CAR-iNKT cell therapy: mechanisms, advantages, and challenges.

Curr Res Transl Med

Beijing Rongai Biotechnology Co., Ltd, 1st Floor, Building 29, No. 5 Kechuang East 2nd Street, Tongzhou District, Beijing 101100, China. Electronic address:

Published: December 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • CAR T-cell therapy has shown significant promise in treating blood cancers like B-ALL and multiple myeloma, leading to new approvals of CAR-T products that benefit many patients.
  • However, its use in solid tumors is limited due to challenges like tumor microenvironments, variable antigen expression, and side effects.
  • Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, with their unique properties, are being investigated as a complement to CAR-T therapy, and researchers are exploring CAR technology to enhance iNKT cells’ effectiveness in targeting solid tumors.

Article Abstract

In recent years, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has emerged as a groundbreaking approach in cancer immunotherapy. Particularly in hematologic malignancies, such as B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), B cell lymphomas and multiple myeloma. CAR-T therapy has demonstrated remarkable clinical efficacy, leading to the approval of several CAR-T cell products and offering significant benefits to numerous leukemia patients. Despite these successes, the application of CAR-T cells in solid tumors remains limited due to significant challenges, including immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments, heterogeneous antigen expression, and treatment-associated toxicities. In parallel with CAR-T development, researchers are investigating other immune cell platforms to overcome these obstacles. Among these, invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells have garnered increasing attention for their unique immunological properties. Unlike conventional T cells, iNKT cells are a subset of T lymphocytes characterized by the expression of a semi-invariant T-cell receptor (TCR) that recognizes lipid antigens presented by CD1d molecules. This distinctive antigen recognition mechanism enables iNKT cells to bridge innate and adaptive immunity, granting them potent antitumor activity and the ability to modulate the tumor microenvironment. Additionally, iNKT cells exhibit intrinsic resistance to exhaustion and an enhanced ability to infiltrate solid tumors compared to traditional T cells. Building on these properties, researchers are leveraging CAR technology to enhance iNKT cell tumor-targeting capabilities, aiming to overcome barriers encountered in solid tumor therapy. This review provides an in-depth discussion of the application and therapeutic potential of CAR-iNKT cells in cancer immunotherapy, with a focus on their advantages over conventional CAR-T cells and their role in addressing the challenges of solid tumor treatment.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.retram.2024.103488DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

inkt cells
16
cells
9
cancer immunotherapy
8
car-t cells
8
solid tumors
8
solid tumor
8
car-t
5
inkt
5
car-inkt cell
4
therapy
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!