Perspectives – VJRegenMed

Multivalent gamma-delta T-cells: promising agents for the treatment of cancers

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 10:35:19 +0000

In this video, Jürgen Kuball, MD, PhD, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands, briefly discusses the promise of novel gamma delta T-cells, which are being explored for the treatment of various cancers and have shown promising pre-clinical results. This interview took place at the EBMT-EHA 5th European CAR T-cell Meeting held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

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Results from a Phase I trial of rapidly manufactured Prgn-3006 Ultracar-T in R/R AML

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 12:11:28 +0000

In this video, David Sallman, MD, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, outlines the completed Phase I results for Prgn-3006 Ultracar-T in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) CD33+ acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Prgn-3006 Ultracar-T is an autologous CAR-T cell product with decentralized manufacturing that significantly reduces the time between apheresis and CAR-T infusion compared to standard autologous CAR-T therapies. Overall, results suggest that Prgn-3006 Ultracar-T is well tolerated, with only a few grade 3 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) events and no dose-limiting toxicities. This interview took place at the 64th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition congress in New Orleans, LA.

These works are owned by Magdalen Medical Publishing (MMP) and are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All rights are reserved.

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Implementing automation technology in the CGT space

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 08:38:40 +0000

The advent of automation has brought improvements in the manufacturing of advanced therapies in terms of reducing the number of staff needed, cost, and safety. Saskia Rösch, PhD, Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, discusses potential barriers developers might face in automating their manufacturing processes. Companies will need to make sure the product can be translated from a research to clinical setting, as well as if the reagents can be scaled-up if necessary. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

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Enhancing the long-term functionality of CAR-T cells in solid tumors

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 09:52:51 +0000

The efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in solid tumors have been substandard as a result of CAR T-cell differentiation and exhaustion. Shigeki Yagyu, MD, PhD, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan, comments on the need to improve CAR T-cell potency in solid tumors by optimizing long-term functionality. Despite lentiviral vectors predominantly being used in the engineering of CAR T-cell therapies, they may affect T-cell activity during cell expansion. Dr Yagyu discusses strategies to boost CAR T-cell efficacy including lowering PD-1 expression and reducing T-cell exhaustion. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

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Improving the efficiency of cancer vaccines with adoptive T cell therapy approaches

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 15:59:58 +0000

Chiara Bonini, MD, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University & IRCCS San Raffaele Institute, Milan, Italy, explains how the development and success of adoptive T cell therapies has helped evolve the landscape of personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine development. Early cancer vaccines had low efficiencies and were only able to elicit therapeutic responses in a small number of patients, however, it is now believed that combining tumor vaccination with other therapies targeting immunosuppressive pathways such as adoptive T cell therapy could significantly enhance their clinical potential. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

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Highlights in the field of Treg cells from ICLE 2022

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 10:25:10 +0000

Whilst the field of T-cell engineering is in its infancy, many exciting advances were presented at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022. Michael Traxlmayr, PhD, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria, comments on some of his highlights during the conference, including engineering Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells, which will potentially expand the utility of T-cell therapies. This interview took place at ICLE 2022.

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Adoptive T cell therapies for solid tumors: what are the key challenges?

Fri, 01 Apr 2022 14:07:43 +0000

Chris Klebanoff, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, discusses some of the key challenges associated with the clinical development of adoptive T cell therapies for solid tumors. The identification of high-quality, tumor-specific targets and dealing with antigen heterogeneity are key challenges discussed. In addition, Dr Klebanoff discusses difficulties associated with finding patients that express target antigens and highlights the need for less time-consuming and less expensive methods for patient identification. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

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The use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology in the development of T cell therapies

Fri, 01 Apr 2022 12:36:55 +0000

Alessio Nahmad, PhD, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, describes the role and applications of CRISPR-Cas9-based genome editing in the development of CAR T-cell and T cell receptor (TCR) therapies. The aim is often to ablate specific genes that can reduce efficiency of the T cell product such the TCR genes. For example, ablating TCR genes can improve efficiency and reduce toxicity. In addition, ablating certain genes, such as PD-1, can reduce cellular exhaustion. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

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Unanswered questions in developing engineered T cells for solid tumors

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 14:46:20 +0000

Elvira D’Ippolito, PhD, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany, discusses barriers in developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies for solid tumors. Whilst CAR T-cell therapy has demonstrated modest success in treating hematological malignancies, the immunosuppressive microenvironment of solid tumors inhibits T-cell activity by preventing their entry into the tumor. Dr D’Ippolito additionally addresses resistance to CAR T-cell therapies due to antigen escape, as well as suggests strategies to improve T-cells, including co-engineering of the T-cell, improving antigen presentation and multi-specific receptors. This interview took place at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022.

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Novel approaches in lymphocyte engineering

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 14:40:57 +0000

Elvira D’Ippolito, PhD, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany, introduces a poster session that she is chairing at the International Conference on Lymphocyte Engineering (ICLE) 2022 on novel approaches in lymphocyte engineering. In this session, a novel avidity-controlled chimeric antigen receptor (AvidCAR) platform and a nanoparticle-sensitized photoporation approach for the safe engineering of therapeutic cells will be presented. In addition, Dr D’Ippolito describes a novel tumor model in humanized mice for the study of immunotherapy, as well as a study integrating CRISPR-cas9 screening and single-cell RNA sequencing to better understand transcriptional regulators and downstream gene networks in human regulatory T (Treg) cells. This interview took place at ICLE 2022.

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