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  • A61K35/14—Blood; Artificial blood
  • A61K35/17—Lymphocytes; B-cells; T-cells; Natural killer cells; Interferon-activated or cytokine-activated lymphocytes
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  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K40/00—Cellular immunotherapy
  • A61K40/10—Cellular immunotherapy characterised by the cell type used
  • A61K40/11—T-cells, e.g. tumour infiltrating lymphocytes [TIL] or regulatory T [Treg] cells; Lymphokine-activated killer [LAK] cells
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K40/00—Cellular immunotherapy
  • A61K40/30—Cellular immunotherapy characterised by the recombinant expression of specific molecules in the cells of the immune system
  • A61K40/31—Chimeric antigen receptors [CAR]
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  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K40/00—Cellular immunotherapy
  • A61K40/40—Cellular immunotherapy characterised by antigens that are targeted or presented by cells of the immune system
  • A61K40/41—Vertebrate antigens
  • A61K40/42—Cancer antigens
  • A61K40/4202—Receptors, cell surface antigens or cell surface determinants
  • A61K40/421—Immunoglobulin superfamily
  • A61K40/4213—CD74, Ii, MHC class II invariant chain or MHC class II gamma chain
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  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
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  • A61K40/00—Cellular immunotherapy
  • A61K40/40—Cellular immunotherapy characterised by antigens that are targeted or presented by cells of the immune system
  • A61K40/41—Vertebrate antigens
  • A61K40/42—Cancer antigens
  • A61K40/4202—Receptors, cell surface antigens or cell surface determinants
  • A61K40/4224—Molecules with a "CD" designation not provided for elsewhere
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  • C07K14/435—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from animals; from humans
  • C07K14/705—Receptors; Cell surface antigens; Cell surface determinants
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  • C07K14/7051—T-cell receptor (TcR)-CD3 complex
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  • C07K16/00—Immunoglobulins [IG], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies
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  • C07K16/28—Immunoglobulins [IG], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans against receptors, cell surface antigens or cell surface determinants
  • C07K16/2803—Immunoglobulins [IG], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans against receptors, cell surface antigens or cell surface determinants against the immunoglobulin superfamily
  • C07K16/2833—Immunoglobulins [IG], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans against receptors, cell surface antigens or cell surface determinants against the immunoglobulin superfamily against MHC-molecules, e.g. HLA-molecules
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  • C12N5/00—Undifferentiated human, animal or plant cells, e.g. cell lines; Tissues; Cultivation or maintenance thereof; Culture media therefor
  • C12N5/06—Animal cells or tissues; Human cells or tissues
  • C12N5/0602—Vertebrate cells
  • C12N5/0634—Cells from the blood or the immune system
  • C12N5/0636—T lymphocytes
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
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  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
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  • A61K2239/00—Indexing codes associated with cellular immunotherapy of group A61K40/00
  • A61K2239/38—Indexing codes associated with cellular immunotherapy of group A61K40/00 characterised by the dose, timing or administration schedule
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K2239/00—Indexing codes associated with cellular immunotherapy of group A61K40/00
  • A61K2239/46—Indexing codes associated with cellular immunotherapy of group A61K40/00 characterised by the cancer treated
  • A61K2239/48—Blood cells, e.g. leukemia or lymphoma
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  • C07K2317/00—Immunoglobulins specific features
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  • C07K2317/62—Immunoglobulins specific features characterized by non-natural combinations of immunoglobulin fragments comprising only variable region components
  • C07K2317/622—Single chain antibody (scFv)
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  • C07K2319/00—Fusion polypeptide
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  • C12N2510/00—Genetically modified cells

Definitions

• the present invention provides therapeutics for the treatment of CD la-positive cancers such as T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma.
• CD la-positive cancers such as T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma.
• the present invention provides chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells that can target CD la.
• CAR chimeric antigen receptor
• T-cell lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a malignant disorder resulting from leukemic transformation of thymic T-cell precursors ⁇ T-ALL is phenotypically and genetically heterogeneous, and is commonly associated with genetic alterations/mutations in transcription factors involved in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSPC) homeostasis and in master regulators of T-cell development 2 .
• T-ALL comprises 10-15% and 20-25% of all acute leukemias diagnosed in children and adults, respectively 3,4 with a median diagnostic age of 9 years 5 7 . Intensive chemotherapy regimens have led to the improved survival of patients with T-ALL.
• T-cell lymphoblastic lymphomas are etiologically and pathogenically different fromT-ALL but phenotypically very similar. The main difference is that TCLs are found extramedullary while T-ALL is a bone marrow disease.
• CARs chimeric antigen receptors
• CARTs against pan T-cell antigens have two major drawbacks: i) CARTs self-targeting/fratricide and, ii) T-cell aplasia, leading to life-threating immunodeficiency 15 17 .
• T-cells transduced with either CD7, CD3, CD5 or TCR CARs the most expressed pan-T-cell antigens, efficiently eliminate T-ALL blasts in vitro and are able to control the disease in vivo 15_2 °.
• approaches still far from the clinic such as CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing or protein expression blockers, were required for disruption of the target antigen in T-cells prior to CAR transduction, to avoid extensive self-antigen driven fratricide 15 17 19 .
• the present invention aims to provide a therapy for treating CD la-positive T-ALL.
• B Representative FACS dot plot of a coT-ALL patient. CD7+CD la+ cells are coT-ALL blasts and CD3+CD7+CDla- (either CD4+ or CD8+) are normal mature T-cell present in the diagnostic sample.
• CDla CARTs specifically target and eliminate in vitro CDla+ T-ALL blasts from primary samples or PDX models.
• A Expression of CDla vs CD7 in coT-ALL blasts from primary patients/primografts. The % of CDla+ blasts is indicated.
• FIG. 4 CDla CARTs fully control the progression of coT-ALL cells in a mouse xenograft setting.
• the remaining animals were re-challenged 6 weeks after with 1.5 c ⁇ q 6 Luc- Jurkat and were followed- up as before.
• B IVIS imaging of tumor burden monitored by BLI at the indicated timepoints.
• C Total radiance quantification (p/sec/cm 2 /sr) at the indicated timepoints. ⁇ : sacrifice.
• D Circulating Jurkat cells in PB 17 days after CARTs infusion.
• FIG. 5 CDla CARTs fully abolish the progression of primary CDla+ coT-ALL blasts in a PDX setting.
• B,C Frequency of leukemic mice and levels of leukemia in BM (B) and PB (C) 6 and 9 weeks after infusion of CARTs. The left panels show representative FACS plots.
• CDla CARTs retain the ability to control progression of CDla+ cell lines and coT-ALL primary samples in a re-challenge PDX setting.
• A IVIS imaging of Jurkat cells burden in the re challenged mice.
• B Total radiance quantification (p/sec/cm 2 /sr) overtime in the mice re-challenged with Jurkat cells.
• C Circulating Jurkat cells in PB 16 days after re-challenge.
• D Robust effector T- cell persistence in PB, BM and spleen at sacrifice of the re-challenged animals.
• E Scheme of the re challenge PDX experiments using coT-ALL primary samples.
• FIG. 7 CDla CARTs derived from coT-ALL patients at presentation specifically lyse autologous CDla+ T-ALL blasts.
• A Scheme depicting the experimental design for the autologous cytotoxic assay. Mature (normal) CD3+CDla T-cells were FACS-purified from the PB of a coT-ALL patient, infected with CDla CAR, expanded, and exposed to autologous total PBMCs.
