Improving Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy Using Engineering Biology and Mechanobiological Approach

利用工程生物学和力学生物学方法改进嵌合抗原受体 (CAR) T 细胞疗法

• 批准号: 10074571
• 金额: $ 6.37万
• 依托单位: STEMBOND TECHNOLOGIES LTD
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Grant for R&D
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10074571
• 关键词: Improving; Chimeric; Antigen; Receptor; CAR

Why are cells not regularly used as medicine?If our cells repair us, keep us safe from pathogens and form our immune system, why do we not grow more in laboratories to help our bodies when needed?This is the basis of cell-based medicine: using cells to produce therapeutic products or to be transplanted into patients as therapy.One of the main applications of cell therapy today is cancer treatment. In this, the 'T cells' responsible for destroying cancers are transplanted to patients who need them. The concept is simple, but the execution is exceptionally difficult.The difficulty is keeping T cells 'happy' when taken from a patient or donor. As soon as cells leave the body, they begin to change, stop functioning as they should, and eventually, die.Biologists have typically used complex chemical environments to force cells to function and multiply in laboratory cultures. We now know, however, that the chemical environment is only half of the picture; cells must 'feel' that their mechanical environment is right for them. If we are to control the activation of T cells to multiply, their laboratory environment must have the same mechanical properties (such as stiffness) as naturally in a body.T cell activation and expansion are significant barriers to the cost-effective scaling of cell therapies, despite becoming a gold standard for many diseases, including cancer and arthritis.Cost-effective scaling and improved function of cell therapies can only be achieved through advanced engineering biology approaches.StemBond Technologies uses advanced material science to make cell culture environments that support optimal cell function. By controlling the mechanical environment of culture to optimise cell function, we will overcome the most significant obstacle to effective cell therapies. We will develop stiffness-modulatory microspheres to control T cell activation, increasing expansion yield, reducing cell exhaustion, and improving targeting.With this advancement, we will be one step closer to the routine use of cells as medicine.

为什么细胞不经常用作药物？如果我们的细胞修复我们，使我们免受病原体的保护并形成免疫系统，为什么我们在需要时不得在实验室中生长更多的人来帮助我们的身体？这是基于细胞的药物的基础：使用细胞产生治疗产物或将其移植到患者中作为治疗。今天的细胞治疗是癌症治疗的一种细胞治疗。在这方面，负责破坏癌症的“ T细胞”将移植给需要它们的患者。这个概念很简单，但是执行极为困难。从患者或捐助者那里取走时，困难是使T细胞保持“快乐”。一旦细胞离开身体，它们就会开始改变，不断停止运作，并最终死亡。生物学家通常使用复杂的化学环境来迫使细胞在实验室培养物中发挥作用和繁殖。但是，我们现在知道，化学环境只是图片的一半。细胞必须“感觉到”其机械环境适合他们。如果我们要控制T细胞繁殖的激活，它们的实验室环境必须具有与身体自然相同的机械性能（例如刚度）。T细胞激活和扩展是细胞治疗成本效益的缩放量表的重要障碍，尽管它成为许多疾病的金色标准，包括许多疾病，包括癌症和关节炎，可以改善的型号的范围。 Technologies使用先进的材料科学来制造支持最佳细胞功能的细胞培养环境。通过控制培养的机械环境以优化细胞功能，我们将克服有效细胞疗法的最重要障碍。我们将开发刚度调节的微球以控制T细胞的激活，增加膨胀产量，减少细胞耗尽并改善靶向。随着这一进步，我们将更接近常规使用细胞作为药物。