CD33KO-CD33-mesothelin Loop CAR design avoids fratricide and improves efficacy of iNK cells against acute myeloid leukemia

Abstract

Background Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are often older, which brings challenges of endurance and persistent efficacy of autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies. Allogenic CAR-natural killer (NK) cell therapies may offer reduced toxicities and enhanced anti-leukemic potential against AML. CD33 CAR-NK cells have been investigated for AML therapy. However, the fratricide-mediated lysis of CD33-expressing NK cells by CD33 CAR-NK cells limits the expansion and efficacy of CD33 CAR-NK cells. Mesothelin (MSLN), a tumor differentiation antigen, is highly expressed in a fraction of patients with AML, making it a promising target for AML therapy. Methods We designed a novel CD33-MSLN Loop CAR (Loop CAR) and evaluated its antitumor efficacy in human umbilical cord blood-derived NK (UCB-NK) cells and human pluripotent stem cell-derived NK (hPSC-iNK) cells. To further avoid fratricide caused by endogenous CD33 expression in NK cells, we established an hPSC-derived cell line via knockout of the CD33 gene (CD33KO) and engineered Loop CAR. We generated CD33KO-Loop CAR-iNK cells using an organoid induction approach. The efficacy of CD33KO-Loop CAR-iNK cells against tumor cells expressing CD33 and MSLN was investigated both in vitro and in AML xenograft mice. Results Loop CAR-NK cells exhibited superior cytotoxicity against dual-antigen-positive tumor cell lines and primary AML cells compared with CD33 CAR-NK and MSLN CAR-NK cells. Moreover, Loop CAR-NK cells showed upregulated signaling pathways related to NK cell activation and cytotoxic function. The loss of CD33 in iNK cells effectively avoided fratricide, improved expansion ability, and significantly enhanced CD33 and MSLN-mediated specific cytotoxicity of Loop CAR-iNK cells. Moreover, the CD33KO-Loop CAR-iNK cells demonstrated superior tumor-killing activity in AML xenograft mouse models and significantly prolonged mouse survival. Conclusion Loop CAR empowered both UCB-NK cells and hPSC-iNK cells with superior cytotoxicity against CD33+MSLN+ tumor cells. Genetic disruption of CD33 avoided fratricide and improved efficacy of Loop CAR-iNK cells against AML. This innovative strategy possesses unique advantages and translational potential for treating AML.