Self-regulating CAR-T cells modulate cytokine release syndrome in adoptive T-cell therapy.

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) is a frequently observed side effect of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy. Here, we report self-regulating T cells that reduce CRS severity by secreting inhibitors of cytokines associated with CRS. With a humanized NSG-SGM3 mouse model, we show reduced CRS-related toxicity in mice treated with CAR-T cells secreting tocilizumab-derived single-chain variable fragment (Toci), yielding a safety profile superior to that of single-dose systemic tocilizumab administration. Unexpectedly, Toci-secreting CD19 CAR-T cells exhibit superior in vivo antitumor efficacy compared with conventional CD19 CAR-T cells. scRNA-seq analysis of immune cells recovered from tumor-bearing humanized mice revealed treatment with Toci-secreting CD19 CAR-T cells enriches for cytotoxic T cells while retaining memory T-cell phenotype, suggesting Toci secretion not only reduces toxicity but also significantly alters the overall T-cell composition. This approach of engineering T cells to self-regulate inflammatory cytokine production is a clinically compatible strategy with the potential to simultaneously enhance safety and efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy for cancer.

Trametinib ameliorates aging-associated gut pathology in Drosophila females by reducing Pol III activity in intestinal stem cells.

Pharmacological therapies are promising interventions to slow down aging and reduce multimorbidity in the elderly. Studies in animal models are the first step toward translation of candidate molecules into human therapies, as they aim to elucidate the molecular pathways, cellular mechanisms, and tissue pathologies involved in the anti-aging effects. Trametinib, an allosteric inhibitor of MEK within the Ras/MAPK (Ras/Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase) pathway and currently used as an anti-cancer treatment, emerged as a geroprotector candidate because it extended lifespan in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Here, we confirm that trametinib consistently and robustly extends female lifespan, and reduces intestinal stem cell (ISC) proliferation, tumor formation, tissue dysplasia, and barrier disruption in guts in aged flies. In contrast, pro-longevity effects of trametinib are weak and inconsistent in males, and it does not influence gut homeostasis. Inhibition of the Ras/MAPK pathway specifically in ISCs is sufficient to partially recapitulate the effects of trametinib. Moreover, in ISCs, trametinib decreases the activity of the RNA polymerase III (Pol III), a conserved enzyme synthesizing transfer RNAs and other short, non-coding RNAs, and whose inhibition also extends lifespan and reduces gut pathology. Finally, we show that the pro-longevity effect of trametinib in ISCs is partially mediated by Maf1, a repressor of Pol III, suggesting a life-limiting Ras/MAPK-Maf1-Pol III axis in these cells. The mechanism of action described in this work paves the way for further studies on the anti-aging effects of trametinib in mammals and shows its potential for clinical application in humans.

CAR-T cell manufacturing: Major process parameters and next-generation strategies.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies have demonstrated strong curative potential and become a critical component in the array of B-cell malignancy treatments. Successful deployment of CAR-T cell therapies to treat hematologic and solid cancers, as well as other indications such as autoimmune diseases, is dependent on effective CAR-T cell manufacturing that impacts not only product safety and efficacy but also overall accessibility to patients in need. In this review, we discuss the major process parameters of autologous CAR-T cell manufacturing, as well as regulatory considerations and ongoing developments that will enable the next generation of CAR-T cell therapies.

Extracellular Domains of CAR Reprogram T-Cell Metabolism Without Antigen Stimulation.

Metabolism is an indispensable part of T-cell proliferation, activation, and exhaustion, yet the metabolism of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells remains incompletely understood. CARs are comprised of extracellular domains that determine cancer specificity, often using single-chain variable fragments (scFvs), and intracellular domains that trigger signaling upon antigen binding. Here we show that CARs differing only in the scFv reprogram T-cell metabolism differently. Even in the absence of antigens, some CARs increase proliferation and nutrient uptake in T cells. Using stable isotope tracers and mass spectrometry, we observe basal metabolic fluxes through glycolysis doubling and amino acid uptake overtaking anaplerosis in CAR-T cells harboring rituximab scFv, unlike other similar anti-CD20 scFvs. Disparate rituximab and 14g2a-based anti-GD2 CAR-T cells are similarly hypermetabolic and channel excess nutrients to nitrogen overflow metabolism. Since CAR-dependent metabolic reprogramming alters cellular energetics, nutrient utilization, and proliferation, metabolic profiling should be an integral part of CAR-T cell development.

