Engineering γδT cells limits tonic signaling associated with chimeric antigen receptors Journal Article


Authors: Fisher, J.; Sharma, R.; Don, D. W.; Barisa, M.; Hurtado, M. O.; Abramowski, P.; Porter, L.; Day, W.; Borea, R.; Inglott, S.; Anderson, J.; Pe'er, D.
Article Title: Engineering γδT cells limits tonic signaling associated with chimeric antigen receptors
Abstract: Despite the benefits of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies against lymphoid malignancies, responses in solid tumors have been more limited and off-target toxicities have been more marked. Among the possible design limitations of CAR-T cells for cancer are unwanted tonic (antigen-independent) signaling and off-target activation. Efforts to overcome these hurdles have been blunted by a lack of mechanistic understanding. Here, we showed that single-cell analysis with time course mass cytometry provided a rapid means of assessing CAR-T cell activation. We compared signal transduction in expanded T cells to that in T cells transduced to express second-generation CARs and found that cell expansion enhanced the response to stimulation. However, expansion also induced tonic signaling and reduced network plasticity, which were associated with expression of the T cell exhaustion markers PD-1 and TIM-3. Because this was most evident in pathways downstream of CD3ζ, we performed similar analyses on γδT cells that expressed chimeric costimulatory receptors (CCRs) lacking CD3ζ but containing DAP10 stimulatory domains. These CCR-γδT cells did not exhibit tonic signaling but were efficiently activated and mounted cytotoxic responses in the presence of CCR-specific stimuli or cognate leukemic cells. Single-cell signaling analysis enabled detailed characterization of CAR-T and CCR-T cell activation to better understand their functional activities. Furthermore, we demonstrated that CCR-γδT cells may offer the potential to avoid on-target, off-tumor toxicity and allo-reactivity in the context of myeloid malignancies. Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
Journal Title: Science Signaling
Volume: 12
Issue: 598
ISSN: 1945-0877
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science  
Date Published: 2019-09-10
Start Page: eaax1872
Language: English
DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.aax1872
PUBMED: 31506382
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC7055420
DOI/URL:
Notes: Source: Scopus
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MSK Authors
  1. Dana Pe'er
    110 Pe'er
  2. Roshan Sharma
    24 Sharma
  3. Jonathan Patrick Hugh Fisher
    1 Fisher