Advancing Cancer Immune Cell Therapies via Engineered iPSC-Based Strategies
摘要
Current immunotherapies for cancer treatment face significant challenges, including a low clinical response rate, limited cellular materials for initiation, high costs, and intricate large-scale manufacturing processes. Human-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived immune cell therapy has the potential to overcome these limitations due to the unique self-renewal capabilities and ease of genetic manipulation inherent in iPSCs. One notable example of the promising outcomes associated with iPSC-derived immune cell therapy is the use of FT596 to treat B-cell lymphoma. This allogeneic iPSC-derived, off-the-shelf, CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) product demonstrated encouraging clinical efficacy, with 9/17 patients achieving objective response, including 7 complete responses. The iPSC-based strategies have the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment by providing a platform for large-scale manufacturing and stable genetic modifications that influence immune-activating or -suppressive signaling pathways. The antitumor effects of immune effector cells can be further enhanced by engineering strategies to enhance immune cells’ effector functions and tumor trafficking while mitigating graft-versus-host disease and allogeneic cell rejection. This chapter summarizes the progress made in the last decade through the emergence of iPSC-derived immune-cell-based therapies for cancer treatment. We highlight the upcoming trends and substantial hurdles demanding attention to improve iPSC-based therapies’ effectiveness, safety, and universality.