Siglec-6 is a novel target for CAR T-cell therapy in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an attractive entity for the development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy because AML blasts are susceptible to T-cell–mediated elimination. Here, we introduce sialic acid–binding immunoglobulin-like lectin 6 (Siglec-6) as a novel target for CAR T cells in AML. We designed a Siglec-6–specific CAR with a targeting domain derived from the human monoclonal antibody JML-1. We found that Siglec-6 is commonly expressed on AML cell lines and primary AML blasts, including the subpopulation of AML stem cells. Treatment with Siglec-6 CAR T cells confers specific antileukemia reactivity that correlates with Siglec-6 expression in preclinical models, including induction of complete remission in a xenograft AML model in immunodeficient mice (NSG/U937). In addition, we confirmed Siglec-6 expression on transformed B cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and specific anti-CLL reactivity of Siglec-6 CAR T cells in vitro. Of particular interest, we found that Siglec-6 is not detectable on normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and that treatment with Siglec-6 CAR T cells does not affect their viability and lineage differentiation in colony-formation assays. These data suggest that Siglec-6 CAR T-cell therapy may be used to effectively treat AML without the need for subsequent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In mature normal hematopoietic cells, we detected Siglec-6 in a proportion of memory (and naïve) B cells and basophilic granulocytes, suggesting the potential for limited on-target/off-tumor reactivity. The lack of expression of Siglec-6 on normal HSPCs is a key to differentiating it from other Siglec family members (eg, Siglec-3 [CD33]) and other CAR target antigens (eg, CD123) that are under investigation in AML, and it warrants the clinical investigation of Siglec-6 CAR T-cell therapy

