrate that the CD3ζ CAR level was independent of the TCR associated CD3ζ and could not replace CD3ζ to rescue the TCR complex in CD3ζ KO T cells. Upon activation, the CAR did not induce phosphorylation of TCR associated CD3ζ and, vice versa, TCR activation did not induce CAR CD3ζ phosphorylation. Consequently, CAR and TCR did not cross-signal to trigger T cell effector functions. On the membrane level, TCR and CAR formed separate synapses upon antigen engagement as revealed by total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) and fast AiryScan microscopy. Upon engaging their respective antigen, however, CAR and TCR could co-operate in triggering effector functions through combinatorial signaling allowing logic "AND" gating in target recognition. Data also imply that tonic TCR signaling can support CAR-mediated T cell activation emphasizing the potential relevance of the endogenous TCR for maintaining T cell capacities in the long-term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Barden
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT), Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Astrid Holzinger
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT), Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Lukas Velas
- Institute of Applied Physics, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marianna Mezősi-Csaplár
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Árpád Szöőr
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - György Vereb
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary,ELKH-DE Cell Biology and Signaling Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | | | - Andreas A. Hombach
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany,Department I Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT), Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany,*Correspondence: Hinrich Abken,
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13
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Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) in the canonical "second generation" format provide two signals for inducing T cell effector functions; the primary "signal-1" is provided through the TCR CD3ζ chain and the "signal-2" through a linked costimulatory domain to augment activation. While therapy with second generation CAR T cells can induce remissions of leukemia/lymphoma in a spectacular fashion, CAR T cell persistence is frequently limited which is thought to be due to timely limited activation. Following the "three-signal" dogma for inducing a sustained T cell response, cytokines were supplemented to provide "signal-3" to CAR T cells. Recent progress in the understanding of structural biology and receptor signaling has allowed to engineer cytokines for more selective, fine-tuned stimulation of CAR T cells including an artificial autocrine loop of a transgenic cytokine, a cytokine anchored to the CAR T cell membrane or inserted into the extracellular CAR domain, and a cytokine receptor signaling moiety co-expressed with the CAR or inserted into the CAR endodomain. Here we discuss the recent strategies and options for engineering such "cytokine help intensified CAR" (CHIC) T cells for use in adoptive cell therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Thomas
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, Germany,Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, Germany,Chair for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany,*Correspondence: Hinrich Abken,
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14
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Kaljanac M, Abken H. Do Treg Speed Up with CARs? Chimeric Antigen Receptor Treg Engineered to Induce Transplant Tolerance. Transplantation 2023; 107:74-85. [PMID: 36226849 PMCID: PMC9746345 DOI: 10.1097/tp.0000000000004316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 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: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Adoptive transfer of regulatory T cells (Treg) can induce transplant tolerance in preclinical models by suppressing alloantigen-directed inflammatory responses; clinical translation was so far hampered by the low abundance of Treg with allo-specificity in the peripheral blood. In this situation, ex vivo engineering of Treg with a T-cell receptor (TCR) or chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) provides a cell population with predefined specificity that can be amplified and administered to the patient. In contrast to TCR-engineered Treg, CAR Treg can be redirected toward a broad panel of targets in an HLA-unrestricted fashion' making these cells attractive to provide antigen-specific tolerance toward the transplanted organ. In preclinical models, CAR Treg accumulate and amplify at the targeted transplant, maintain their differentiated phenotype, and execute immune repression more vigorously than polyclonal Treg. With that, CAR Treg are providing hope in establishing allospecific, localized immune tolerance in the long term' and the first clinical trials administering CAR Treg for the treatment of transplant rejection are initiated. Here, we review the current platforms for developing and manufacturing alloantigen-specific CAR Treg and discuss the therapeutic potential and current hurdles in translating CAR Treg into clinical exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcell Kaljanac
- Division Genetic Immunotherapy, and Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Division Genetic Immunotherapy, and Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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15
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Balta E, Janzen N, Kirchgessner H, Toufaki V, Orlik C, Liang J, Lairikyengbam D, Abken H, Niesler B, Müller-Decker K, Ruppert T, Samstag Y. Expression of TRX1 optimizes the antitumor functions of human CAR T cells and confers resistance to a pro-oxidative tumor microenvironment. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1063313. [PMID: 36591284 PMCID: PMC9794734 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1063313] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells to treat B cell lymphoma and leukemia has been remarkably successful. Unfortunately, the therapeutic efficacy of CAR T cells against solid tumors is very limited, with immunosuppression by the pro-oxidative tumor microenvironment (TME) a major contributing factor. High levels of reactive oxygen species are well-tolerated by tumor cells due to their elevated expression of antioxidant proteins; however, this is not the case for T cells, which consequently become hypo-responsive. The aim of this study was to improve CAR T cell efficacy in solid tumors by empowering the antioxidant capacity of CAR T cells against the pro-oxidative TME. To this end, HER2-specific human CAR T cells stably expressing two antioxidant systems: thioredoxin-1 (TRX1), and glutaredoxin-1 (GRX1) were generated and characterized. Thereafter, antitumor functions of CAR T cells were evaluated under control or pro-oxidative conditions. To provide insights into the role of antioxidant systems, gene expression profiles as well as global protein oxidation were analyzed. Our results highlight that TRX1 is pivotal for T cell redox homeostasis. TRX1 expression allows CAR T cells to retain their cytolytic immune synapse formation, cytokine release, proliferation, and tumor cell-killing properties under pro-oxidative conditions. Evaluation of differentially expressed genes and the first comprehensive redoxosome analysis of T cells by mass spectrometry further clarified the underlying mechanisms. Taken together, enhancement of the key antioxidant TRX1 in human T cells opens possibilities to increase the efficacy of CAR T cell treatment against solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emre Balta
- Section of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany,*Correspondence: Emre Balta, ; Yvonne Samstag,
| | - Nina Janzen
- Section of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Henning Kirchgessner
- Section of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Vasiliki Toufaki
- Section of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christian Orlik
- Section of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jie Liang
- Section of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Divya Lairikyengbam
- Section of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Beate Niesler
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany,Counter Core Facility, Institute of Human Genetics, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Karin Müller-Decker
- Core Facility Tumor Models, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Ruppert
- Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, Center for Molecular Biology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Yvonne Samstag
- Section of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Immunology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany,*Correspondence: Emre Balta, ; Yvonne Samstag,
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16
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Harrer DC, Schenkel C, Bezler V, Kaljanac M, Hartley J, Barden M, Pan H, Holzinger A, Herr W, Abken H. CAR Triggered Release of Type-1 Interferon Limits CAR T-Cell Activities by an Artificial Negative Autocrine Loop. Cells 2022; 11:cells11233839. [PMID: 36497099 PMCID: PMC9737386 DOI: 10.3390/cells11233839] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The advent of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells expedited the field of cancer immunotherapy enabling durable remissions in patients with refractory hematological malignancies. T cells redirected for universal cytokine-mediated killing (TRUCKs), commonly referred to as "fourth generation" CAR T-cells, are designed to release engineered payloads upon CAR-induced T-cell activation. Building on the TRUCK technology, we aimed to generate CAR T-cells with a CAR-inducible artificial, self-limiting autocrine loop. To this end, we engineered CAR T-cells with CAR triggered secretion of type-1 interferons (IFNs). At baseline, IFNα and IFNβ CAR T-cells showed similar capacities in cytotoxicity and cytokine secretion compared to conventional CAR T-cells. However, under "stress" conditions of repetitive rounds of antigen stimulation using BxPC-3 pancreas carcinoma cells as targets, anti-tumor activity faded in later rounds while being fully active in destructing carcinoma cells during first rounds of stimulation. Mechanistically, the decline in activity was primarily based on type-1 IFN augmented CAR T-cell apoptosis, which was far less the case for CAR T-cells without IFN release. Such autocrine self-limiting loops can be used for applications where transient CAR T-cell activity and persistence upon target recognition is desired to avoid lasting toxicities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Christoph Harrer
- Department Hematology and Internal Oncology, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division Genetic Immunotherapy, and Chair for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
- Correspondence:
| | - Charlotte Schenkel
- Department Hematology and Internal Oncology, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division Genetic Immunotherapy, and Chair for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Valerie Bezler
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division Genetic Immunotherapy, and Chair for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Marcell Kaljanac
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division Genetic Immunotherapy, and Chair for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jordan Hartley
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division Genetic Immunotherapy, and Chair for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Markus Barden
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division Genetic Immunotherapy, and Chair for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hong Pan
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division Genetic Immunotherapy, and Chair for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Astrid Holzinger
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division Genetic Immunotherapy, and Chair for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Herr
- Department Hematology and Internal Oncology, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division Genetic Immunotherapy, and Chair for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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Thomalla D, Beckmann L, Grimm C, Oliverio M, Meder L, Herling C, Nieper P, Feldmann T, Merkel O, Lorsy E, da Palma Guerreiro A, von Jan J, Kisis I, Wasserburger E, Claasen J, Faitschuk-Meyer E, Altmüller J, Nürnberg P, Yang TP, Lienhard M, Herwig R, Kreuzer KA, Pallasch C, Büttner R, Schäfer S, Hartley J, Abken H, Peifer M, Kashkar H, Knittel G, Eichhorst B, Ullrich R, Herling M, Reinhardt H, Hallek M, Schweiger M, Frenzel L. Deregulation and epigenetic modification of BCL2-family genes cause resistance to venetoclax in hematologic malignancies. Blood 2022; 140:2113-2126. [PMID: 35704690 PMCID: PMC10653032 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2021014304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax has been approved to treat different hematological malignancies. Because there is no common genetic alteration causing resistance to venetoclax in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and B-cell lymphoma, we asked if epigenetic events might be involved in venetoclax resistance. Therefore, we employed whole-exome sequencing, methylated DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing, and genome-wide clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 screening to investigate venetoclax resistance in aggressive lymphoma and high-risk CLL patients. We identified a regulatory CpG island within the PUMA promoter that is methylated upon venetoclax treatment, mediating PUMA downregulation on transcript and protein level. PUMA expression and sensitivity toward venetoclax can be restored by inhibition of methyltransferases. We can demonstrate that loss of PUMA results in metabolic reprogramming with higher oxidative phosphorylation and adenosine triphosphate production, resembling the metabolic phenotype that is seen upon venetoclax resistance. Although PUMA loss is specific for acquired venetoclax resistance but not for acquired MCL1 resistance and is not seen in CLL patients after chemotherapy-resistance, BAX is essential for sensitivity toward both venetoclax and MCL1 inhibition. As we found loss of BAX in Richter's syndrome patients after venetoclax failure, we defined BAX-mediated apoptosis to be critical for drug resistance but not for disease progression of CLL into aggressive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in vivo. A compound screen revealed TRAIL-mediated apoptosis as a target to overcome BAX deficiency. Furthermore, antibody or CAR T cells eliminated venetoclax resistant lymphoma cells, paving a clinically applicable way to overcome venetoclax resistance.
