WO2023075177A1 - Chimeric antigen receptor specifically binding to cadm1 and uses thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that specifically binds to CADM1; a polynucleotide encoding the chimeric antigen receptor protein; a vector comprising the polynucleotide; and a T cell or natural killer cell (NK cell) transformed with the vector, and a cellular therapeutic agent or a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of cancer comprising the cell as an active ingredient. The chimeric antigen receptor according to the present invention comprises an extracellular domain of CRTAM that specifically binds to CADM1. Accordingly, as cytotoxic T cells or natural killer cells transformed with a vector capable of overexpressing the chimeric antigen receptor have cytotoxicity specifically to carcinoma expressing CADM1, the cytotoxic T cells or natural killer cells can be effectively used as an immune cell therapeutic agent for the treatment of cancer.

Description

Chimeric antigen receptor that specifically binds to CADM1 and uses thereof

The present invention is a chimeric antigen receptor (chimeric antigen receptor, CAR) that specifically binds to CADM1; a polynucleotide encoding the chimeric antigen receptor protein; a vector containing the polynucleotide; It relates to a T cell or natural killer cell (NK cell) transformed with the vector and a cell therapy or pharmaceutical composition for cancer treatment containing the cell as an active ingredient.

Cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1), also called Necl2, TSLC1, IGSF4, RA175, or SynCam, is an integral membrane protein belonging to the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily (Kuramochi et al., 2001; Murakami, 2005; Takai et al., 2008). CADM1 is observed in various cells and is known to be involved in cell-to-cell adhesion to regulate various life phenomena (Murakami, 2005). CADM1 was first discovered in non-small lung cancer cell (NSCLC) and is expressed in various epithelial-derived carcinomas. et al., 2001; Murakami, 2005; Takai et al., 2008). Carcinomas expressing CADM1 reported so far are non-small lung cancer cell (NSCLC) (Kuramochi et al., 2001), lung adenocarcinoma (Murakami, 2005), human T-cell lymphotropic virus Type 1 infected T cell leukemia (HTLV-1-infected T cell leukemia) (Nakahata et al., 2012), adult T cell leukemia (Nakahata et al., 2021), ovarian cancer ) (Si et al., 2020), breast cancer (Takahashi et al., 2012), cervical cancer (Steenbergen et al., 2004), prostate cancer (Fukuhara et al. , 2002), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (Hui et al., 2003), stomach cancer (Honda et al., 2002), and pancreatic cancer (Jansen et al., 2002).

It has been reported that cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and natural killer cells (NK cells) that directly target cancer cells are important for effective cancer treatment. Until now, research on anticancer treatment using cytotoxic T cells or natural killer cells has been carried out by delivering patient-derived specific cancer antigens to the patient's cytotoxic T cells to induce activation or antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity. (Galluzzi et al., 2018; Lu et al., 2020). However, recently, a new anti-cancer treatment method using cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells has been introduced. That is, a key obtained by grafting a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) of an antibody that recognizes an antigen to a domain grafted to CD3 zeta or the cytoplasmic signaling domain of another protein. It has been attempted as a method of delivering a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). When the chimeric antigen receptor is grafted onto T cells or natural killer cells, the anticancer activity of T cells or natural killer cells can be achieved only by recognizing the specific antigen of the single-chain Fv fragment, regardless of signal transduction by antigen presenting cells (APCs). It can be activated, and it is not limited to the HLA type, so it can be used as a more efficient treatment method that can be used universally by many people. In fact, these chimeric antigen receptor-expressing T cells or natural killer cells show efficacy in various cancers (Holzinger et al., 2016; Pettitt et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2020).

On the other hand, class-I MHC-restricted T cell associated molecule (CRTAM) is an integral membrane protein, expressed in activated lymphocytes (Kennedy et al., 2000), and cytotoxic T lymphocytes. ) or natural killer cells (NK cells), when they induce apoptosis of target cells, they play a role in better adhesion to target cells (Boles et al., 2005; Takeuchi et al., 2009). ). It also promotes the secretion of IFN-η and IL-22 by helper T cells (Yeh et al., 2008).

Currently, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) using an anti-CADM1 antibody (Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0126739) or an anti-CADM1 antibody recognizing v9, a specific part of CADM1 (US Patent Publication No. 2021-0079092) has been published, but for the invention of using a chimeric antigen receptor in which the antigen-binding domain is a CRTAM extracellular domain having binding specificity for cancer cells expressing CADM1 as an immunocancer treatment not listed

