1
|
Dobersberger M, Sumesgutner D, Zajc CU, Salzer B, Laurent E, Emminger D, Sylvander E, Lehner E, Teufl M, Seigner J, Bobbili MR, Kunert R, Lehner M, Traxlmayr MW. An engineering strategy to target activated EGFR with CAR T cells. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2024; 4:100728. [PMID: 38492569 PMCID: PMC11045874 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2024.100728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have shown remarkable response rates in hematological malignancies. In contrast, CAR T cell treatment of solid tumors is associated with several challenges, in particular the expression of most tumor-associated antigens at lower levels in vital organs, resulting in on-target/off-tumor toxicities. Thus, innovative approaches to improve the tumor specificity of CAR T cells are urgently needed. Based on the observation that many human solid tumors activate epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on their surface through secretion of EGFR ligands, we developed an engineering strategy for CAR-binding domains specifically directed against the ligand-activated conformation of EGFR. We show, in several experimental systems, that the generated binding domains indeed enable CAR T cells to distinguish between active and inactive EGFR. We anticipate that this engineering concept will be an important step forward to improve the tumor specificity of CAR T cells directed against EGFR-positive solid cancers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Markus Dobersberger
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Delia Sumesgutner
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, Austria; CD Laboratory for Next Generation CAR T Cells, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Charlotte U Zajc
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, Austria; CD Laboratory for Next Generation CAR T Cells, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Benjamin Salzer
- CD Laboratory for Next Generation CAR T Cells, 1090 Vienna, Austria; St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, CCRI, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Elisabeth Laurent
- BOKU Core Facility Biomolecular & Cellular Analysis, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Dominik Emminger
- CD Laboratory for Next Generation CAR T Cells, 1090 Vienna, Austria; St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, CCRI, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Elise Sylvander
- CD Laboratory for Next Generation CAR T Cells, 1090 Vienna, Austria; St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, CCRI, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Elisabeth Lehner
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, Austria; CD Laboratory for Next Generation CAR T Cells, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Magdalena Teufl
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, Austria; CD Laboratory for Next Generation CAR T Cells, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Jacqueline Seigner
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, Austria; Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Animal Cell Technology and Systems Biology, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Madhusudhan Reddy Bobbili
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, Austria; Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Traumatology, Research Center in Cooperation with AUVA, 1200 Vienna, Austria
| | - Renate Kunert
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Animal Cell Technology and Systems Biology, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Manfred Lehner
- CD Laboratory for Next Generation CAR T Cells, 1090 Vienna, Austria; St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, CCRI, 1090 Vienna, Austria; St. Anna Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael W Traxlmayr
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, Austria; CD Laboratory for Next Generation CAR T Cells, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wagner A, Galicia-Andrés E, Teufl M, Gold L, Obinger C, Sykacek P, Oostenbrink C, Traxlmayr MW. Identification of Activating Mutations in the Transmembrane and Extracellular Domains of EGFR. Biochemistry 2022; 61:2049-2062. [PMID: 36148499 PMCID: PMC9535940 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is frequently mutated in human cancer, most notably non-small-cell lung cancer and glioblastoma. While many frequently occurring EGFR mutations are known to confer constitutive EGFR activation, the situation is less clear for rarely detected variants. In fact, more than 1000 distinct EGFR mutations are listed in the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC), but for most of them, the functional consequence is unknown. To identify additional, previously unknown activating mutations in EGFR, we screened a randomly mutated EGFR library for constitutive EGFR phosphorylation using a recently developed high-throughput approach termed PhosphoFlowSeq. Enrichment of the well-known activating mutations S768I, T790M, and L858R validated the experimental approach. Importantly, we also identified the activating mutations S442I and L658Q located in the extracellular and transmembrane domains of EGFR, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, neither S442I nor L658Q has been associated with an activating phenotype before. However, both have been detected in cancer samples. Interestingly, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations suggest that the L658Q mutation located in the hydrophobic transmembrane region forms intermolecular hydrogen bonds, thereby promoting EGFR dimerization and activation. Based on these findings, we screened the COSMIC database for additional hydrophilic mutations in the EGFR transmembrane region and indeed detected moderate constitutive activation of EGFR-G652R. Together, this study demonstrates that unbiased screening for activating mutations in EGFR not only yields well-established substitutions located in the kinase domain but also activating mutations in other regions of EGFR, including the extracellular and transmembrane domains.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anja Wagner
- Department
of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
- Department
of Biotechnology, Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Edgar Galicia-Andrés
- Department
of Material Sciences and Process Engineering, Institute of Molecular
Modeling and Simulation, University of Natural
Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
- Department
of Forest and Soil Sciences, Institute of Soil Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Magdalena Teufl
- Department
of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Lukas Gold
- Department
of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Christian Obinger
- Department
of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Peter Sykacek
- Department
of Biotechnology, Institute for Computational Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Chris Oostenbrink
- Department
of Material Sciences and Process Engineering, Institute of Molecular
Modeling and Simulation, University of Natural
Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael W. Traxlmayr
- Department
of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|