Abstract 1773: Preclinical characterization of allogeneic Vγ9Vδ2 HER2-TAC T cells for the treatment of HER2-positive solid tumors
Authors: Prosser Suzanna L. , Xu Stacey X. , Wang Ling , Randhawa Ritu R. , Pirati Sailaja , Ravensbergen Laura , Yoo Seungmi , Jung Miyoung , Gheorghiu Laurentia , Gomez Angel , Sandhu Gurleen , Ayers Chris , Rill Donna , Helsen Christopher W. , Bader Andreas G. 
Published: April 2023

Background: The T cell antigen coupler (TAC) is a novel, proprietary chimeric receptor that facilitates the redirection of T cells to tumor cells and activates T cells by co-opting the endogenous T cell receptor complex with the goal to elicit safe and durable anti-tumor responses. TAC01-HER2, a first-in-class, autologous TAC T cell product targeting HER2 (ERBB2), has entered a phase I/II clinical trial in patients with HER2-positive solid tumors. Here, we describe the development of an allogeneic HER2-TAC T cell product based on Vγ9Vδ2 (γδ) T cells which belong to a subset of T cells that recognize target cells in a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) independent manner. Thus, γδ T cells do not cause GvHD and have the potential for allogeneic cell therapy applications.

Materials and Methods: A variety of in vitro and in vivo assays were used to evaluate the potency and safety of HER2-TAC γδ T cells generated from multiple donors. In vitro assays included flow cytometric analysis determining the γδ T cell phenotype, intracellular cytokines, CD69 upregulation, and T cell proliferation. Anti-tumor cytotoxicity was assessed via real-time microscopy-based co-culture assays. Mixed lymphocyte reactions (MLR) were performed to measure cytokine production and proliferation of HER2-TAC γδ T cells in response to HLA mismatches between unrelated donors. In vivo studies examined the anti-tumor effect of HER2-TAC γδ T cells against established solid HER2-expressing tumors.

Results: HER2-TAC γδ T cells selectively reacted to HER2-expressing tumor cells in co-culture, as demonstrated by CD69 upregulation, intracellular cytokine production, increase in proliferation, and cytotoxicity. In contrast, HER2-TAC γδ T cells failed to show activity in MLR assays, potentially indicating that HER2-TAC γδ T cells are free of GvH reactivity. These MLR assays comprised dendritic cells that represent the major HLA subtypes found in North America. In addition, HER2-TAC γδ T cells showed strong anti-tumor efficacy in HER2-positive tumor xenograft models without signs of toxicity.

Conclusions: The in vitro and in vivo data confirm strong and specific activity of HER2-targeted TAC γδ T cells against HER2-expressing tumor models and highlights the potential of the TAC platform in the development of an allogeneic product for therapeutic applications in solid tumors.

Citation Format: Suzanna L. Prosser, Stacey X. Xu, Ling Wang, Ritu R. Randhawa, Sailaja Pirati, Laura Ravensbergen, Seungmi Yoo, Miyoung Jung, Laurentia Gheorghiu, Angel Gomez, Gurleen Sandhu, Chris Ayers, Donna Rill, Christopher W. Helsen, Andreas G. Bader. Preclinical characterization of allogeneic Vγ9Vδ2 HER2-TAC T cells for the treatment of HER2-positive solid tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 1773.