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MESH Headings
- Humans
- Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/drug therapy
- Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/genetics
- Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/pathology
- Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein/genetics
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/genetics
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/metabolism
- bcl-2-Associated X Protein/metabolism
- Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/genetics
- Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins/genetics
- Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic/pharmacology
- Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic/therapeutic use
- Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/pathology
- Hematologic Neoplasms/drug therapy
- Hematologic Neoplasms/genetics
- Epigenesis, Genetic
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Affiliation(s)
- D. Thomalla
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - L. Beckmann
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - C. Grimm
- Institute for Translational Epigenetics, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Center for Genomics (CCG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - M. Oliverio
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - L. Meder
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Mildred Scheel School of Oncology Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - C.D. Herling
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Clinic of Hematology, Cellular Therapy and Hemostaseology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - P. Nieper
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - T. Feldmann
- Institute for Translational Epigenetics, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - O. Merkel
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - E. Lorsy
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - A. da Palma Guerreiro
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - J. von Jan
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - I. Kisis
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - E. Wasserburger
- Institute for Translational Epigenetics, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - J. Claasen
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | | | - J. Altmüller
- Cologne Center for Genomics (CCG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - P. Nürnberg
- Cologne Center for Genomics (CCG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - T.-P. Yang
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Center of Integrated Oncology Cologne-Bonn, Medical Faculty, Department of Translational Genomics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - M. Lienhard
- Department of Computational Molecular Biology, Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
| | - R. Herwig
- Department of Computational Molecular Biology, Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
| | - K.-A. Kreuzer
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - C.P. Pallasch
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - R. Büttner
- Department of Pathology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - S.C. Schäfer
- Department of Pathology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institut für Pathologie im Medizin Campus Bodensee, Friedrichshafen, Germany
| | - J. Hartley
- RCI, Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, University Hospital of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - H. Abken
- RCI, Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, University Hospital of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - M. Peifer
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Center of Integrated Oncology Cologne-Bonn, Medical Faculty, Department of Translational Genomics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - H. Kashkar
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Immunologie, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - G. Knittel
- Department of Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK Partner Site Essen), Essen, Germany
| | - B. Eichhorst
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - R.T. Ullrich
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - M. Herling
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Clinic of Hematology, Cellular Therapy and Hemostaseology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - H.C. Reinhardt
- Department of Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK Partner Site Essen), Essen, Germany
| | - M. Hallek
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - M.R. Schweiger
- Institute for Translational Epigenetics, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Center for Genomics (CCG), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - L.P. Frenzel
- Faculty of Medicine and Cologne University Hospital, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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18
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Harrer DC, Schenkel C, Berking C, Herr W, Abken H, Dörrie J, Schaft N. Decitabine-Mediated Upregulation of CSPG4 in Ovarian Carcinoma Cells Enables Targeting by CSPG4-Specific CAR-T Cells. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14205033. [PMID: 36291817 PMCID: PMC9599610 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14205033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The addition of CAR-T cells to the armamentarium of immunotherapy revigorated the field of oncology by inducing long-lasting remissions in patients with relapsing/refractory hematological malignancies. Nevertheless, in the lion's share of patients diagnosed with solid tumors, CAR-T-cell therapy so far failed to demonstrate satisfactory anti-tumor activity. A crucial cause of resistance against the antigen-specific attack of CAR-T cells is predicated on the primary or secondary absence of suitable target antigens. Thus, the necessity to create a broad repertoire of different target antigens is vital. We aimed to evaluate the potential of the well-established melanoma antigen chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4) as an inducible antigen in ovarian cancer cells, using CSPG4-negative SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells as a model. Based on the hypomethylating activity of the FDA-approved drug decitabine, we refined a protocol to upregulate CSPG4 in the majority of decitabine-treated SKOV-3 cells. CSPG4-specific CAR-T cells generated by mRNA-electroporation showed CSPG4-directed cytokine secretion and cytotoxicity towards decitabine-treated SKOV-3. Another ovarian cancer cell line (Caov-3) and the neoplastic cell line 293T behaved similar. In aggregate, we generated proof-of-concept data paving the way for the further exploration of CSPG4 as an inducible antigen for CAR-T cells in ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Christoph Harrer
- Department of Hematology and Internal Oncology, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
- Department of Dermatology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Hartmannstraße 14, 91052 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Charlotte Schenkel
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Carola Berking
- Department of Dermatology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Hartmannstraße 14, 91052 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen European Metropolitan Area of Nuremberg (CCC ER-EMN), Östliche Stadtmauerstraße 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum Immuntherapie (DZI), Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Herr
- Department of Hematology and Internal Oncology, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jan Dörrie
- Department of Dermatology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Hartmannstraße 14, 91052 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen European Metropolitan Area of Nuremberg (CCC ER-EMN), Östliche Stadtmauerstraße 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum Immuntherapie (DZI), Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Niels Schaft
- Department of Dermatology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Hartmannstraße 14, 91052 Erlangen, Germany
- Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen European Metropolitan Area of Nuremberg (CCC ER-EMN), Östliche Stadtmauerstraße 30, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum Immuntherapie (DZI), Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-913-1853-1127
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19
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Blokon-Kogan D, Levi-Mann M, Malka-Levy L, Itzhaki O, Besser MJ, Shiftan Y, Szöőr Á, Vereb G, Gross G, Abken H, Weinstein-Marom H. Membrane anchored IL-18 linked to constitutively active TLR4 and CD40 improves human T cell antitumor capacities for adoptive cell therapy. J Immunother Cancer 2022. [PMCID: PMC9442493 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2020-001544] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
BackgroundAdoptive transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) or blood T cells genetically redirected by an antitumor TCR or CAR induces a strong antitumor response in a proportion of patients with cancer; however, the therapeutic efficacy is often limited by rapid decline in T cell functions. Coadministering supportive cytokines frequently provokes systemic side effects preventing their broad clinical application. We recently showed that cytokines can be anchored to the cell membrane in a functional fashion and that cytokine receptor signaling can synergize with TLR4 and CD40 signaling. Here, we aimed at augmenting T cell activation by simultaneous signaling through the cytokine receptor, toll-like receptor and TNF-type receptor using IL-18, TLR4 and CD40 as prototypes.MethodsGenes were expressed on electroporation of in vitro-transcribed mRNA in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from healthy donors redirected against melanoma cells with an anti-melanotransferrin CAR and in TILs derived from melanoma patients. Functional assays included the activation of signaling pathways, expression of activation and differentiation markers, cytokine secretion and killing of melanoma target cells.ResultsTo provide IL-18 costimulation to T cells in-cis while avoiding systemic effects, we genetically anchored IL-18 to the T cell membrane, either alone (memIL-18) or fused with constitutively active (ca)TLR4 and caCD40 signaling domains arranged in tandem, creating a synthetic ‘all-in-one’ memIL-18-TLR4-CD40 receptor. MemIL-18-TLR4-CD40, but not memIL-18, triggered strong NF-κB activation in cells lacking the IL-18 receptor, attesting to functionality of the TLR-CD40 moiety. While the membrane-anchored cytokine was found to act mainly in-cis, some T cell activation in-trans was also observed. The electroporated T cells exhibited spontaneous T-bet upregulation and IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion. Melanoma-induced activation of CAR-T cells and TILs as manifested by cytokine secretion and cytolytic activity was substantially augmented by both constructs, with memIL-18-TLR4-CD40 exerting stronger effects than memIL-18 alone.ConclusionsLinking membrane anchored IL-18 with caTLR4 and caCD40 signaling in one hybrid transmembrane protein provides simultaneous activation of three T cell costimulatory pathways through one genetically engineered membrane molecule, strongly amplifying T cell functions for adoptive T cell therapy of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dayana Blokon-Kogan
- Laboratory of Immunology, MIGAL - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, Israel
- The Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee, Israel
| | - Maya Levi-Mann
- Laboratory of Immunology, MIGAL - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, Israel
- The Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee, Israel
| | - Lior Malka-Levy
- Laboratory of Immunology, MIGAL - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, Israel
- The Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee, Israel
| | - Orit Itzhaki
- Ella Lemelbaum Institute for Immuno-Oncology, Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Michal J Besser
- Ella Lemelbaum Institute for Immuno-Oncology, Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel
- Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Tel Aviv University Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Davidoff Center, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikvah, Israel
| | - Yuval Shiftan
- Laboratory of Immunology, MIGAL - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, Israel
| | - Árpád Szöőr
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen Faculty of Medicine, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - György Vereb
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen Faculty of Medicine, Debrecen, Hungary
- MTA-DE Cell Biology and Signaling Research Group, University of Debrecen Faculty of Medicine, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gideon Gross
- Laboratory of Immunology, MIGAL - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, Israel
- The Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee, Israel
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Div. Genetic Immunotherapy, Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy and University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hadas Weinstein-Marom
- Laboratory of Immunology, MIGAL - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, Israel
- The Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee, Israel
- Ella Lemelbaum Institute for Immuno-Oncology, Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel
- Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Tel Aviv University Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel
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20
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Holzinger A, Abken H. Treatment with Living Drugs: Pharmaceutical Aspects of CAR T Cells. Pharmacology 2022; 107:446-463. [PMID: 35696994 DOI: 10.1159/000525052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adoptive therapy with genetically modified T cells achieves spectacular remissions in advanced hematologic malignancies. In contrast to conventional drugs, this kind of therapy applies viable autologous T cells that are ex vivo genetically engineered with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and are classified as advanced therapy medicinal products. SUMMARY As "living drugs," CAR T cells differ from classical pharmaceutical drugs as they provide a panel of cellular capacities upon CAR signaling, including the release of effector molecules and cytokines, redirected cytotoxicity, CAR T cell amplification, active migration, and long-term persistence and immunological memory. Here, we discuss pharmaceutical aspects, the regulatory requirements for CAR T cell manufacturing, and how CAR T cell pharmacokinetics are connected with the clinical outcome. KEY MESSAGES From the pharmacological perspective, the development of CAR T cells with high translational potential needs to address pharmacodynamic markers to balance safety and efficacy of CAR T cells and to address pharmacokinetics with respect to trafficking, homing, infiltration, and persistence of CAR T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid Holzinger
- Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT) and University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany,
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Division of Genetic Immunotherapy, Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT) and University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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21
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Gross G, Carmi Y, Abken H. Editorial: Implementing Logic Gates in Adoptive Cell Therapy. Front Immunol 2022; 13:902594. [PMID: 35572501 PMCID: PMC9101459 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.902594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Gideon Gross
- Laboratory of Immunology, MIGAL - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, Israel
- Department of Biotechnology, Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee, Israel
- *Correspondence: Gideon Gross,
| | - Yaron Carmi
- Department of Pathology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, Department for Genetic Immunotherapy, and University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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22
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Garofano F, Sharma A, Abken H, Gonzalez-Carmona MA, Schmidt-Wolf IGH. A Low Dose of Pure Cannabidiol Is Sufficient to Stimulate the Cytotoxic Function of CIK Cells without Exerting the Downstream Mediators in Pancreatic Cancer Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:3783. [PMID: 35409142 PMCID: PMC8998663 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23073783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite numerous studies conducted over the past decade, the exact role of the cannabinoid system in cancer development remains unclear. Though research has focused on two cannabinoid receptors (CB1, CB2) activated by most cannabinoids, CB2 holds greater attention due to its expression in cells of the immune system. In particular, cytokine-induced killer cells (CIKs), which are pivotal cytotoxic immunological effector cells, express a high-level of CB2 receptors. Herein, we sought to investigate whether inducing CIK cells with cannabidiol can enhance their cytotoxicity and if there are any possible counter effects in its downstream cascade of phosphorylated p38 and CREB using a pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cell line (PANC-1). Our results showed that IL-2 modulates primarily the expression of the CB2 receptor on CIK cells used during ex vivo CIK expansion. The autophagosomal-associated scaffold protein p62 was found to co-localize with CB2 receptors in CIK cells and the PANC-1 cell line. CIK cells showed a low level of intracellular phospho-p38 and, when stimulated with cannabidiol (CBD), a donor specific variability in phospho-CREB. CBD significantly decreases the viability of PANC-1 cells presumably by increasing the cytotoxicity of CIK cells. Taken together, in our preclinical in vitro study, we propose that a low effective dose of CBD is sufficient to stimulate the cytotoxic function of CIK without exerting any associated mediator. Thus, the combinatorial approach of non-psychoactive CBD and CIK cells appears to be safe and can be considered for a clinical perspective in pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Garofano
- Department of Integrated Oncology, Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO), University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany; (F.G.); (A.S.)
