PRE2023-OPTI-CAR-T-Superando los retos actuales de la inmunoterapia CAR-T frente a la leucemia LLA-T-PID2022-138880OB-I00

This predoctoral contract (former FPI program) is linked to the project “Overcoming current challenges of CAR‐T cell immunotherapy for T‐ALL leukemia with optimized CAR constructs (TRuCs) and universal, off‐the‐shelf, effector allogeneic T cells (OPTI‐CAR‐T)” (PID2022‐138880OB‐I00) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICIN) and the State Research Agency (AEI). The widespread use of Chimeric Antigen Receptor- (CAR-) engineered T cells for immunotherapy is still in its infancy owing to important limitations The project is aimed at investigating and validating independent, but complementary, molecular and cellular innovative strategies focusing on optimisation of target recognition structures (chimeric antigen receptors, CARs) and effector T cells armed with them, which, in combination, are expected to overcome current challenges of CAR‐T immunotherapy for T‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T‐ALL). The general goal is to optimize the expression and function of endogenously regulated TCR‐fused CAR constructs (TRuCs) that target a surface molecule specifically expressed on T‐ALL cells, in combination with the production of universal, allogeneic effector CAR‐T cells (uCAR‐T) to express them, as the foundations of a next generation, off‐the‐shelf, universal CAR‐T immunotherapy for relapsed/refractory T-ALL validated in preclinic.