• C Quantification of CDla CARTs-mediated specific lysis for coT-ALL blasts (upper panel) and CD3+CDla- mature T-cells (bottom panel).
• D ELISpot showing the number of IENg SFC from mock versus CD la CARTs stimulated with a pool of peptides from CMV, EBV and Flu (CEF). Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) was used as positive control.
• (B) CD7/CD3 vs CDla FACS dot plots for n 16 available CDla++ coT-ALL patients showing the percentage of mature normal T-cells (left quadrant) and coT-ALLs blasts (right quadrant).
• FIG. 9 In vitro specificity of CDla CARTs.
• A Scheme of the CDlaCAR, CD22CAR and MOCK constructs used in the present study.
• B CDla CARTs but not CD22 CARTs lyse the T-ALL cell line Jurkat.
• CD22 CARTs but not CDla CARTs lyse the B-ALL line NALM6. *p ⁇ 0.05, **p ⁇ 0.01,
• FIG. 10 In vivo cytotoxicity of CDla CARTs is dose-dependent.
• A Tumor burden monitored by BLI at the beginning of the experiment (scale: 3 1 () 4 to 1 1 O ' p/scc/cnr/sr) confirming early and efficient T-ALL engraftment.
• B IVIS imaging of tumor burden monitored by BLI at the indicated time points for CARTs doses of 2 / 10 f> and 5 1 (/' p/sec/cm 2 /sr.
• C Total radiance quantification (p/sec/cm 2 /sr) at the indicated time points for CARTs doses of 2 c 10 6 and 5 c 10 6 .
• N 3-4 mice/group. ⁇ : sacrifice. *p ⁇ 0.05, **p ⁇ 0.01, ***p ⁇ 0.001, ****p ⁇ 0.0001.
• CDla a lipid-presenting molecule
• CD la-specific CARTs which displayed robust cytotoxicity against T-ALL cell lines and primary cortical CDla+ T-ALL cells both in vitro and in vivo in xenograft models.
• the CDla CARTs continuously expanded 200-fold, similar to MOCK T-cells, demonstrating that redirecting CARTs against CDla antigen does not induce T-cell fratricide.
• the use of CDla CARTs for cortical T-ALL bypasses the need for sophisticated genome editing-based disruption of target antigens in T-cells prior to CAR transduction as a strategy to avoid self-antigen- driven fratricide 15 17 19 .
• CDla is exclusively expressed in a subset of cortical CD34+CD7+ thymic T progenitors, whereas earlier CD34 high CD7 hlgh T-progenitors lack CDla.
• CD34+ HSPCs nor mature T-cells from multiple tissues express CDla during ontogeny, thereby minimizing the risk of on-target/off-tumor toxicity.
• CDla CARTs when human fetal thymus-derived CD7+ thymocytes were exposed to CDla CARTs, only the CDla+ cortical thymocytes were eliminated by the CDla CARTs, while developmentally earlier and later thymic T-lineage populations (CD34+ and CD34-) were not targeted, limiting the on-target/off- tumor effects to a developmentally transient thymic population of cortical thymocytes and further confirming the fratricide resistant nature of CDla CARTs.
• the present invention provides a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) comprising an extracellular domain comprising a CD la targeting -moiety, a transmembrane domain, and an intracellular signaling domain
• CAR chimeric antigen receptor
• the present invention also provides a nucleic acid encoding the CAR of the present invention. Further, the present invention provides a cell comprising the nucleic acid and/or CAR of the present invention. And, the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a plurality of cells in accordance with the present invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent.
• the cell of the present invention or pharmaceutical composition of the present invention is provided for use as a medicament.
• the present invention provides a method of treating a CD la-positive cancer comprising administering the cell of the present invention or the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention to a patient in need thereof.
• administering or“administration of’ a medicament to a patient (and grammatical equivalents of this phrase) refers to direct administration, which may be administration to a patient by a medical professional or may be self-administration, and/or indirect administration, which may be the act of prescribing a drug.
• direct administration which may be administration to a patient by a medical professional or may be self-administration
• indirect administration which may be the act of prescribing a drug.
• a physician who instructs a patient to self-administer a medicament or provides a patient with a prescription for a drug is administering the drug to the patient.
• affibody refers to a protein that is derived from the Z domain of protein A and that been engineered to bind to a specific target (see Frejd & Kim, 2017. Exp Mol Med. 49(3): e306).
• antibody refers to a molecule comprising at least one immunoglobulin domain that binds to, or is immunologically reactive with, a particular target.
• the term includes whole antibodies and any antigen binding portion or single chains thereof and combinations thereof; for instance, the term “antibody” in particular includes bivalent antibodies and bivalent bispecific antibodies.
• a typical type of antibody comprises at least two heavy chains (“HC") and two light chains (“LC”) interconnected by disulfide bonds.
• Each "heavy chain” comprises a “heavy chain variable domain” (abbreviated herein as “VH”) and a “heavy chain constant domain” (abbreviated herein as “CH”).
• the heavy chain constant domain typically comprises three constants domains, CHI, CH2, and CH3.
• Each "light chain” comprises a “light chain variable domain” (abbreviated herein as “VL”) and a “light chain constant domain” (“CL”).
• the light chain constant domain (CL) can be of the kappa type or of the lambda type.
• the VH and VL domains can be further subdivided into regions of hypervariability, termed Complementarity Determining Regions ("CDR"), interspersed with regions that are more conserved, termed “framework regions” (“FW").
• CDR Complementarity Determining Regions
• Each VH and VL is composed of three CDRs and four FWs, arranged from amino-terminus to carboxy- terminus in the following order: FW1, CDR1, FW2, CDR2, FW3, CDR3, FW4.
• the present disclosure inter alia presents VH and VL sequences as well as the subsequences corresponding to CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3.
• FW1 is the subsequence between the N-terminus of the VH and the N-terminus of H-CDR
• FW2 is the subsequence between the C-terminus of H-CDR1 and the N-terminus of H-CDR
• FW3 is the subsequence between the C-terminus of H-CDR2 and the N- terminus of H-CDR3
• FW4 is the subsequence between the C-terminus of H-CDR3 and the C- terminus of the VH.
• FW1 is the subsequence between the N-terminus of the VL and the N-terminus of L-CDR1
• FW2 is the subsequence between the C-terminus of L-CDR1 and the N-terminus of L-CDR2
• FW3 is the subsequence between the C-terminus of L-CDR2 and the N-terminus of L-CDR3
• FW4 is the subsequence between the C-terminus of L-CDR3 and the C- terminus of the VL.
• variable domains of the heavy and light chains contain a region that interacts with a binding target, and this region interacting with a binding target is also referred to as an“antigen-binding site” or “antigen binding site” herein.
• the constant domains of the antibodies can mediate the binding of the antibody to host tissues or factors, including various cells of the immune system (e.g., effector cells) and the first component (Clq) of the classical complement system.
• Exemplary antibodies of the present disclosure include typical antibodies, but also bivalent fragments and variations thereof such as a F(ab’)2.
• antibody encompasses intact polyclonal antibodies, intact monoclonal antibodies, bivalent antibody fragments (such as F(ab')2), multispecific antibodies such as bispecific antibodies, chimeric antibodies, humanized antibodies, human antibodies, and any other modified immunoglobulin molecule comprising an antigen binding site.
• An antibody can be of any the five major classes (isotypes) of immunoglobulins: IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM, or subclasses thereof (e.g. IgGl, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgAl and IgA2), based on the identity of their heavy-chain constant domains referred to as alpha, delta, epsilon, gamma, and mu, respectively.
