The Cellular Immunotherapy Revolution: Arming the Immune System for Precision Therapy

Richard D Paucek; David Baltimore; Guideng Li

doi:10.1016/j.it.2019.02.002

The Cellular Immunotherapy Revolution: Arming the Immune System for Precision Therapy

Trends Immunol. 2019 Apr;40(4):292-309. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2019.02.002. Epub 2019 Mar 11.

Authors

Richard D Paucek¹, David Baltimore², Guideng Li³

Affiliations

¹ Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA; David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
² Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA; Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI), University of California Los Angeles and California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA; Center of Systems Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; Suzhou Institute of Systems Medicine, Suzhou, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 30871979
DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2019.02.002

Abstract

Immunotherapy treatments harnessing the patient's immune system herald a new era of personalized medicine, offering hope for curative responses in patients with serious illnesses. Cell-mediated immunity can eliminate cancer cells and provide durable remissions. This often relies on repurposing cytotoxic T cell activity through modified T cell receptors or chimeric antigen receptors. Furthermore, synthetic biology has expanded the cell engineering toolkit to provide immune cells with more functionality, including disease targeting, potency, and safety. We focus on T cell-based immunotherapy, highlighting discoveries of genetic engineering and therapeutic use. We also examine emerging paths that could be undertaken to improve this novel class of drugs, and discuss the challenges of toxicities as well as other limitations of cellular immunotherapy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Humans
Immunotherapy*
Neoplasms / immunology
Neoplasms / therapy*
Precision Medicine*