Summary
Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapy is a potent treatment for relapsed/refractory (r/r) B cell lymphomas but provides lasting remissions in only ∼40% of patients and is associated with serious adverse events. We identify an upregulation of CD80 and/or CD86 in tumor tissue of (r/r) diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients treated with tisagenlecleucel. This finding leads to the development of the CAR/CCR (chimeric checkpoint receptor) design, which consists of a CD19-specific first-generation CAR co-expressed with a recombinant CTLA-4-linked receptor with a 4-1BB co-stimulatory domain. CAR/CCR T cells demonstrate superior efficacy in xenograft mouse models compared with CAR T cells, superior long-term activity, and superior selectivity in in vitro assays with non-malignant CD19+ cells. In addition, immunocompetent mice show an intact CD80−CD19+ B cell population after CAR/CCR T cell treatment. The results reveal the CAR/CCR design as a promising strategy for further translational study.
Prinz, LF, (...) Ullrich RT, Hallek M, Chmielewski M. An anti-CD19/CTLA-4 switch improves efficacy and selectivity of CAR T cells targeting CD80/86-upregulated DLBCL. Cell Rep Med 2024 Feb 5:101421.
doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101421. Online ahead of print.