• the different classes of immunoglobulins have different and well known subunit structures and three- dimensional configurations.
• Antibodies can be naked or conjugated to other molecules such as therapeutic agents or diagnostic agents to form immunoconjugates.
• anticabn refers to a protein that is derived from the lipocalin and that been engineered to bind to a specific target (see Skerra, 2008. FEBS J. 275(11):2677-83).
• antibody fragment refers to an antibody fragment comprising one constant and one variable domain of each of the heavy and light chain.
• a Fab fragment may be obtained by digesting an intact monoclonal antibody with papain.
• cancer refers to a group of diseases, which can be defined as any abnormal benign or malignant new growth of tissue that possesses no physiological function and arises from uncontrolled usually rapid cellular proliferation and has the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body.
• CD la refers to a non-polymorphic MHC Class 1 related cell surface glycoprotein, expressed in association with b-2 -microglobulin.
• CD la is expressed by cortical thymocytes, Langerhans cells and by interdigitating cells. CD la is also expressed by some malignancies of T cell lineage and in Langerhans cell histiocytosis. CD la is expressed on cortical thymocytes, epidermal Langerhans cells, dendritic cells, on certain T-cell leukemias, and in various other tissues.
• CD la is structurally related to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins and form heterodimers with b-2 -microglobulin. Exemplary sequence and data related to human CD la has been deposited in the UniProtKB database under ID number P06126.
• MHC major histocompatibility complex
• CD la-positive cancer including a“CD la-positive” cancerous disease, is one comprising cells, which have CD la present at their cell surface.
• the term“CD la-positive” also refers to a cancer that produces sufficient levels of CD la at the surface of cells thereof, such that a CAR-comprising cell of the present invention has a therapeutic effect, mediated by the binding of the CAR to CD la.
• the CD la-positive cancer is cortical T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma or Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH).
• CD la-targeting moiety refers to a substance that is able to bind CD la.
• a CD la-targeting moiety targets T cells to a CD la-positive cell, preferably a cancer cell.
• CD la-targeting moiety is genetically encodable.
• chimeric antigen receptor or“CAR” refers to a synthetic receptor that targets T cells to a chosen antigen and reprograms T cell function, metabolism and persistence (see Riviere & Sadelain, 2017. Mol Ther. 25(5): 1117-1124).
• CAR chimeric antigen receptor
• CART refers to a T cell that comprises a CAR.
• Combination therapy “in combination with” or“in conjunction with” as used herein denotes any form of concurrent, parallel, simultaneous, sequential or intermittent treatment with at least two distinct treatment modalities (i.e., compounds, components, targeted agents or therapeutic agents).
• the terms refer to administration of one treatment modality before, during, or after administration of the other treatment modality to the subject.
• the modalities in combination can be administered in any order.
• the therapeutically active modalities are administered together (e.g., simultaneously in the same or separate compositions, formulations or unit dosage forms) or separately (e.g., on the same day or on different days and in any order as according to an appropriate dosing protocol for the separate compositions, formulations or unit dosage forms) in a manner and dosing regimen prescribed by a medical care taker or according to a regulatory agency.
• each treatment modality will be administered at a dose and/or on a time schedule determined for that treatment modality.
• three or more modalities may be used in a combination therapy.
• the combination therapies provided herein may be used in conjunction with other types of treatment.
• other anti cancer treatment may be selected from the group consisting of chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy (radiation) and/or hormone therapy, amongst other treatments associated with the current standard of care for the subject.
• A“complete response” or“complete remission” or“CR” indicates the disappearance of all target lesions as defined in the RECIST vl . l guideline. This does not always mean the cancer has been cured.
• costimulatory signaling domain refers to a signaling moiety that provides to T cells a signal which, in addition to the primary signal provided by for instance the O ⁇ 3z chain of the TCR/CD3 complex, mediates a T cell response, including, but not limited to, activation, proliferation, differentiation, cytokine secretion, and the like.
• a co-stimulatory domain can include all or a portion of, but is not limited to, CD27, CD28, 4-1BB (CD137), 0X40 (CD134), CD30, CD40, 1COS, lymphocyte function-associated antigen- 1 (LFA-1), CD2, CD7, LIGHT, NKG2C, B7-H3, and a ligand that specifically binds with CD83.
• the co-stimulatory signaling domain is an intracellular signaling domain that interacts with other intracellular mediators to mediate a cell response including activation, proliferation, differentiation and cytokine secretion, and the like.
• DARPin designed ankyrin repeat proteins
• Disease free survival refers to the length of time during and after treatment that the patient remains free of disease.
• an agent e.g., a therapeutic agent such as a CART
• an effective amount is that amount sufficient to effect beneficial or desired results, for example, clinical results, and, as such, an "effective amount" depends upon the context in which it is being applied.
• an effective amount can reduce the number of cancer cells; reduce the tumor size or burden; inhibit (i.e., slow to some extent and in a certain embodiment, stop) cancer cell infiltration into peripheral organs; inhibit (i.e., slow to some extent and in a certain embodiment, stop) tumor metastasis; inhibit, to some extent, tumor growth; relieve to some extent one or more of the symptoms associated with the cancer; and/or result in a favorable response such as increased progression-free survival (PFS), disease-free survival (DFS), or overall survival (OS), complete response (CR), partial response (PR), or, in some cases, stable disease (SD), a decrease in progressive disease (PD), a reduced time to progression (TTP) or any combination thereof.
• the term "effective amount” can be used interchangeably with “effective dose,” “therapeutically effective amount,” or “therapeutically effective dose”.
• the term“fynomer” refers to a protein that is derived from the SH3 domain of human Fyn kinase that has been engineered to bind to a specific target (see Bertschinger et ah, 2007. Protein Eng Des Sel. 20(2):57-68).
• the terms“individual”,“patient” or“subject” are used interchangeably in the present application to designate a human being and are not meant to be limiting in any way.
• The“individual”,“patient” or “subject” can be of any age, sex and physical condition.
• the term“patient in need thereof’ usually refers to a patient who suffers from a CD la-positive cancer.
• Intracellular signaling domain refers to all or a portion of one or more domains of a molecule (here the chimeric receptor molecule) that provides for activation of a lymphocyte. Intracellular domains of such molecules mediate a signal by interacting with cellular mediators to result in proliferation, differentiation, activation and other effector functions.
• intracellular signaling domains for use in a CAR of the invention include the intracellular sequences of the 0 ⁇ 3z chain, and/or co-receptors that act in concert to initiate signal transduction following CAR engagement, as well as any derivative or variant of these sequences and any synthetic sequence that has the same functional capability.
• T cell activation can be said to be mediated by two distinct classes of cytoplasmic signaling sequence: those that initiate antigen-dependent primary activation and provide a T cell receptor like signal (primary cytoplasmic signaling sequences) and those that act in an antigen- independent manner to provide a secondary or co-stimulatory signal (secondary cytoplasmic signaling sequences).
• Primary cytoplasmic signaling sequences that act in a stimulatory manner may contain signaling motifs which are known as receptor tyrosine-based activation motifs or ITAMs.
• ITAM containing primary cytoplasmic signaling sequences include those derived from O ⁇ 3z, FcRy, CD3y, CD35, CD3s, CD5, CD22, CD 79a, CD79b, and CD66d.
• the term“monobody” refers to a protein that is derived from a fibronectin type III domain that has been engineered to bind to a specific target (see Koide et ah, 2013. J Mol Biol. 415(2):393-405).
