Anti-CD166/4-1BB chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy for the treatment of osteosarcoma

BACKGROUND: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells have displayed outstanding performance in the treatment of patients with hematological malignancies. However, their efficacy against solid tumors has been largely limited. METHODS: In this study, human osteosarcoma cell lines were prepared, flow cytometry using antibodies against CD166 was performed on different cell samples. CD166-specific T cells were obtained by viral gene transfer of corresponding DNA plasmids and selectively expanded using IL-2 and IL-15. The ability of CD166.BBζ CAR-T cells to kill CD166(+) osteosarcoma cells was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: CD166 was selectively expressed on four different human osteosarcoma cell lines, indicating its role as the novel target for CAR-T cell therapy. CD166.BBζ CAR-T cells killed osteosarcoma cell lines in vitro; the cytotoxicity correlated with the level of CD166 expression on the tumor cells. Intravenous injection of CD166.BBζ CAR-T cells into mice resulted in the regression of the tumor with no obvious toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: Together, the data suggest that CD166.BBζ CAR-T cells may serve as a new therapeutic strategy in the future clinical practice for the treatment of osteosarcoma. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-019-1147-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.