Pharmakologische Kontrolle von CAR T-Zellen durch Dasatinib

Cellular therapies using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modified T cells to eradicate tumor cells have been a major breakthrough in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. However, there are no measures to control CAR T cell activity after infusion, which is mostly required in cases of CAR T cell overreaction, e.g. cytokine release syndrome, or in the case of T cell failure, e.g. caused by exhaustion. In our study, we identified the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) dasatinib (© Sprycel) as a suitable agent to steer CAR T cells in vitro and in vivo. We show that single treatment of CD4+ and CD8+ CAR T cells with dasatinib conferred either partial or complete inhibition, depending on the applied concentration. The blockade was immediate and encompassed spe-cific lysis, cytokine secretion and proliferation following antigen encounter. The mechanism relied on reduced phosphorylation of key kinases in the CAR signaling cascade, which led to abrogation of nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) signaling. Importantly, inhibition was fully reversible by dasatinib withdrawal. In vivo, dasatinib blocked CAR T cell function without impairing the engraftment of CAR T cells or their subsequent anti tumor function once dasatinib administration was discontinued. We therefore introduce dasatinib as a new tool to efficiently block CAR T cells in vitro and in vivo, with data suggesting that dasatinib can be used in a clinical setting to mitigate toxicity after adaptive transfer of CAR modified T cells and other forms of T cell based immunotherapy. Additionally we show that intermittent inhibition of CAR T cells by dasatinib im-proves the efficacy of CAR T cell therapy. By pausing T cells for short periods of time in vi-vo, upregulation of programmed death protein 1 (PD-1) and subsequent induction of exhaus-tion was prevented, which increased the expansion of T cells and the rate of tumor eradica-tion. Our data therefore suggest that dasatinib can additionally be used to overcome T cell exhaustion that is induced by massive tumor burden and upregulation of inhibitory receptors.Zelluläre Therapien, die das patienteneigene Immunsystem zur Tumorbekämpfung nutzen, gehören zu den großen medizinischen Fortschritten unserer Zeit. T Zellen, die einen chimären Antigen Rezeptor (CAR) exprimieren, sind dabei in der Lage, entartete Zellen aufzuspüren und zu eliminieren. Trotz vielversprechender Erfolge sind zellbasierte Immuntherapien häufig von gravierenden Nebenwirkungen wie Zytokinsturm oder neurologischen Ausfallerschei-nungen begleitet, und es gibt es bis heute keine Möglichkeit, die einmal injizierten Zellen zu kontrollieren. Kontrolle ist nicht nur im Falle einer Überreaktion der CAR T Zellen nötig, sondern auch, wenn der Tumor nicht effektiv bekämpft wird. Ein Versagen der CAR T Zellen wird oft mit T Zell Exhaustion, einer Ermüdung der T Zellen aufgrund von Überstimulation in Verbindung gebracht. In der vorliegenden Studie haben wir den Tyrosinkinase Inhibitor (TKI) Dasatinib als möglichen CAR T Zellen Inhibitor beschrieben und seine hemmenden Eigenschaften in vitro und in vivo näher charakterisiert. In vitro war eine einzelne Behandlung von CD4+ bzw. CD8+ CAR T Zellen ausreichend, um – abhängig von der verwendeten Dosis – eine komplette oder partielle Hemmung zu bewirken. Die Blockade setzte unmittelbar ein und umfasste alle rele-vanten Funktionen einschließlich spezifischer Lyse, Freisetzung von Zytokinen und Prolifera-tion nach Antigen Kontakt. Der zugrunde liegende Mechanismus basierte auf einer reduzier-ten Phosphorylierung von Kinasen der CAR-Signal Kaskade, und verhinderte im weiteren Verlauf die Freisetzung des Transkriptionsfaktors nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT). Diese Blockade war ohne Einschränkungen reversibel. Auch in vivo konnte eine komplette Hemmung der injizierten CAR T Zellen beobachten werden; gleichzeitig war weder das An-wachsen noch die nachfolgende Anti Tumor Funktion nach Absetzen des Medikaments be-einträchtigt. Aufgrund der in dieser Studie gewonnenen Erkenntnisse schlagen wir Dasatinib als neues Werkzeug zur effizienten Blockade von CAR T Zellen vor. Des Weiteren konnten wir zeigen, dass kurzzeitige Unterbrechungen der T-Zell Akti-vierung durch Dasatinib einer Ermüdung von T Zellen entgegen wirken. Dies zeigte sich in einer verringerten Expression von programmed death protein 1 (PD 1) auf der Zelloberfläche sowie einer verbesserten Anti Tumor Wirkung. Unsere Daten deuten daher darauf hin, dass Dasatinib zusätzlich eingesetzt werden kann, um eine Ermüdung von T-Zellen zu verhindern, die durch massive Tumorbelastung und Hochregulation entsprechender Rezeptoren hervorge-rufen wird

Siglec-6 is a novel target for CAR T-cell therapy in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an attractive entity for the development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy because AML blasts are susceptible to T-cell-mediated elimination. Here, we introduce sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin 6 (Siglec-6) as a novel target for CAR T cells in AML. We designed a Siglec-6-specific CAR with a targeting domain derived from the human monoclonal antibody JML-1. We found that Siglec-6 is commonly expressed on AML cell lines and primary AML blasts, including the subpopulation of AML stem cells. Treatment with Siglec-6 CAR T cells confers specific antileukemia reactivity that correlates with Siglec-6 expression in preclinical models, including induction of complete remission in a xenograft AML model in immunodeficient mice (NSG/U937). In addition, we confirmed Siglec-6 expression on transformed B cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and specific anti-CLL reactivity of Siglec-6 CART cells in vitro. Of particular interest, we found that Siglec-6 is not detectable on normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and that treatment with Siglec-6 CAR T cells does not affect their viability and lineage differentiation in colony-formation assays. These data suggest that Siglec-6 CAR T-cell therapy may be used to effectively treat AML without the need for subsequent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In mature normal hematopoietic cells, we detected Siglec-6 in a proportion of memory (and naive) B cells and basophilic granulocytes, suggesting the potential for limited on-target/off-tumor reactivity. The lack of expression of Siglec-6 on normal HSPCs is a key to differentiating it from other Siglec family members (eg, Siglec-3 [CD33]) and other CAR target antigens (eg, CD123) that are under investigation in AML, and it warrants the clinical investigation of Siglec-6 CAR T-cell therapy