• Conrad Russell Y Cruz, Kenneth P Micklethwaite, Barbara Savoldo, Carlos A Ramos, Sharon Lam, Stephanie Ku, Oumar Diouf, Enli Liu, A John Barrett, Sawa Ito, Elizabeth J Shpall, Robert A Krance, Rammurti T Kamble, George Carrum, Chitra M Hosing, Adrian P Gee, Zhuyong Mei, Bambi J Grilley, Helen E Heslop, Cliona M Rooney, Malcolm K Brenner, Catherine M Bollard, and Gianpietro Dotti.
• Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX;
• Blood. 2013 Oct 24; 122 (17): 2965-73.

AbstractAutologous T cells expressing a CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CD19.CAR) are active against B-cell malignancies, but it is unknown whether allogeneic CD19.CAR T cells are safe or effective. After allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), infused donor-derived virus-specific T cells (VSTs) expand in vivo, persist long term, and display antiviral activity without inducing graft-vs-host disease; therefore, we determined whether donor VSTs, engineered to express CD19.CAR, retained the characteristics of nonmanipulated allogeneic VSTs while gaining antitumor activity. We treated 8 patients with allogeneic (donor-derived) CD19.CAR-VSTs 3 months to 13 years after HSCT. There were no infusion-related toxicities. VSTs persisted for a median of 8 weeks in blood and up to 9 weeks at disease sites. Objective antitumor activity was evident in 2 of 6 patients with relapsed disease during the period of CD19.CAR-VST persistence, whereas 2 patients who received cells while in remission remain disease free. In 2 of 3 patients with viral reactivation, donor CD19.CAR-VSTs expanded concomitantly with VSTs. Hence CD19.CAR-VSTs display antitumor activity and, because their number may be increased in the presence of viral stimuli, earlier treatment post-HSCT (when lymphodepletion is greater and the incidence of viral infection is higher) or planned vaccination with viral antigens may enhance disease control.

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