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Patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) generally have a poor prognosis and a median overall survival of only about 13 months, indicating the urgent need for novel therapies. Delta-like protein 3 (DLL3) has been identified as a tumor- specific cell surface marker on neuroendocrine cancers, including SCLC. In this study, we developed a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) against DLL3 that displays antitumor efficacy in xenograft and murine SCLC models. CAR T cell expression of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-18 greatly enhanced the potency of DLL3- targeting CAR T cell therapy. In a murine metastatic SCLC model, IL-18 production increased the activation of both CAR T cells and endogenous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. We also observed an increased infiltration, repolarization, and activation of antigen-presenting cells. Additionally, human IL-18-secreting anti-DLL3 CAR T cells showed an increased memory phenotype, less exhaustion, and induced durable responses in multiple SCLC models, an effect that could be further enhanced with anti-PD-1 blockade. All together, these results define DLL3-targeting CAR T cells that produce IL-18 as a potentially promising novel strategy against DLL3-expressing solid tumors., Introduction Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for about 15% of lung cancers, and two-thirds of cases are metastatic at the time of diagnosis (1). Despite initial sensitivity to chemotherapy, [...]

To reject tumors, T cells must overcome poor tumor immunogenicity and an adverse tumor microenvironment. Providing agonistic costimulatory signals to tumor-infiltrating T cells to augment T cell function remains a challenge for the implementation of safe and effective immunotherapy. We hypothesized that T cells overexpressing selected costimulatory ligands could serve as cellular vehicles mediating powerful, yet constrained, anatomically targeted costimulation. Here, we show that primary human T cells expressing CD80 and 4-1BB ligand (4-1BBL) vigorously respond to tumor cells lacking costimulatory ligands and provoke potent rejection of large, systemic tumors in immunodeficient mice. In addition to showing costimulation of bystander T cells (transcostimulation), we show the effect of CD80 and 4-1BBL binding to their respective receptors in the immunological synapse of isolated single cells (autocostimulation). This new strategy of endowing T cells with constitutively expressed costimulatory ligands could be extended to other ligand-receptor pairs and used to enhance any targeted adoptive transfer therapy., Author(s): Matthias T Stephan [1, 2]; Vladimir Ponomarev [3]; Renier J Brentjens [1, 4]; Alex H Chang [1]; Konstantin V Dobrenkov [3]; Glenn Heller [5]; Michel Sadelain (corresponding author) [1, [...]

The genetic transfer of antigen receptors provides a means to rapidly generate autologous tumor-reactive T lymphocytes. However, recognition of tumor antigens by cytotoxic T cells is only one step towards effective cancer immunotherapy. Other crucial biological prerequisites must be fulfilled to expand tumor-reactive T cells that retain a functional phenotype, including in vivo cytolytic activity and the ability to travel to tumor sites without prematurely succumbing to apoptosis. We show that these requirements are met by expanding peripheral blood T cells genetically targeted to the CD19 antigen in the presence of CD80 and interleukin-15 (IL-15). T cells expanded in the presence of IL-15 uniquely persist in tumor-bearing severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)-Beige mice and eradicate disseminated intramedullary tumors. Their anti-tumor activity is further enhanced by in vivo co-stimulation. In addition, transduced T cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) effectively lyse autologous tumor cells. These findings strongly support the clinical feasibility of this therapeutic strategy., Author(s): Renier J. Brentjens [1]; Jean-Baptiste Latouche [1]; Elmer Santos [1, 2]; Francesc Marti [5]; Michael C. Gong [1]; Clay Lyddane [1, 3]; Philip D. King [5]; Steven Larson [2]; [...]

Acquired resistance to CD19-targeted CAR T cell therapy can occur through mutations in the CD19 gene or after insertion of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) into leukemia cells, resulting in the adjacent receptor being masked by the CAR., Author(s): Sarwish Rafiq [sup.1] [sup.2] , Renier J. Brentjens [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA (2) Cellular Therapeutics Center, [...]

A study was conducted to determine the role of the pili expressed by Haemophilus ducreyi in the pathogenesis of the genital ulcer disease chancroid. A gene encoding the 24K protein of fine, tangled pili, termed ftpA, was isolated and examined by molecular techniques. The results showed that the FtpA protein lacked homology with other pilins, but shared homoloy with proteins that polymerize ordered rings in Escherichia coli and Treponema pallidum.