Under this background, the present inventors found that CADM1 expression in various cancer cells was identified or induced, and that CADM1 and CRTAM could bind with high affinity, to develop a cancer-specific expression of CADM1 using the extracellular domain of CRTAM. Chimeric antigen receptor-expressing T cells and natural killer cells were prepared, and it was confirmed through experiments that the T cells or natural killer cells had cytotoxic ability specifically to cells expressing CADM1. At this time, signal transduction intensity was amplified by making a fusion protein linking each of the extracellular domains of CRTAM with the human immunoglobulin G ₁ heavy chain constant region (IgG ₁ heavy chain constant region). That is, existing chimeric antigen receptors have only one antigen recognition site by a single-chain Fv fragment, whereas the chimeric antigen receptor designed by the present inventors uses each of the extracellular domains of CRTAM in human immunoglobulin G ₁ heavy chain. By linking to the constant region (IgG ₁ heavy chain constant region), two extracellular domains of CRTAM per chimeric antigen receptor were allowed to recognize the CADM1 antigen, thereby amplifying signal transduction strength.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a chimeric antigen receptor that specifically binds to CADM1.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a polynucleotide encoding the chimeric antigen receptor protein, a vector containing the polynucleotide, and T cells or natural killer cells transformed with the vector.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of cancer that kills cancer cells expressing cell therapy or CADM1, including the transformed T cells or natural killer cells.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention as described above, the present invention is an antigen binding site, an extracellular domain; transmembrane domain; And a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) comprising an intracellular signaling domain, wherein the antigen-binding domain comprises an extracellular domain of a class-I MHC-restricted T cell associated molecule (CRTAM) that specifically binds to CADM1. It provides a chimeric antigen receptor.

In addition, the present invention provides a polynucleotide encoding the chimeric antigen receptor protein, a vector containing the polynucleotide, and T cells or natural killer cells transformed with the vector.

In addition, the present invention provides a cell therapy agent or a pharmaceutical composition for treating cancer that kills cancer cells expressing CADM1, including the transformed T cells or natural killer cells.

A chimeric antigen receptor according to the present invention comprises an extracellular domain of CRTAM that specifically binds to CADM1. Therefore, in the case of cytotoxic T cells or natural killer cells transformed with a vector capable of overexpressing the chimeric antigen receptor, they have cytotoxicity specifically to carcinoma expressing CADM1, so they are useful as immune cell therapeutics for cancer treatment can be used appropriately.

1 is a schematic diagram showing cDNA regions of each domain expressing a chimeric antigen receptor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a schematic diagram of a lentiviral vector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2B is a schematic diagram of a retroviral vector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic diagram of a chimeric antigen receptor expressed on the surface of cytotoxic T cells or natural killer cells according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram showing the results of measuring the expression level of CADM1 in cancer cells (A549 cell line) expressing CADM1, which is the target of the chimeric antigen receptor provided in the present invention, using flow cytometry.

5 is a schematic diagram showing cDNA regions of each domain expressing a recombinant CRTAM fusion protein prepared to measure whether CRTAM recognizes CADM1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a schematic diagram of an expression vector (retroviral vector) expressing a recombinant CRTAM fusion protein prepared to measure whether CRTAM recognizes CADM1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a schematic diagram of a recombinant CRTAM fusion protein prepared to measure whether CRTAM recognizes CADM1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8a is a diagram showing the result of expressing the prepared recombinant CRTAM fusion protein in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and then purifying it by affinity chromatography using a protein A column.

Figure 8b is a view showing the result of Western blotting using an antibody (anti-human IgG heavy chain constant region antibody, anti-human IgG Fc region antibody) recognizing the human IgG heavy chain constant region of the prepared recombinant CRTAM fusion protein.

8C is a diagram showing whether the prepared recombinant CRTAM fusion protein recognizes cancer cells (A549 cell line) expressing CADM1 as a target, using flow cytometry.

Figure 9a is a diagram showing the results of comparing the expression ratio of GFP in cytotoxic T cells (CRTAM CAR-T cells) transduced with an expression vector according to an embodiment of the present invention using a lentivirus system.

9B is a diagram showing the result of comparing the expression ratio of CRTAM in natural killer cells (CRTAM CAR-NK cells) transduced with an expression vector according to an embodiment of the present invention using a retroviral system.

Figure 10a is a cytotoxic T cell (CRTAM CAR-T cell) according to an embodiment of the present invention or a cytotoxic T cell (Mock T cell) transduced with an empty vector as effector cells to express CADM1 It is a diagram showing the results of measuring cytotoxicity against cancer cells (A549 cell line).

10B is cancer cells expressing CADM1 using CRTAM CAR-NK cells according to an embodiment of the present invention or Mock NK cells transduced with an empty vector as effector cells; It is a diagram showing the results of measuring cytotoxicity to (A549 cell line).

The present invention as one aspect, an antigen-binding domain; transmembrane domain; and an intracellular signaling domain, wherein the antigen binding domain comprises an extracellular domain of CRTAM that specifically binds to CADM1.

In the present invention, the "Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)" naturally binds to a desired antigen without the mediation of an antigen-presenting cell (APC) or antibody necessary for the activation of T cells or natural killer cells, resulting in an antigen-antibody reaction. It refers to a fusion protein to be expressed in T cells or natural killer cells in order to induce activation of T cells and attack cells expressing the corresponding antigen. That is, it can be seen as a protein that binds to an antigen when expressed in T cells or natural killer cells and induces the activation of these cells. Through this, it may be a protein that recognizes an antigen specific to a cell to cause an immune response, and the cell to cause an immune response may refer to a cell present in a specific tissue or forming a tissue that causes a lesion.

Chimeric antigen receptor proteins according to one embodiment of the present invention may include functional equivalents. 'Functional equivalent' means at least 70% or more, preferably 80% or more, more preferably 90% or more, still more preferably, the amino acid sequence of the chimeric antigen receptor protein as a result of addition, substitution, or deletion of amino acids. has a sequence homology of 95% or more, and refers to a protein that exhibits substantially the same physiological activity. 'Substantially homogeneous physiological activity' means having an activity that can specifically bind to CADM1.

