Validation of Artificial Feeder Cell Lines for the Expansion of Armed Natural Killer Cells for Immunotherapy of Tumors and Autoimmune Diseases (CAReNK-AID)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research - BMBF and SaxoCell
The aim of this research project is to validate different artificial feeder cell lines regarding their suitability to expand genetically modified CAR-NK cells. The aim is to expand CAR-NK cells in high purity and large numbers in order to enable later clinical application.
Furthermore, the expanded NK cells will be examined with regard to various activation and exhaustion markers as well as their cytotoxic potential. The CAR-NK cells are directed against either PSCA-, EGFRvIII-positive tumor cells or CD19-positive autoimmune B lymphocytes.
Overexpression of the tumor-associated antigen PSCA is found in many tumor entities, such as prostate carcinoma and gliomas.
- EGFRvIII, in turn, is a tumor-specific neo-antigen and thus an ideal target for the treatment of a particularly aggressive form of brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme.
- On the other hand, CD19-positive autoimmune B lymphocytes play an important role in the development of type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that occurs mainly in childhood and adolescence.