Equipping next generation CAR T cells against cancer
Equipping next generation CAR T cells against cancer lead image
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is a promising cancer treatment. It involves genetically inserting CAR molecules into to a patient’s T cells, which allows them to better target and destroy tumor cells. CAR T cell therapy works especially well against blood tumors, but two main challenges, adverse side effects and limited efficacy against solid tumors, currently prevent its broader application.
Wu et al. summarized recent developments in the rapidly evolving field of CAR T cell therapy. They described innovations that will potentially make next generation CAR T cells safer and more effective against solid tumors.
The authors reviewed methods that modify different sites on the CAR molecule as well as methods that modify non-CAR molecules. They emphasized the promise of inducible CAR T cell designs, which allow spatial and temporal control over CAR expression or T cell activation.
The team believes a combination of multiple strategies will ultimately lead to the best version of CAR T cell therapy. They discussed how the application of CAR molecules to other types of immune cells, such as macrophages and natural killer cells, may help work around the limitations of T cells.
“We hope this review can provide readers with new insights into the current status and future directions of the field of CAR T therapy,” said author Yiqian Wu. “We also hope this review will inspire new thoughts on how to further improve the efficacy and safety of CAR T therapy in treating solid tumors.”
The authors plan to continue tracking advancements in CAR T therapy as this field progresses.
Source: “Engineering CAR T cells for enhanced efficacy and safety,” by Yiqian Wu, Ziliang Huang, Reed Harrison, Longwei Liu, Linshan Zhu, Yinglin Situ, and Yingxiao Wang, APL Bioengineering (2022). The article can be accessed at https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0073746 .