The present invention also includes fragments, derivatives and analogs of chimeric antigen receptors. As used herein, the terms 'fragment', 'derivative' and 'analogue' refer to a polypeptide that retains substantially the same biological function or activity as the chimeric antigen receptor protein of the invention. Fragments, derivatives and analogs of the present invention include (1) a polypeptide in which one or more conservative or non-conservative amino acid residues (preferably conservative amino acid residues) are substituted (the substituted amino acid residues are encoded by the genetic code). (2) a polypeptide having substituent(s) on one or more amino acid residues, or (3) another compound (a compound capable of extending the half-life of a polypeptide, such as polyethylene glycol) a polypeptide derived from the combined mature polypeptide, or (4) an additional amino acid sequence (e.g., a leader sequence, a secreted sequence, a sequence used to purify the polypeptide, a proteinogen sequence, or a fusion protein) and It may be a polypeptide derived from the polypeptide to which it is linked. Such fragments, derivatives and analogues as defined herein are well known to those skilled in the art.

CRTAM (class-I MHC-restricted T cell associated molecule) is an integral membrane protein, which is expressed in activated lymphocytes, such as cytotoxic T lymphocytes or natural killer cells, When NK cell) induces apoptosis of target cells, it serves to better adhere to target cells. In addition, it promotes the secretion of IFN-η and IL-22 by helper T cells.

The antigen-binding domain may be in the form of a dimer in which a pair of extracellular domains of CRTAM are linked to a human immunoglobulin G ₁ heavy chain constant region _, respectively, to amplify signal transduction. It is not limited.

The extracellular domain of CRTAM may consist of SEQ ID NO: 1 or an amino acid sequence showing 95% or more homology thereto, but is not limited thereto.

The human immunoglobulin G ₁ heavy chain constant region (IgG ₁ heavy chain constant region) may consist of SEQ ID NO: 2 or an amino acid sequence exhibiting 95% or more homology thereto, but is not limited thereto.

In the present invention, "CADM1" is known to be expressed in various epithelial tissues and immune cells, and its expression is increased in some carcinomas, so that it is used as a molecular marker of carcinoma or as a target for treatment. The known CADM1-expressing carcinomas include non-small lung cancer cell (NSCLC), lung adenocarcinoma, and human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1-infected T-cell leukemia (HTLV-1-infected T-cell). cell leukemia), adult T cell leukemia, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, stomach cancer (stomach cancer) and pancreatic cancer.

In the present invention, the "transmembrane domain" is a site that connects the extracellular domain of CRTAM and the co-stimulatory and essential signaling domains between the cell membrane, and the intracellular signaling domain is an immune cell by binding of the antigen-binding domain. refers to the site that activates the immune response of

In one embodiment, the transmembrane domain is selected from the group consisting of CD28, CD3epsilon, CD45, CD4, CD5, CD8, CD9, CD16, CD22, CD33, CD37, CD64, CD80, CD86, CD134, CD137 and CD154 It may include one or more types, and the CD8 may be CD8α or CD8β, preferably a transmembrane domain of CD8α, which may consist of SEQ ID NO: 3 or an amino acid sequence showing 95% or more homology thereto. However, it is not limited thereto.

In the present invention, "intracellular signaling domain" means a site that activates the immune response of immune cells by binding to an antigen binding domain. In one embodiment, the intracellular domain may be CD28, 4-1BB, CD3 zeta, or a combination thereof, but is not limited thereto.

The chimeric antigen receptor according to the present invention uses CD28, 4-1BB, and CD3 zeta as intracellular signaling domains, thereby exhibiting a high-activity killing effect on cancer cells, particularly cancer cells expressing CADM1.

The CD28 has SEQ ID NO: 4 or 70% or more, preferably 80% or more, more preferably 90% or more, still more preferably 95% or more sequence homology thereto, and the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 4 4-1BB (CD137) is SEQ ID NO: 5 or 70% or more, preferably 80% or more, more preferably 90% or more, still more preferably 95% or more. Having the above sequence homology, it may consist of an amino acid sequence showing a function substantially equivalent to the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 5, CD3 zeta functions as an NK cell activation domain, and SEQ ID NO: 6 or 70 % or more, preferably 80% or more, more preferably 90% or more, still more preferably 95% or more sequence homology, and an amino acid sequence that exhibits a function substantially equivalent to that of the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 6 It can be done.

The antigen-binding domain may include a CD8α signal peptide, and the CD8α signal peptide may consist of SEQ ID NO: 7 or an amino acid sequence showing 95% or more homology thereto, but is not limited thereto.

Also, as another aspect according to the present invention, a polynucleotide encoding the chimeric antigen receptor protein is provided.

The polynucleotide encoding the antigen receptor of the present invention changes the amino acid sequence of the antigen receptor expressed from the coding region due to codon degeneracy or in consideration of codons preferred in organisms intended to express the antigen receptor. Various modifications may be made to the coding region within a range not specified, and various modifications or modifications may be made to a part other than the coding region within a range that does not affect gene expression, and such modified genes are also within the scope of the present invention. It will be well understood by those skilled in the art. That is, as long as the polynucleotide of the present invention encodes a protein having an activity equivalent thereto, one or more nucleic acid bases may be mutated by substitution, deletion, insertion, or a combination thereof, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention.

