CAR-T cell engineered with TCR-like antibody specific for HBV surface antigen epitope E183–91/HLA-A *0201 exhibit potent activity against HBV-HCC

CAR-T cell therapy demonstrates significant efficacy in hematologic malignancies, with target selection critically determining therapeutic outcomes. However, the available tumor surface antigens are limited, especially in the treatment of solid tumors. A potential solution to overcome this limitation entails employing antibodies recognizing peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) structures, enabling CAR-T cell to detect intracellular tumor antigens through a T cell receptor (TCR)-like recognition mechanism. This study focuses on HBV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC), where HBV DNA integration into the host genome generates specific viral antigen epitopes presented by MHC class I molecules, representing attractive targets for CAR-T cell therapy. We engineered CAR-T cells with a TCR-like antibody (HBs183 CAR-T) specific for the immunodominant HBV envelope epitope Env183-191 presented by HLA-A *0201, and evaluated the antigen-specific cytotoxicity and safety profile of the CAR-T cells through in vitro functional assays and in vivo evaluation in heterogenous tumor models (subcutaneous and intraperitoneal xenografts). Our research provides a reference for CAR-T cell therapy targeting intracellular antigens, particularly specific antigens derived from viral infections, as targets for CAR-T treatment, and offers a preliminary concept validation for the CAR-T treatment of HBV-HCC tumors.