Engineered CD147-Deficient THP-1 Impairs Monocytic Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Differentiation but Maintains...

CD147 is upregulated in cancers, including aggressive T-ALL. Traditional treatments for T-ALL often entail severe side effects and the risk of relapse, highlighting the need for more efficacious therapies. ADCP contributes to the antitumor response by enhancing the ability of phagocytic cells to engulf cancer cells upon antibody binding. We aimed to engineer CD147^KO THP-1 cells and evaluated their differentiation properties compared to the wild type. A humanized anti-CD147 antibody, HuM6-1B9, was also constructed for investing the phagocytic function of CD147^KO THP-1 cells mediated by HuM6-1B9 in the phagocytosis of Jurkat T cells. The CD147^KO THP-1 was generated by CRISPR/Cas9 and maintained polarization profiles. HuM6-1B9 was produced in CHO-K1 cells and effectively bound to CD147 with high binding affinity (K_D: 2.05 ± 0.30 × 10^-9 M). Additionally, HuM6-1B9 enhanced the phagocytosis of Jurkat T cells by CD147^KO THP-1-derived LPS-activated macrophages (M-LPS), without self-ADCP. The formation of THP-1-derived mMDSC was limited in CD147^KO THP-1 cells, highlighting the significant impact of CD147 deletion. Maintaining expression markers and phagocytic function in CD147^KO THP-1 macrophages supports future engineering and the application of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived macrophages. The combination of HuM6-1B9 and CD147^KO monocyte-derived macrophages holds promise as an alternative strategy for T-ALL.