In addition, as another aspect of the present invention, a vector containing the polynucleotide and a cell transformed with the vector are provided.

Vectors used in the present invention may use various vectors known in the art, and depending on the type of host cell to produce the antigen receptor, a promoter, terminator, enhancer, etc. Expression control sequences, sequences for membrane targeting or secretion, etc. may be appropriately selected and combined in various ways depending on the purpose. Vectors of the present invention include, but are not limited to, plasmid vectors, cosmid vectors, bacteriophage vectors and viral vectors. Suitable vectors include expression control elements such as promoters, operators, initiation codons, stop codons, polyadenylation signals and enhancers, as well as signal sequences or leader sequences for membrane targeting or secretion, and may be prepared in various ways depending on the purpose.

In the present invention, as a preferred embodiment, a lenti-virus vector or a retro-virus vector can be used, and in the following embodiment of the present invention, the pCDH-CMV-MCS-EF1-copGFP vector (lenti-virus vector) and pLNCX2 (retro-viral vector) was used, but is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, cells may be transformed by introducing a chimeric antigen receptor that specifically binds to CADM1 into cells through the vector. The cells may be T cells, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, B cells, natural killer cells, or NKT cells, and preferably may be cytotoxic T cells or natural killer cells. The cells may be obtained or prepared from bone marrow, peripheral blood, peripheral blood mononuclear cells or umbilical cord blood, and the cells may be human cells, but are not limited thereto.

As described above, cells transformed by introducing the chimeric antigen receptor of the present invention recognize CADM1 as an antigen and have a characteristic of strongly binding thereto.

In the present invention, "chimeric antigen receptor T cell (hereinafter, simply abbreviated as 'CAR-T cell')" or "chimeric antigen receptor expressing NK cell (chimeric antigen receptor NK cell, hereinafter) Shortly abbreviated as 'CAR-NK cell')" is a chimeric antigen receptor that specifically responds to cancer cells rather than the original T cell receptor or NK cell receptor by a method such as transduction of normal T cells or natural killer cells. refers to T cells or NK cells expressing T cells or NK cells having this receptor exhibit cytotoxicity by inducing apoptosis of target cells.

In the present invention, in particular, CAR-T cells or CAR-NK cells may be cells into which the chimeric antigen receptor of the present invention is introduced into cytotoxic T cells or NK cells. The cells have the advantage of anticancer-specific targeted therapy, which is an existing advantage of CAR-T therapeutics. In particular, the CAR-T cells or CAR-NK cells of the present invention can recognize and effectively destroy cancer cells expressing CADM1.

Accordingly, in another aspect, the present invention provides a cell therapeutic agent containing the cells or a pharmaceutical composition for treating cancer containing the same as an active ingredient.

In the present invention, "cell therapy" refers to cells and tissues prepared from a subject through isolation, culture, and special manipulation, and is a pharmaceutical product used for the purpose of treatment, and is a living autologous, allogeneic, or xenogeneic living agent to restore the function of a cell or tissue. It refers to drugs used for the purpose of treatment through a series of actions, such as proliferation and selection of cells in vitro or altering the biological characteristics of cells in other ways.

As used herein, the term "treatment" refers to all activities in which symptoms caused by cancer are improved or beneficially changed by administration of the composition.

The composition may include a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

The "pharmaceutically acceptable carrier" may refer to a carrier or diluent that does not inhibit the biological activity and properties of the compound to be injected without irritating living organisms. The type of the carrier that can be used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and any carrier commonly used in the art and pharmaceutically acceptable can be used. Non-limiting examples of the carrier include saline, sterile water, Ringer's solution, buffered saline, albumin injection solution, dextrose solution, maltodextrin solution, glycerol, ethanol, and the like. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The composition containing a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier may be in various oral or parenteral formulations. When formulated, it is prepared using diluents or excipients such as commonly used fillers, extenders, binders, wetting agents, disintegrants, and surfactants.

Specifically, solid preparations for oral administration include tablets, pills, powders, granules, capsules, and the like, and these solid preparations contain at least one excipient such as starch, calcium carbonate, sucrose, and lactose in the compound. , can be prepared by mixing gelatin, etc. In addition to simple excipients, lubricants such as magnesium stearate and talc may also be used. Liquid preparations for oral use include suspensions, solutions for internal use, emulsions, and syrups. In addition to water and liquid paraffin, which are commonly used simple diluents, various excipients such as wetting agents, sweeteners, aromatics, and preservatives may be included. there is. Formulations for parenteral administration include sterilized aqueous solutions, non-aqueous solvents, suspensions, emulsions, freeze-dried formulations, and suppositories. Propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, vegetable oils such as olive oil, and injectable esters such as ethyl oleate may be used as non-aqueous solvents and suspending agents. As a base for the suppository, Witepsol, Macrogol, Tween 61, cacao butter, laurin paper, glycerogelatin, and the like may be used.

The composition can be administered in a pharmaceutically effective amount.

The "pharmaceutically effective amount" means an amount sufficient to treat a disease with a reasonable benefit / risk ratio applicable to medical treatment, and the effective dose level is dependent on the type and severity of the subject, age, sex, infected virus type, and drug activity, sensitivity to the drug, time of administration, route of administration and rate of excretion, duration of treatment, factors including concomitantly used drugs and other factors well known in the medical arts.