| | - Amit Sharma
- Department of Integrated Oncology, Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO), University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany; (F.G.); (A.S.)
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- RCI Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, Department Genetic Immunotherapy, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany;
| | | | - Ingo G. H. Schmidt-Wolf
- Department of Integrated Oncology, Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO), University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany; (F.G.); (A.S.)
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23
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Glienke W, Dragon AC, Zimmermann K, Martyniszyn-Eiben A, Mertens M, Abken H, Rossig C, Altvater B, Aleksandrova K, Arseniev L, Kloth C, Stamopoulou A, Moritz T, Lode HN, Siebert N, Blasczyk R, Goudeva L, Schambach A, Köhl U, Eiz-Vesper B, Esser R. GMP-Compliant Manufacturing of TRUCKs: CAR T Cells targeting GD2 and Releasing Inducible IL-18. Front Immunol 2022; 13:839783. [PMID: 35401506 PMCID: PMC8988144 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.839783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells can be highly effective in the treatment of hematological malignancies, but mostly fail in the treatment of solid tumors. Thus, approaches using 4th advanced CAR T cells secreting immunomodulatory cytokines upon CAR signaling, known as TRUCKs (“T cells redirected for universal cytokine-mediated killing”), are currently under investigation. Based on our previous development and validation of automated and closed processing for GMP-compliant manufacturing of CAR T cells, we here present the proof of feasibility for translation of this method to TRUCKs. We generated IL-18-secreting TRUCKs targeting the tumor antigen GD2 using the CliniMACS Prodigy® system using a recently described “all-in-one” lentiviral vector combining constitutive anti-GD2 CAR expression and inducible IL-18. Starting with 0.84 x 108 and 0.91 x 108 T cells after enrichment of CD4+ and CD8+ we reached 68.3-fold and 71.4-fold T cell expansion rates, respectively, in two independent runs. Transduction efficiencies of 77.7% and 55.1% was obtained, and yields of 4.5 x 109 and 3.6 x 109 engineered T cells from the two donors, respectively, within 12 days. Preclinical characterization demonstrated antigen-specific GD2-CAR mediated activation after co-cultivation with GD2-expressing target cells. The functional capacities of the clinical-scale manufactured TRUCKs were similar to TRUCKs generated in laboratory-scale and were not impeded by cryopreservation. IL-18 TRUCKs were activated in an antigen-specific manner by co-cultivation with GD2-expressing target cells indicated by an increased expression of activation markers (e.g. CD25, CD69) on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and an enhanced release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and cytolytic mediators (e.g. IL-2, granzyme B, IFN-γ, perforin, TNF-α). Manufactured TRUCKs showed a specific cytotoxicity towards GD2-expressing target cells indicated by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, a decrease of target cell numbers, microscopic detection of cytotoxic clusters and detachment of target cells in real-time impedance measurements (xCELLigence). Following antigen-specific CAR activation of TRUCKs, CAR-triggered release IL-18 was induced, and the cytokine was biologically active, as demonstrated in migration assays revealing specific attraction of monocytes and NK cells by supernatants of TRUCKs co-cultured with GD2-expressing target cells. In conclusion, GMP-compliant manufacturing of TRUCKs is feasible and delivers high quality T cell products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfgang Glienke
- ATMP-GMP Development Unit, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Integrated Research and Treatment Center for Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- *Correspondence: Wolfgang Glienke, ; Axel Schambach,
| | - Anna Christina Dragon
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Katharina Zimmermann
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Alexandra Martyniszyn-Eiben
- ATMP-GMP Development Unit, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Integrated Research and Treatment Center for Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Mira Mertens
- ATMP-GMP Development Unit, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Integrated Research and Treatment Center for Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy, Div Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Rossig
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Bianca Altvater
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Krasimira Aleksandrova
- Cellular Therapy Center, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Lubomir Arseniev
- Cellular Therapy Center, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Christina Kloth
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Andriana Stamopoulou
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Thomas Moritz
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Holger N. Lode
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Nikolai Siebert
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Rainer Blasczyk
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Lilia Goudeva
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Axel Schambach
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- *Correspondence: Wolfgang Glienke, ; Axel Schambach,
| | - Ulrike Köhl
- ATMP-GMP Development Unit, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Integrated Research and Treatment Center for Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- Cellular Therapy Center, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Leipzig, Germany
- Clinical Immunology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Britta Eiz-Vesper
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Ruth Esser
- ATMP-GMP Development Unit, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Integrated Research and Treatment Center for Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
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24
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Hombach A, Barden M, Hannappel L, Chmielewski M, Rappl G, Sachinidis A, Abken H. IL12 integrated into the CAR exodomain converts CD8 + T cells to poly-functional NK-like cells with superior killing of antigen-loss tumors. Mol Ther 2022; 30:593-605. [PMID: 34678512 PMCID: PMC8821972 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2021.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [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: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-redirected T cell therapy often fails to control tumors in the long term due to selecting cancer cells that downregulated or lost CAR targeted antigen. To reprogram the functional capacities specifically of engineered CAR T cells, we inserted IL12 into the extracellular moiety of a CD28-ζ CAR; both the CAR endodomain and IL12 were functionally active, as indicated by antigen-redirected effector functions and STAT4 phosphorylation, respectively. The IL12-CAR reprogrammed CD8+ T cells toward a so far not recognized natural killer (NK) cell-like signature and a CD94+CD56+CD62Lhigh phenotype closely similar, but not identical, to NK and cytokine induced killer (CIK) cells. In contrast to conventional CAR T cells, IL12-CAR T cells acquired antigen-independent, human leukocyte antigen E (HLA-E) restricted cytotoxic capacities eliminating antigen-negative cancer cells in addition to eliminating cancer cells with CAR cognate antigen. Simultaneous signaling through both the CAR endodomain and IL12 were required for inducing maximal NK-like cytotoxicity; adding IL12 to conventional CAR T cells was not sufficient. Antigen-negative tumors were attacked by IL12-CAR T cells, but not by conventional CAR T cells. Overall, we present a prototype of a new family of CARs that augments tumor recognition and elimination through expanded functional capacities by an appropriate cytokine integrated into the CAR exodomain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Hombach
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany,Department I Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Markus Barden
- RCI, Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, Department Genetic Immunotherapy, and University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Lisa Hannappel
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Markus Chmielewski
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany,Department I Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Gunter Rappl
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Agapios Sachinidis
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany,University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and Center for Physiology, University Hospital Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- RCI, Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, Department Genetic Immunotherapy, and University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany,Corresponding author: Hinrich Abken, RCI, Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, Department Genetic Immunotherapy, and University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
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25
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Rudek LS, Zimmermann K, Galla M, Meyer J, Kuehle J, Stamopoulou A, Brand D, Sandalcioglu IE, Neyazi B, Moritz T, Rossig C, Altvater B, Falk CS, Abken H, Morgan MA, Schambach A. Generation of an NFκB-Driven Alpharetroviral "All-in-One" Vector Construct as a Potent Tool for CAR NK Cell Therapy. Front Immunol 2021; 12:751138. [PMID: 34804035 PMCID: PMC8595471 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.751138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [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: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune cell therapeutics are increasingly applied in oncology. Especially chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are successfully used to treat several B cell malignancies. Efforts to engineer CAR T cells for improved activity against solid tumors include co-delivery of pro-inflammatory cytokines in addition to CARs, via either constitutive cytokine expression or inducible cytokine expression triggered by CAR recognition of its target antigen-so-called "T cells redirected for universal cytokine-mediated killing" (TRUCKs) or fourth-generation CARs. Here, we tested the hypothesis that TRUCK principles could be expanded to improve anticancer functions of NK cells. A comparison of the functionality of inducible promoters responsive to NFAT or NFκB in NK cells showed that, in contrast to T cells, the inclusion of NFκB-responsive elements within the inducible promoter construct was essential for CAR-inducible expression of the transgene. We demonstrated that GD2CAR-specific activation induced a tight NFκB-promoter-driven cytokine release in NK-92 and primary NK cells together with an enhanced cytotoxic capacity against GD2+ target cells, also shown by increased secretion of cytolytic cytokines. The data demonstrate biologically relevant differences between T and NK cells that are important when clinically translating the TRUCK concept to NK cells for the treatment of solid malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loreen Sophie Rudek
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Katharina Zimmermann
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Melanie Galla
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Johann Meyer
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Johannes Kuehle
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.,Department I of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Andriana Stamopoulou
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Daniel Brand
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - I Erol Sandalcioglu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Belal Neyazi
- Department of Neurosurgery, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Moritz
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Claudia Rossig
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Bianca Altvater
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Christine S Falk
- Institute of Transplant Immunology, Integrated Research and Treatment Center Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Regensburg Centre for Interventional Immunology, Department of Genetic Immunotherapy, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | | | - Axel Schambach
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.,Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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26
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Abstract