Rational Protein Design Yields a CD20 CAR with Superior Antitumor Efficacy Compared with CD19 CAR.

Chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) are fusion proteins whose functional domains are often connected in a plug-and-play manner to generate multiple CAR variants. However, CARs with highly similar sequences can exhibit dramatic differences in function. Thus, approaches to rationally optimize CAR proteins are critical to the development of effective CAR T-cell therapies. Here, we report that as few as two amino-acid changes in nonsignaling domains of a CAR were able to significantly enhance in vivo antitumor efficacy. We demonstrate juxtamembrane alanine insertion and single-chain variable fragment sequence hybridization as two strategies that could be combined to maximize CAR functionality, and describe a CD20 CAR that outperformed the CD19 CAR in antitumor efficacy in preclinical in vitro and in vivo assays. Precise changes in the CAR sequence drove dramatically different transcriptomic profiles upon antigen stimulation, with the most efficacious CAR inducing an enrichment in highly functional memory T cells upon antigen stimulation. These findings underscore the importance of sequence-level optimization to CAR T-cell function, and the protein-engineering strategy described here may be applied to the development of additional CARs against diverse antigens. See related Spotlight by Scheller and Hudecek, p. 142.

CD19/CD20 Bispecific Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) in Naive/Memory T Cells for the Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

To address antigen escape and loss of T-cell functionality, we report a phase I clinical trial (NCT04007029) evaluating autologous naive and memory T (TN/MEM) cells engineered to express a bispecific anti-CD19/CD20 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR; CART19/20) for patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), with safety as the primary endpoint. Ten patients were treated with 36 × 106 to 165 × 106 CART19/20 cells. No patient experienced neurotoxicity of any grade or over grade 1 cytokine release syndrome. One case of dose-limiting toxicity (persistent cytopenia) was observed. Nine of 10 patients achieved objective response [90% overall response rate (ORR)], with seven achieving complete remission [70% complete responses (CR) rate]. One patient relapsed after 18 months in CR but returned to CR after receiving a second dose of CART19/20 cells. Median progression-free survival was 18 months and median overall survival was not reached with a 17-month median follow-up. In conclusion, CART19/20 TN/MEM cells are safe and effective in patients with relapsed/refractory NHL, with durable responses achieved at low dosage levels. SIGNIFICANCE: Autologous CD19/CD20 bispecific CAR-T cell therapy generated from TN/MEM cells for patients with NHL is safe (no neurotoxicity, maximum grade 1 cytokine release syndrome) and demonstrates strong efficacy (90% ORR, 70% CR rate) in a first-in-human, phase I dose-escalation trial. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 517.

A virus-acquired host cytokine controls systemic aging by antagonizing apoptosis.

Aging is characterized by degeneration of unique tissues. However, dissecting the interconnectedness of tissue aging remains a challenge. Here, we employ a muscle-specific DNA damage model in Drosophila to reveal secreted factors that influence systemic aging in distal tissues. Utilizing this model, we uncovered a cytokine-Diedel-that, when secreted from muscle or adipose, can attenuate age-related intestinal tissue degeneration by promoting proliferative homeostasis of stem cells. Diedel is both necessary and sufficient to limit tissue degeneration and regulate lifespan. Secreted homologs of Diedel are also found in viruses, having been acquired from host genomes. Focusing on potential mechanistic overlap between cellular aging and viral-host cell interactions, we found that Diedel is an inhibitor of apoptosis and can act as a systemic rheostat to modulate cell death during aging. These results highlight a key role for secreted antagonists of apoptosis in the systemic coordination of tissue aging.

Short-Term, Intermittent Fasting Induces Long-Lasting Gut Health and TOR-Independent Lifespan Extension.