The administration means introducing the composition of the present invention to a patient by any suitable method, and the administration route of the composition may be administered through any general route as long as it can reach the target tissue. Intraperitoneal administration, intravenous administration, intramuscular administration, subcutaneous administration, intradermal administration, oral administration, topical administration, intranasal administration may be administered, but is not limited thereto.

The composition of the present invention may be administered daily or intermittently, and the number of administrations per day may be administered once or divided into 2 to 3 times. The number of administrations when the two active ingredients are each a single agent may be the same or may be different. In addition, the composition of the present invention can be used alone or in combination with other drug treatments for the treatment of CADM1-expressing cancer. It is important to administer the amount that can obtain the maximum effect with the minimum amount without side effects in consideration of all the above factors, and can be easily determined by those skilled in the art.

The subject refers to all humans, including humans, monkeys, cows, horses, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, quails, cats, dogs, mice, rats, rabbits, or guinea pigs that have or may develop cancer expressing CADM1. means animals. The type of subject is included without limitation as long as the disease can be effectively treated by administering the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention to the subject.

Types of cancer expressing CADM1 to be treated in the present invention include non-small lung cancer cell (NSCLC), lung adenocarcinoma, and T cells infected with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1. Leukemia (HTLV-1-infected T cell leukemia), adult T cell leukemia, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, Examples include nasopharyngeal carcinoma, stomach cancer and pancreatic cancer, but are not limited thereto.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail through examples. These examples are only for explaining the present invention in more detail, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is not limited by these examples according to the gist of the present invention. .

Example 1. Chimeric antigen receptor by gene synthesis method cloning of genes

In order to prepare the chimeric antigen receptor of the present invention, an antigen recognition site in which a pair of extracellular domains of CRTAM are linked to a human immunoglobulin G ₁ heavy chain constant region, and a transmembrane domain of _CD8α , Protein coding sequences of the intracellular domains of each of CD28, 4-1BB, and CD3 zeta were identified in a gene database.

Thereafter, gene synthesis was performed by connecting the remaining sequences except for the stop codon portion of the base sequence constituting the domains into one. The accuracy of gene synthesis was confirmed through sequencing after constructing a protein expression plasmid. A schematic diagram showing the cDNA region of each domain expressing the chimeric antigen receptor is shown in FIG. 1 .

Example 2. Chimeric Antigen Receptor Construction of protein expression plasmids

In order to recognize CADM1 and express the recombinant protein fused with the human immunoglobulin G ₁ heavy chain constant region and the signaling protein domain in cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells, the corresponding gene was used as a lentivirus-derived expression vector, pCDH-CMV -MCS-EF1-copGFP (System Biosciences) or retrovirus-derived expression vector pLNCX2 (Addgene) was cloned.

First, in order to clone into the pCDH-CMV-MCS-EF1-copGFP vector, a primer that creates a restriction enzyme XbaI cleavage site sequence is synthesized at the 5' end, a restriction enzyme cleavage site is created by polymerase chain reaction, and a restriction enzyme cleavage site is also made at the 3' end. A restriction enzyme cleavage site was prepared by synthesizing a primer that creates the cleavage site sequence of the enzyme NotI and polymerase chain reaction. After that, the 5' end of the gene having a restriction enzyme cleavage site due to polymerase chain reaction was treated with XbaI, and the 3' end was treated with NotI. In addition, the multicloning site of the expression vector was treated with XbaI and NotI so that the gene could be inserted. After mixing the restriction enzyme-treated gene and the expression vector, they were ligated by treatment with a ligase.

Next, in order to clone into the pLNCX2 vector, a primer that creates a restriction enzyme Bgl II cleavage site sequence is synthesized at the 5' end, a restriction enzyme cleavage site is made by polymerase chain reaction, and a restriction enzyme NotI cleavage site sequence is also added at the 3' end. A primer was synthesized to make a restriction enzyme cleavage site by polymerase chain reaction. After that, the 5' end of the gene having a restriction enzyme cleavage site due to polymerase chain reaction was treated with BglII, and the 3' end was treated with NotI. Then, the multicloning site of the expression vector was treated with BglII and NotI so that the gene could be inserted. After mixing the restriction enzyme-treated gene and the expression vector, they were ligated by treatment with a ligase.

As a result, a recombinant vector CRTAM.CAR-T.pCDH-CMV-MCS-EF1- that recognizes CADM1 and expresses a protein in which a human immunoglobulin G ₁ heavy chain constant region and a signaling protein domain are fused (see FIG. 3) is expressed. copGFP and CRTAM.CAR-NK.pLNCX2 were completed (see Figs. 2a and 2b).

Example 3. Human cell line screening expressing CADM1

To screen human cell lines expressing CADM1 on the cell surface, expression of CADM1 was confirmed in A549 (ATCC), a cell line derived from lung adenocarcinoma. To confirm expression, the cell lines were treated with an antibody (Biobyt) capable of binding to CADM1 to which a fluorescent protein was attached, and then fluorescence-activated cell sorting was used. As a result of the analysis, it was confirmed that CADM1 was expressed in the A549 cell line (see FIG. 4).

Based on the above results, the A549 cell line expressing CADM1 was used as a target cell for CRTAM.CAR-T cells or CRTAM.CAR-NK cells.

