1区 · 医学
Article
作者: Zhang, Mingzhi ; Chen, YuSheng ; Wu, Xiaolong ; Xu, Hanying ; Chen, Dan ; Wang, Xinhua ; Li, Jiwei ; Yang, Lin ; Xiang, Shufen ; Wang, Yinyan ; Yu, Hui ; Meng, Huimin ; Zhang, Lei ; Nan, Feifei ; Li, Ling ; Fu, Xiaorui ; Yan, Jiaqin ; You, Fengtao ; Li, Zhaoming ; Zhang, Bozhen ; Wang, Yu ; Sun, Zhenchang ; Wang, Min ; Zhou, Zhiyuan ; Pan, Guifang ; Chang, Yu ; Li, Xin
AbstractPurpose:Since CD7 may represent a potent target for T-lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (T-ALL/LBL) immunotherapy, this study aimed to investigate safety and efficacy of autologous CD7–chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells in patients with relapsed and refractory (R/R) T-ALL/LBL, as well as its manufacturing feasibility.Patients and Methods:Preclinical phase was conducted in NPG mice injected with Luc+ GFP+CCRF-CEM cells. Open-label phase I clinical trial (NCT04004637) enrolled patients with R/R CD7-positive T-ALL/LBL who received autologous CD7-CAR T-cell infusion. Primary endpoint was safety; secondary endpoints included efficacy and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters.Results:CD7 blockade strategy was developed using tandem CD7 nanobody VHH6 coupled with an endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi-retention motif peptide to intracellularly fasten CD7 molecules. In preclinical phase CD7 blockade CAR T cells prevented fratricide and exerted potent cytolytic activity, significantly relieving leukemia progression and prolonged the median survival of mice. In clinical phase, the complete remission (CR) rate was 87.5% (7/8) 3 months after CAR T-cell infusion; 1 patient with leukemia achieved minimal residual disease–negative CR and 1 patient with lymphoma achieved CR for more than 12 months. Majority of patients (87.5%) only had grade 1 or 2 cytokine release syndrome with no T-cell hypoplasia or any neurologic toxicities observed. The median maximum concentration of CAR T cells was 857.2 cells/μL at approximately 12 days and remained detectable up to 270 days.Conclusions:Autologous nanobody-derived fratricide-resistant CD7-CAR T cells demonstrated a promising and durable antitumor response in R/R T-ALL/LBL with tolerable toxicity, warranting further studies in highly aggressive CD7-positive malignancies.