Development of chimeric antigen receptors targeting the γδ T cell receptor

T cell malignancies expressing γδ T cell receptors (TCRs) have poor prognoses. No approved treatments specifically target γδ T cell malignancies. To address this deficiency, we aimed to develop chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) targeting the γδ TCR. We generated a panel of CARs with variations in antigen-recognition domains, hinge and transmembrane (HTM) domains, and costimulatory domains. We expressed CARs in human T cells by γ-retroviral transduction. By assessing CAR T cell cytokine release in response to γδ TCR-expressing target cells, we identified two single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) with superior antigen specificity for the γδ TCR. CARs containing one of the two scFvs, which was designated maximal gamma-delta-long (MGDL), exhibited higher transduction efficiency. We compared three MGDL-containing CARs: MGDL-28Z (CD28 HTM and costimulatory domains), MGDL-CD828Z (CD8α HTM domains and CD28 costimulatory domain), and MGDL-CD8BBZ (CD8α HTM domains and 4-1BB costimulatory domain). Levels of antigen-specific cytokine release were higher for T cells expressing MGDL-28Z compared with the other MGDL CARs. We tested T cells expressing the three MGDL-containing CARs in two murine γδ T cell leukemia treatment models. MGDL-28Z-expressing T cells caused the most anti-leukemia activity and longest mouse survival. These findings support testing MGDL-28Z-expressing T cells in a clinical trial.