• nanobody refers to a protein comprising the soluble single antigen-binding V-domain of a heavy chain antibody, preferably a camelid heavy chain antibody (see Bannas et ah, 2017. Front Immunol. 8: 1603).
• OS Global System for Mobile communications
• OS includes a prolongation in life expectancy as compared to naive or untreated individuals or patients.
• Overall survival refers to the situation wherein a patient remains alive for a defined period of time, such as one year, five years, etc., e.g., from the time of diagnosis or treatment.
• A“partial response” or“PR” refers to at least a 30% decrease in the sum of diameters of target lesions, taking as reference the baseline sum diameter, in response to treatment, as defined in the RECIST vl .1 guideline.
• peptide aptamer refers to a short, 5-20 amino acid residue sequence that can bind to a specific target. Peptide aptamers are typically inserted within a loop region of a stable protein scaffold (see Reverdatto et ak, 2015. Curr Top Med Chem. 15(12): 1082-101).
• pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or“pharmaceutically acceptable diluent” means any and all solvents, dispersion media, coatings, antibacterial and antifungal agents, isotonic and absorption delaying agents, compatible with pharmaceutical administration. The use of such media and agents for pharmaceutically active substances is well known in the art.
• Acceptable carriers, excipients, or stabilizers are nontoxic to recipients at the dosages and concentrations employed and, without limiting the scope of the present invention, include: additional buffering agents; preservatives; co-solvents; antioxidants, including ascorbic acid and methionine; chelating agents such as EDTA; metal complexes (e.g., Zn-protein complexes); biodegradable polymers, such as polyesters; salt-forming counterions, such as sodium, polyhydric sugar alcohols; amino acids, such as alanine, glycine, glutamine, asparagine, histidine, arginine, lysine, ornithine, leucine, 2-phenylalanine, glutamic acid, and threonine; organic sugars or sugar alcohols, such as lactitol, stachyose, mannose, sorbose, xylose, ribose, ribitol, myoinisitose, myoinis
• compositions described herein may also be included in a pharmaceutical composition described herein, provided that they do not adversely affect the desired characteristics of the pharmaceutical composition.
• Progressive disease or“disease that has progressed” refers to the appearance of one more new lesions or tumors and/or the unequivocal progression of existing non-target lesions as defined in the RECIST vl . l guideline. Progressive disease or disease that has progressed can also refer to a tumor growth of more than 20 percent since treatment began, either due to an increase in mass or in spread of the tumor.
• progression free survival refers to the time from enrollment to disease progression or death. PFS is generally measured using the Kaplan-Meier method and Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1 standards. Generally, progression free survival refers to the situation wherein a patient remains alive, without the cancer getting worse.
• RECIST means Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours.
• RECIST guideline, criteria, or standard describes a standard approach to solid tumor measurement and definitions for objective assessment of change in tumor size for use in adult and pediatric cancer clinical trials.
• RECIST vl . l means version 1.1 of the revised RECIST guideline and it is published in European Journal of Cancers 45 (2009) 228-247.
• the term“repebody” refers to a protein that is derived from a leucine-rich repeat module and that been engineered to bind to a specific target (see Lee et al., 2012. PNAS. 109(9): 3299-3304).
• the term“respond favorably” generally refers to causing a beneficial state in a subject.
• cancer treatment the term refers to providing a therapeutic effect on the subject.
• Positive therapeutic effects in cancer can be measured in a number of ways (See, Weber, 2009. J Nucl Med. 50 Suppl 1 : 1 S- 10S).
• tumor growth inhibition, molecular marker expression, serum marker expression, and molecular imaging techniques can all be used to assess therapeutic efficacy of an anti-cancer therapeutic.
• a T/C ⁇ 42% is the minimum level of anti-tumor activity.
• a favorable response can be assessed, for example, by increased progression-free survival (PFS), disease-free survival (DFS), or overall survival (OS), complete response (CR), partial response (PR), or, in some cases, stable disease (SD), a decrease in progressive disease (PD), a reduced time to progression (TTP) or any combination thereof.
• sequence identity refers to a percentage value obtained when two sequences are compared using a pairwise sequence alignment tool.
• sequence identity is obtained using the global alignment tool“EMBOSS Needle” using the default settings (Rice et al., 2000. Trends Genet. 16(6):276-7; Li et al., 2015. Nucleic Acids Res. 43(Wl):W580-4).
• the global alignment tool is available at: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/psa/ .
• single-chain antigen-binding fragment or“scFab” refers to a fusion protein comprising one variable and one constant domain of the light chain of an antibody attached to one variable and one constant domain of the heavy chain of an antibody, wherein the heavy and light chains are linked together through a short peptide.
• single-chain variable fragment or“scFv” refers to a fusion protein comprising the variable domains of the heavy chain and light chain of an antibody linked to one another with a peptide linker.
• the term also includes a disulfide stabilized Fv (dsFv). Methods of stabilizing scFvs with disulfide bonds are disclosed in Reiter et al., 1996. Nat Biotechnol. 14(10): 1239-45.
• “Stable disease” refers to disease without progression or relapse as defined in the RECIST vl . l guideline. In stable disease there is neither sufficient tumor shrinkage to qualify for partial response, nor sufficient tumor increase to qualify as progressive disease. “Time to Tumor Progression” (TTP) is defined as the time from enrollment to disease progression. TTP is generally measured using the RECIST vl . l criteria.
• treatment and“therapy” refer to a set of hygienic, pharmacological, surgical and/or physical means used with the intent to cure and/or alleviate a disease and/or symptoms with the goal of remediating the health problem.
• treatment and“therapy” include preventive and curative methods, since both are directed to the maintenance and/or reestablishment of the health of an individual or animal. Regardless of the origin of the symptoms, disease and disability, the administration of a suitable medicament to alleviate and/or cure a health problem should be interpreted as a form of treatment or therapy within the context of this application.
• the present invention provides a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) comprising an extracellular domain comprising a CD la targeting -moiety, a transmembrane domain, and an intracellular signaling domain.
• CAR chimeric antigen receptor
• the CD la-targeting moiety is an antibody, anticalin, repebody, monobody, scFv, Fab, scFab, affibody, fynomer, DARPin, nanobody, or peptide aptamer that specifically binds to CDla.
• Binding molecules that bind specifically to CDla may be very useful in the diagnosis and treatment of the disorders mentioned above.
• Several murine monoclonal antibodies against CDla are known in the field (Kelly (1994), Amiot et al. (1986), Furue et al. (1992)).
• murine antibodies are limited for in vivo use due to issues associated with the administration of murine antibodies to humans, such as short serum half-life, the inability to trigger certain human effector functions and the generation of an undesired immune response against the murine antibody (Van Kroonenburgh and Pauwels (1988)).
• New human antibodies have been developed (Bechan (2012), and Gitanjali (2005) in recent years overcoming these previously mentioned drawbacks.
• NA1/34.HLK other hybridomas are commercially available, e.g. OKT6 (IgGl isotype), from SIGMA ALDRICH.
• Phage display and combinatorial methods for generating antibodies are known in the art (as described in, e.g., Ladner et al. U.S. Patent No.5, 223, 409; Kang et al. International Publication No. WO 92/18619; Dower et al. International Publication No. WO 91/17271; Winter et al. International Publication WO 92/20791; Markland et al. International Publication No. WO 92/15679; Breitling et al. International Publication WO 93/01288; McCafferty et al. International Publication No. WO 92/01047; Garrard et al. International Publication No.