Example 4. Soluble recombination by gene synthesis method CRTAM Cloning of fusion protein genes

To confirm that CRTAM binds to CADM1, a water-soluble recombinant CRTAM fusion protein was prepared. First, protein coding sequences in which each of the extracellular domains of CRTAM were linked to the human immunoglobulin G1 heavy chain constant region were identified in a gene database. In addition, gene synthesis was performed by connecting the remaining sequences except for the stop codon portion of the base sequence constituting the domains into one. The accuracy of gene synthesis was confirmed through sequencing after constructing a protein expression plasmid. A schematic diagram showing the cDNA region of each domain expressing the recombinant protein is shown in FIG. 5 .

Example 5. Preparation of water soluble recombinant CRTAM fusion protein expression plasmid

In order to express the recombinant CRTAM fusion protein obtained by fusing the human CADM1 recognition domain of Example 4 with the human immunoglobulin G ₁ heavy chain constant region in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, the corresponding gene was transferred to the retrovirus-derived expression vector, pLNCX2. (Addgene).

First, in order to clone into the pLNCX2 vector, a primer that creates a restriction enzyme Xho I cleavage site sequence is synthesized at the 5' end, a restriction enzyme cleavage site is created by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and restriction is also made at the 3' end. A restriction enzyme cleavage site was prepared by synthesizing a primer that creates the cleavage site sequence of the enzyme Not I and polymerase chain reaction. After that, the 5' end of the gene having a restriction enzyme cleavage site due to polymerase chain reaction was treated with Xho I, and the 3' end was treated with Not I. In addition, the multicloning site of the expression vector was treated with xho I and Not I so that the gene could be inserted. After mixing the restriction enzyme-treated gene and the expression vector, they were ligated by treatment with a ligase.

As a result, a recombinant vector CRTAM-IgG.pLNCX2 expressing a protein obtained by fusing the extracellular domain of CRTAM recognizing human CADM1 with the human immunoglobulin G ₁ heavy chain constant region (see Fig. 7) was completed (see Fig. 6). .

Example 6. Soluble recombination CRTAM fusion protein and CADM1 Affinity measurement of expressing human cell lines

In order to confirm the affinity of the soluble recombinant CRTAM fusion protein prepared in Example 5 with the human cell line expressing CADM1, after expressing the soluble recombinant CRTAM fusion protein in CHO cells, affinity chromatography was performed using a protein A column ( affinity chromatography) (GE healthcare) (see Fig. 8a).

In addition, the purified water-soluble chimeric antigen receptor was confirmed by Western blotting using an antibody (anti-human IgG heavy chain constant region antibody, anti-human IgG Fc region antibody, abcam) recognizing the human IgG heavy chain constant region (Fig. see 8b).

Thereafter, the purified water-soluble recombinant CRTAM fusion protein was treated with a cell line (A549 cell line) expressing CADM1, and it was confirmed through flow cytometry whether the water-soluble recombinant CRTAM fusion protein could bind to the cells. The results are shown in FIG. 8C.

As shown in FIG. 8c , it was confirmed that A549 cells expressing CADM1 did not bind to control Ig (isotype control), but bound to soluble CRTAM fusion protein (CRTAM-Ig).

As confirmed from the above results, it was confirmed that the prepared soluble CRTAM fusion protein had high affinity with human cell lines expressing CADM1, which recognized CADM1-expressing A549 cells and recognized human immunoglobulin G ₁ Verification of CADM1 protein-specific cytotoxicity to cytotoxic T cells (CRTAM.CAR-T cells) or natural killer cells (CRTAM.CAR-NK cells) expressing a recombinant protein fused with a heavy chain constant region and a signaling protein domain means that it can be used for

Example 7. Cytotoxic T cell isolation and activation

In order to prepare T cells expressing a chimeric antigen receptor according to an embodiment of the present invention, cytotoxic T cells were first isolated from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. After purchasing human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (Medi Lab Korea), magnetic-activated cell sorting was used to isolate cytotoxic T cells. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells are combined with an antibody (CD8 ⁺ T cell biotin-conjugated antibody cocktail, Miltenyi Biotec) capable of binding to other immune cells except for cytotoxic T cells, and then the antibodies are combined with magnetic microbeads (anti- biotin microbead) (Miltenyi Biotec). The microbeads, antibodies attached thereto, and cells were passed through a magnetic separation column (Miltenyi Biotec) to obtain cytotoxic T cells unlabeled with the antibodies. In order to confirm the purity of the isolated cytotoxic T cells, flow cytometry was performed using CD8 and CD3ε, which are cell surface factors of cytotoxic T cells, and as a result, the purity was over 95%.

Contains 1Х10 ⁶ /ml of human CD3 and CD28 antibody-coated magnetic beads (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and 10% calf serum supplemented with 100 U/μl recombinant human IL-2 for activation of isolated cytotoxic T cells. The cells were reconstituted in RPMI (Welgene) at a density of 1.5Х10 ⁶ cells/ml, inoculated into a 24-well cell culture dish, and cultured for 24 hours.

Example 8. Construction of chimeric antigen receptor-expressing cytotoxic T cells

In order to introduce the recombinant vector prepared in Example 2 into cytotoxic T cells, a lentiviral system using 293FT cells (Thermo Fisher Scientific) was used.

