Background <p>Adoptive transfer of regulatory T cells (Tregs) has demonstrated safety, feasibility and early signs of efficacy in promoting immunological tolerance in inflammatory conditions such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered Tregs offer localized activation and suppression compared to polyclonal Tregs, but their clinical translation is limited by high manufacturing costs, lengthy developing times and fixed single-antigen specificity. To address these limitations, we employed the universal adapter Reverse CAR (RevCAR) system, which harbors a peptide epitope lacking intrinsic antigen specificity but provides flexibility in targeting through the use of an antigen-specific RevCAR Target Module (RevTM). As a proof-of-concept, we used a RevTM targeting carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), which is highly expressed in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, as a potential strategy to achieve localized immunosuppression in GI acute GvHD.</p> Methods <p>To support clinical translation, we established an automated, GMP-compatible, clinical-scale manufacturing process. Tregs were magnetically enriched from leukapheresis using the CliniMACS<sup>®</sup> Plus, followed by high-purity sorting on the MACSQuant<sup>®</sup> Tyto<sup>®</sup>. The sorted cells were virally transduced and the RevCAR Tregs were expanded on the CliniMACS Prodigy<sup>®</sup> to obtain clinically relevant cell numbers. The harvested products were evaluated for phenotype, stability, antigen specificity and suppressive function.</p> Results <p>Across five manufacturing runs, Tregs (CD4<sup>+</sup>CD25<sup>high</sup>CD127<sup>low</sup>FOXP3<sup>+</sup>) with a median initial purity of 94% were expanded to achieve a median therapeutic yield of 602 × 10<sup>6</sup> cells. The final product maintained a high purity (median: 91.9%) and exhibited high RevCAR expression (median: 60% RevCAR<sup>+</sup>). Mass cytometry analysis revealed that expanded RevCAR Tregs predominantly exhibited a central memory phenotype with high expression of functional and homing markers. Under experimental pro-inflammatory conditions, the cells maintained stable FOXP3 and Helios expression with minimal pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Importantly, RevCAR Tregs showed antigen-specific activation upon target engagement via the CEA-specific RevTM and robust, dose-dependent suppression.</p> Conclusion <p>The study establishes a scalable, GMP-compatible process for manufacturing pure, stable and functional universal RevCAR Tregs for clinical applications. Furthermore, the RevCAR system offers a promising approach toward an allogenic, off-the-shelf Treg therapy capable of treating diverse immune-mediated diseases with spatial precision.</p>

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Automated GMP-compatible production of universal CAR Tregs for organ-targeted tolerance induction

  • Kavitha Lakshmi,
  • Alexandra von Jutrzenka-Trzebiatowski,
  • Liliana Loureiro,
  • Karla Elizabeth González Soto,
  • Katja Peter,
  • José Manuel Marín Morales,
  • Samikshya Santosh Nirmala,
  • Nicole Berndt,
  • Claudia Arndt,
  • Yueyuan Hu,
  • Jing-Wun Li,
  • Claudia Peitzsch,
  • Anna Taubenberger,
  • Rebekka Wehner,
  • Marc Schmitz,
  • Kristina Hölig,
  • Hinrich Abken,
  • Ezio Bonifacio,
  • Martin Bornhäuser,
  • Michael Bachmann,
  • Anja Feldmann,
  • Anke Fuchs

摘要

Background

Adoptive transfer of regulatory T cells (Tregs) has demonstrated safety, feasibility and early signs of efficacy in promoting immunological tolerance in inflammatory conditions such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered Tregs offer localized activation and suppression compared to polyclonal Tregs, but their clinical translation is limited by high manufacturing costs, lengthy developing times and fixed single-antigen specificity. To address these limitations, we employed the universal adapter Reverse CAR (RevCAR) system, which harbors a peptide epitope lacking intrinsic antigen specificity but provides flexibility in targeting through the use of an antigen-specific RevCAR Target Module (RevTM). As a proof-of-concept, we used a RevTM targeting carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), which is highly expressed in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, as a potential strategy to achieve localized immunosuppression in GI acute GvHD.

Methods

To support clinical translation, we established an automated, GMP-compatible, clinical-scale manufacturing process. Tregs were magnetically enriched from leukapheresis using the CliniMACS® Plus, followed by high-purity sorting on the MACSQuant® Tyto®. The sorted cells were virally transduced and the RevCAR Tregs were expanded on the CliniMACS Prodigy® to obtain clinically relevant cell numbers. The harvested products were evaluated for phenotype, stability, antigen specificity and suppressive function.

Results

Across five manufacturing runs, Tregs (CD4+CD25highCD127lowFOXP3+) with a median initial purity of 94% were expanded to achieve a median therapeutic yield of 602 × 106 cells. The final product maintained a high purity (median: 91.9%) and exhibited high RevCAR expression (median: 60% RevCAR+). Mass cytometry analysis revealed that expanded RevCAR Tregs predominantly exhibited a central memory phenotype with high expression of functional and homing markers. Under experimental pro-inflammatory conditions, the cells maintained stable FOXP3 and Helios expression with minimal pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Importantly, RevCAR Tregs showed antigen-specific activation upon target engagement via the CEA-specific RevTM and robust, dose-dependent suppression.

Conclusion

The study establishes a scalable, GMP-compatible process for manufacturing pure, stable and functional universal RevCAR Tregs for clinical applications. Furthermore, the RevCAR system offers a promising approach toward an allogenic, off-the-shelf Treg therapy capable of treating diverse immune-mediated diseases with spatial precision.