Because of the expansion and persistence of CAR-T cells, patients receiving CAR-T cells rich in memory T cells tend to have better disease control. Human memory T cells, including stem cell-like CD8+memory T cell progenitors, will become functional stem cell-like T cells (TSTEM) or dysfunctional T group cells (TPEX). Recently, a research report entitled “T STEM like CAR-T cells exhibit improved persistence and transformer control compared with conventional CAR-T cells in preclinical models” was published in the international journal Science Translational Medicine. Scientists from Melbourne University and other institutions developed a new type of chimeric antigen receptor cell therapy (CAR-T cell therapy) through research, it may help effectively resist solid tumors.
CAR-T cell therapy is an innovative immunotherapy that utilizes naturally occurring T cells (essential parts of the body’s immune system) to target and destroy infected cells; These T cells can be collected and reshaped using CAR receptors, which can then be infused back into the patient’s body in one go to help resist cancer cells. In this study, researchers used young stem cell-like T cells instead of conventional T cells for research; in a highly exciting developmental process, CAR-T cells, known as T-cell stem cells, exhibit strong reproductive ability when carrying CAR receptors.
This study is an important step toward the development of new CAR-T cell therapies that effectively treat human solid tumors. Researchers suggest that although CAR-T cell therapy is approved for the treatment of various types of hematological cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, its success in solid tumor treatment is still very limited, possibly due to factors such as CAR-T cell expansion, persistence, and depletion in the fight against tumors. Importantly, in cell cultures and four preclinical models, these T cell stem cells like CAR-T cells may improve anti-tumor function, and in fact, when combined with immune checkpoint drug anti-PD-1, they may completely eliminate existing solid tumors. In addition, its long-term existence may indicate that these cells possess all the hallmarks of CAR-T cells.
In this study, researchers first created a production plan that can produce fully functional stem cell-like CAR-T cells in just 6 days (not the standard 14 days), which may open the door to achieving more cost-effective and scalable processes in the later stages. These important research findings also support the importance of implementing production strategies to generate stem cell-like CAR-T cells for clinical use. Researcher Professor Neeson said that our goal is to use these cells in the treatment of two types of childhood leukemia that are resistant to therapy. We believe that this new method may coordinate CAR-T cell products to have a consistent anti-tumor function and important sustained ability.
Once these cells are proven safe, researchers can use them to develop new therapies for treating solid tumors in children, including osteosarcoma and neuroblastoma. In summary, the research results of this article indicate that the new CAR-T cell method developed by the researchers can generate T STEM-like CAR-T cells with enhanced therapeutic efficacy, thereby promoting an increase in their proliferation ability and persistence in vivo.
Related Products
Specially Designed Labeled Protein for Car-T Therapy
Reference
DEBORAH MEYRAN,JOE JIANG ZHU,JEANNE BUTLER, et al. T STEM -like CAR-T cells exhibit improved persistence and tumor control compared with conventional CAR-T cells in preclinical models, Science Translational Medicine (2023). DOI:10.1126/scitranslmed.abk1900