Advances in Universal CAR-T Cell Therapy

• Published in: Frontiers in immunology Vol. 12; p. 744823
• Main Authors: Lin, Haolong, Cheng, Jiali, Mu, Wei, Zhou, Jianfeng, Zhu, Li
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 06-10-2021
• Subjects: cellular immunotherapy; chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy; CRISPR/Cas9; gene editing; Humans; Immunology; Immunotherapy, Adoptive - methods; Immunotherapy, Adoptive - trends; Receptors, Chimeric Antigen - therapeutic use; universal chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy; universal chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy; cellular immunotherapy; chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy; CRISPR/Cas9; gene editing
• ISSN: 1664-3224; 1664-3224
• DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.744823

Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy achieved extraordinary achievements results in antitumor treatments, especially against hematological malignancies, where it leads to remarkable, long-term antineoplastic effects with higher target specificity. Nevertheless, some limitations persist in autologous CAR-T cell therapy, such as high costs, long manufacturing periods, and restricted cell sources. The development of a universal CAR-T (UCAR-T) cell therapy is an attractive breakthrough point that may overcome most of these drawbacks. Here, we review the progress and challenges in CAR-T cell therapy, especially focusing on comprehensive comparison in UCAR-T cell therapy to original CAR-T cell therapy. Furthermore, we summarize the developments and concerns about the safety and efficiency of UCAR-T cell therapy. Finally, we address other immune cells, which might be promising candidates as a complement for UCAR-T cells. Through a detailed overview, we describe the current landscape and explore the prospect of UCAR-T cell therapy.