Science Highlights
Published on November 02, 2026
Optimizing CD176 as a Target for CAR-T Cell Therapy
by Cancer Immunology Research
Malinconico C, Weber J, Polzien AJ, et al. Inducible IL-12 or IL-18 Secreting CAR T Cells Targeting the Glyco-Antigen CD176 Exhibit Potent Activity Against Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in Preclinical Models. Cancer Immunology Research. 2026; (doi: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-25-1399).
New findings demonstrate the potential of CD176-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells as a novel treatment pathway for non-small cell lung cancer and other malignancies. Investigators engineered CAR-T cells to target CD176 — an oncofetal carbohydrate expressed in multiple cancers and associated with invasiveness and metastasis — and armored them with IL-18 or IL-12 for optimal antitumor reactivity. In a lung carcinoma xenograft murine model, CD176-iIL12-TRUCKs were twice as effective as CD176-iIL18-TRUCKs in achieving partial or complete tumor eradication in treated mice. The success rate was 100% with IL-12 and 50% with IL-18. Each of the enhanced products outperformed CD176-CAR-T cells, both in a 3D tumor spheroid model and when applied to tissue slices derived from patients with lung adenocarcinoma.
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Cancer Immunology Research