Innovative CAR-T therapy destroys cancer cells without dangerous side effects

"A new generation of engineered immune cell destroys cancer cells in mice as effectively as conventional CAR-T-cell therapies without suppressing the immune system, a serious side effect. The engineered cells could also be used to treat some people with autoimmune conditions, such as lupus. CAR-T-cell therapy involves tweaking a person's immune cells known as T cells to produce proteins called chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). These receptors target antigens on B cells, another type of immune cell, in tumours. Conventionally, this antigen of choice has been the CD19 molecule."

"Researchers have developed a CAR-T-cell therapy called CART4-34 that targets B cell receptors carrying the gene IGHV4-34 - thought to be involved in immune responses - which is found in high levels in cancer cells. The scientists found that CART4-34 therapy was as effective as CD19 CAR-T therapy at destroying cancer cells in genetically modified mice with a cancer called diffuse large B cell lymphoma. The CART4-34 therapy did not target healthy, non-cancerous B cells. The IGHV4-34 gene is rarely found in healthy cells."

A CAR-T-cell therapy named CART4-34 targets B cell receptors carrying the IGHV4-34 gene, which appears at high levels in cancer cells. CART4-34 eliminated cancer cells in genetically modified mice with diffuse large B cell lymphoma as effectively as CD19 CAR-T therapy. CART4-34 did not target healthy, non-cancerous B cells because IGHV4-34 is rarely present in healthy cells. By contrast, CD19 CAR-T destroys any cell expressing CD19, causing immune suppression and increased infection risk. CART4-34–based engineered T cells could also treat autoimmune conditions such as lupus, where IGHV4-34–targeting antibodies are common and linked to aggressive disease.

Read at Nature