Advancement in our understanding of immune cell recognition and emerging cellular engineering technologies during the last decades made active manipulation of the T cell response possible. Synthetic immunology is providing us with an expanding set of composite receptor molecules capable to reprogram immune cell function in a predefined fashion. Since the first prototypes in the late 1980s, the design of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs; T-bodies, immunoreceptors), has followed a clear line of stepwise improvements from antigen-redirected targeting to designed "living factories" delivering transgenic products on demand. Building on basic research and creative clinical exploration, CAR T cell therapy has been achieving spectacular success in the treatment of hematologic malignancies, now beginning to improve the outcome of cancer patients. In this study, we briefly review the history of CARs and outline how the progress in the basic understanding of T cell recognition and of cell engineering technologies made novel therapies possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hinrich Abken
- Department of Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI), Regensburg, Germany
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27
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Affiliation(s)
- Hinrich Abken
- RCI, Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, Department for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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28
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Haumann S, Boix J, Knuever J, Bieling A, Vila Sanjurjo A, Elson JL, Blakely EL, Taylor RW, Riet N, Abken H, Kashkar H, Hornig-Do HT, Wiesner RJ. Mitochondrial DNA mutations induce mitochondrial biogenesis and increase the tumorigenic potential of Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells. Carcinogenesis 2021; 41:1735-1745. [PMID: 32255484 DOI: 10.1093/carcin/bgaa032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Revised: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Functioning mitochondria are crucial for cancer metabolism, but aerobic glycolysis is still considered to be an important pathway for energy production in many tumor cells. Here we show that two well established, classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) cell lines harbor deleterious variants within mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and thus exhibit reduced steady-state levels of respiratory chain complexes. However, instead of resulting in the expected bioenergetic defect, these mtDNA variants evoke a retrograde signaling response that induces mitochondrial biogenesis and ultimately results in increased mitochondrial mass as well as function and enhances proliferation in vitro as well as tumor growth in mice in vivo. When complex I assembly was impaired by knockdown of one of its subunits, this led to further increased mitochondrial mass and function and, consequently, further accelerated tumor growth in vivo. In contrast, inhibition of mitochondrial respiration in vivo by the mitochondrial complex I inhibitor metformin efficiently slowed down growth. We conclude that, as a new mechanism, mildly deleterious mtDNA variants in cHL cancer cells cause an increase of mitochondrial mass and enhanced function as a compensatory effect using a retrograde signaling pathway, which provides an obvious advantage for tumor growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Haumann
- Center for Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Vegetative Physiology, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.,Department of Pediatrics, Medical Faculty and University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Julia Boix
- Center for Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Vegetative Physiology, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jana Knuever
- Center for Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Vegetative Physiology, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.,Department of Dermatology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Angela Bieling
- Center for Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Vegetative Physiology, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Anton Vila Sanjurjo
- Grupo GIBE, Departamento de Bioloxía Celular e Molecular, Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade de A Coruña (UDC), A Coruña, Spain
| | - Joanna L Elson
- Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.,Human Metabolomics, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Emma L Blakely
- Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne UK
| | - Robert W Taylor
- Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne UK
| | - Nicole Riet
- Department I for Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty and University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Department I for Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty and University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany.,Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, 50931 Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany.,RCI, Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, Chair Gene-Immunotherapy, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hamid Kashkar
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, 50931 Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany.,Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Medical Faculty and University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.,Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Hue-Tran Hornig-Do
- Center for Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Vegetative Physiology, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Rudolf J Wiesner
- Center for Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Vegetative Physiology, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.,Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, 50931 Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany.,Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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29
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Abstract
BACKGROUND The observation that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) after ex vivo amplification can control tumors in the long term led to the concept of redirecting patients' cytolytic T‑cells by a receptor with defined specificity against the tumor. OBJECTIVES Development of a recombinant receptor-signal molecule (chimeric antigen receptor, CAR) to increase selectivity and enhance anti-tumor immunity. METHODS Description of a prototype CAR, overview of the modular composition and further development of CAR technology for use in adoptive immune cell therapy. RESULTS Intensive research over the last two decades has shown how CAR-mediated T‑cell activation is influenced by factors such as binding affinity, the epitope of the target antigen, its expression density and accessibility on the tumor cells, as well as by the signaling domains and their combination to induce T‑cell activation. The quality and duration of the T‑cell response can be specifically modulated by modifying the modular composition of the CAR; CAR T‑cells can act as "biopharmaceutical factories" (T-cells redirected for unrestricted cytokine-mediated killing, TRUCK) in the tissue by CAR-mediated release of transgenic therapeutic proteins. CONCLUSION Adoptive CAR T‑cell therapy has shown clinical efficacy in the treatment of hematological malignancies; the treatment of solid tumors, however, is more challenging. Allogeneic CAR T‑cell technology is aimed at generating "off-the-shelf" CAR T‑cells that are accessible for a large number of patients. A further promising approach is the use of CAR T‑cells for other therapeutic applications such as the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Holzinger
- Abteilung für Gen-Immuntherapie, RCI Regensburger Centrum für Interventionelle Immunologie, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053, Regensburg, Deutschland.,Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, Regensburg, 93053, Deutschland
| | - H Abken
- Abteilung für Gen-Immuntherapie, RCI Regensburger Centrum für Interventionelle Immunologie, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053, Regensburg, Deutschland. .,Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, Regensburg, 93053, Deutschland.
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30
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Ambrose C, Su L, Wu L, Dufort FJ, Sanford T, Birt A, Hackel BJ, Hombach A, Abken H, Lobb RR, Rennert PD. Anti-CD19 CAR T cells potently redirected to kill solid tumor cells. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0247701. [PMID: 33735268 PMCID: PMC7971483 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [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: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Successful CAR T cell therapy for the treatment of solid tumors requires exemplary CAR T cell expansion, persistence and fitness, and the ability to target tumor antigens safely. Here we address this constellation of critical attributes for successful cellular therapy by using integrated technologies that simplify development and derisk clinical translation. We have developed a CAR-CD19 T cell that secretes a CD19-anti-Her2 bridging protein. This cell therapy strategy exploits the ability of CD19-targeting CAR T cells to interact with CD19 on normal B cells to drive expansion, persistence and fitness. The secreted bridging protein potently binds to Her2-positive tumor cells, mediating CAR-CD19 T cell cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. Because of its short half-life, the secreted bridging protein will selectively accumulate at the site of highest antigen expression, ie. at the tumor. Bridging proteins that bind to multiple different tumor antigens have been created. Therefore, antigen-bridging CAR-CD19 T cells incorporate critical attributes for successful solid tumor cell therapy. This platform can be exploited to attack tumor antigens on any cancer.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Antigens, CD19/genetics
- Antigens, CD19/immunology
- B-Lymphocytes/immunology
- B-Lymphocytes/pathology
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cell Proliferation
- Coculture Techniques
- Cytotoxicity, Immunologic
- ErbB Receptors/genetics
- ErbB Receptors/immunology
- Gene Expression
- Genetic Vectors/immunology
- Genetic Vectors/metabolism
- Humans
- Immunotherapy, Adoptive/methods
- Lentivirus/genetics
- Lentivirus/immunology
- Lymphocyte Activation
- Lymphoma, B-Cell/genetics
- Lymphoma, B-Cell/immunology
- Lymphoma, B-Cell/pathology
- Lymphoma, B-Cell/therapy
- Mice
- Mice, SCID
- Protein Binding
- Receptor, ErbB-2/genetics
- Receptor, ErbB-2/immunology
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/genetics
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes/cytology
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- Treatment Outcome
- Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lihe Su
- Aleta Biotherapeutics, Natick, MA, United States of America
| | - Lan Wu
- Aleta Biotherapeutics, Natick, MA, United States of America
| | - Fay J. Dufort
- Aleta Biotherapeutics, Natick, MA, United States of America
| | - Thomas Sanford
- Aleta Biotherapeutics, Natick, MA, United States of America
| | - Alyssa Birt
- Aleta Biotherapeutics, Natick, MA, United States of America
| | | | | | | | - Roy R. Lobb
- Aleta Biotherapeutics, Natick, MA, United States of America
| | - Paul D. Rennert
- Aleta Biotherapeutics, Natick, MA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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31
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Two commercial chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell products, axicabtagene-ciloleucel (Yescarta®) and tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah®), are registered for the treatment of B cell neoplasia, for which an increased supply of CAR T cell products is required. PROBLEM The production of patient-specific CAR T cells as advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) poses considerable challenges with respect to logistics, regulation, and manufacturing. METHOD Review of the CAR T cell manufacturing process and the regulatory network, the current challenges, and future development capabilities of CAR T cells for adoptive immunotherapy. RESULTS CAR T cells are manufactured under individualized, laborious, good manufacturing practice-conforming processes in decentralized or in specialized centers. Starting from the patient's leukapheresis product, T cells are genetically engineered ex vivo with a CAR, amplified, and after extensive quality control re-applied to the patient. Most CAR T cell products are manufactured in a manual or semi-automated process; fully automated, supervised, and closed systems are increasingly applied to meet the need for a growing number of CAR T cell products. In this setting, research aims at providing allogeneic CAR T cell products or non-T cells such as natural killer cells for broad applications. CONCLUSION The significance of CAR T cells in adoptive immunotherapy is continuously growing. As individualized cell products, manufacturing requires highly efficient processes under the control of harmonized protocols and regulations so as to ensure the quality of the ATMP in view of increasing demand and to develop new fields in therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrike Köhl
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Zelltherapie und Immunologie (IZI), Leipzig, Deutschland.,Institut für Klinische Immunologie, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Deutschland.,Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Deutschland
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Regensburger Centrum für Interventionelle Immunologie (RCI), Abteilung für Gen-Immuntherapie, Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053, Regensburg, Deutschland.
