Human chimeric antigen receptor neutrophils to treat cancer

Purdue University

Researchers at Purdue University have developed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) neutrophils for the targeted treatment of cancer. Currently, cell therapies for cancer such as CAR T cells and CAR natural killer cells show promise. However, neutrophils, the most abundant white blood cell type, have not been used in cell therapy due to their short half-life and resistance to genetic modification. The Purdue researchers genetically engineered human pluripotent stem cells, which they successfully differentiated into CAR neutrophils. The researchers demonstrated their CAR neutrophils in vitro, showing the power to kill multiple cancer cell types, with the highest cell killing efficiency against a glioblastoma cell line.

Advantages:

Off-the-shelf source of cells
Derived from human pluripotent stem cells
Chemically-defined, GMP-compatible platform
High tumor cell killing ability in vitro

Potential Applications:

Neutropenia treatment
Cancer therapy
Targeted drug delivery
Glioblastoma therapy