Background: The complex preparation procedures and severe toxicities are two major obstacles facing the wide use of chimeric antigen receptor-modified T (CAR-T) cells in clinical cancer immunotherapy. The nanotechnology-based T cell temporary CAR modification may be a potential approach to solve these problems and make the CART cell-based tumor therapy feasible and broadly applicable. Methods: A series of plasmid DNA-loaded self-assembled nanoparticles (pDNA@SNPs x/y) prepared from adamantane-grafted polyamidoamine (Ad-PAMAM) dendrimers of different generations (G1 or G5) and cyclodextrin-grafted branched polyethylenimine (CD-PEI) of different molecular weights (800, 2000, or 25,000 Da) were characterized and evaluated. The detailed physicochemical properties, cellular interaction, and cytotoxicity of selected pDNA@SNP G1/800 were systematically investigated. Thereafter, the epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) CAR-expression plasmid vector (pEGFRvIII-CAR) was constructed and encapsulated into SNP G1/800. The resulting pEGFRvIII-CAR@SNP G1/800 was used for Jurkat cell transient transfection, and the EGFRvIII-CAR expressed in transfected cells was measured by flow cytometry and Western blot. Finally, the response of EGFRvIII CAR-positive Jurkat T cell to target tumor cell was evaluated. Results: The pDNA@SNP G1/800 showed the highest efficacy in Jurkat cell gene transfection and exhibited low cytotoxicity. pEGFRvIII-CAR@SNP G1/800 can efficiently deliver pEGFRvIII-CAR into Jurkat T cells, thereby resulting in transient EGFRvIII-CAR expression in transfected cells. EGFRvIII-CAR that is present on the cell membrane enabled Jurkat T cells to recognize and bind specifically with EGFRvIII-positive tumor cells. Conclusion: These results indicated that pEGFRvIII-CAR@SNP G1/800 can effectively achieve T-cell transient CAR modification, thereby demonstrating considerable potential in CART cancer therapy.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.