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Cells
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Advancements in Immunotherapy and CAR T Cell Therapy: Unleashing the...
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Advancements in Immunotherapy and CAR T Cell Therapy: Unleashing the Power of the Immune System Against Cancer

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cellular Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2025 | Viewed by 562

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Pradeep K. Shukla

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
Interests: gut-liver-brain axis; microbiota; metagenomics; stress; ionization radiation; fetal alcohol
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

CAR T cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy designed to enhance the immune system's ability to identify and combat cancer cells. The process involves extracting T cells from the patient's bloodstream and modifying them in a laboratory setting to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that specifically target proteins found on cancer cells. Subsequently, these modified T cells are reintroduced into the patient's body through infusion. Once within the patient, these CAR T cells can actively locate and eradicate cancer cells bearing the targeted protein.

Dr. Pradeep K. Shukla
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cells is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • CAR T
  • immunotherapy
  • cancer
  • chimeric antigen receptors

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1105 KiB  
Article
Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cells Releasing Soluble SLAMF6 Isoform 2 Gain Superior Anti-Cancer Cell Functionality in an Auto-Stimulatory Fashion
by Dennis Christoph Harrer, Tim Schlierkamp-Voosen, Markus Barden, Hong Pan, Maria Xydia, Wolfgang Herr, Jan Dörrie, Niels Schaft and Hinrich Abken
Cells 2025, 14(12), 901; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14120901 - 14 Jun 2025
Viewed by 306
Abstract
T cells equipped with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) have evolved into an essential pillar of lymphoma therapy, reaching second-line treatment. In solid cancers, however, a dearth of lasting CAR T cell activation poses the major obstacle to achieving a substantial and durable anti-tumor [...] Read more.
T cells equipped with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) have evolved into an essential pillar of lymphoma therapy, reaching second-line treatment. In solid cancers, however, a dearth of lasting CAR T cell activation poses the major obstacle to achieving a substantial and durable anti-tumor response. To extend T cell cytotoxic capacities, we engineered CAR T cells to constitutively release an immunostimulatory variant of soluble SLAMF6. While wild-type SLAMF6 induces T cell exhaustion, CAR T cells with the soluble Δ17-65 SLAMF6 variant exhibited refined, CAR redirected functionality compared to canonical CAR T cells. CD28-ζ CAR T cells releasing soluble SLAMF6 increased IFN-γ secretion and augmented CD25 upregulation on CD4+ CAR T cells upon CAR engagement by pancreatic carcinoma and melanoma cells. Moreover, under conditions of repetitive antigen encounter, SLAMF6-secreting CAR T cells evinced superior cytotoxic capacity in the long term. Mechanistically, SLAMF6-secreting CAR T cells showed predominantly a central memory phenotype, a PD-1- TIGIT- double negative profile, and reduced expression of exhaustion-related transcription factors IRF-4 and TOX with augmented amplification and persistence capacities. Overall, CAR T cells engineered with the release isoform 2 SLAMF6 establish an auto-stimulatory loop with the potential to boost the cytolytic attack against solid tumors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Immunotherapy and CAR T Cell Therapy: Unleashing the Power of the Immune System Against Cancer)
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