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Hombach AA, Heiders J, Foppe M, Chmielewski M, Abken H. OX40 costimulation by a chimeric antigen receptor abrogates CD28 and IL-2 induced IL-10 secretion by redirected CD4(+) T cells. Oncoimmunology 2021; 1:458-466. [PMID: 22754764 PMCID: PMC3382912 DOI: 10.4161/onci.19855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 145] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Adoptive therapy with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) redirected T cells recently showed remarkable anti-tumor efficacy in early phase clinical trials; self-repression of the immune response by T-cell secreted cytokines, however, is still an issue raising interest to abrogate the secretion of repressive cytokines while preserving the panel of CAR induced pro-inflammatory cytokines. We here revealed that T-cell activation by a CD28-ζ signaling CAR induced IL-10 secretion, which compromises T cell based immunity, along with the release of pro-inflammatory IFN-γ and IL-2. T cells stimulated by a ζ CAR without costimulation did not secrete IL-2 or IL-10; the latter, however, could be induced by supplementation with IL-2. Abrogation of CD28-ζ CAR induced IL-2 release by CD28 mutation did not reduce IL-10 secretion indicating that IL-10 can be induced by both a CD28 and an IL-2 mediated pathway. In contrast to the CD28-ζ CAR, a CAR with OX40 (CD134) costimulation did not induce IL-10. OX40 cosignaling by a 3rd generation CD28-ζ-OX40 CAR repressed CD28 induced IL-10 secretion but did not affect the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, T-cell amplification or T-cell mediated cytolysis. IL-2 induced IL-10 was also repressed by OX40 co-signaling. OX40 moreover repressed IL-10 secretion by regulatory T cells which are strong IL-10 producers upon activation. Taken together OX40 cosignaling in CAR redirected T cell activation effectively represses IL-10 secretion which contributes to counteract self-repression and provides a rationale to explore OX40 co-signaling CARs in order to prolong a redirected T cell response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas A Hombach
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC) and Tumor Genetics; Department I Internal Medicine; University of Cologne; Cologne, Germany
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Abstract
Despite intensive treatment, pancreatic adenocarcinoma still has the worst prognosis among all malignancies. Using clinically relevant models, we demonstrated the therapeutic efficacy of adoptively transferred T cells engineered with a carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)- and ERBB2-specific chimeric antigen receptor against pancreatic carcinoma. Targeting CD24, a putative cancer stem cell antigen expressed by a minority of carcinoma cells, was likewise effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Chmielewski
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC); Department I of Internal Medicine; University Hospital Cologne; Cologne, Germany
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Oberbeck S, Schrader A, Warner K, Jungherz D, Crispatzu G, von Jan J, Chmielewski M, Ianevski A, Diebner HH, Mayer P, Kondo Ados A, Wahnschaffe L, Braun T, Müller TA, Wagle P, Bouska A, Neumann T, Pützer S, Varghese L, Pflug N, Thelen M, Makalowski J, Riet N, Göx HJM, Rappl G, Altmüller J, Kotrová M, Persigehl T, Hopfinger G, Hansmann ML, Schlößer H, Stilgenbauer S, Dürig J, Mougiakakos D, von Bergwelt-Baildon M, Roeder I, Hartmann S, Hallek M, Moriggl R, Brüggemann M, Aittokallio T, Iqbal J, Newrzela S, Abken H, Herling M. Noncanonical effector functions of the T-memory-like T-PLL cell are shaped by cooperative TCL1A and TCR signaling. Blood 2020; 136:2786-2802. [PMID: 33301031 PMCID: PMC7731789 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2019003348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) is a poor-prognostic neoplasm. Differentiation stage and immune-effector functions of the underlying tumor cell are insufficiently characterized. Constitutive activation of the T-cell leukemia 1A (TCL1A) oncogene distinguishes the (pre)leukemic cell from regular postthymic T cells. We assessed activation-response patterns of the T-PLL lymphocyte and interrogated the modulatory impact by TCL1A. Immunophenotypic and gene expression profiles revealed a unique spectrum of memory-type differentiation of T-PLL with predominant central-memory stages and frequent noncanonical patterns. Virtually all T-PLL expressed a T-cell receptor (TCR) and/or CD28-coreceptor without overrepresentation of specific TCR clonotypes. The highly activated leukemic cells also revealed losses of negative-regulatory TCR coreceptors (eg, CTLA4). TCR stimulation of T-PLL cells evoked higher-than-normal cell-cycle transition and profiles of cytokine release that resembled those of normal memory T cells. More activated phenotypes and higher TCL1A correlated with inferior clinical outcomes. TCL1A was linked to the marked resistance of T-PLL to activation- and FAS-induced cell death. Enforced TCL1A enhanced phospho-activation of TCR kinases, second-messenger generation, and JAK/STAT or NFAT transcriptional responses. This reduced the input thresholds for IL-2 secretion in a sensitizer-like fashion. Mice of TCL1A-initiated protracted T-PLL development resembled such features. When equipped with epitope-defined TCRs or chimeric antigen receptors, these Lckpr-hTCL1Atg T cells gained a leukemogenic growth advantage in scenarios of receptor stimulation. Overall, we propose a model of T-PLL pathogenesis in which TCL1A enhances TCR signals and drives the accumulation of death-resistant memory-type cells that use amplified low-level stimulatory input, and whose loss of negative coregulators additionally maintains their activated state. Treatment rationales are provided by combined interception in TCR and survival signaling.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Humans
- Immunologic Memory
- Leukemia, Prolymphocytic, T-Cell/genetics
- Leukemia, Prolymphocytic, T-Cell/immunology
- Leukemia, Prolymphocytic, T-Cell/pathology
- Mice
- Mice, Knockout
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins/genetics
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins/immunology
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/genetics
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/immunology
- Signal Transduction/genetics
- Signal Transduction/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes/pathology
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Affiliation(s)
- S Oberbeck
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - A Schrader
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - K Warner
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - D Jungherz
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - G Crispatzu
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - J von Jan
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - M Chmielewski
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - A Ianevski
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - H H Diebner
- Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Institute for Medical Informatics and Biometry Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - P Mayer
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - A Kondo Ados
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - L Wahnschaffe
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - T Braun
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - T A Müller
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - P Wagle
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
| | - A Bouska
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
| | - T Neumann
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - S Pützer
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - L Varghese
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - N Pflug
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
| | - M Thelen
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - J Makalowski
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - N Riet
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - H J M Göx
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
| | - G Rappl
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - J Altmüller
- Cologne Center for Genomics, Institute of Human Genetics, UoC, Cologne, Germany
| | - M Kotrová
- Medical Department II of Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Schleswig Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - T Persigehl
- Department of Radiology, UoC, Cologne, Germany
| | - G Hopfinger
- Center for Oncology and Hematology, Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Spital, Vienna, Austria
| | - M L Hansmann
- Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - H Schlößer
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - S Stilgenbauer
- Department III of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - J Dürig
- Clinic for Hematology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - D Mougiakakos
- Department of Medicine 5, Hematology, and Oncology, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | | | - I Roeder
- Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Institute for Medical Informatics and Biometry Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - S Hartmann
- Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - M Hallek
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
| | - R Moriggl
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; and
| | - M Brüggemann
- Medical Department II of Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Schleswig Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - T Aittokallio
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - J Iqbal
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
| | - S Newrzela
- Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - H Abken
- RCI Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, Regensburg, Germany
| | - M Herling
- Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Duesseldorf
- CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, and
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne (UoC), Cologne, Germany
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Patasic L, Seifried J, Bezler V, Kaljanac M, Schneider IC, Schmitz H, Tondera C, Hartmann J, Hombach A, Buchholz CJ, Abken H, König R, Cichutek K. Designed Ankyrin Repeat Protein (DARPin) to target chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-redirected T cells towards CD4 + T cells to reduce the latent HIV + cell reservoir. Med Microbiol Immunol 2020; 209:681-691. [PMID: 32918599 PMCID: PMC7568711 DOI: 10.1007/s00430-020-00692-0] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-redirected T cells show great efficacy in the patient-specific therapy of hematologic malignancies. Here, we demonstrate that a DARPin with specificity for CD4 specifically redirects and triggers the activation of CAR engineered T cells resulting in the depletion of CD4+ target cells aiming for elimination of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reservoir.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Patasic
- Host-Pathogen Interactions, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany
| | - Janna Seifried
- Host-Pathogen Interactions, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany.
- Department for Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Valerie Bezler
- Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI), Department of Genetic Immunotherapy, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Marcell Kaljanac
- Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI), Department of Genetic Immunotherapy, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Irene C Schneider
- Molecular Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany
| | - Heike Schmitz
- Host-Pathogen Interactions, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany
| | | | - Jessica Hartmann
- Molecular Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany
| | - Andreas Hombach
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, and Department I of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Christian J Buchholz
- Molecular Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, and Department I of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI), Department of Genetic Immunotherapy, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Renate König
- Host-Pathogen Interactions, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Langen, Germany
- Immunity and Pathogenesis Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Klaus Cichutek
- Host-Pathogen Interactions, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany.
- Molecular Biotechnology and Gene Therapy, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany.
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Langen, Germany.
