Abstract
The success of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies for treating leukemia has resulted in a booming interest for the technology. Expression of a CAR in T cells allows redirection of their natural cytolytic activity toward cells presenting a specific designated surface antigen. Although CAR T cell therapies have thus far shown promising results mostly in B cell malignancy trials, interest in their potential to treat other diseases is on the rise, including using CAR T cells to control human immunodeficiency virus infection. The assessment of CAR T cell potency toward specific targets in vitro is a critical preclinical step. In this study, we describe novel assays that monitor the cytotoxicity of candidate CAR T cells toward simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infected CD4 T cells. The assays involve live cell imaging using a fluorescence microscopy system that records in real time the disappearance or appearance of targets infected with SIV carrying a fluorescent protein gene. The assays are highly reproducible, and their rapid turn around and reduced cost present a significant advance regarding the efficient preclinical evaluation of CAR T cell constructs and are broadly applicable to potential human diseases that could benefit from CAR T cell therapy.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 998-1009 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2020 |
Keywords
- CAR T cell
- cytotoxicity
- fluorescent proteins
- immunodeficiency virus
- real-time
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Infectious Diseases
- Virology
- Immunology