TIGIT blockade in the context of BCMA-CART cell therapy does not augment efficacy in a multiple myeloma mouse model

TIGIT blockade in the context of BCMA-CART cell therapy does not augment efficacy in a multiple myeloma mouse model

BCMA-directed CAR-T therapies have shown promising results in multiple myeloma (MM). However, patients continue to relapse. T cell exhaustion with increased TIGIT expression is a resistance mechanism which was confirmed in CAR-T cells from ARI0002h trial, an academic CAR-T developed in our instituti...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Aina Oliver-Caldes, Joan Mañe Pujol, Anthony M. Battram, Lorena Perez-Amill, Mireia Bachiller, Hugo Calderon, Maria Castella, Judit Carpio, Sergi V. Salsench, Natalia Tovar, Oriol Cardus, Alvaro Urbano-Ispizua, David F. Moreno, Luis Gerardo Rodríguez-Lobato, Ester Lozano, Laura Rosiñol, Manel Juan, Beatriz Martín-Antonio, Carlos Fernández de Larrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:OncoImmunology
Subjects:
CAR-T cell therapy
multiple myeloma
TIGIT blockade
BCMA-CAR-T
CRISPR/Cas9
4th generation CAR-T
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2162402X.2025.2529632
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:BCMA-directed CAR-T therapies have shown promising results in multiple myeloma (MM). However, patients continue to relapse. T cell exhaustion with increased TIGIT expression is a resistance mechanism which was confirmed in CAR-T cells from ARI0002h trial, an academic CAR-T developed in our institution. We aimed to analyze the impact of blocking TIGIT on the efficacy of ARI0002h. We used three different strategies to block TIGIT: (1) Addition of an external blocking anti-TIGIT-antibody (Ab), (2) Modify ARI0002h into a 4th generation CAR-T, named ARITIGIT, capable of secreting a soluble TIGIT-blocking scFv and (3) TIGIT knock-out in ARI0002h using CRISPR/Cas9. Each strategy was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Adding a TIGIT-blocking Ab to ARI0002h improved in vitro cytotoxicity, but failed to enhance mice survival. The new 4th generation CAR-T, ARITIGIT, was also unable to achieve better survival outcomes despite favoring the in vivo model by using a myeloma cell line with high expression of the TIGIT ligand PVR. Interestingly, when mice were challenged with a second infusion of tumor cells, mimicking a relapse model, a trend for improved survival with ARITIGIT was observed (p = 0.11). Finally, TIGIT-knock-out on ARI0002h (KO-ARI0002h) using CRISPR/Cas9 showed similar in vitro activity to ARI0002h. In an in vivo stress model, TIGIT KO-ARI0002h prolonged survival (p = 0.02). However, this improvement was not significant compared to ARI0002h (p = 0.07). This study failed to demonstrate a significant benefit of TIGIT-blockade on ARI0002h cells despite using three different approaches, suggesting that targeting a single immune checkpoint may be insufficient.
ISSN:2162-402X

Similar Items