Quantification of circulating TCR-engineered T cells targeting a human endogenous retrovirus post-adoptive transfer using nanoplate digital PCR.

expansion of genetically modified T cells in cancer patients following adoptive transfer has been linked to both anti-tumor activity and T cell-mediated toxicities. The development of digital PCR has improved the accuracy in quantifying the status of adoptively infused T cells compared to qPCR or flow cytometry. Here, we developed and evaluated the feasibility and performance of nanoplate-based digital PCR (ndPCR) to quantify adoptively infused T cells engineered with a T cell receptor (TCR) that recognizes a human endogenous retrovirus type E (HERV-E) antigen.