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Liang S, Zheng R, Zuo B, Li J, Wang Y, Han Y, Dong H, Zhao X, Zhang Y, Wang P, Meng R, Jia L, Yang A, Yan B. SMAD7 expression in CAR-T cells improves persistence and safety for solid tumors. Cell Mol Immunol 2024; 21:213-226. [PMID: 38177245 PMCID: PMC10901810 DOI: 10.1038/s41423-023-01120-y] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite the tremendous progress of chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy in hematological malignancies, their application in solid tumors has been limited largely due to T-cell exhaustion in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and systemic toxicity caused by excessive cytokine release. As a key regulator of the immunosuppressive TME, TGF-β promotes cytokine synthesis via the NF-κB pathway. Here, we coexpressed SMAD7, a suppressor of TGF-β signaling, with a HER2-targeted CAR in engineered T cells. These novel CAR-T cells displayed high cytolytic efficacy and were resistant to TGF-β-triggered exhaustion, which enabled sustained tumoricidal capacity after continuous antigen exposure. Moreover, SMAD7 substantially reduced the production of inflammatory cytokines by antigen-primed CAR-T cells. Mechanistically, SMAD7 downregulated TGF-β receptor I and abrogated the interplay between the TGF-β and NF-κB pathways in CAR-T cells. As a result, these CAR-T cells persistently inhibited tumor growth and promoted the survival of tumor-challenged mice regardless of the hostile tumor microenvironment caused by a high concentration of TGF-β. SMAD7 coexpression also enhanced CAR-T-cell infiltration and persistent activation in patient-derived tumor organoids. Therefore, our study demonstrated the feasibility of SMAD7 coexpression as a novel approach to improve the efficacy and safety of CAR-T-cell therapy for solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sixin Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
- School of Medicine Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, 453003, China
| | - Rui Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
| | - Baile Zuo
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
- School of Medicine Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, 453003, China
| | - Jia Li
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Xijing Hospital of Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
| | - Yiyi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
| | - Yujie Han
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
- School of Medicine Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, 453003, China
| | - Hao Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
- School of Medicine Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan, 453003, China
| | - Xiaojuan Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
| | - Yiting Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
| | - Pengju Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
| | - Ruotong Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
- College of Life Science, Yan'an University, Yan'an, Shaanxi, 716000, China
| | - Lintao Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China.
| | - Angang Yang
- Department of Immunology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China.
| | - Bo Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China.
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