Faster and safer development of CAR T cells against cancer

Johan Henriksson and his colleagues are building a large database that will help improve future cancer treatment.

ImageMattias Pettersson

Cancer cells are adept at hiding among normal cells, making them difficult for the immune system to detect and destroy. One treatment already used in healthcare is CAR T-cell therapy. In this approach, T cells are extracted from a patient’s blood, reprogrammed to attack cancer cells, and then returned to the body.

To create better and more effective CAR T cells, researchers have so far conducted experiments in mice, but the results do not always translate to humans.

"Needles in a haystack"

Johan Henriksson’s research group is working with a new technique called single-cell analysis. It involves identifying CAR T cells in which a gene has accidentally been knocked out during production. By studying these cells, the researchers can learn which genes can aid best in treating cancer. The method is a modernised version of an older screening technique that Johan Henriksson became interested in through a collaboration with Laura Carroll, who studies bacteria at the Department of Clinical Microbiology.

“We are looking for needles in a haystack. But the technology we’ve developed makes this project finally possible,” he says.

To find these rare cells, Johan Henriksson and his colleagues will need to build the largest single-cell database ever created – twenty times larger than the well-known Human Cell Atlas, which was developed by nearly 1,000 laboratories together.

More affordable cancer treatment

“The technology is extremely expensive, so this is really just a pilot project. Once we’ve shown that the method delivers useful data, we hope that companies can take over and scale up the technology. Much of the research at Umeå University is only possible thanks to generous contributions from the Kempestiftelserna foundations, which originate from MoDo and the paper industry. It would be fantastic if the data we generate could lead to new businesses in Västerbotten and give something back,” says Johan Henriksson.

According to him, the project has great potential to accelerate the development of next-generation CAR T cells. The need for effective and, above all, more affordable cancer treatments is enormous. Today, CAR T-cell therapy for a single patient can cost up to SEK 5 million.

“If we can improve efficiency and reduce side effects, this could make the treatment available to more patients. CAR T cells also have the potential to cure other diseases that are difficult to target with conventional drugs,” says Johan Henriksson.