Targeting CD19-negative relapsed B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia using trivalent CAR T cells.

Authors

null

Kristen Fousek

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Kristen Fousek, Junji Watanabe, Ann George, Xingyue An, Heba Samir Samaha, Shoba Alaska Navai, Tiara T Byrd, Albert Jang, Hye Na Kim, Sujith Joseph, Matthew Baker, Navin Varadarajan, Meenakshi G. Hegde, Yong-Mi Kim, Nora Heisterkamp, Hisham M. Abdel-Azim, Nabil M. Ahmed

Organizations

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, University of Houston, Houston, TX, Baylor Coll of Medcn, Houston, TX, Texas Childrens Hosp/Baylor Coll of Medcn, Houston, TX, Univ of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Research Funding

Other Foundation

Background: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting CD19 have shown remarkable efficacy in treating relapsed B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). However, recent reports show that up to 40% of patients who relapse after CD19 CAR T cell therapy have CD19-negative disease, justifying a need to expand CAR T cell therapy for B-ALL to include additional tumor-associated antigens. We hypothesize that targeting CD19, CD20, and CD22 will improve B-ALL therapy outcomes and control disease progression during CD19-negative relapse. Methods: We designed two trivalent CAR T cell products with exodomains derived from single chain variable fragments (ScFv) targeting CD19, CD20, and CD22. Each CAR contains the 4-1BB and T-cell receptor zeta chains. Donor T cells were engineered to express the CARs using a retroviral system. We used primary CD19-negative relapsed bone marrow samples and CRISPR CD19 knockouts of primary ALL to model CD19 escape and standard cytotoxicity and immune assays to evaluate anti-tumor efficacy. Results: Due to the use of viral 2A sequences we detected near equal expression of each CAR by flow cytometry. The first T cell product expresses three CARs individually (TriCAR), and the second expresses a single CAR targeting CD19 and a second bi-specific CAR targeting CD20 and CD22 via a tandem arrangement (SideCAR). Using primary B-ALL cells, we observed that TriCAR and SideCAR T cells killed ALL cells more robustly than CD19 CAR T cells at low E:T ratios. Further, in ImageStream analysis of single cell interactions between CAR T cells and primary B-ALL cells, TriCAR T cells exhibited increased actin polymerization compared to CD19 CAR T cells, suggesting remodeling and increased cell activation. Finally, in multiple models of CD19 escape in primary ALL, we showed that trivalent CAR T cells mitigated CD19 negative relapse, producing IFN-γ/TNF-α and killing CD19-negative primary ALL, while CD19 CAR T cells remained ineffective. Conclusions: Trivalent CAR T cells effectively target primary ALL cells with varying antigen profiles and mitigate CD19-negative relapse. This strategy has the potential for use as an initial CAR therapy in relapsed ALL or a salvage therapy for patients with CD19-negative disease.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2018 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium

Session Type

Oral Abstract Session

Session Title

Oral Abstract Session B: CAR-T Cells

Track

Hematologic Malignancies,Developmental Therapeutics

Sub Track

Cell Therapies

Citation

J Clin Oncol 36, 2018 (suppl 5S; abstr 121)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2018.36.5_suppl.121

Abstract #

121

Abstract Disclosures

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