First, 293FT cells were inoculated into 2.5Х10 ⁶ cells in a 100π cell culture dish, and cultured in DMEM medium containing 10% calf serum. After 24 hours of incubation, when the cells have grown to cover 60-70% of the dish, 20 μg of CRTAM.CAR-T.pCDH-CMV-MCS-EF1-copGFP vector DNA was mixed with 10 μg of psPAX2 (Addgene) and 3 μg of pMD2. .G (Addgene) vector was crystallized using Calcium phosphate and Hepes-buffered solution and then introduced into 293FT cells. Thereafter, culture supernatants containing lentivirus were collected at intervals of 24 hours after 48 hours of 293FT cells into which the expression vector was introduced. The collected supernatant was centrifuged for 2 hours at 21,000 rpm in an ultra-high-speed centrifuge to concentrate the virus. The concentrated virus was mixed with 4 μg/ml of polybrene and added to the culture medium of activated cytotoxic T cells, followed by centrifugation at 1,800 g for 75 minutes using a centrifuge for transduction. The centrifuged cytotoxic T cells were further cultured for 4 hours and then replaced with RPMI culture medium containing 10% calf serum. After 48 hours, some of the transduced cytotoxic T cells were used to measure transduction efficiency. The transduction efficiency was measured by flow cytometry to measure the amount of GFP expression inside the cell, and the transduced cytotoxic T cell (CRTAM CAR-T cell) was measured using a virus-transduced cytotoxic T cell (Mock CAR-T cell). Transduction rates of T cells) were compared (see FIG. 9a).

Example 9. Construction of natural killer cells expressing chimeric antigen receptors

In order to introduce the recombinant vector prepared in Example 2 into NK cells, a retroviral system using 293GPG cells was used.

First, ⁶ 3Х10 293GPG cells were dissolved in 10 ml of DMEM culture medium containing 10% calf serum, inoculated into a 100π cell culture dish, and cultured for 24 hours. 20 μg of the previously prepared recombinant vector (CRTAM.CAR-NK.pLNCX2 vector) was crystallized using Calcium phosphate and Hepes-buffered solution, and then added to the previously cultured 293GPG cell culture medium. Thereafter, the culture medium was replaced at 24 hour intervals over 72 hours, and the culture supernatant of 293GPG cells containing the retrovirus was collected and stored.

The collected retrovirus-containing supernatant was centrifuged at 21,000 rpm for 2 hours using an ultra-high-speed centrifuge, and then reconstituted in Myelocult H5100 culture medium (STEMCELL) containing 10% calf serum to be concentrated 100 times compared to before concentration. To transduce the concentrated retrovirus into NK92MI cells (American type culture collection, ATCC), NK92MI cells were inoculated in a 24-well cell culture dish at a density of 5Х10 ⁵ /ml. Then, a mixed solution in which 8ug/ml of polybrene was added to the concentrated retrovirus was added to the culture medium of NK92MI cells, and cultured for 24 hours. After culturing, it was replaced with a new culture medium, and NK92MI cells treated with retrovirus were cultured using Myelocult H5100 culture medium supplemented with neomycin antibiotic (600 μg/ml) 24 hours after the culture medium change for selection of cells into which the gene was introduced. After 14 days of neomycin selection, NK92MI cells were transferred to a fresh culture medium and grown for one week.

After proliferation, the CRTAM expression level of NK92MI cells (CRTAM CAR-NK cells) introduced with CRTAM.CAR-NK.pLNCX2 and NK92MI cells (Mock CAR-NK cells) introduced with pLNCX2, an empty vector, was measured by flow cytometry using flow cytometry. Comparison was made using (see FIG. 9b). At this time, anti-human CRTAM antibody (rat IgG, abcam, #ab17318) was used as the primary antibody, and anti-rat IgG-Alexa Fluor 488 (goat anti-rat IgG, thermofisher, #a11006) was used.

Example 10. CAR-T cells CADM1 + Verification of cell-specific cytotoxicity

In order to confirm that the produced chimeric antigen receptor-expressing cytotoxic T cells specifically recognize CADM1-expressing cells and exhibit toxicity, A549 cells (CADM1 positive cells), the target cells selected in Example 3, were used as chimeric antigens. Receptor-expressing cytotoxic T cells (CRTAM CAR-T cells) or empty vector-transduced cytotoxic T cells (Mock CAR-T cells) were co-cultured for 6 hours. A non-radioactive cytotoxicity assay that measures the degree of cytotoxicity of cytotoxic T cells to target cells by the amount of lactate dehydrogenase present in the supernatant after co-culture used

First, put cytotoxic T cells (1x10 ⁵ cell) and target cells (1x10 ⁴ cell) into wells of a 96-well cell culture dish, set the effector: target ratio to 10:1, and inoculate so that the volume per well is 100 μl. Centrifuge for 4 minutes under the condition of 250g using a centrifuge to close the gap between cells. After 6 hours of incubation, 50 μl of the supernatant from each well is removed and transferred to a transparent 96-well dish for measuring absorbance, and then the enzyme reaction is progressed and stopped by treatment with analysis solution and 1M hydrochloric acid solution. After stopping the enzyme reaction, the degree of cytotoxicity of the cytotoxic T cells in each well was quantified by measuring and converting the absorbance in the 490 nm wavelength band using a fluorescence/emission/absorption meter (multi-detection plate reader).

