Tumor regression and immunity in combination therapy with anti-CEA chimeric antigen receptor T cells and anti-CEA-IL2 immunocytokine

Targeted immunotherapy of solid cancers with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and immunocytokines are attractive options in that they both rely on the specificity of tumor-targeted antibodies. Since carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) expression in both colon and breast cancers is correlated with poor prognosis, it was chosen as a model tumor target in immunocompetent CEA transgenic (CEATg) mice. A second-generation anti-CEA CAR derived from CEA-specific antibody T84.66 was used to treat murine MC38 colon or E0771 breast carcinomas transfected with CEA. Anti-CEA CAR vs. mock transduced T cells exhibited a CEA-specific cytotoxic and IFN$$\gamma $$ dose response to both CEA transfected cell lines vs. their CEA-negative controls. Anti-CEA CAR vs. mock transduced T cells delayed the median survival of CEA transfected s.c. MC38 or orthotopic E0771 tumor-bearing CEATg mice by 2 days. With the addition of one-day prior cyclophosphamide (CY) lymphodepletion, anti-CEA CAR T cell treatment delayed the median survival of MC38/CEA and E0771/CEA tumor-bearing CEATg mice by ten and 3 days, respectively. Since CAR T cells require IL2 for survival and expansion, anti-CEA-IL2 immunocytokine (ICK) treatment was performed post CAR T cell therapy. Single ICK treatment 1 day after CY plus anti-CEA CAR T cell therapy in the MC38/CEA model, and two ICK treatments every 3 days after CY plus anti-CEA CAR T cell therapy in the E0771/CEA model were ineffective, while four ICK treatments every 3 days after CY plus anti-CEA CAR T cell therapy completely eradicated MC38/CEA tumor growth and induced tumor immunity when the mice were re-challenged with tumor. These studies show the therapeutic potential of anti-CEA CAR T cells combined with ICK to treat CEA-positive tumors. Abbreviations: CAR: Chimeric antigen receptor, CEA: Carcinoembryonic antigen, CEACAM5, ICK: Immunocytokine, CY: Cyclophosphamide, CEATg mouse: transgenic CEA mouse, TDLN: Tumor-draining lymph node