T cell engineering as therapy for cancer and HIV: our synthetic future

• Published in: Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences Vol. 370; no. 1680; p. 20140374
• Main Authors: June, Carl H., Levine, Bruce L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Royal Society 19.10.2015
• Subjects: Cancer; Cell Engineering - methods; Cell Engineering - trends; Genetic Engineering; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV Infections - therapy; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Immunotherapy; Immunotherapy, Adoptive; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating - immunology; Neoplasms - immunology; Neoplasms - therapy; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell - genetics; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell - immunology; Recombinant Fusion Proteins - genetics; Recombinant Fusion Proteins - immunology; Review; Synthetic Biology; T-Lymphocytes - immunology; synthetic biology; cancer; immunotherapy
• ISSN: 0962-8436; 1471-2970; 1471-2970
• DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0374

It is now well established that the immune system can control and eliminate cancer cells. Adoptive T cell transfer has the potential to overcome the significant limitations associated with vaccine-based strategies in patients who are often immune compromised. Application of the emerging discipline of synthetic biology to cancer, which combines elements of genetic engineering and molecular biology to create new biological structures with enhanced functionalities, is the subject of this overview. Various chimeric antigen receptor designs, manufacturing processes and study populations, among other variables, have been tested and reported in recent clinical trials. Many questions remain in the field of engineered T cells, but the encouraging response rates pave a wide road for future investigation into fields as diverse as cancer and chronic infections.