Antitumor activity of T cells secreting αCD133-αCD3 bispecific T-cell engager against cholangiocarcinoma

PLoS One. 2022 Mar 21;17(3):e0265773. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265773. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a lethal cancer of bile duct epithelial cells with a high mortality rate and limited therapeutic options. An effective treatment is, therefore, urgently needed to improve treatment outcomes for these patients. To develop a new therapeutic option, we engineered T cells secreting αCD133-αCD3 bispecific T-cell engager and evaluated their antitumor effects against CD133-expressing CCA cells. The cDNA encoding αCD133-αCD3 bispecific T-cell engager (αCD133-αCD3-ENG) was cloned into pCDH lentiviral construct and its expression was tested in Lenti-X 293T cells. T cells from healthy donors were then transduced with engineered lentiviruses to create T cells secreting αCD133-αCD3 engager to evaluate their antitumor activities. The average transduction efficiency into T cells was approximately 60.03±21.65%. In the co-culture system containing T cells secreting αCD133-αCD3 engager (as effector cells) and mWasabi-luciferase-expressing CCA cells (KKU-100 and KKU-213A; as target cells), the effector T cells exhibited significantly higher cytolytic activities against the target CCA cells (49.0±9.76% and 64.10±13.18%, respectively) than those observed against the untransduced T cells (10.97±10.65%; p = 0.0103 and 9.80±11.05%; p = 0.0054) at an effector-to-target ratio of 5:1. In addition, the secreted αCD133-αCD3 engager significantly redirected both transduced T cells and bystander T cells to kill the target CCA cells (up to 73.20±1.68%; p<0.05). Moreover, the transduced and bystander T cells could kill the target CCA spheroids at a rate approximately 5-fold higher than that of the no treatment control condition (p = 0.0011). Our findings demonstrate proof-of-principle that T cells secreting αCD133-αCD3 engager can be an alternative approach to treating CD133-positive CCA, and they pave the way for future in vivo study and clinical trials.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Bispecific* / metabolism
  • Bile Duct Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cholangiocarcinoma* / pathology
  • Coculture Techniques
  • Humans
  • T-Lymphocytes / metabolism

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bispecific

Grants and funding

PY was supported by grants from the International Research Network (grant numbers IRN58W0001) and the Siriraj Research Fund of the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University (grant numbers R016034008 and R016334002). TS was supported by a grant from the International Research Network (grant numbers IRN5801PHDW02). KS was supported by a grant from the International Research Network (grant number IRN5801PHDW04). MJ was supported by a Siriraj Chalermphrakiat Grant from the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University and Specific League Funds from Mahidol University. The funders have played no role in the research. There was no additional external funding received for this study.