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36
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Dragon AC, Zimmermann K, Nerreter T, Sandfort D, Lahrberg J, Klöß S, Kloth C, Mangare C, Bonifacius A, Tischer-Zimmermann S, Blasczyk R, Maecker-Kolhoff B, Uchanska-Ziegler B, Abken H, Schambach A, Hudecek M, Eiz-Vesper B. CAR-T cells and TRUCKs that recognize an EBNA-3C-derived epitope presented on HLA-B*35 control Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoproliferation. J Immunother Cancer 2020; 8:jitc-2020-000736. [PMID: 33127653 PMCID: PMC7604878 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2020-000736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [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] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Immunosuppressive therapy or T-cell depletion in transplant patients can cause uncontrolled growth of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected B cells resulting in post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD). Current treatment options do not distinguish between healthy and malignant B cells and are thereby often limited by severe side effects in the already immunocompromised patients. To specifically target EBV-infected B cells, we developed a novel peptide-selective chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) based on the monoclonal antibody TÜ165 which recognizes an Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen (EBNA)−3C-derived peptide in HLA-B*35 context in a T-cell receptor (TCR)-like manner. In order to attract additional immune cells to proximity of PTLD cells, based on the TÜ165 CAR, we moreover generated T cells redirected for universal cytokine-mediated killing (TRUCKs), which induce interleukin (IL)-12 release on target contact. Methods TÜ165-based CAR-T cells (CAR-Ts) and TRUCKs with inducible IL-12 expression in an all-in-one construct were generated. Functionality of the engineered cells was assessed in co-cultures with EBNA-3C-peptide-loaded, HLA-B*35-expressing K562 cells and EBV-infected B cells as PTLD model. IL-12, secreted by TRUCKs on target contact, was further tested for its chemoattractive and activating potential towards monocytes and natural killer (NK) cells. Results After co-cultivation with EBV target cells, TÜ165 CAR-Ts and TRUCKs showed an increased activation marker expression (CD137, CD25) and release of proinflammatory cytokines (interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α). Moreover, TÜ165 CAR-Ts and TRUCKs released apoptosis-inducing mediators (granzyme B and perforin) and were capable to specifically lyse EBV-positive target cells. Live cell imaging revealed a specific attraction of TÜ165 CAR-Ts around EBNA-3C-peptide-loaded target cells. Of note, TÜ165 TRUCKs with inducible IL-12 showed highly improved effector functions and additionally led to recruitment of monocyte and NK cell lines. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that TÜ165 CAR-Ts recognize EBV peptide/HLA complexes in a TCR-like manner and thereby allow for recognizing an intracellular EBV target. TÜ165 TRUCKs equipped with inducible IL-12 expression responded even more effectively and released IL-12 recruited additional immune cells which are generally missing in proximity of lymphoproliferation in immunocompromised PTLD patients. This suggests a new and promising strategy to specifically target EBV-infected cells while sparing and mobilizing healthy immune cells and thereby enable control of EBV-associated lymphoproliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Christina Dragon
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
| | - Katharina Zimmermann
- Institute for Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
| | - Thomas Nerreter
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Universitätsklinikum Würzburg, Wuerzburg, Bayern, Germany
| | - Deborah Sandfort
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
| | - Julia Lahrberg
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
| | - Stephan Klöß
- Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany.,Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany
| | - Christina Kloth
- Institute for Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
| | - Caroline Mangare
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
| | - Agnes Bonifacius
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
| | - Sabine Tischer-Zimmermann
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
| | - Rainer Blasczyk
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
| | - Britta Maecker-Kolhoff
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
| | | | - Hinrich Abken
- Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI), Department of Genetic Immunotherapy, Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, Regensburg, Bayern, Germany
| | - Axel Schambach
- Institute for Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany.,Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Michael Hudecek
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Universitätsklinikum Würzburg, Wuerzburg, Bayern, Germany
| | - Britta Eiz-Vesper
- Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
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Szöőr Á, Tóth G, Zsebik B, Szabó V, Eshhar Z, Abken H, Vereb G. Trastuzumab derived HER2-specific CARs for the treatment of trastuzumab-resistant breast cancer: CAR T cells penetrate and eradicate tumors that are not accessible to antibodies. Cancer Lett 2020; 484:1-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2020.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 04/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Hombach AA, Geumann U, Günther C, Hermann FG, Abken H. IL7-IL12 Engineered Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) Improve A CAR T Cell Attack Against Colorectal Cancer Cells. Cells 2020; 9:cells9040873. [PMID: 32260097 PMCID: PMC7226757 DOI: 10.3390/cells9040873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Revised: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) redirected T cells are efficacious in the treatment of leukemia/lymphoma, however, showed less capacities in eliminating solid tumors which is thought to be partly due to the lack of cytokine support in the tumor lesion. In order to deliver supportive cytokines, we took advantage of the inherent ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to actively migrate to tumor sites and engineered MSCs to release both IL7 and IL12 to promote homeostatic expansion and Th1 polarization. There is a mutual interaction between engineered MSCs and CAR T cells; in presence of CAR T cell released IFN-γ and TNF-α, chronic inflammatory Th2 MSCs shifted towards a Th17/Th1 pattern with IL2 and IL15 release that mutually activated CAR T cells with extended persistence, amplification, killing and protection from activation induced cell death. MSCs releasing IL7 and IL12 were superior over non-modified MSCs in supporting the CAR T cell response and improved the anti-tumor attack in a transplant tumor model. Data demonstrate the first use of genetically modified MSCs as vehicles to deliver immuno-modulatory proteins to the tumor tissue in order to improve the efficacy of CAR T cells in the treatment of solid malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas A. Hombach
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, Tumor Genetics, University of Cologne, and Department I Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, D-50931 Cologne, Germany;
| | - Ulf Geumann
- Apceth Biopharma GmbH, D-81377 Munich, Germany; (U.G.); (F.G.H.)
| | | | - Felix G. Hermann
- Apceth Biopharma GmbH, D-81377 Munich, Germany; (U.G.); (F.G.H.)
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, Tumor Genetics, University of Cologne, and Department I Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, D-50931 Cologne, Germany;
- Department for Genetic Immunotherapy, Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, and University Hospital Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-941-944-381-11; Fax: +49-941-944-381-13
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Beckhove P, Edinger M, Feuerer M, Gattinoni L, Abken H. International Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI) symposium on "Synthetic immunology and environment-adapted redirection of T cells", 17-18 July, 2019, Regensburg, Germany. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2020; 69:677-682. [PMID: 32123937 PMCID: PMC7113201 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-019-02467-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Beckhove
- Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI) and Chair for Interventional Immunology, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Edinger
- Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI), José Carreras Center and Clinic III Internal Medicine, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Markus Feuerer
- Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI) and Chair for Immunology, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Luca Gattinoni
- Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI) and Chair for Functional Immune Cell Modulation, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI) and Chair for Genetic Immunotherapy, University Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauss-Allee 11, 93053, Regensburg, Germany.
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Nemade H, Acharya A, Chaudhari U, Nembo E, Nguemo F, Riet N, Abken H, Hescheler J, Papadopoulos S, Sachinidis A. Cyclooxygenases Inhibitors Efficiently Induce Cardiomyogenesis in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells. Cells 2020; 9:cells9030554. [PMID: 32120775 PMCID: PMC7140528 DOI: 10.3390/cells9030554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Application of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) is limited by the challenges in their efficient differentiation. Recently, the Wingless (Wnt) signaling pathway has emerged as the key regulator of cardiomyogenesis. In this study, we evaluated the effects of cyclooxygenase inhibitors on cardiac differentiation of hPSCs. Cardiac differentiation was performed by adherent monolayer based method using 4 hPSC lines (HES3, H9, IMR90, and ES4SKIN). The efficiency of cardiac differentiation was evaluated by flow cytometry and RT-qPCR. Generated hPSC-CMs were characterised using immunocytochemistry, electrophysiology, electron microscopy, and calcium transient measurements. Our data show that the COX inhibitors Sulindac and Diclofenac in combination with CHIR99021 (GSK-3 inhibitor) efficiently induce cardiac differentiation of hPSCs. In addition, inhibition of COX using siRNAs targeted towards COX-1 and/or COX-2 showed that inhibition of COX-2 alone or COX-1 and COX-2 in combination induce cardiomyogenesis in hPSCs within 12 days. Using IMR90-Wnt reporter line, we showed that inhibition of COX-2 led to downregulation of Wnt signalling activity in hPSCs. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that COX inhibition efficiently induced cardiogenesis via modulation of COX and Wnt pathway and the generated cardiomyocytes express cardiac-specific structural markers as well as exhibit typical calcium transients and action potentials. These cardiomyocytes also responded to cardiotoxicants and can be relevant as an in vitro cardiotoxicity screening model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harshal Nemade
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany; (H.N.); (A.A.); (U.C.); (E.N.); (F.N.); (J.H.); (S.P.)
| | - Aviseka Acharya
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany; (H.N.); (A.A.); (U.C.); (E.N.); (F.N.); (J.H.); (S.P.)
| | - Umesh Chaudhari
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany; (H.N.); (A.A.); (U.C.); (E.N.); (F.N.); (J.H.); (S.P.)
| | - Erastus Nembo
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany; (H.N.); (A.A.); (U.C.); (E.N.); (F.N.); (J.H.); (S.P.)
| | - Filomain Nguemo
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany; (H.N.); (A.A.); (U.C.); (E.N.); (F.N.); (J.H.); (S.P.)
| | - Nicole Riet
- Department I Internal Medicine and Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne (UKK), Robert-Koch-Str. 21, 50931 Cologne, Germany;
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Regensburg Centre for Interventional Immunology (RCI), Deptartment Genetic Immunotherapy, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany;
| | - Jürgen Hescheler
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany; (H.N.); (A.A.); (U.C.); (E.N.); (F.N.); (J.H.); (S.P.)
| | - Symeon Papadopoulos
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany; (H.N.); (A.A.); (U.C.); (E.N.); (F.N.); (J.H.); (S.P.)
| | - Agapios Sachinidis
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany; (H.N.); (A.A.); (U.C.); (E.N.); (F.N.); (J.H.); (S.P.)