• the CD la-targeting moiety is an antibody, scFv, Fab, or scFab comprising a VL domain and VH domain, wherein said VL domain comprises LCDR1, LCDR2 and LCDR3 polypeptides and said VH domain comprises HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3 polypeptides, and LCDR1 consists of [QDINKY] (SEQ ID NO: 1), LCDR2 consists of [YTS], LCDR3 consists of [LHYDNLPWT] (SEQ ID NO: 3), HCDR1 consists of [GYAFSTYT] (SEQ ID NO: 4), HCDR2 consists of [INPNSAST] (SEQ ID NO: 5), and HCDR3 consists of [ARGFYTMDY] (SEQ ID NO: 6).
• the CD la-targeting moiety is a scFv comprising a VL domain and VH domain, wherein said VL domain comprises LCDR1, LCDR2 and LCDR3 polypeptides and said VH domain comprises HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3 polypeptides, and LCDR1 consists of [QDINKY] (SEQ ID NO: 1), LCDR2 consists of [YTS], LCDR3 consists of [LHYDNLPWT] (SEQ ID NO: 3), HCDR1 consists of [GYAFSTYT] (SEQ ID NO: 4), HCDR2 consists of [INPNSAST] (SEQ ID NO: 5), and HCDR3 consists of [ARGFYTMDY] (SEQ ID NO: 6).
• the CD la-targeting moiety is an antibody, scFv, Fab, or scFab comprising a VL domain and VH domain, wherein the VL domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 7 and the VH domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 8.
• the CD la-targeting moiety is a scFv comprising a VL domain and VH domain, wherein the VL domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 7 and the VH domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 8.
• VL domain (SEQ ID NO: 7)
• VH domain (SEQ ID NO: 8)
• the CD la-targeting moiety is a scFv comprising or consisting of SEQ ID NO: 9.
• scFv derived from clone NA1/34.HLK SEQ ID NO: 9
• the transmembrane domain may be derived either from a natural or a synthetic source. When the source is natural, the domain may be derived from any membrane-bound or transmembrane protein. Transmembrane regions may comprise at least the transmembrane region(s) of the a-, b- or z- chain of CD28, CD3, CD45, CD4, CD8, CD9, CD16, CD22, CD33, CD37, CD64, CD80, CD86, CD134, CD137, or CD154.
• a transmembrane domain may be synthetic or a variant of a naturally occurring transmembrane domain.
• synthetic or variant transmembrane domains comprise predominantly hydrophobic residues such as leucine and valine.
• the transmembrane domain comprises the transmembrane domain of CD28, CD3, CD45, CD4, CD8, CD9, CD16, CD22, CD33, CD37, CD64, CD80, CD86, CD134, CD137, CD154, or a variant thereof, wherein the variant thereof has a 95% sequence identity.
• the transmembrane domain comprises the transmembrane domain of CD28, CD3, CD45, CD4, CD8, CD9, CD16, CD22, CD33, CD37, CD64, CD80, CD86, CD134, CD137, CD 154, or a variant thereof, wherein the variant thereof has a 98% sequence identity.
• the transmembrane domain comprises the transmembrane domain of CD28, CD3, CD45, CD4, CD8, CD9, CD16, CD22, CD33, CD37, CD64, CD80, CD86, CD134, CD137, or CD154.
• the transmembrane domain comprises the transmembrane domain of CD8 or a variant thereof, wherein the variant thereof has a 95% sequence identity.
• the transmembrane domain comprises the transmembrane domain of CD8 or a variant thereof, wherein the variant thereof has a 98% sequence identity.
• the transmembrane domain comprises the transmembrane domain of CD8.
• the transmembrane domain comprises SEQ ID NO: 10 or a sequence that has 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 10.
• the transmembrane domain comprises SEQ ID NO: 10 or a sequence that has 98% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 10.
• the transmembrane domain comprises SEQ ID NO: 10. In some embodiments, the transmembrane domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 10.
• the intracellular signaling domain provides for the activation of at least one function of the cell expressing the CAR upon binding to the ligand expressed on tumor cells.
• the intracellular signaling domain contains one or more intracellular signaling domains.
• the intracellular signaling domain is a portion of and/or a variant of an intracellular signaling domain that provides for activation of at least one function of the CAR-comprising cell.
• the intracellular signaling domain comprises the intracellular domain of O ⁇ 3z, FcRy, CD3y, CD35, CD3s, CD5, CD22, CD79a, CD79b, CD66b, or a variant thereof, wherein the variant thereof has a 95% sequence identity.
• the intracellular signaling domain comprises the intracellular domain of O ⁇ 3z, FcRy, CD3y, CD35, CD3s, CD5, CD22, CD79a, CD79b, CD66b, or a variant thereof, wherein the variant thereof has a 98% sequence identity.
• the intracellular signaling domain comprises the intracellular domain of 0 ⁇ 3z. FcRy, CD3y, CD35, CD3s, CD5, CD22, CD79a, CD79b or CD66b.
• the intracellular signaling domain comprises the intracellular domain of 0 ⁇ 3z or a variant thereof, wherein the variant thereof has a 95% sequence identity.
• the intracellular signaling domain comprises the intracellular domain of 0 ⁇ 3z or a variant thereof, wherein the variant thereof has a 98% sequence identity.
• the intracellular signaling domain comprises the intracellular domain of 0 ⁇ 3z.
• the intracellular signaling domain comprises SEQ ID NO: 11 or a sequence that has 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 11.
• the intracellular signaling domain comprises SEQ ID NO: 11 or a sequence that has 98% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 11.
• the intracellular signaling domain comprises SEQ ID NO: 11 or a sequence that has 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 11.
• the intracellular signaling domain comprises SEQ ID NO: 11. In some embodiments, the intracellular signaling domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 11.
• Intracellular signaling domain derived from O ⁇ 3z (SEQ ID NO: 11)
• the CAR may further comprise a costimulatory signaling domain.
• the costimulatory signaling domain comprises the intracellular domain of CD27, CD28, CD137, CD134, CD30, CD40, lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), CD2, CD7, LIGHT, NKG2C, CD276 or a variant thereof, wherein the variant thereof has a 95% sequence identity.
• the costimulatory signaling domain comprises the intracellular domain of CD27, CD28, CD137, CD134, CD30, CD40, lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), CD2, CD7, LIGHT, NKG2C, CD276 or a variant thereof, wherein the variant thereof has a 98% sequence identity.
• LFA-1 lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1
• the costimulatory signaling domain comprises the intracellular domain of CD27, CD28, CD137, CD134, CD30, CD40, lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), CD2, CD7, LIGHT, NKG2C, or CD276.
• LFA-1 lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1
• the costimulatory signaling domain comprises the intracellular domain of CD 137 or a variant thereof, wherein the variant thereof has a 95% sequence identity.
• the costimulatory signaling domain comprises the intracellular domain of CD 137 or a variant thereof, wherein the variant thereof has a 98% sequence identity.
• the costimulatory signaling domain comprises the intracellular domain of CD137.
• the costimulatory signaling domain comprises SEQ ID NO: 12 or a sequence that has 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 12.
• the costimulatory signaling domain comprises SEQ ID NO: 12 or a sequence that has 98% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 12.
• the costimulatory signaling domain comprises SEQ ID NO: 12 or a sequence that has 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 12.
• the costimulatory signaling domain comprises SEQ ID NO: 12. In some embodiments, the costimulatory signaling domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 12.
