Bioengineering T cells to target carbohydrate to treat opportunistic fungal infection

Clinical-grade T cells are genetically modified ex vivo to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to redirect their specificity to target tumor-associated antigens in vivo. We now have developed this molecular strategy to render cytotoxic T cells specific for fungi. We adapted the pattern-recognition receptor Dectin-1 to activate T cells via chimeric CD28 and CD3-ζ (designated “D-CAR”) upon binding with carbohydrate in the cell wall of Aspergillus germlings. T cells genetically modified with the Sleeping Beauty system to express D-CAR stably were propagated selectively on artificial activating and propagating cells using an approach similar to that approved by the Food and Drug Administration for manufacturing CD19-specific CAR ⁺ T cells for clinical trials. The D-CAR ⁺ T cells exhibited specificity for β-glucan which led to damage and inhibition of hyphal growth of Aspergillus in vitro and in vivo. Treatment of D-CAR ⁺ T cells with steroids did not compromise antifungal activity significantly. These data support the targeting of carbohydrate antigens by CAR ⁺ T cells and provide a clinically appealing strategy to enhance immunity for opportunistic fungal infections using T-cell gene therapy.