Cell Source Unveils Breakthrough in Off-the-Shelf CAR-T Cell Therapy at ASH Meeting
At the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Cell Source, Inc. introduced promising preclinical research that could revolutionize the field of allogeneic cell therapy. The study, titled "Overcoming NK Cell-Mediated Allograft Rejection by Anti-Third Party Central Memory Veto CD8 T Cells through Down-Regulation of the Activating Receptor DNAM-1 on Alloreactive NK Cells," demonstrates how the company's proprietary Veto Cell technology effectively suppresses natural killer (NK) cell-mediated rejection without triggering adverse effects such as host T-cell proliferation or graft-versus-host disease (GvHD).
This innovative approach involves the selective modulation of the DNAM-1 activating receptor on NK cells, facilitated by the DNAM-1 ligand CD155, thereby enhancing the safety and efficacy of allogeneic CAR-T therapies under mild conditioning regimens. The findings suggest a significant step forward in the development of off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapies, which are anticipated to be safer, less costly, and more scalable than current autologous approaches.
Dr. Yair Reisner, Professor of Stem Cell Transplantation at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and lead of the study, emphasized the importance of these findings in advancing cancer immunotherapy. The research not only highlights a novel pathway to overcome barriers in allogeneic CAR-T therapy but also aligns with Cell Source's broader vision of improving immune tolerance for safer mismatched donor stem cell and organ transplants.
Cell Source's Veto Cell technology, developed under the guidance of Professor Reisner and exclusively licensed from The Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, aims to create safer, donor-derived CAR-T therapy and enhance the accessibility of stem cell and organ transplants. The company is focused on advancing this technology into additional clinical trials to develop safe and curative cell therapy treatments from mismatched donors, as well as durable and efficacious off-the-shelf immunotherapy and immuno-oncology products.