• Costimulatory signaling domain derived from CD137 (SEQ ID NO: 12)
• the CAR comprises:
• a scFv comprising a VL domain and VH domain
• said VL domain comprises LCDR1, LCDR2 and LCDR3 polypeptides
• said VH domain comprises HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3 polypeptides
• LCDR1 consists of [QDINKY] (SEQ ID NO: 1)
• LCDR2 consists of [YTS]
• LCDR3 consists of [LHYDNLPWT] (SEQ ID NO: 3)
• HCDR1 consists of [GYAFSTYT] (SEQ ID NO: 4)
• HCDR2 consists of [INPNSAST] (SEQ ID NO: 5)
• HCDR3 consists of [ARGFYTMDY] (SEQ ID NO: 6);
• transmembrane domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 10 or a sequence that has 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 10;
• a costimulatory signaling domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 12 or a sequence that has 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 12.
• the CAR comprises:
• a scFv comprising a VL domain and VH domain
• said VL domain comprises LCDR1, LCDR2 and LCDR3 polypeptides
• said VH domain comprises HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3 polypeptides
• LCDR1 consists of [QDINKY] (SEQ ID NO: 1)
• LCDR2 consists of [YTS]
• LCDR3 consists of [LHYDNLPWT] (SEQ ID NO: 3)
• HCDR1 consists of [GYAFSTYT] (SEQ ID NO: 4)
• HCDR2 consists of [INPNSAST] (SEQ ID NO: 5)
• HCDR3 consists of [ARGFYTMDY] (SEQ ID NO: 6);
• transmembrane domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 10 or a sequence that has 98% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 10;
• a costimulatory signaling domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 12 or a sequence that has 98% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 12.
• the CAR comprises:
• a scFv comprising a VL domain and VH domain, wherein said VL domain comprises LCDR1, LCDR2 and LCDR3 polypeptides and said VH domain comprises HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3 polypeptides, and LCDR1 consists of [QDINKY] (SEQ ID NO: 1), LCDR2 consists of [YTS], LCDR3 consists of [LHYDNLPWT] (SEQ ID NO: 3), HCDR1 consists of [GYAFSTYT] (SEQ ID NO: 4), HCDR2 consists of [INPNSAST] (SEQ ID NO: 5), and HCDR3 consists of [ARGFYTMDY] (SEQ ID NO: 6); (ii) a transmembrane domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 10 or a sequence that has 98% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 10;
• a costimulatory signaling domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 12 or a sequence that has 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 12.
• the CAR comprises:
• a scFv comprising a VL domain and VH domain
• said VL domain comprises LCDR1, LCDR2 and LCDR3 polypeptides
• said VH domain comprises HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3 polypeptides
• LCDR1 consists of [QDINKY] (SEQ ID NO: 1)
• LCDR2 consists of [YTS]
• LCDR3 consists of [LHYDNLPWT] (SEQ ID NO: 3)
• HCDR1 consists of [GYAFSTYT] (SEQ ID NO: 4)
• HCDR2 consists of [INPNSAST] (SEQ ID NO: 5)
• HCDR3 consists of [ARGFYTMDY] (SEQ ID NO: 6);
• the CAR comprises:
• a scFv comprising a VL domain and VH domain
• said VL domain comprises LCDR1, LCDR2 and LCDR3 polypeptides
• said VH domain comprises HCDR1, HCDR2 and HCDR3 polypeptides
• LCDR1 consists of [QDINKY] (SEQ ID NO: 1)
• LCDR2 consists of [YTS]
• LCDR3 consists of [LHYDNLPWT] (SEQ ID NO: 3)
• HCDR1 consists of [GYAFSTYT] (SEQ ID NO: 4)
• HCDR2 consists of [INPNSAST] (SEQ ID NO: 5)
• HCDR3 consists of [ARGFYTMDY] (SEQ ID NO: 6);
• the CAR comprises:
• a scFv comprising a VL domain and VH domain, wherein the VL domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 7 and the VH domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 8;
• transmembrane domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 10 or a sequence that has 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 10;
• an intracellular signaling domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 11 or a sequence that has 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 11; and (iv) a costimulatory signaling domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 12 or a sequence that has 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 12.
• the CAR comprises:
• a scFv comprising a VL domain and VH domain, wherein the VL domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 7 and the VH domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 8;
• transmembrane domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 10 or a sequence that has 98% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 10;
• a costimulatory signaling domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 12 or a sequence that has 98% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 12.
• the CAR comprises:
• a scFv comprising a VL domain and VH domain, wherein the VL domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 7 and the VH domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 8;
• transmembrane domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 10 or a sequence that has 98% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 10;
• a costimulatory signaling domain comprising SEQ ID NO: 12 or a sequence that has 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 12.
• the CAR comprises:
• a scFv comprising a VL domain and VH domain, wherein the VL domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 7 and the VH domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 8;
• the CAR comprises:
• a scFv comprising a VL domain and VH domain, wherein the VL domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 7 and the VH domain consists of SEQ ID NO: 8;
• the CAR comprises or consists of SEQ ID NO: 2 or a sequence that has 95% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 2. In some embodiments, the CAR comprises or consists of SEQ ID NO: 2 or a sequence that has 98% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 2. In some embodiments, the CAR comprises or consists of SEQ ID NO: 2 or a sequence that has 99% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 2. In some embodiments, the CAR comprises or consists of SEQ ID NO: 2.
• the present invention provides a nucleic acid encoding any one of the CARs of the present invention, including any one of the CARs disclosed above.
• the nucleic acid sequence that encodes the chimeric receptor links together a number of modular components that can be excised and replaced with other components in order to customize the chimeric receptor for efficient T cell activation and recognition of CD la.
• the nucleic acid is suitable for transducing or transforming a cell. In some embodiments, the nucleic acid is suitable for transducing or transforming a T cell for use in adoptive immunotherapy.
• the nucleic acid is codon optimized for expression in mammalian cells. Codon optimization methods are known in the art (see, for example, Parret et ah, 2016. Curr Opin Struct Biol. 39: 155-162).
• the nucleic acid of the present invention may be comprised in a g-retroviral or lentiviral vector which can be used to transduce or transform a T cell (see Riviere & Sadelain, 2017. Mol Ther. 25(5): 1117- 1124).
• the nucleic acid may also be inserted into a cell through the use of DNA transposons, RNA transfection or genome editing techniques such as TALEN, ZFN and CRISPR/Cas9 (see Riviere & Sadelain, 2017. Mol Ther. 25(5): 1117-1124).
• the present invention provides a cell comprising the nucleic acid of the present invention and/or the CAR of the present invention.
• the cell is a T-cell (referred to as a CART).
• the cell is a naive T cell, memory stem T cell or central memory T cell. It is currently thought that these cells are better suited for adaptive immunotherapy (see Riviere & Sadelain, 2017. Mol Ther. 25(5): 1117-1124).
• the cell is an autologous T cell.
• autologous cell refers to a cell obtained from the same patient that is to be treated using any one of the methods of the present invention. It is noted that flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood obtained from 40 patients with active T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia revealed the presence of normal CD3+CDla- T-cells in all the patients. Thus, it is entirely possible to treat a patient using an autologous T cell comprising the nucleic acid and/or CAR of the present invention.
• the cell is an allo-tolerant T cell.
• allo-tolerant cell refers to a cell that has been engineered to decrease the risk of a Graft-versus-host disease response. In some embodiments, this is achieved by genomic editing-mediated deletion of TCR and/or 2-microglobulin 15 19 . Allo- tolerant cells are known in the art (see section of allogeneic T cells in Riviere & Sadelain, 2017. Mol Ther. 25(5): 1117-1124).
