Inhibition of T Cell Differentiation and Senescence by Overexpression of Transcription Factor c-Myb
Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT) is a promising technique that uses a patient's own T cells to treat cancer. The process requires removing and engineering a patient's T cells to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) or T cell receptor (TCR) that targets a specific cancer antigen. When the modified T cells are reintroduced into the patient, the T cells attack and kill cancer cells that express the antigen, thereby treating the patient. Although ACT holds a great deal of promise, there are still technical drawbacks to be overcome, such as loss of anti-tumor activity due to T cell senescence.
This invention addresses this technical drawback by using T cells that express the transcription factor c-Myb (or a functional variant thereof) at elevated levels as the host for transduction with CARs or TCRs. T cells that exhibit elevated expression of c-Myb display inhibited differentiation, allowing the cells to survive, proliferate and serve in a therapeutic capacity for a longer duration. Since it is believed that these characteristics can increase the effectiveness of ACT, T cells with elevated levels of c-Myb expression are strong candidates for use in ACT.
Potential Commercial Applications: | Competitive Advantages: |
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Development Stage:
Pre-clinical (in vivo)
Inventors:
Luca Gattinoni (NCI) ➽ more inventions...
Yun Ji (NCI) ➽ more inventions...
Sanjivan Gautam (NCI) ➽ more inventions...
Intellectual Property:
Application No. PCT/US2016/048435
Application No. 62/209,497
Collaboration Opportunity:
Licensing and research collaboration
Licensing Contact:
John Hewes, Ph.D.
Email: John.Hewes@nih.gov
Phone: 240-276-5515
OTT Reference No: E-232-2015
Updated: Apr 7, 2020