Building on Synthetic Immunology and T Cell Engineering: A Brief Journey Through the History of Chimeric Antigen Receptors

Advancement in our understanding of immune cell recognition and emerging cellular engineering technologies during the last decades made active manipulation of the T cell response possible. Synthetic immunology is providing us with an expanding set of composite receptor molecules capable to reprogram immune cell function in a predefined fashion. Since the first prototypes in the late 1980s, the design of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs; T-bodies, immunoreceptors), has followed a clear line of stepwise improvements from antigen-redirected targeting to designed “living factories” delivering transgenic products on demand. Building on basic research and creative clinical exploration, CAR T cell therapy has been achieving spectacular success in the treatment of hematologic malignancies, now beginning to improve the outcome of cancer patients. In this study, we briefly review the history of CARs and outline how the progress in the basic understanding of T cell recognition and of cell engineering technologies made novel therapies possible.