• the T cell is a CD3-positive and CD la-negative T cell.
• the cell is a lymphoid precursor, embryonic stem cell or an induced pluripotent stem cell with the capacity to differentiate into a mature T cell (see Riviere & Sadelain, 2017. Mol Ther. 25(5): 1117-1124).
• the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a plurality of cells of the present invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent.
• a pharmaceutical composition as described herein may also contain other substances. These substances include, but are not limited to, cryoprotectants, surfactants, anti-oxidants, and stabilizing agents.
• cryoprotectant includes agents which provide stability to the CARTs against freezing-induced stresses.
• Non-limiting examples of cryoprotectants include sugars, such as sucrose, glucose, trehalose, mannitol, mannose, and lactose; polymers, such as dextran, hydroxyethyl starch and polyethylene glycol; surfactants, such as polysorbates (e.g., PS-20 or PS-80); and amino acids, such as glycine, arginine, leucine, and serine.
• a cryoprotectant exhibiting low toxicity in biological systems is generally used.
• the cells are formulated by first harvesting them from their culture medium, and then washing and concentrating the cells in a medium and container system suitable for administration (a "pharmaceutically acceptable" carrier) in a therapeutically effective amount.
• a medium and container system suitable for administration a "pharmaceutically acceptable” carrier
• Suitable infusion medium can be any isotonic medium formulation, typically normal saline, Normosol R (Abbott) or Plasma-Lyte A (Baxter), but also 5% dextrose in water or Ringer's lactate can be utilized.
• the infusion medium can be supplemented with human serum albumin, fetal bovine serum or other human serum components.
• the present invention provides a cell according to the present invention or a pharmaceutical composition according to the present invention for use as a medicament.
• the present invention provides a method of treating a CD la-positive cancer comprising administering the cell of the present invention or the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention to a patient in need thereof.
• the patient is administered a therapeutically effective amount of cells.
• the patient is administered at least 10 2 , 10 3 , 10 4 , 10 5 , 10 6 , 10 7 , 10 8 , 10 9 or 10 10 cells.
• the number of cells will depend upon the ultimate use for which the composition is intended as will the type of cells included therein. For example, if cells that are specific for a particular antigen are desired, then the population will contain greater than 70%, generally greater than 80%, 85% and 90-95% of such cells.
• the cells are generally in a volume of a liter or less, can be 500 ml or less, even 250 ml or less, or 100 ml or less.
• the clinically relevant number of cells can be apportioned into multiple infusions that cumulatively equal or exceed 10 2 , 10 3 , 10 4 , 10 5 , 10 6 , 10 7 , 10 8 , 10 9 or 10 10 cells.
• the cell or pharmaceutical composition is administered intravenously, intraperitoneally, into the bone marrow, into the lymph node, and /or into cerebrospinal fluid.
• the method comprises a combination therapy. In some embodiments, the method comprises further administering an immune checkpoint inhibitor (see Lim & June, 2017. Cell. 168(4):724-740). In a further embodiment, the method comprises further administering an immune checkpoint inhibitor and/or an IAP inhibitor (see WO 2016/054555).
• the cell or pharmaceutical composition as described herein is administered in combination with chemotherapeutic agents and/or immunosuppressants. In an embodiment, a patient is first treated with a chemotherapeutic agent that inhibits or destroys other immune cells followed by the cell or pharmaceutical composition described herein. In some cases, chemotherapy may be avoided entirely.
• the CD la-positive cancer is cortical T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia or Langerhans cell histiocytosis. In some embodiments, the CD la-positive cancer is cortical T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In some embodiments, the CDla-positive cancer is relapsed/refractory cortical T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
• the relapse of leukemia can manifest several months or years after the initial remission; however, most relapses occur within two years after the initial treatment.
• Refractoriness is a term that implies that the patient has no longer responded to at least one therapy strategy after a relapse.
• CAR chimeric antigen receptor
• the patient to be treated with the method of the present invention is in complete or near-complete remission after treatment with another therapy. It may be preferable desirable to decrease the tumor burden before using the methods of the present invention because since there are several alternative effector T-cells in cases of patients with highly active relapsed/refractory cortical T- cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
• the patient to be treated with the method of the present invention has previously been treated with another therapy which resulted in a partial response, complete response, stable disease, decrease in progressive disease, reduced time to tumor progression or any combination thereof.
• the CD la-specific single-chain variable fragment (scFv) derived from the NA1/34.HLK clone of CD la- specific antibody was obtained using commercial synthesis (Sigma- Aldrich) with the mouse IgG Library Primer Set (Progen), and was cloned into a pCCL lentiviral-based second-generation CAR backbone containing a human CD8 transmembrane (TM) domain, human CD137 and CD3z endodomains, and a T2A-GFP cassette.
• TM human CD8 transmembrane
• TM human CD8 transmembrane
• CD137 and CD3z endodomains a T2A-GFP cassette.
• Identical lentiviral vectors expressing either GFP alone (mock vector) or CD22 CAR backbone were used as controls (Fig ID & 8A).
• CAR-expressing viral particles pseudotyped with VSV-G were generated in 293T cells using a standard polyethylenimine transfection protocol, and were concentrated by ultracentrifugation as described elsewhere 11 .
• Viral titers were consistently in the range of 10 8 TU/mL.
• Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from huffy coats from healthy volunteers by Ficoll-Hypaque gradient centrifugation. Buffy coats were obtained from the Barcelona Blood and Tissue Bank (BST) upon IRB approval (HCB/2018/0030).
• the cell surface expression of CDlaCAR was traced by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) co expression of GFP and was confirmed using an AffmiPure F(ab')2 Fragment Goat Anti-Mouse IgG (H+L) (Jackson ImmunoResearch). Proper activation of CAR-transduced T cells was demonstrated by staining for CD25 and CD69 after 2-day expansion.
• CD34+ stem/progenitor cells HSPCs
• Fetal tissue was collected as previously described 28,29 from developing embryos aborted at 18-22 weeks of pregnancy, obtained from the MRC/Wellcome Trust Human Developmental Biology Resource upon informed consent and approval by our local ethics and biozahard board committee (CMRBCEIC-26/2013).
• Neonatal and adult tissues were obtained from the BST upon IRB approval (HCB/2018/0030).
• Primary T-ALL samples and diagnostic immunophenotyping data were obtained from the local hospitals Sant Joan de Den, Germans Trias i Pujol, and Santa Creu i San Pau (Barcelona, Spain).
• fluorochrome-conjugated monoclonal antibodies were used: anti-CD2- PE, CD7-FITC/PE, CD13-PerCP-Cy5.5, CD34-APC, CD3-PE, CD5-FITC, CD4-BV-421, CD8-APC- Cy7, CD45-AmCyan, CD1 a-BV-421/APC/PE, CD33-APC and CD123-APC (BDBiosciencies or Miltenyi Biotec). Isotype-matched, non-reactive fluorochrome-conjugated MoAb were always used as a fluorescence reference.
• PB mononuclear cells PBMCs, ⁇ 5xl0 5
• BDBiosciencies erythrocyte-lysing solution
• MoAb MoAb (20 min at 4°C in the dark).
• Stained cells were washed in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and analyzed by FACS on a FACSCanto-II flow cytometer equipped with FACSDiva software (BDBiosciencies) 30 32 .
