Xenetic Biosciences Reports DNase I Enhances CAR-T Cell Persistence and Survival in ASCO 2026 Data
核心洞察
Xenetic Biosciences presented preclinical data at ASCO 2026 demonstrating that DNase I significantly enhances CAR-T (搜索) cell expansion, persistence, and antitumor efficacy in aggressive hematologic cancer models.
The study showed DNase I degrades extracellular DNA (搜索) and neutrophil extracellular traps (搜索) that drive CAR-T (搜索) cell exhaustion, improving CD8-positive T cell ratios and reducing exhaustion markers PD-1 (搜索), LAG-3 (搜索), and TIM-3 (搜索).
In vivo studies using NALM-6 B cell leukemia (搜索) and Raji Burkitt lymphoma (搜索) models demonstrated improved tumor control, delayed relapse, and prolonged survival with DNase I combination therapy.
Xenetic Biosciences presented compelling preclinical data at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting demonstrating that DNase I significantly enhances CAR-T (搜索) cell expansion, persistence, and antitumor efficacy in aggressive hematologic cancer models. The findings position DNase I as a potentially transformative adjunct therapy for CAR-T treatment in aggressive B cell malignancies.
Targeting Immunosuppressive Barriers
The poster presentation, titled "Targeting cfDNA and NETs with DNase I Augments CAR T-Cell Function and Antitumor Efficacy," highlights evidence that extracellular DNA (搜索) and neutrophil extracellular traps (搜索) (NETs) act as key drivers of CAR-T (搜索) cell exhaustion and persistence, leading to therapeutic failure. The findings demonstrate that DNase I degrades these immunosuppressive barriers and restores CAR-T functionality.
In preclinical studies, DNase I efficiently degraded extracellular DNA (搜索), preserved CAR-T (搜索) cell effector function, improved CD8-positive T cell ratios and reduced expression of exhaustion markers including PD-1 (搜索), LAG-3 (搜索) and TIM-3 (搜索) across multiple rounds of tumor rechallenge in vitro.
Enhanced Efficacy in Cancer Models
In vivo studies demonstrated significant therapeutic benefits across multiple hematologic cancer models. DNase I significantly enhanced CAR-T (搜索) cell expansion and persistence following infusion in both NALM-6 B cell leukemia (搜索) and Raji Burkitt lymphoma (搜索) xenograft models. Combination therapy with DNase I resulted in improved tumor control, delayed relapse upon rechallenge and prolonged survival compared to CAR T-cell therapy alone.
Clinical Translation Evidence
The poster also includes translational observations from a pediatric patient with highly refractory Burkitt lymphoma (搜索), where DNase I co-administration was associated with marked CAR-T (搜索) cell expansion and progressive reduction in tumor burden following prior CAR-T cell failure.
"These findings continue to strengthen the growing body of evidence implicating extracellular DNA (搜索) and NETs as important contributors to immune suppression and therapeutic resistance in cancer," said James Parslow, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Xenetic Biosciences. "We believe these data highlight the potential for DNase I to serve as a differentiated adjunctive immuno-oncology strategy capable of improving CAR T-cell persistence and durability across difficult-to-treat hematologic malignancies."
Broader Platform Development
The findings further support Xenetic's broader DNase-based immuno-oncology platform designed to improve outcomes of existing cancer therapies, including immunotherapies and cell therapies, through targeting NET-driven immune suppression within the tumor microenvironment. Xenetic is currently focused on advancing its systemic DNase program into the clinic as an adjunctive therapy for pancreatic carcinoma (搜索) and locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors.
The data were presented by Alexey V. Stepanov, PhD, during the Hematologic Malignancies - Plasma Cell Dyscrasia poster session at the ASCO 2026 annual meeting on June 1, 2026.