The following content was featured in a recent Abstracts newsletter distributed by ASTCT. The Abstracts newsletter highlights the latest research in the clinical research and translational science studies aspects of transplantation and cellular therapy. 

Agliardi G, Liuzzi AR, Hotblack A, et al. Intratumoral IL-12 Delivery Empowers CAR-T Cell Immunotherapy in a Pre-Clinical Model of Glioblastoma. Nature Communications. 2021; (doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-20599-x).

Local delivery of IL-12 may serve as an effective adjuvant for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based immunotherapy for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive form of primary brain cancer, according to new research. In an immunocompetent, orthotopic GBM mouse model, CAR-T cells targeting tumor-specific epidermal growth factor receptor variant III were not sufficient to control tumor growth. However, the combination of a single, locally delivered dose of IL-12 with systemic infusion of CAR-T cells resulted in strong anti-tumor responses. IL-12 increased the cytotoxicity of CAR-T cells and reshaped the tumor microenvironments, furthering greater infiltration of CD4+ T cells, lower numbers of regulatory T cells, and activation of the myeloid compartment. The data also found that local delivery of IL-12 has minimal systemic effects.

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Tags: CAR-T, patient care, Immunity, Cell, Therapy, GBM, Delivery, Boosts