Science Highlights
Published on October 28, 2025
NHP pooled CAR-T screening and optimized designs
by Blood
Maynard LH, Cavanaugh EJ, Zhu H, et al. Pooled CAR-T Screening in Nonhuman Primates Identifies Designs With Enhanced Proliferation, Trafficking, and Persistence. Blood. 2025; (doi: 10.1182/blood.2025028683).
Acknowledging the limitations of murine and primary cell models in predicting clinical outcomes with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, researchers created an immunocompetent nonhuman primate (NHP) alternative for comparing CAR designs. The team generated an array of 20 CARs with diverse costimulatory domains and other characteristics. For the first time, pooled autologous CAR-T arrays were fed into three NHP models. The platforms identified CARs with the MyD88-CD40 design as having significantly better T-cell proliferation, trafficking, and persistence than traditional domains.
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