• Absolute cell counts were determined using Trucount absolute count beads (BD Biosciences). Additionally, FACS-sorted CD3+CDla- mature T-cells from the PB of cortical T-ALL patients at presentation were activated, transduced with CD la CAR and tested against their eFluor670-labeled autologous CDla+ T-ALL blasts. The production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-2, TNFa and IFNy was measured by ELISA (Human ELISA SET, BD Biosciences) in supernatants harvested after 16 hours.
• ELISA Human ELISA SET, BD Biosciences
• mice received 150 mg/kg of D-luciferin intraperitoneally, and tumor burden was monitored at the indicated time points. Living Image software (Perkin Elmer) was used to visualize and calculate total luminescence. Tumor burden of primary T-ALL samples was followed-up by biweekly bleeding and FACS analysis.
• mice were sacrificed when mock CARTs-treated animals were leukemic, and tumor burden (hHLA-ABC+hCD45+hCDla+ graft) and CART persistence (hHLA- ABC+hCD45+hCD3+hCDla-GFP+) was analysed in BM, PB and spleen by FACS.
• tumor burden hHLA-ABC+hCD45+hCDla+ graft
• CART persistence hHLA- ABC+hCD45+hCD3+hCDla-GFP+
• ELISpot plates (Millipore) were coated with anti -human IFNy antibody (1-DlK, Mabtech) and kept overnight at 4°C. Plates were then washed six times with PBS containing 1% fetal calf serum and then cells from three independent donors were plated at 5xl0 5 to lxlO 6 cells/well and cultured in triplicate for 20h at 37°C and 5% C02.
• IFNy-sccrcting cells in response to CEF at 1 pg/mL, a peptide pool of T-cell epitopes of Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Flu and to staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) at 1 pg/mL as a positive control. Plates were then revealed with biotinylated anti-human IFNy, streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase (Mabtech), as previously described 35,36 . The frequency of IFNy-sccrcting cells was quantified using ImmunoCapture and ImmunoSpot software to calculate the number of IFNy Spot Forming Units per 10 5 (SFU).
• CMV Cytomegalovirus
• EBV Epstein-Barr virus
• SEB staphylococcal enterotoxin B
• mice Data from at least three individual donors are shown in all figures, and experimental duplicates were always performed. At least five animals were used in each in vivo condition. All p-values were calculated by unpaired two-tailed Student's t-test using Prism software (GraphPad). Event-free-survival (EFS) of mice was determined using a Mantle-Cox test. A p-value ⁇ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
• Example 1 CD la specifically marks cortical T-ALL blasts
• the shared expression of target antigens between CARTs and T-lineage blasts has limited immunotherapy approaches in T-ALL due to CART-related fratricide and potential life-threating T-cell aplasia.
• CDla antigen is expressed in cortical T-ALLs, a major subset of T-ALLs (Fig 1A,B), but is completely absent in functional T-cells in all extra-thymic tissues 25 , and steady-state CD34+ HSPCs lack CDla expression in multiple hematopoietic sites across ontogeny (Fig 1C).
• T-cell development is initiated within the thymus by a first colonizing CD34 high CD7-CDla- primitive HSPC with lympho-myeloid potential, which then differentiate in response to the thymic microenvironment into CD34 high CD7+CDla- early T-cell progenitors 37 .
• T-cell progenitors maintain CD7 expression and gradually lose CD34 expression, whereas CDla expression emerges and is transiently confined to cortical thymocytes 38 (Fig 1E,F).
• CD34+ thymic population -50% is represented by pre-cortical T-cell progenitors (CD34highCD7+CDla-, 1 E,F (grey cells)), allowing us to hypothesize that CDla may be a feasible and safe target for immunotherapy in R/R cortical T-ALL, which have a fatal outcome 3 ’ 39 41 .
• CDla CAR consisting of anti-CD la scFv, a CD8 TM spacer, and intracellular signaling domains from 4- IBB (CD 137) and CD3z coupled in-frame with GFP through a T2A sequence (Fig 2A).
• the expression of the CDla CAR was easily detected through coexpression of both scFv and GFP in 293T cells (Fig 2B) and in primary CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell subsets (Fig 2C).
• CDla CARTs were then tested in vitro using the CDla+ T-ALL cell lines Jurkat and MOLT4, and the B-ALL cell line NALM6 as a negative control (Fig 2F). Compared with control CARTs (either MOCK T-cells or CD22 CARTs), CDla CARTs specifically eliminated CDla+ T-ALL cells in a manner dependent on the E:T ratio. A relatively low E:T ratio of 2: 1 or 4: 1 induced 50-80% specific cell lysis in 16h-assays (Fig 2H,I, 9). Importantly, barely any CDla+ T-ALL cells survived exposure to CD la CARTs in a 72 h-assay at a 1 : 1 E:T ratio (Fig 21). CDla CARTs produced high levels of the pro- inflammatory cytokines IL-2, TNFa and IFNy on co-culture with CDla+ T-ALL cells confirming their action (Fig 2K).
• CDla CARTs were co-cultured with primary cortical T-ALL samples (either freshly harvested or PDX-derived), with a proportion of CDla+ blasts ranging between 80% and 98% (Fig 3A).
• CDla CARTs specifically eliminated primary CDla+ cortical T-ALL cells in 72h cytotoxicity assays at 4: 1 E:T ratio (Fig 3B,C).
• Fig 3B,C Normal hematopoietic cells (CD la-) co-existing in BM with CDla+ T-ALL blasts were not lysed by CD la CARTs (Fig 3C).
• mice were first transplanted with lxlO 6 primary CDla+ T-ALL blasts followed three days later by infusion of lxlO 6 CDla (or MOCK) CARTs, and leukemia engraftment was then followed-up bi-weekly by bleeding and endpoint BM analysis (Fig 5 A).
• Example 5 In vivo persistent CD la CARTs are functional in re-challenge assays
• T-ALL engraftment was barely detectable by either BLI or FACS in the Jurkat (Fig 6C) or primograft model after 6 weeks (Fig 6F).
• Example 6 Patient-derived CD la CARTs specifically target autologous CDla+ blasts and retain antiviral activity
• CD3+CDla- T-cells from patients with cortical T-ALL can be isolated and genetically modified to express CD la CAR (Fig 7).
• Fig 7A we investigated the cytolytic capacity of CDla CARTs derived from primary T-ALLs against active T-ALL patient-matched PBMCs.
• Total PBMCs were used as targets because it allows us to assess both the autologous cytotoxicity potential and the degree of fratricide.
• CDla+ blasts Within eFluor670-labelled target PBMCs, the great majority are CDla+ blasts and -15% are CD3+CDla- normal T-cells (Fig 7B).
• the CDla CARTs showed a massive and specific cytolytic capacity against autologous CDla+ blasts but not against CDla- normal T-cells (Fig 6B), further demonstrating that CDla CARTs are fratricide-resistant.
• CD la CARTs human normal fetal thymus-derived CD7+ thymocytes as target cells. Only the CD la+ cortical thymocytes (second and third grey box) were eliminated by the CDla CARTs, whereas developmental ⁇ earlier and later CDla- (first box) thymic T-lineage populations (CD7+CD34+ and CD7+CD34-) were not targeted (Fig 1E,F), limiting the on-target/off-tumor effects to a developmental ⁇ transient thymic population of cortical thymocytes.
• CDla CARTs can protect, by themselves, the host by targeting the most common pathogens causing viremia in immunosuppressed patients.
• CMV CMV
• EBV EBV
• Flu antigens CEF
• IFNy ELISpot IFNy ELISpot
• T-ALL T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia
• Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells from patients with aplastic anemia maintain functional and immune properties and do not contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. Haematologica. 2014;99(7): 1168-1175.

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