Acta Naturae. 2018 Apr-Jun;10(2):16-23.

Molecular Approaches to Safe and Controlled Engineered T-cell Therapy.

Kalinin RS¹, Petukhov AV¹, Knorre VD¹, Maschan MA², Stepanov AV¹, Gabibov AG¹.

Abstract

Chimeric antigen receptor-modified T-cell therapy (CAR-T therapy) is one of the fastest developing areas of immuno-oncology. Over the past decade, it has revolutionized the cell therapy modality and expedited its pace of development, from optimization of the structure of chimeric antigen receptors and animal model experiments to successful clinical application. The initial designs of the CAR configuration focused on increasing T-cell activation, cytotoxicity, and persistence. However, the first attempts to treat patients with CAR T cells have demonstrated the need for increased safety and controlled activation of genetically modified T cells. Herein, we summarize the different molecular approaches to engineering chimeric antigen receptors for reducing the potential clinical risks of T-cell therapy.