Multivalent adaptor proteins specifically target NK cells carrying a universal chimeric antigen receptor to ErbB2 (HER2)-expressing cancers.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered immune effector cells constitute a promising approach for adoptive cancer immunotherapy. Nevertheless, on-target/off-tumor toxicity and immune escape due to antigen loss represent considerable challenges. These may be overcome by adaptor CARs that are selectively triggered by bispecific molecules that crosslink the CAR with a tumor-associated surface antigen. Here, we generated NK cells carrying a first- or second-generation universal CAR (UniCAR) and redirected them to tumor cells with so-called target modules (TMs) which harbor an ErbB2 (HER2)-specific antibody domain for target cell binding and the E5B9 peptide recognized by the UniCAR. To investigate differential effects of the protein design on activity, we developed homodimeric TMs with one, two or three E5B9 peptides per monomer, and binding domains either directly linked or separated by an IgG4 Fc domain. The adaptor molecules were expressed as secreted proteins in Expi293F cells, purified from culture supernatants and their bispecific binding to UniCAR and ErbB2 was confirmed by flow cytometry. In cell killing experiments, all tested TMs redirected NK cell cytotoxicity selectively to ErbB2-positive tumor cells. Nevertheless, we found considerable differences in the extent of specific cell killing depending on TM design and CAR composition, with adaptor proteins carrying two or three E5B9 epitopes being more effective when combined with NK cells expressing the first-generation UniCAR, while the second-generation UniCAR was more active in the presence of TMs with one E5B9 sequence. These results may have important implications for the further development of optimized UniCAR and target module combinations for cancer immunotherapy.

Dual Targeting of Glioblastoma Cells with Bispecific Killer Cell Engagers Directed to EGFR and ErbB2 (HER2) Facilitates Effective Elimination by NKG2D-CAR-Engineered NK Cells.

NKG2D is an activating receptor of natural killer cells that recognizes stress-induced ligands (NKG2DL) expressed by many tumor cells. Nevertheless, NKG2DL downregulation or shedding can still allow cancer cells to evade immune surveillance. Here, we used lentiviral gene transfer to engineer clinically usable NK-92 cells with a chimeric antigen receptor (NKAR) which contains the extracellular domain of NKG2D for target recognition, or an NKAR, together with the IL-15 superagonist RD-IL15, and combined these effector cells with recombinant NKG2D-interacting bispecific engagers that simultaneously recognize the tumor-associated antigens epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or ErbB2 (HER2). Applied individually, in in vitro cell-killing assays, these NKAB-EGFR and NKAB-ErbB2 antibodies specifically redirected NKAR-NK-92 and NKAR_RD-IL15-NK-92 cells to glioblastoma and other cancer cells with elevated EGFR or ErbB2 levels. However, in mixed glioblastoma cell cultures, used as a model for heterogeneous target antigen expression, NKAR-NK cells only lysed the EGFR- or ErbB2-expressing subpopulations in the presence of one of the NKAB molecules. This was circumvented by applying NKAB-EGFR and NKAB-ErbB2 together, resulting in effective antitumor activity similar to that against glioblastoma cells expressing both target antigens. Our results demonstrate that combining NK cells carrying an activating NKAR receptor with bispecific NKAB antibodies allows for flexible targeting, which can enhance tumor-antigen-specific cytotoxicity and prevent immune escape.