Intermittent fasting (IF) can improve function and health during aging in laboratory model organisms, but the mechanisms at work await elucidation. We subjected fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to varying degrees of IF and found that just one month of a 2-day fed:5-day fasted IF regime at the beginning of adulthood was sufficient to extend lifespan. This long-lasting, beneficial effect of early IF was not due to reduced fecundity. Starvation resistance and resistance to oxidative and xenobiotic stress were increased after IF. Early-life IF also led to higher lipid content in 60-day-old flies, a potential explanation for increased longevity. Guts of flies 40 days post-IF showed a significant reduction in age-related pathologies and improved gut barrier function. Improved gut health was also associated with reduced relative bacterial abundance. Early IF thus induced profound long-term changes. Pharmacological and genetic epistasis analysis showed that IF acted independently of the TOR pathway because rapamycin and IF acted additively to extend lifespan, and global expression of a constitutively active S6K did not attenuate the IF-induced lifespan extension. We conclude that short-term IF during early life can induce long-lasting beneficial effects, with robust increase in lifespan in a TOR-independent manner, probably at least in part by preserving gut health.

Intestinal Fork Head Regulates Nutrient Absorption and Promotes Longevity.

Reduced activity of nutrient-sensing signaling networks can extend organismal lifespan, yet the underlying biology remains unclear. We show that the anti-aging effects of rapamycin and reduced intestinal insulin/insulin growth factor (IGF) signaling (IIS) require the Drosophila FoxA transcription factor homolog Fork Head (FKH). Intestinal FKH induction extends lifespan, highlighting a role for the gut. FKH binds to and is phosphorylated by AKT and Target of Rapamycin. Gut-specific FKH upregulation improves gut barrier function in aged flies. Additionally, it increases the expression of nutrient transporters, as does lowered IIS. Evolutionary conservation of this effect of lowered IIS is suggested by the upregulation of related nutrient transporters in insulin receptor substrate 1 knockout mouse intestine. Our study highlights a critical role played by FKH in the gut in mediating anti-aging effects of reduced IIS. Malnutrition caused by poor intestinal absorption is a major problem in the elderly, and a better understanding of the mechanisms involved will have important therapeutic implications for human aging.

Direct Keap1-Nrf2 disruption as a potential therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease.

Nrf2, a transcriptional activator of cell protection genes, is an attractive therapeutic target for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Current Nrf2 activators, however, may exert toxicity and pathway over-activation can induce detrimental effects. An understanding of the mechanisms mediating Nrf2 inhibition in neurodegenerative conditions may therefore direct the design of drugs targeted for the prevention of these diseases with minimal side-effects. Our study provides the first in vivo evidence that specific inhibition of Keap1, a negative regulator of Nrf2, can prevent neuronal toxicity in response to the AD-initiating Aß42 peptide, in correlation with Nrf2 activation. Comparatively, lithium, an inhibitor of the Nrf2 suppressor GSK-3, prevented Aß42 toxicity by mechanisms independent of Nrf2. A new direct inhibitor of the Keap1-Nrf2 binding domain also prevented synaptotoxicity mediated by naturally-derived Aß oligomers in mouse cortical neurons. Overall, our findings highlight Keap1 specifically as an efficient target for the re-activation of Nrf2 in AD, and support the further investigation of direct Keap1 inhibitors for the prevention of neurodegeneration in vivo.

Neural and non-neural contributions to sexual dimorphism of mid-day sleep in Drosophila melanogaster: a pilot study.

Many of the characteristics associated with mammalian sleep are also observed in Drosophila melanogaster Meigen, making the fruit fly a powerful model organism for studying the genetics of this important process. Included among the similarities is the presence of sexual dimorphic sleep patterns, which, in flies, are manifested as increased mid-day sleep ('siesta') in males compared with females. In the present study, targeted mis-expression of the genes transformer (tra) and tra2 is used to either feminize or masculinize specific neural and non-neural tissues in the fly. Feminization of male D. melanogaster using three different GAL4 drivers that are expressed in the mushroom bodies induces a female-like reduced siesta, whereas the masculinization of females using these drivers triggers the male-like increased siesta. A similar reversal of sex-specific sleep is also observed by mis-expressing tra in the fat body, which is a key tissue in energy metabolism and hormone secretion. In addition, the daily expression levels of takeout, an important circadian clock output gene, are sexually dimorphic. Taken together, these experiments suggest that sleep sexual dimorphism in D. melanogaster is driven by multiple neural and non-neural circuits, within and outside the brain.

pGluAß increases accumulation of Aß in vivo and exacerbates its toxicity.

