Gene editing boosts CAR-NK efficacy against...
CMN Briefs
Oct. 1, 2024
CMN Webinar | Wednesday October 30, 2024 | 3:00 pm–4:00 pm CET / 10:00 am–11:00 am EDT
Release the brake: CRISPR editing to boost CAR-NK cell efficacy
On-demand webinar is available - Follow this link
Release the brake: CRISPR editing to boost CAR-NK cell efficacy
Natural killer (NK) cells have high intrinsic cytotoxic capacity, and clinical trials have demonstrated their safety and efficacy for cancer immunotherapy. Expression of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) augments NK cell target specificity, allowing the resulting CAR-NK cells to identify and kill cancer cells that previously evaded the immune system. In contrast to CAR-T cells, NK cell therapies are not associated with graft-versus-host disease, cytokine release syndrome, or neurotoxicity, and the possibility to generate ’off-the-shelf’ doses from healthy donors makes them highly relevant for clinical use.
Despite progress in the field, tumour resistance to CAR-NK cells remains a challenge. Research carried out by Tobias Bexte and colleagues at Goethe University in Frankfurt aims to address that problem obstacle by enhancing the intrinsic anti-tumour capacity of NK cells using CRISPR to overcome therapy resistance. In the last few years, Dr. Bexte has developed non-viral protocols to increase the killing capacity of NK cells using CRISPR-based immune checkpoint gene editing for multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukaemia (Bexte et al., OncoImmunology, 2022; Bexte et al., Nature Communications, 2024). He also played a major role in establishing a non-viral method for the generation of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) NK cells by Sleeping Beauty transposition (Bexte et al., Molecular Therapy, 2024).
What you will learn about in this webinar:
- Advantages of CAR-NK cell therapies
- CRISPR editing to improve the intrinsic killing capacity of NK cells
- How to enhance the potency of CAR-NK cells by CRISPR editing
Webinar Programme (CET time zone):
- 15.00 Welcome and introduction by Karen O'Hanlon Cohrt PhD., Editor-in-chief, CRISPR Medicine News
- 15.05 Tobias Bexte MD PhD / Clinician Scientist in Experimental Immunology and Cell Therapy, Department of Pediatrics, Goethe University Frankfurt
- 15.40 Q & A with Tobias Bexte
- 15.55 Close by CRISPR Medicine News
Speaker | Title:
Tobias Bexte MD PhD / Clinician Scientist in Experimental Immunology and Cell Therapy, Department of Pediatrics, Goethe University Frankfurt | Release the brake: CRISPR editing to boost CAR-NK cell efficacy
Speakers
Tobias Bexte MD PhD / Clinician Scientist in Experimental Immunology and Cell Therapy, Department of Pediatrics, Goethe University Frankfurt
Tobias Bexte is a clinician scientist interested in immune cell therapies and inflammation. He conducts his research and clinical work at Goethe University Frankfurt, within the Department of Pediatrics and the DRK-Blutspendedienst Baden-Württemberg – Hessen at the Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology in Frankfurt am Main. He received his medical training at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University and Charité in Berlin and conducted his medical doctor (MD) research in the Lab of Experimental Immunology and Cell Therapy at Goethe University Frankfurt led by Prof. Evelyn Ullrich.
His research focuses on enhancing the intrinsic anti-tumour capacity of natural killer (NK) cells by genetical modifications designed to overcome therapy resistance. He developed non-viral protocols to increase the killing capacity of NK cells using CRISPR-based immune checkpoint gene editing for multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukaemia (Bexte et al., OncoImmunology, 2022; Bexte et al., Nature Communications, 2024). He also played a major role in establishing a non-viral method for the generation of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) NK cells by Sleeping Beauty transposition (Bexte et al., Molecular Therapy, 2024).
He is a DFG-funded clinician scientist in the INDEEP program at the Goethe University and is a fellow of the excellence program "Mildred Scheel Career Center" (MSNZ) and of the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) School of Oncology. His research has been recognised with several awards, including a Springer Nature Best Basic Science Poster Award and Best Young Abstract at EBMT 2021, as well as two Paper of the Quarter Awards from the German Society for Gene Therapy (DG-GT e.V.) in 2022 and 2024. Additionally, his work on the establishment of non-viral Sleeping Beauty CAR-NK cells received a team award from the Gilead Oncology Grant Program.
Supported by
Lonza Bioscience Solutions provides life science researchers in academic and government institutions as well as major biotech and pharmaceutical organizations worldwide with the tools they need to develop and test critical disease-treating drugs and therapies, from basic research to final product release, including cell culture and discovery technologies, quality control tests and software for biomanufacturing.
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