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Calviño C, Ceballos C, Alfonso A, Jauregui P, Calleja-Cervantes ME, San Martin-Uriz P, Rodriguez-Marquez P, Martin-Mallo A, Iglesias E, Abizanda G, Rodriguez-Diaz S, Martinez-Turrillas R, Illarramendi J, Viguria MC, Redondo M, Rifon J, Villar S, Lasarte JJ, Inoges S, Lopez-Diaz de Cerio A, Hernaez M, Prosper F, Rodriguez-Madoz JR. Optimization of universal allogeneic CAR-T cells combining CRISPR and transposon-based technologies for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1270843. [PMID: 37795087 PMCID: PMC10546312 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1270843] [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] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the potential of CAR-T therapies for hematological malignancies, their efficacy in patients with relapse and refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia has been limited. The aim of our study has been to develop and manufacture a CAR-T cell product that addresses some of the current limitations. We initially compared the phenotype of T cells from AML patients and healthy young and elderly controls. This analysis showed that T cells from AML patients displayed a predominantly effector phenotype, with increased expression of activation (CD69 and HLA-DR) and exhaustion markers (PD1 and LAG3), in contrast to the enriched memory phenotype observed in healthy donors. This differentiated and more exhausted phenotype was also observed, and corroborated by transcriptomic analyses, in CAR-T cells from AML patients engineered with an optimized CAR construct targeting CD33, resulting in a decreased in vivo antitumoral efficacy evaluated in xenograft AML models. To overcome some of these limitations we have combined CRISPR-based genome editing technologies with virus-free gene-transfer strategies using Sleeping Beauty transposons, to generate CAR-T cells depleted of HLA-I and TCR complexes (HLA-IKO/TCRKO CAR-T cells) for allogeneic approaches. Our optimized protocol allows one-step generation of edited CAR-T cells that show a similar phenotypic profile to non-edited CAR-T cells, with equivalent in vitro and in vivo antitumoral efficacy. Moreover, genomic analysis of edited CAR-T cells revealed a safe integration profile of the vector, with no preferences for specific genomic regions, with highly specific editing of the HLA-I and TCR, without significant off-target sites. Finally, the production of edited CAR-T cells at a larger scale allowed the generation and selection of enough HLA-IKO/TCRKO CAR-T cells that would be compatible with clinical applications. In summary, our results demonstrate that CAR-T cells from AML patients, although functional, present phenotypic and functional features that could compromise their antitumoral efficacy, compared to CAR-T cells from healthy donors. The combination of CRISPR technologies with transposon-based delivery strategies allows the generation of HLA-IKO/TCRKO CAR-T cells, compatible with allogeneic approaches, that would represent a promising option for AML treatment.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Humans
- Aged
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/genetics
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/metabolism
- T-Lymphocytes/metabolism
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/genetics
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/therapy
- Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/metabolism
- Immunotherapy, Adoptive/methods
- Disease Models, Animal
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Calviño
- Hematology and Cell Therapy Department, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Candela Ceballos
- Hematology Department, Hospital Universitario de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Ana Alfonso
- Hematology and Cell Therapy Department, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Cancer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Patricia Jauregui
- Hematology and Cell Therapy Department, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Maria E. Calleja-Cervantes
- Hemato-Oncology Program, Cima Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Computational Biology Program, Cima Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | | | - Paula Rodriguez-Marquez
- Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Cancer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
- Hemato-Oncology Program, Cima Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Angel Martin-Mallo
- Hemato-Oncology Program, Cima Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Elena Iglesias
- Hemato-Oncology Program, Cima Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Gloria Abizanda
- Hemato-Oncology Program, Cima Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | | | - Rebeca Martinez-Turrillas
- Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Cancer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
- Hemato-Oncology Program, Cima Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Jorge Illarramendi
- Hematology Department, Hospital Universitario de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Maria C. Viguria
- Hematology Department, Hospital Universitario de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Margarita Redondo
- Hematology Department, Hospital Universitario de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Jose Rifon
- Hematology and Cell Therapy Department, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Cancer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sara Villar
- Hematology and Cell Therapy Department, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Juan J. Lasarte
- Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, Cima Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Cancer Center Clinica Universidad de Navarra (CCUN), Pamplona, Spain
| | - Susana Inoges
- Hematology and Cell Therapy Department, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Cancer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
- Cancer Center Clinica Universidad de Navarra (CCUN), Pamplona, Spain
- Immunology and Immunotherapy Department, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Ascension Lopez-Diaz de Cerio
- Hematology and Cell Therapy Department, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Cancer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
- Cancer Center Clinica Universidad de Navarra (CCUN), Pamplona, Spain
- Immunology and Immunotherapy Department, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Mikel Hernaez
- Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Cancer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
- Computational Biology Program, Cima Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Cancer Center Clinica Universidad de Navarra (CCUN), Pamplona, Spain
- Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Institute (DATAI), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Felipe Prosper
- Hematology and Cell Therapy Department, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Cancer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
- Hemato-Oncology Program, Cima Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Cancer Center Clinica Universidad de Navarra (CCUN), Pamplona, Spain
| | - Juan R. Rodriguez-Madoz
- Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Cancer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
- Hemato-Oncology Program, Cima Universidad de Navarra, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Cancer Center Clinica Universidad de Navarra (CCUN), Pamplona, Spain
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Wu L, Brzostek J, Sakthi Vale PD, Wei Q, Koh CKT, Ong JXH, Wu LZ, Tan JC, Chua YL, Yap J, Song Y, Tan VJY, Tan TYY, Lai J, MacAry PA, Gascoigne NRJ. CD28-CAR-T cell activation through FYN kinase signaling rather than LCK enhances therapeutic performance. Cell Rep Med 2023; 4:100917. [PMID: 36696897 PMCID: PMC9975250 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.100917] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Signal transduction induced by chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) is generally believed to rely on the activity of the SRC family kinase (SFK) LCK, as is the case with T cell receptor (TCR) signaling. Here, we show that CAR signaling occurs in the absence of LCK. This LCK-independent signaling requires the related SFK FYN and a CD28 intracellular domain within the CAR. LCK-deficient CAR-T cells are strongly signaled through CAR and have better in vivo efficacy with reduced exhaustion phenotype and enhanced induction of memory and proliferation. These distinctions can be attributed to the fact that FYN signaling tends to promote proliferation and survival, whereas LCK signaling promotes strong signaling that tends to lead to exhaustion. This non-canonical signaling of CAR-T cells provides insight into the initiation of both TCR and CAR signaling and has important clinical implications for improvement of CAR function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Wu
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - Joanna Brzostek
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - Previtha Dawn Sakthi Vale
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - Qianru Wei
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - Clara K T Koh
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - June Xu Hui Ong
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - Liang-Zhe Wu
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - Jia Chi Tan
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - Yen Leong Chua
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - Jiawei Yap
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - Yuan Song
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Immunology Programme, Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Vivian Jia Yi Tan
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - Triscilla Y Y Tan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore
| | - Junyun Lai
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Immunology Programme, Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Paul A MacAry
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Immunology Programme, Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; Cancer Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nicholas R J Gascoigne
- Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117545, Singapore; Cancer Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
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