Monitoring of kinetics and exhaustion markers of circulating CAR-T cells as early predictive factors in patients with B-cell malignancies

Purpose: CAR-T cell therapy has proven to be a disruptive treatment in the hematology field, however, less than 50% of patients maintain long-term response and early predictors of outcome are still inconsistently defined. Here, we aimed to optimize the detection of CD19 CAR-T cells in blood and to i...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: García Calderón, Clara Beatriz, Sierro-Martínez, Belén, García-Guerrero, Estefanía, Sanoja-Flores, Luzalba, Muñoz-García, Raquel, Ruiz-Maldonado, Victoria, Carrasco-Brocal, Inmaculada, Pérez Simón, José Antonio, Caballero Velázquez, Teresa
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Recursos:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/154921
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/154921
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1152498
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:B-ALL
CAR-T
Lymphoma
Biomarkers
DPCR (digital PCR)
Flow cytometry
Monitoring
Descrição
Resumo:Purpose: CAR-T cell therapy has proven to be a disruptive treatment in the hematology field, however, less than 50% of patients maintain long-term response and early predictors of outcome are still inconsistently defined. Here, we aimed to optimize the detection of CD19 CAR-T cells in blood and to identify phenotypic features as early biomarkers associated with toxicity and outcomes. Experimental design: In this study, monitoring by flow cytometry and digital PCR (dPCR), and immunophenotypic characterization of circulating CAR-T cells from 48 patients treated with Tisa-cel or Axi-cel was performed. Results: Validation of the flow cytometry reagent for the detection of CAR-T cells in blood revealed CD19 protein conjugated with streptavidin as the optimal detection method. Kinetics of CAR-T cell expansion in blood confirmed median day of peak expansion at seven days post-infusion by both flow cytometry and digital PCR. Circulating CAR-T cells showed an activated, proliferative, and exhausted phenotype at the time of peak expansion. Patients with increased expansion showed more severe CRS and ICANs. Immunophenotypic characterization of CAR-T cells at the peak expansion identified the increased expression of co-inhibitory molecules PD1 and LAG3 and reduced levels of the cytotoxicity marker CD107a as predictors of a better long-term disease control. Conclusions: These data show the importance of CAR-T cells in vivo monitoring and identify the expression of PD1LAG3 and CD107a as early biomarkers of long-term disease control after CAR-T cell therapy.