766 Novel bioluminescent bioassays for the discovery and development of T cell redirecting cancer therapies

• Published in: Journal for immunotherapy of cancer 2020-11, Vol.8 (Suppl 3), p.A814-A814
• Main Authors: Ott, Vanessa, Gilden, Julia, Grailer, Jamison, Slater, Michael, Stecha, Pete, Hartnett, Jim, Lazar, Dan, Fan, Frank, Cong, Mei, Cheng, Zhijie Jey
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antigens; Bioassays; Cytokines; Cytotoxicity; Immunotherapy; Lymphocytes; Peptides; T cell receptors
• ISSN: 2051-1426
• DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2020-SITC2020.0766

BackgroundTwo main approaches for T cell-based therapies involve molecular T cell redirection by CD3 bispecific molecules such as bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTE) and cellular T cell redirection by genetic modification of T cells with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) or transgenic T cell receptors (TCR). BiTEs redirect the cytotoxic activity of endogenous polyclonal T cells by simultaneously engaging CD3 on T cells and tumor antigens on target cells. BiTE potency studies have relied on primary cells, which measure target cell killing through redirected T cell cytotoxicity (RTCC) or cytokine release. However, these primary cell-based assays suffer from high donor-to-donor variability, as well as lengthy and hard to implement protocolsMethodsWe have recently developed a new RTCC assay and cytokine immunoassays that are simple, sensitive and can quantitatively measure the potency of BiTEs and similar biologics. In this assay, preactivated cytotoxic T cells and target cells (both in cryopreserved thaw-and-use format) stably expressing a HaloTag-HiBiT fusion protein are co-incubated with a BiTE, which results in lysis of the target cells and subsequent release of the Halotag-HiBiT protein. These HiBiT proteins then bind to extracellular LgBiT provided in the detection reagent and form functional NanoLuc Luciferase to generate luminescence.ResultsThe assay is homogenous, highly sensitive, and has a robust assay window. Use of CAR-T has demonstrated promising results in treating leukemia, while the development of TCR-engineered T cells that can recognize intracellular tumor antigens, is still in early stages. To facilitate the screening and characterization of new transgenic TCRs, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to develop two TCRaß-null reporter T cell lines, which are CD4+ or CD8+. Reintroduction of peptide-specific TCR a and ß chains into TCRaß-null reporter T cell lines results in peptide-dependent TCR activation and luciferase reporter expression. The select expression of CD4 or CD8 in the TCRaß-null reporter T cell lines can enable the development of transgenic TCRs for both MHCI- and MHCII-restricted tumor antigen targets.ConclusionsTogether, these bioluminescent bioassays represent a new set of tools for the discovery and development of T cell-based immunotherapies.