Many tumors over express tumor-associated antigens relative to normal tissue, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). This limits targeting by human T cells modified to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) due to potential for deleterious recognition of normal cells. We sought to generate CAR+ T cells capable of distinguishing malignant from normal cells based on the disparate density of EGFR expression by generating two CARs from monoclonal antibodies which differ in affinity. T cells with low affinity Nimo-CAR selectively targeted cells over-expressing EGFR, but exhibited diminished effector function as the density of EGFR decreased. In contrast, the activation of T cells bearing high affinity Cetux-CAR was not impacted by the density of EGFR. In summary, we describe the generation of CARs able to tune T-cell activity to the level of EGFR expression in which a CAR with reduced affinity enabled T cells to distinguish malignant from non-malignant cells.

In mammals, the formative environment for social and anxiety-related behaviors is the family unit; in the case of rodents, this is the litter and the mother-young bond. A deciding factor in this environment is the sex ratio of the litter and, in the case of mice lacking functional copies of gene(s), the ratio of the various genotypes in the litter. Both Sex and Genotype ratios of the litter affect the nature and quality of the individual's behavior later in adulthood, as well as metabolic activity in brain nuclei that underlie these behaviors. Mice were raised in litters reconstituted shortly after to birth to control for sex ratio and genotype ratio (wild type pups versus pups lacking a functional estrogen receptor α). In both males and females, the Sex and Genotype of siblings in the litter affected aggressive behaviors as well as patterns of metabolic activity in limbic nuclei in the social behavior network later in adulthood. Further, this pattern in males varied depending upon the Genotype of their brothers and sisters. Principal Components Analysis revealed two components comprised of several amygdalar and hypothalamic nuclei; the VMH showed strong correlations in both clusters, suggesting its pivotal nature in the organization of two neural networks.

T cells genetically modified to stably express immunoreceptors are being assessed for therapeutic potential in clinical trials. T cells expressing a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) are endowed with a new specificity to target tumor-associated antigen (TAA) independent of major histocompatibility complex. Our approach to non-viral gene transfer in T cells uses ex vivo numeric expansion of CAR+ T cells on irradiated artificial antigen presenting cells (aAPC) bearing the targeted TAA. The requirement for aAPC to express a desired TAA limits the human application of CARs with multiple specificities when selective expansion through co-culture with feeder cells is sought. As an alternative to expressing individual TAAs on aAPC, we expressed one ligand that could activate CAR+ T cells for sustained proliferation independent of specificity. We expressed a CAR ligand (designated CARL) that binds the conserved IgG4 extracellular domain of CAR and demonstrated CARL+ aAPC propagate CAR+ T cells of multiple specificities. CARL avoids technical issues and costs associated with deploying clinical-grade aAPC for each TAA targeted by a given CAR. Employing CARL enables one aAPC to numerically expand all CAR+ T cells containing the IgG4 domain, and simplifies expansion, testing, and clinical translation of CAR+ T cells of any specificity.

Background:Methotrexate targets dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and thymidylate synthase (TYMS) to prevent cancer growth, and increases DHFR expression when applied. Results: TYMS resistant to methotrexate inhibits the methotrexate induced increase in DHFR expression. Conclusion: Thymidine synthesis regulates post-transcriptional expression of DHFR and TYMS. Significance: Methotrexate-resistant DHFR and TYMS can be used to regulate cis and trans transgene in primary T cells.