Control of the Antitumor Activity and Specificity of CAR T Cells via Organic Adapters Covalently Tethering the CAR to Tumor Cells

On-target, off-tumor toxicity is a specific type of toxic side effect that limits the anticancer applicability of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells.

In our latest publication, WuXi AppTec scientists contributed to a study describing how the tumor-targeting specificity and activity of T cells with a CAR (consisting of an antibody that catalytically forms a reversible covalent bond with a 1,3-diketone hapten) can be regulated by the concentration of a small-molecule adapter. This adapter selectively binds to the hapten and to a chosen tumor antigen via a small-molecule binder identified via a DNA-encoded library.