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 21, 50931 Cologne, Germany
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-0221-4787373
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Zimmermann K, Kuehle J, Dragon AC, Galla M, Kloth C, Rudek LS, Sandalcioglu IE, Neyazi B, Moritz T, Meyer J, Rossig C, Altvater B, Eiz-Vesper B, Morgan MA, Abken H, Schambach A. Design and Characterization of an "All-in-One" Lentiviral Vector System Combining Constitutive Anti-G D2 CAR Expression and Inducible Cytokines. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12020375. [PMID: 32041222 PMCID: PMC7072617 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12020375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [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: 12/06/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetically modified T cells expressing chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) so far have mostly failed in the treatment of solid tumors owing to a number of limitations, including an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and insufficient CAR T cell activation and persistence. Next-generation approaches using CAR T cells that secrete transgenic immunomodulatory cytokines upon CAR signaling, known as TRUCKs (“T cells redirected for universal cytokine-mediated killing”), are currently being explored. As TRUCKs were engineered by the transduction of T cells with two separate vectors, we developed a lentiviral modular “all-in-one” vector system that combines constitutive CAR expression and inducible nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT)-driven transgene expression for more efficient production of TRUCKs. Activation of the GD2-specific CAR via GD2+ target cells induced NFAT promoter-driven cytokine release in primary human T cells, and indicated a tight linkage of CAR-specific activation and transgene expression that was further improved by a modified NFATsyn promoter. As proof-of-concept, we showed that T cells containing the “all-in-one” vector system secrete the immunomodulatory cytokines interleukin (IL)12 or IL18 upon co-cultivation with primary human GD2+ tumor cells, resulting in enhanced effector cell properties and increased monocyte recruitment. This highlights the potential of our system to simplify application of TRUCK-modified T cells in solid tumor therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Zimmermann
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.Z.); (M.G.); (C.K.); (L.S.R.); (T.M.); (J.M.)
| | - Johannes Kuehle
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, and Department I of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany;
| | - Anna Christina Dragon
- Institute for Transfusion Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (A.C.D.); (B.E.-V.)
| | - Melanie Galla
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.Z.); (M.G.); (C.K.); (L.S.R.); (T.M.); (J.M.)
| | - Christina Kloth
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.Z.); (M.G.); (C.K.); (L.S.R.); (T.M.); (J.M.)
| | - Loreen Sophie Rudek
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.Z.); (M.G.); (C.K.); (L.S.R.); (T.M.); (J.M.)
| | - I. Erol Sandalcioglu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical Faculty, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; (I.E.S.); (B.N.)
| | - Belal Neyazi
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical Faculty, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; (I.E.S.); (B.N.)
| | - Thomas Moritz
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.Z.); (M.G.); (C.K.); (L.S.R.); (T.M.); (J.M.)
| | - Johann Meyer
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.Z.); (M.G.); (C.K.); (L.S.R.); (T.M.); (J.M.)
| | - Claudia Rossig
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Muenster, 48149 Muenster, Germany; (C.R.); (B.A.)
| | - Bianca Altvater
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children’s Hospital Muenster, 48149 Muenster, Germany; (C.R.); (B.A.)
| | - Britta Eiz-Vesper
- Institute for Transfusion Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (A.C.D.); (B.E.-V.)
| | - Michael Alexander Morgan
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.Z.); (M.G.); (C.K.); (L.S.R.); (T.M.); (J.M.)
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Regensburg Centre for Interventional Immunology (RCI), Department of Genetic Immunotherapy, and University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany;
| | - Axel Schambach
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.Z.); (M.G.); (C.K.); (L.S.R.); (T.M.); (J.M.)
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-511-532-5170
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Tóth G, Szöllősi J, Abken H, Vereb G, Szöőr Á. A Small Number of HER2 Redirected CAR T Cells Significantly Improves Immune Response of Adoptively Transferred Mouse Lymphocytes against Human Breast Cancer Xenografts. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21031039. [PMID: 32033208 PMCID: PMC7038081 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21031039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2019] [Revised: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
HER2 positive JIMT-1 breast tumors are resistant to trastuzumab treatment in vitro and develop resistance to trastuzumab in vivo in SCID mice. We explored whether these resistant tumors could still be eliminated by T cells redirected by a second-generation chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) containing a CD28 costimulatory domain and targeting HER2 with a trastuzumab-derived scFv. In vitro, T cells engineered with this HER2 specific CAR recognized HER2 positive target cells as judged by cytokine production and cytolytic activity. In vivo, the administration of trastuzumab twice weekly had no effect on the growth of JIMT-1 xenografts in SCID mice. At the same time, a single dose of 2.5 million T cells from congenic mice exhibited a moderate xenoimmune response and even stable disease in some cases. In contrast, when the same dose contained 7% (175,000) CAR T cells, complete remission was achieved in 57 days. Even a reduced dose of 250,000 T cells, including only 17,500 CAR T cells, yielded complete remission, although it needed nearly twice the time. We conclude that even a small number of CAR T lymphocytes can evoke a robust anti-tumor response against an antibody resistant xenograft by focusing the activity of xenogenic T cells. This observation may have significance for optimizing the dose of CAR T cells in the therapy of solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gábor Tóth
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (G.T.); (J.S.)
| | - János Szöllősi
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (G.T.); (J.S.)
- MTA-DE Cell Biology and Signaling Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, Dept. Genetic Immunotherapy, and University Hospital Regensburg, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany;
| | - György Vereb
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (G.T.); (J.S.)
- MTA-DE Cell Biology and Signaling Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- Correspondence: (G.V.); (A.S.); Tel.: +36-52-258-603 (G.V. & A.S.)
| | - Árpád Szöőr
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (G.T.); (J.S.)
- Correspondence: (G.V.); (A.S.); Tel.: +36-52-258-603 (G.V. & A.S.)
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Abstract
As a specifically programmable, living immunotherapeutic drug, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cells are providing an alternative treatment option for a broad variety of diseases including so far refractory cancer. By recognizing a tumor-associated antigen, the CAR triggers an anti-tumor response of engineered patient's T cells achieving lasting remissions in the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma. During the last years, significant progress was made in optimizing the CAR design, in manufacturing CAR-engineered T cells, and in the clinical management of patients showing promise to establish adoptive CAR T cell therapy as an effective treatment option in the forefront.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid Holzinger
- RCI Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, Franz-Josef-Strauss Allee 11, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
- Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, RCI c/o University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- RCI Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, Franz-Josef-Strauss Allee 11, 93053, Regensburg, Germany.
- Chair Genetic Immunotherapy, RCI c/o University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
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44
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Hartley J, Abken H. Chimeric antigen receptors designed to overcome transforming growth factor-β-mediated repression in the adoptive T-cell therapy of solid tumors. Clin Transl Immunology 2019; 8:e1064. [PMID: 31236274 PMCID: PMC6589154 DOI: 10.1002/cti2.1064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [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: 03/06/2019] [Revised: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Adoptive cell therapy with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells produced lasting remissions in the treatment of advanced, so far refractory B-cell malignancies; however, the elimination of solid tumors remains so far elusive. The low efficacy of CAR T cells is thought to be due to the immune-repressive milieu within the tumor lesion, predominantly mediated by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) that represses effector T-cell activities and drives differentiation towards regulatory T cells (Tregs). Seeking to boost antitumor immunity, TGF-β is currently targeted by different means in pre-clinical studies. While a recent clinical trial showed the utility of shielding CAR T cells from TGF-β repression, further strategies in counteracting TGF-β in the adoptive cell therapy warrant exploration. We here discuss the most recent advances in the field and draw future developments to make CAR T-cell therapy more potent in the treatment of solid cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Hartley
- RCI Regensburg Centre for Interventional Immunology Chair Genetic Immunotherapy University Hospital Regensburg Regensburg Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- RCI Regensburg Centre for Interventional Immunology Chair Genetic Immunotherapy University Hospital Regensburg Regensburg Germany
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Hombach AA, Rappl G, Abken H. Blocking CD30 on T Cells by a Dual Specific CAR for CD30 and Colon Cancer Antigens Improves the CAR T Cell Response against CD30 - Tumors. Mol Ther 2019; 27:1825-1835. [PMID: 31331813 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2019.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Revised: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells are efficacious in controlling advanced leukemia and lymphoma, however, they fail in the treatment of solid cancer, which is thought to be due to insufficient T cell activation. We revealed that the immune response of CAR T cells with specificity for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was more efficacious against CEA+ cancer cells when simultaneously incubated with an anti-CD30 immunotoxin or anti-CD30 CAR T cells, although the targeted cancer cells lack CD30. The same effect was achieved when the anti-CD30 single-chain variable fragment (scFv) was integrated into the extracellular domain of the anti-CEA CAR. Improvement in T cell activation was due to interfering with the T cell CD30-CD30L interaction by the antagonistic anti-CD30 scFv HRS3; an agonistic anti-CD30 scFv or targeting the high-affinity interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor was not effective. T cells with the anti-CD30/CEA CAR showed superior immunity against established CEA+ CD30- tumors in a mouse model. The concept is broadly applicable since anti-CD30/TAG72 CAR T cells also showed improved elimination of TAG72+ CD30- cancer cells. Taken together, targeting CD30 on CAR T cells by the HRS3 scFv within the anti-tumor CAR improves the redirected immune response against solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas A Hombach
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Department I of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Gunter Rappl
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- RCI, Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology, University of Regensburg and University Hospital of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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Aleksandrova K, Leise J, Priesner C, Melk A, Kubaink F, Abken H, Hombach A, Aktas M, Essl M, Bürger I, Kaiser A, Rauser G, Jurk M, Goudeva L, Glienke W, Arseniev L, Esser R, Köhl U. Functionality and Cell Senescence of CD4/ CD8-Selected CD20 CAR T Cells Manufactured Using the Automated CliniMACS Prodigy® Platform. Transfus Med Hemother 2019; 46:47-54. [PMID: 31244581 DOI: 10.1159/000495772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 11/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Clinical studies using autologous CAR T cells have achieved spectacular remissions in refractory CD19+ B cell leukaemia, however some of the patient treatments with CAR T cells failed. Beside the heterogeneity of leukaemia, the distribution and senescence of the autologous cells from heavily pretreated patients might be further reasons for this. We performed six consecutive large-scale manufacturing processes for CD20 CAR T cells from healthy donor leukapheresis using the automated CliniMACS Prodigy® platform. Starting with a CD4/CD8-positive selection, a high purity of a median of 97% T cells with a median 65-fold cell expansion was achieved. Interestingly, the transduction rate was significantly higher for CD4+ compared to CD8+ T cells and reached in a median of 23%. CD20 CAR T cells showed a good specific IFN-γ secretion after cocultivation with CD20+ target cells which correlated with good cytotoxic activity. Most importantly, 3 out of 5 CAR T cell products showed an increase in telomere length during the manufacturing process, while telomere length remained consistent in one and decreased in another process. In conclusion, this shows for the first time that beside heterogeneity among healthy donors, CAR T cell products also differ regarding cell senescence, even for cells manufactured in a standardised automated process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krasimira Aleksandrova
- Cellular Therapy Centre, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hanover, Germany
| | - Jana Leise
- Cellular Therapy Centre, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hanover, Germany
| | - Christoph Priesner
- Cellular Therapy Centre, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hanover, Germany
| | - Anette Melk
- Clinic for Paediatric Nephrology, Hepatology and Metabolic Disorders, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hanover, Germany
| | - Fanni Kubaink
- Clinic for Paediatric Nephrology, Hepatology and Metabolic Disorders, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hanover, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, and Dept I Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.,RCI, Chair Gene-Immunotherapy, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Hombach
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, and Dept I Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Murat Aktas
- Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
| | - Mike Essl
- Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
| | - Iris Bürger
- Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
| | | | - Georg Rauser
- Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
| | - Marion Jurk
- Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
| | - Lilia Goudeva
- Institute for Transfusion Medicine, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hanover, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Glienke
- ATMP-GMP Development Unit, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hanover, Germany
| | - Lubomir Arseniev
- Cellular Therapy Centre, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hanover, Germany
| | - Ruth Esser
- ATMP-GMP Development Unit, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hanover, Germany
| | - Ulrike Köhl
- Cellular Therapy Centre, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hanover, Germany.,ATMP-GMP Development Unit, Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hanover, Germany.,Institute of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital and Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Leipzig, Germany
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Hartley J, Abken H. Chimeric antigen receptors designed to overcome transforming growth factor-β-mediated repression in the adoptive T-cell therapy of solid tumors. Clin Transl Immunology 2019. [PMID: 31236274 DOI: 10.1002/cti2.1064.pmid:31236274;pmcid:pmc6589154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Adoptive cell therapy with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells produced lasting remissions in the treatment of advanced, so far refractory B-cell malignancies; however, the elimination of solid tumors remains so far elusive. The low efficacy of CAR T cells is thought to be due to the immune-repressive milieu within the tumor lesion, predominantly mediated by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) that represses effector T-cell activities and drives differentiation towards regulatory T cells (Tregs). Seeking to boost antitumor immunity, TGF-β is currently targeted by different means in pre-clinical studies. While a recent clinical trial showed the utility of shielding CAR T cells from TGF-β repression, further strategies in counteracting TGF-β in the adoptive cell therapy warrant exploration. We here discuss the most recent advances in the field and draw future developments to make CAR T-cell therapy more potent in the treatment of solid cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Hartley
- RCI Regensburg Centre for Interventional Immunology Chair Genetic Immunotherapy University Hospital Regensburg Regensburg Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- RCI Regensburg Centre for Interventional Immunology Chair Genetic Immunotherapy University Hospital Regensburg Regensburg Germany
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48
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Schirmer D, Storz I, Wisskirchen K, Feederle R, Schmidt O, Abken H, Protzer U, Burdach S, Richter GH. Abstract A09: GPR64-specific CAR-transgenic T cells selectively kill Ewing sarcoma in vivo. Cancer Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.pedca17-a09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Introduction: Pediatric cancers, including Ewing sarcoma (EwS), are only weakly immunogenic and the tumor patient’s immune system often is devoid of effector T cells for tumor elimination. Based on expression profiling technology, targetable tumor-associated antigens (TAA) are identified and exploited for engineered T-cell therapy. Here the therapeutic potential of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) transgenic T cells directed against the G-protein coupled receptor 64 (GPR64), normally expressed only in epididymal tissue, but specifically expressed in EwS and some other sarcoma, was examined.
