Novel BCMA-OR-CD38 tandem-dual chimeric antigen receptor T cells robustly control multiple myeloma

Abstract

BCMA-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has shown remarkable clinical efficacy against multiple myeloma, yet antigen escape and tumor relapse still occur after the use of these therapies. Designing CAR-T therapies that targets multiple antigens simultaneously seems a feasible way to avoid antigen escape, and it has been extensively studied elsewhere. Here, we report novel BCMA-OR-CD38 Tan CAR T cells that can trigger robust cytotoxicity against target cells expressing either BCMA or CD38. We demonstrate that, in in vitro studies, these BCMA-OR-CD38 Tan CAR T cells exhibit similar CAR expression, superior cytotoxicity and antigen-stimulated T cell proliferation as compared to single-targeted CAR T cells or CD38-OR-BCMA Tan CAR T cells. Importantly, these BCMA-OR-CD38 Tan CAR-T cells can achieve complete tumor clearance in myeloma-bearing mice with no relapse observed through the course of these experiments. Finally, this BCMA-OR-CD38 Tan CAR was fully compatible with existing clinical grade T cell manufacturing procedures and can be implemented using current clinical protocols. Taken together, our results present an effective solution to the challenge of antigen escape in BCMA CAR T-cell therapies.

Keywords: BCMA CAR; CD38 CAR; Tandem-CAR T; antigen escape; multiple myeloma.