Chimeric antigen receptor T cells targeting cell surface GRP78 efficiently kill glioblastoma and cancer stem cells

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma (GBM) is recognized as among the most aggressive forms of brain tumor. Patients typically present with a five-year survival rate of less than 6% with traditional surgery and chemoradiotherapy, which calls for novel immunotherapies like chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells therapy. In response to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in multiple tumor cells including GBM, the glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) expression increases and the protein is partially translocated to the cell surface, while it is restricted to the cytoplasm and the nucleus in normal cells. METHODS: In this study, to target the cell surface GRP78 (csGRP78), CAR-T cells based on its binding peptide were generated. In vitro two GBM cell lines and glioma stem cells (GSCs) were used to confirm the localization of csGRP78 and the cytotoxicity of the CAR-T cells. In vivo a GBM xenograft model was used to assess the killing activity and the safety of the CAR-T cells. RESULTS: We confirmed the localization of csGRP78 at the cell surface of two GBM cell lines (U-251MG and U-87MG) and in GSCs. Co-culture experiments revealed that the CAR-T cells could specifically kill the GBM tumor cells and GSCs with specific IFN-γ release. Furthermore, in the tumor xenograft model, the CAR-T cells could decrease the number of GSCs and significantly suppress tumor cell growth. Importantly, we found no obvious off-target effects or T cell infiltration in major organs following systemic administration of these cells. CONCLUSIONS: The csGRP78 targeted CAR-T cells efficiently kill GBM tumor cells and GSCs both in vitro and in vivo, and ultimately suppress the xenograft tumors growth without obvious tissue injuries. Therefore, our study demonstrates that csGRP78 represents a valuable target and the csGRP78-targeted CAR-T cells strategy is an effective immunotherapy against GBM. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-023-04330-0.