In This Article:
NEW YORK, Feb. 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cellectis (the “Company”) (Euronext Growth: ALCLS - NASDAQ: CLLS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company using its pioneering gene-editing platform to develop life-saving cell and gene therapies, showcases an innovative strategy for T cell engineering that leverages the pro-inflammatory properties of interleukin 2 (IL-2) with the objective to enhance CAR T cell efficacy against solid tumors, at the American Association for Cancer Research – Immuno-oncology (AACR-IO), taking place on February 23-26, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
The data are presented in a poster:
CAR induced expression of synthetically engineered FAP-IL2v immunocytokine boosts persistent anti-tumor activity of TALEN-edited allogeneic CAR T-cells without associated IL-2 toxicity
Presenter: Shipra Das, Ph.D., Associate Director Immuno-Oncology, at Cellectis.
Date/Time: February 25, 2025, 1:45-4:45 p.m. PT
Session: Poster Session B
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CAR T-cell therapies have transformed the treatment landscape for specific hematological malignancies and have shown promising preliminary efficacy in solid tumors.
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Recent studies suggest a link between the in vivo expansion and persistence of CAR-T cells and enhanced therapeutic outcomes in patients. The co-administration of interleukin-2 (IL-2) has been demonstrated to improve CAR T-cell engraftment, expansion, and functionality in preclinical models but poses toxicity risks at high doses.
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Using Cellectis’ TALEN® gene editing technology, we developed ‘Smart CAR T cells’ with the ability to express a CAR-inducible IL-2 variant (IL-2v) immunocytokine, potentiated by tumor-specific cues for localized activity within the solid tumor microenvironment (TME).
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CAR-inducible expression of this recombinant FAPscFv-IL2v boosts anti-tumor activity of engineered CAR T-cells both in vitro and in vivo. Notably, the enhancement of CAR T-cell activity mediated by IL-2v relies on its anchoring to the FAP protein, which is uniquely present in the TME, thus minimizing the systemic toxicity typically associated with circulating free IL-2 cytokines.
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This proposed cellular engineering strategy would represent an effective and safe method to substantially improve CAR T cell expansion and anti-tumor activity, while confining IL-2 activity to the tumor microenvironment.
The poster is published on Cellectis’ website.
About Cellectis
Cellectis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company using its pioneering gene-editing platform to develop life-saving cell and gene therapies. The company utilizes an allogeneic approach for CAR T immunotherapies in oncology, pioneering the concept of off-the-shelf and ready-to-use gene-edited CAR T-cells to treat cancer patients, and a platform to develop gene therapies in other therapeutic indications. With its in-house manufacturing capabilities, Cellectis is one of the few end-to-end gene editing companies that controls the cell and gene therapy value chain from start to finish.