PTGFRN CAR-T cell therapy studied as a potential therapeutic target for glioblastoma
Kuroda H, Kijima N, Kishima H, et al. Prostaglandin F2 Receptor Negative Regulator as a Potential Target for Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cell Therapy for Glioblastoma. Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy. 2025; 74 (136) (doi: 10.1007/s00262-025-03979-4).
Scientists believe prostaglandin F2 receptor negative regulator (PTGFRN) is a possible target for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in patients with glioblastoma (GBM). The cell-surface transmembrane protein is expressed in multiple cancer types. It was identified as a candidate for this particular tumor of the brain after investigators created a library of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against tumor cell lines derived from GBM patients. A screening process selected antibodies that reacted with cancer cells in resected tissues of patients but that did not react with healthy human brain cells. Antigens that were detected were identified through expression cloning. Among approximately 3,200 clones, the mouse mAb 5E17 recognized PTGFRN and reacted with tumor cells in six of seven GBM patients. Nonmalignant human brain cells were left undisturbed. CAR T cells engineered from 5E17 displayed anti-tumor behavior when exposed to cancer cells from GBM patients, both on co-culture and in an orthotopic xenograft murine model. Investigators say 5E17 must be humanized before launching clinical trials.