Nov 27, 2020

New Research From the Gariépy Lab

Dr. Jean Gariepy

Photo of Dr. Jean GariepyA team of biochemists at Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) that includes MBP scientist Dr. Jean Gariépy and MBP graduate student Esther Matus have engineered a dual-function protein that enables scientists to “more efficiently and precisely expand in-culture specialized subsets of human immune cells needed for adoptive cell therapies aimed at treating cancer patients”.

This research is outlined in a new JCI Insight article entitled ‘A soluble activator that favors the ex vivo expansion of CD8+CD27+ T cells’.

Article Abstract
"Adoptive cell therapy involves the infusion of tumor-reactive T cells into patients with cancer to provide antitumor immunity. The ex vivo expansion and differentiation of such T cells are key parameters that affect their therapeutic potential. Human T cells are presently expanded in culture through the use of anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 mAbs immobilized on beads, expressed on cells, or assembled in the context of soluble antibody complexes. Here we report the design of a small, bispecific single-chain variable fragment construct agonizing both CD3 and CD28 pathways. This soluble T cell expansion protein, termed T-CEP, activates, expands, and differentiates human T cells ex vivo at concentrations in the femtomolar range. Importantly, T-CEP promotes the preferential growth of human CD8+ T cells over the course of 12 days in comparison with methods involving immobilized anti-CD3 mAb/soluble anti-CD28 mAb or soluble anti-CD3/CD28 mAb complexes. The differentiation profile of the resulting human T cell population is also singularly affected by T-CEP, favoring the expansion of a preferred CD8+CD27+ T cell phenotype. The activity profile of T-CEP on human T cells ex vivo suggests its use in generating human T cell populations that are more suited for adoptive cell therapy."

Read more about this research on the Sunnybook news site.