As a result, as shown in FIG. 10a, the prepared chimeric antigen receptor-expressing cytotoxic T cell (CRTAM CAR-T cell) showed a high toxicity of 39% or more to the A549 cell line expressing CADM1, while introducing an empty vector as a control One cytotoxic T cell (Mock CAR-T cell) showed 3% toxicity to the A549 cell line.

Through the above results, it was confirmed that the chimeric antigen recognition receptor-expressing cytotoxic T cells containing the extracellular domain of CRTAM exhibited cytotoxicity specific to the CADM1 protein, and thus the treatment of related cancer cells using the CAR-T cells was possible. could

Example 11. Verification of CADM1+ cell specific cytotoxicity of CAR-NK cells

In order to confirm that the prepared chimeric antigen receptor-expressing NK cells specifically recognize CADM1-expressing cells and exhibit toxicity, A549 cells (CADM1 positive cells), the target cells selected in Example 3, were expressed as chimeric antigen receptors. NK cells (CRTAM CAR-NK cells) or NK cells (Mock CAR-NK cells) into which an empty vector was introduced were co-cultured.

After co-culture, a non-radioactive cytotoxicity assay was used to measure the degree of cytotoxicity of NK cells to target cells by the amount of lactate dehydrogenase present in the supernatant.

First, put natural killer cells (1x10 ⁵ cell) and target cells (1x10 ⁴ cell) into wells of a 96-well cell culture dish, set the effector: target ratio to 10:1, inoculate the well to a volume of 100 μl, and then centrifuge. Centrifuge for 4 minutes at 250g using a separator to close the space between cells. After 6 hours of incubation, 50 μl of the supernatant from each well is removed and transferred to a transparent 96-well dish for measuring absorbance, and then the enzyme reaction is progressed and stopped by treatment with analysis solution and 1M hydrochloric acid solution. After stopping the enzyme reaction, the degree of cytotoxicity of NK cells in each well was quantified by measuring and converting the absorbance in the 490 nm wavelength band using a fluorescence/luminescence/absorption meter (multi-detection plate reader).

As a result, as shown in FIG. 10B, the prepared chimeric antigen receptor-expressing natural killer cells (CRTAM CAR-NK cells) showed high toxicity of 27% or more to the CADM1-expressing A549 cell line, whereas the empty vector as a control was introduced. Natural killer cells (Mock CAR-NK cells) showed toxicity of -2% or less to the A549 cell line.

Through the above results, it was confirmed that the chimeric antigen recognition receptor-expressing NK cells containing the CRTAM extracellular domain showed specific cytotoxicity to the CADM1 protein, and thus the treatment of related cancer cells using the CAR-NK cells was possible. .

So far, the present invention has been looked at with respect to its preferred embodiments. Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to understand that the present invention can be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered from an illustrative rather than a limiting point of view. The scope of the present invention is shown in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the equivalent scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.

Claims (15)

1. antigen binding domain;

   transmembrane domain; and

   A chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) comprising an intracellular signaling domain, wherein the antigen-binding domain is a cell of a class-I MHC-restricted T cell associated molecule (CRTAM) that specifically binds to CADM1 (Cell adhesion molecule 1). A chimeric antigen receptor comprising an exodomain.
2. According to claim 1,

   The antigen-binding domain is a chimeric antigen receptor, characterized in that a pair of extracellular domains of CRTAM _are linked to a human immunoglobulin G ₁ heavy chain constant region, respectively, in the form of a dimer.
3. According to claim 1,

   The chimeric antigen receptor, wherein the extracellular domain of CRTAM comprises the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 1.
4. According to claim 2,

   A human immunoglobulin G ₁ heavy chain constant region region (human IgG ₁ heavy chain constant region) comprising the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 2, chimeric antigen receptor.
5. According to claim 1,

   The transmembrane domain is CD8α and comprises the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 3, chimeric antigen receptor.
6. According to claim 1,

   The intracellular signaling domain is composed of CD28, 4-1BB and CD3-zeta, or a chimeric antigen receptor comprising a combination thereof.
7. According to claim 6,

   The CD28 is SEQ ID NO: 4; 4-1BB is SEQ ID NO: 5; and CD3-zeta is a chimeric antigen receptor comprising the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 6.
8. According to claim 1,

   The antigen-binding domain includes a CD8α signal peptide, and comprises an amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 7, chimeric antigen receptor.
9. A polynucleotide encoding the chimeric antigen receptor protein of any one of claims 1 to 8.
10. A vector comprising the polynucleotide of claim 9.
11. A cell transformed with the vector of claim 10.
12. According to claim 11,

    Cells, characterized in that the cells are cytotoxic T cells or NK cells.
13. A pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of cancer expressing CADM1 comprising the cell of claim 12 as an active ingredient.
14. According to claim 13,

    Cancers expressing the CADM1 include non-small lung cancer cell (NSCLC), lung adenocarcinoma, and human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1-infected T-cell leukemia (HTLV-1-infected T-cell leukemia). ), adult T cell leukemia, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, stomach cancer cancer) and pancreatic cancer (pancreatic cancer) characterized in that the composition is selected from the group consisting of.
15. A cell therapy product comprising the cell of claim 11.

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