Fred Hutchinson team programs CAR T cells

In a paper published Monday in Nature Nanotechnology, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center demonstrated that in situ programming of T cells into CAR T cells could help treat leukemia in mice.

Polymeric nanoparticles containing leukemia-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) DNA were loaded with microtubule-associated sequences and nuclear localization signals to promote entry into the T cells' nuclei. The DNA-containing nanoparticles were conjugated to anti-CD3 antibody fragments, which targeted T cell surface receptors and enabled receptor-mediated endocytosis by the T cells...