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Lee EHJ, Murad JP, Christian L, Gibson J, Yamaguchi Y, Cullen C, Gumber D, Park AK, Young C, Monroy I, Yang J, Stern LA, Adkins LN, Dhapola G, Gittins B, Chang WC, Martinez C, Woo Y, Cristea M, Rodriguez-Rodriguez L, Ishihara J, Lee JK, Forman SJ, Wang LD, Priceman SJ. Antigen-dependent IL-12 signaling in CAR T cells promotes regional to systemic disease targeting. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4737. [PMID: 37550294 PMCID: PMC10406808 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40115-1] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapeutic responses are hampered by limited T cell trafficking, persistence, and durable anti-tumor activity in solid tumors. However, these challenges can be largely overcome by relatively unconstrained synthetic engineering strategies. Here, we describe CAR T cells targeting tumor-associated glycoprotein-72 (TAG72), utilizing the CD28 transmembrane domain upstream of the 4-1BB co-stimulatory domain as a driver of potent anti-tumor activity and IFNγ secretion. CAR T cell-mediated IFNγ production facilitated by IL-12 signaling is required for tumor cell killing, which is recapitulated by engineering an optimized membrane-bound IL-12 (mbIL12) molecule in CAR T cells. These T cells show improved antigen-dependent T cell proliferation and recursive tumor cell killing in vitro, with robust in vivo efficacy in human ovarian cancer xenograft models. Locoregional administration of mbIL12-engineered CAR T cells promotes durable anti-tumor responses against both regional and systemic disease in mice. Safety and efficacy of mbIL12-engineered CAR T cells is demonstrated using an immunocompetent mouse model, with beneficial effects on the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Collectively, our study features a clinically-applicable strategy to improve the efficacy of locoregionally-delivered CAR T cells engineered with antigen-dependent immune-modulating cytokines in targeting regional and systemic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Hee Jun Lee
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - John P Murad
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Lea Christian
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Jackson Gibson
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Yukiko Yamaguchi
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Cody Cullen
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Diana Gumber
- Irell and Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Anthony K Park
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Cari Young
- Irell and Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Isabel Monroy
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Jason Yang
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Lawrence A Stern
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Lauren N Adkins
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Gaurav Dhapola
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Brenna Gittins
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Wen-Chung Chang
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Catalina Martinez
- Department of Clinical and Translational Project Development, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Yanghee Woo
- Department of Surgery, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Mihaela Cristea
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | | | - Jun Ishihara
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, 86 Wood Lane, London, W120BZ, UK
| | - John K Lee
- Human Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, 98019, USA
| | - Stephen J Forman
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
- Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Leo D Wang
- Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Saul J Priceman
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA.
- Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA.
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Jun Lee EH, Cullen C, Murad JP, Gumber D, Park AK, Yang J, Stern LA, Adkins LN, Dhapola G, Gittins B, Chung-Chang W, Martinez C, Woo Y, Cristea M, Rodriguez-Rodriguez L, Ishihara J, Lee JK, Forman SJ, Wang LD, Priceman SJ. Antigen-dependent IL-12 signaling in CAR T cells promotes regional to systemic disease targeting. bioRxiv 2023:2023.01.06.522784. [PMID: 36711615 PMCID: PMC9881930 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.06.522784] [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: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapeutic responses are hampered by limited T cell trafficking, persistence, and durable anti-tumor activity in solid tumor microenvironments. However, these challenges can be largely overcome by relatively unconstrained synthetic engineering strategies, which are being harnessed to improve solid tumor CAR T cell therapies. Here, we describe fully optimized CAR T cells targeting tumor-associated glycoprotein-72 (TAG72) for the treatment of solid tumors, identifying the CD28 transmembrane domain upstream of the 4-1BB co-stimulatory domain as a driver of potent anti-tumor activity and IFNγ secretion. These findings have culminated into a phase 1 trial evaluating safety, feasibility, and bioactivity of TAG72-CAR T cells for the treatment of patients with advanced ovarian cancer ( NCT05225363 ). Preclinically, we found that CAR T cell-mediated IFNγ production facilitated by IL-12 signaling was required for tumor cell killing, which was recapitulated by expressing an optimized membrane-bound IL-12 (mbIL12) molecule on CAR T cells. Critically, mbIL12 cell surface expression and downstream signaling was induced and sustained only following CAR T cell activation. CAR T cells with mbIL12 demonstrated improved antigen-dependent T cell proliferation and potent cytotoxicity in recursive tumor cell killing assays in vitro and showed robust in vivo anti-tumor efficacy in human xenograft models of ovarian cancer peritoneal metastasis. Further, locoregional administration of TAG72-CAR T cells with antigen-dependent IL-12 signaling promoted durable anti-tumor responses against both regional and systemic disease in mice and was associated with improved systemic T cell persistence. Our study features a clinically-applicable strategy to improve the overall efficacy of locoregionally-delivered CAR T cells engineered with antigen-dependent immune-modulating cytokines in targeting both regional and systemic disease.
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