Exploring Veteran Mental Health Disparities: A Comparative Analysis of Rural and Urban Communities in the Midwest of the United States.

Veterans face unique mental health challenges influenced by their service experiences and post-military transitions into civilian life. Geographic location also plays an integral role in impacting veterans' outcomes and access to proper care. The purpose of this case study is to examine disparities between rural and urban veterans in the Midwest using data collected from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

Rational Protein Engineering to Enhance MHC-Independent T-cell Receptors.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based therapies have pioneered synthetic cellular immunity but remain limited in their long-term efficacy. Emerging data suggest that dysregulated CAR-driven T-cell activation causes T-cell dysfunction and therapeutic failure. To re-engage the precision of the endogenous T-cell response, we designed MHC-independent T-cell receptors (miTCR) by linking antibody variable domains to T-cell receptor constant chains.

Costimulatory domains direct distinct fates of CAR-driven T-cell dysfunction.

T cells engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) targeting CD19 have demonstrated impressive activity against relapsed or refractory B-cell cancers yet fail to induce durable remissions for nearly half of all patients treated. Enhancing the efficacy of this therapy requires detailed understanding of the molecular circuitry that restrains CAR-driven antitumor T-cell function. We developed and validated an in vitro model that drives T-cell dysfunction through chronic CAR activation and interrogated how CAR costimulatory domains, central components of CAR structure and function, contribute to T-cell failure.

Costimulatory domains direct distinct fates of CAR-driven T cell dysfunction.

Unlabelled: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engineered T cells often fail to enact effector functions after infusion into patients. Understanding the biological pathways that lead CAR T cells to failure is of critical importance in the design of more effective therapies. We developed and validated an model that drives T cell dysfunction through chronic CAR activation and interrogated how CAR costimulatory domains contribute to T cell failure.

Inducing T cell dysfunction by chronic stimulation of CAR-engineered T cells targeting cancer cells in suspension cultures.

Several pre-clinical models reveal that chronic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) stimulation drives a dysfunctional state that mimics in vivo failure. In this protocol, we describe steps to induce T cell dysfunction by persistent and long-term stimulation of CAR-engineered T cells using antigen-expressing cancer cells in suspension cultures. We first described a validated method for manufacturing of CAR T cells, followed by a detailed method for chronic stimulation of CAR T cells and a strategy to evaluate these cells during the process of chronic stimulation.

Antigen glycosylation regulates efficacy of CAR T cells targeting CD19.

While chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting CD19 can cure a subset of patients with B cell malignancies, most patients treated will not achieve durable remission. Identification of the mechanisms leading to failure is essential to broadening the efficacy of this promising platform. Several studies have demonstrated that disruption of CD19 genes and transcripts can lead to disease relapse after initial response; however, few other tumor-intrinsic drivers of CAR T cell failure have been reported.