Several species of ß-amyloid peptides (Aß) exist as a result of differential cleavage from amyloid precursor protein (APP) to yield various C-terminal Aß peptides. Several N-terminal modified Aß peptides have also been identified in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains, the most common of which is pyroglutamate-modified Aß (AßpE3-42). AßpE3-42 peptide has an increased propensity to aggregate, appears to accumulate in the brain before the appearance of clinical symptoms of AD, and precedes Aß1-42 deposition. Moreover, in vitro studies have shown that AßpE3-42 can act as a seed for full length Aß1-42. In this study, we characterized the Drosophila model of AßpE3-42 toxicity by expressing the peptide in specific sets of neurons using the GAL4-UAS system, and measuring different phenotypic outcomes. We found that AßpE3-42 peptide had an increased propensity to aggregate. Expression of AßpE3-42 in the neurons of adult flies led to behavioural dysfunction and shortened lifespan. Expression of AßpE3-42 constitutively in the eyes led to disorganised ommatidia, and activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway. The eye disruption was almost completely rescued by co-expressing a candidate Aß degrading enzyme, neprilysin2. Furthermore, we found that neprilysin2 was capable of degrading AßpE3-42. Also, we tested the seeding hypothesis for AßpE3-42 in vivo, and measured its effect on Aß1-42 levels. We found that Aß1-42 levels were significantly increased when Aß1-42 and AßpE3-42 peptides were co-expressed. Furthermore, we found that AßpE3-42 enhanced Aß1-42 toxicity in vivo. Our findings implicate AßpE3-42 as an important source of toxicity in AD, and suggest that its specific degradation could be therapeutic.

Sex difference in pathology of the ageing gut mediates the greater response of female lifespan to dietary restriction.

Women live on average longer than men but have greater levels of late-life morbidity. We have uncovered a substantial sex difference in the pathology of the aging gut in Drosophila. The intestinal epithelium of the aging female undergoes major deterioration, driven by intestinal stem cell (ISC) division, while lower ISC activity in males associates with delay or absence of pathology, and better barrier function, even at old ages. Males succumb to intestinal challenges to which females are resistant, associated with fewer proliferating ISCs, suggesting a trade-off between highly active repair mechanisms and late-life pathology in females. Dietary restriction reduces gut pathology in aging females, and extends female lifespan more than male. By genetic sex reversal of a specific gut region, we induced female-like aging pathologies in males, associated with decreased lifespan, but also with a greater increase in longevity in response to dietary restriction.

Lithium suppresses Aß pathology by inhibiting translation in an adult Drosophila model of Alzheimer's disease.

The greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is age, and changes in the ageing nervous system are likely contributors to AD pathology. Amyloid beta (Aß) accumulation, which occurs as a result of the amyloidogenic processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP), is thought to initiate the pathogenesis of AD, eventually leading to neuronal cell death. Previously, we developed an adult-onset Drosophila model of AD. Mutant Aß42 accumulation led to increased mortality and neuronal dysfunction in the adult flies. Furthermore, we showed that lithium reduced Aß42 protein, but not mRNA, and was able to rescue Aß42-induced toxicity. In the current study, we investigated the mechanism/s by which lithium modulates Aß42 protein levels and Aß42 induced toxicity in the fly model. We found that lithium caused a reduction in protein synthesis in Drosophila and hence the level of Aß42. At both the low and high doses tested, lithium rescued the locomotory defects induced by Aß42, but it rescued lifespan only at lower doses, suggesting that long-term, high-dose lithium treatment may have induced toxicity. Lithium also down-regulated translation in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe associated with increased chronological lifespan. Our data highlight a role for lithium and reduced protein synthesis as potential therapeutic targets for AD pathogenesis.