Experimental Procedure: Two different monoclonal antibodies (mAb) directed against the extracellular region of GPR64 were generated and characterized. Subsequently, retroviral constructs containing second-generation CARs together with the scFv fragments of the respective mAbs were designed. CAR-constructs consisting of different spacers and costimulatory elements were compared (dIgG1-CD28-CD3z vs. CD8a-4-1BB-CD3z). Primary lymphocytes were transduced and tested in vitro via flow cytometry. Their activation profile and specificity was analyzed by micorarray analysis, ELISpot, and xCelligence assay as well as in immunodeficient xenograft mice.
Results: Antibodies specifically stained EwS cells as determined by flow cytometry and immune histology. The signal intensity was reduced after RNAi mediated downregulation of GPR64 in EwS cell lines confirming specificity of the isolated mAbs. Further immune histology detected GPR64 expression not only in EwS but also in epithelial cancers such as renal, prostate, and pancreas carcinoma. Following sequence determination of those mAbs, two different CAR constructs were designed. Retroviruses containing such CARs transduced primary lymphocytes with high efficiency. The CAR transgenic T cells were enriched for CD8+CAR+ cells via microbead isolation and demonstrated strong proliferative capacities in vitro. Furthermore, GPR64 transmembrane cell surface target structures were specifically recognized as determined by ELISpot and xCelligence assays, but dIgG1-CD28 CAR T cells derived from one hybridoma revealed hints of early exhaustion via auto-activation. This exhaustion could be prevented by use of constructs containing CD8a-4-1BB-CD3z signaling domains for this particular hybridoma-derived scFv fragment, resulting in T-cell activation patterns more similar to TCR-transgenic T cells. Adoptive transfer of CAR-transgenic T cells into EwS tumor-bearing xenograft mice resulted in a significant suppression of tumor growth.
Conclusion: CAR-transgenic T cells targeting GPR64 are a promising approach to transfer the success of CARs in hematologic malignancies to solid tumors. The cells generated in this study show strong specificity towards GPR64 and are able to control tumor cell growth. Since GPR64 expression is not restricted to EwS but also upregulated in a number of carcinomas derived from prostate, kidney, or pancreas, GPR64-specific CARs are a future treatment option for other tumor entities.
Citation Format: David Schirmer, Isabel Storz, Karin Wisskirchen, Regina Feederle, Oxana Schmidt, Hinrich Abken, Ulrike Protzer, Stefan Burdach, Guenther H.S. Richter. GPR64-specific CAR-transgenic T cells selectively kill Ewing sarcoma in vivo [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Pediatric Cancer Research: From Basic Science to the Clinic; 2017 Dec 3-6; Atlanta, Georgia. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(19 Suppl):Abstract nr A09.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Schirmer
- 1Technische Universität München, Children’s Cancer Research Center, Muenchen, Germany,
| | - Isabel Storz
- 1Technische Universität München, Children’s Cancer Research Center, Muenchen, Germany,
| | - Karin Wisskirchen
- 2Technische Universität München, Institute of Virology, Muenchen, Germany,
| | | | - Oxana Schmidt
- 1Technische Universität München, Children’s Cancer Research Center, Muenchen, Germany,
| | - Hinrich Abken
- 4University Hospital Cologne, Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), Koeln, Germany
| | - Ulrike Protzer
- 2Technische Universität München, Institute of Virology, Muenchen, Germany,
| | - Stefan Burdach
- 1Technische Universität München, Children’s Cancer Research Center, Muenchen, Germany,
| | - Guenther H.S. Richter
- 1Technische Universität München, Children’s Cancer Research Center, Muenchen, Germany,
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Probst K, Stermann J, von Bomhard I, Etich J, Pitzler L, Niehoff A, Bluhm B, Xu HC, Lang PA, Chmielewski M, Abken H, Blissenbach B, Machova A, Papadopoulou N, Brachvogel B. Depletion of Collagen IX Alpha1 Impairs Myeloid Cell Function. Stem Cells 2018; 36:1752-1763. [DOI: 10.1002/stem.2892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Revised: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Probst
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Experimental Neonatology, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
- Center for Biochemistry, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
| | - Jacek Stermann
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Experimental Neonatology, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
- Center for Biochemistry, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
| | - Inga von Bomhard
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Experimental Neonatology, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
- Center for Biochemistry, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
| | - Julia Etich
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Experimental Neonatology, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
- Center for Biochemistry, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
| | - Lena Pitzler
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Experimental Neonatology, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
- Center for Biochemistry, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
| | - Anja Niehoff
- Institute of Biomechanics and Orthopaedics; German Sport University Cologne; Cologne Germany
- Cologne Center for Musculoskeletal Biomechanics (CCMB); University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
| | - Björn Bluhm
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Experimental Neonatology, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
- Center for Biochemistry, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
| | - Haifeng C. Xu
- Department of Molecular Medicine II, Medical Faculty; Heinrich Heine University; Düsseldorf Germany
| | - Philipp A. Lang
- Department of Molecular Medicine II, Medical Faculty; Heinrich Heine University; Düsseldorf Germany
| | - Markus Chmielewski
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC); University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
- Department I Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty; Cologne Germany
- RCI, Chair Gene-Immunotherapy; University Hospital Regensburg; Regensburg Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC); University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
- Department I Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty; Cologne Germany
- RCI, Chair Gene-Immunotherapy; University Hospital Regensburg; Regensburg Germany
| | - Birgit Blissenbach
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
| | - Alzbeta Machova
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
| | - Nikoletta Papadopoulou
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
| | - Bent Brachvogel
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Experimental Neonatology, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
- Center for Biochemistry, Medical Faculty; University of Cologne; Cologne Germany
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Abstract
The treatment of leukemia/lymphoma by chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) redirected T cells with specificity for CD19 induced complete remissions in the majority of patients, with a realistic hope for cure. However, recent follow-up data revealed a substantial risk of relapse through leukemic cells that lack the CAR targeted antigen. In this situation, a bispecific CAR with binding domains for CD19 and CD20 is aimed at recognizing leukemic cells with only one cognate antigen. The anti-CD20-CD19 bispecific CAR induced a full T-cell response upon engagement of CD19 or CD20 on target cells showing a true "OR" gate recognition in redirecting T-cell activation. T cells with the anti-CD20-CD19 CAR efficiently killed patients' chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells in vitro. The bispecific CAR T cells cleared pediatric acute lymphocytic leukemia with a mixed CD19+CD20+/CD20- phenotype from the blood and bone marrow of transplanted mice, while anti-CD20 CAR T cells left CD20- leukemic cells behind without curing the disease. Data indicate the superior anti-leukemic activity in the control of leukemia, implying that the anti-CD20-CD19 bispecific CAR T cells may reduce the risk of relapse through antigen-loss leukemic cells in the long term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Martyniszyn
- 1 Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, and Deparment I for Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne , Cologne, Germany
| | - Ann-Christin Krahl
- 2 Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital, Eberhard Karls University , Tübingen, Germany
| | - Maya C André
- 2 Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Children's Hospital, Eberhard Karls University , Tübingen, Germany.,3 Deparment of Pediatric Intensive Care, University Children's Hospital , Basel, Switzerland
| | - Andreas A Hombach
- 1 Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, and Deparment I for Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne , Cologne, Germany
| | - Hinrich Abken
- 1 Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, and Deparment I for Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne , Cologne, Germany
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