Modulating the VIP-VIPR pathway reprograms CAR T cells for superior antitumor efficacy in preclinical cancer models
Clinical efficacy with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells is currently limited by numerous factors including poor initial product phenotypes and lack of engagement of endogenous immunity. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is an immunosuppressive neuropeptide, and the antagonism of its receptor (VIPR) on T cells potentiates T cell activation. We demonstrated that VIP suppresses CAR T cell function and engineered CAR T cells to secrete a short peptide drug that antagonizes VIPR (CAR/VIPRa). Armored CAR/VIPRa T cells maintained a memory phenotype and were metabolically quiescent after manufacturing yet mounted a strong bioenergetic response after antigen stimulation. Moreover, CAR/VIPRa T cells potentiated endogenous antitumor immunity through the recruitment of host T cells. In syngeneic and xenogeneic mouse models of hematological and solid tumors, CAR/VIPRa T cells exhibited greater tumor infiltration and maintained a less exhausted memory phenotype, resulting in superior antitumor efficacy. Together, these data show that VIPRa peptides produced by armored CAR T cells can enhance T cell function and boost endogenous immunity, thereby improving tumor control.
Authors
- Kiyoon Min (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6447-6783)
- Edmund K. Waller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0816-6729)
- Christopher Ronald Funk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4113-5038)
- Bradley A. Heller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8487-9088)
- Antonio Ward (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6384-847X)
- Lily Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2959-0094)
- Chrystal Mary Paulos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0784-2601)
- Susan N. Thomas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-232X)
- Jodi Dougan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4271-1288)
- Dejah Blake
- Sarwish Rafiq (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9295-3065)
- Elyse Christensen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2117-1602)
- Subir Goyal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1737-7771)
- Y H Chen
- Christopher C. Porter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8774-0180)
- Heather Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5631-4856)
- Benjamin G. Barwick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9810-3566)
- Anupam Patgiri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4184-5961)
- Fanyuan Zeng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6432-3114)
- Abhijay Mudigonda
- Jaehoon Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2292-2511)
- Yuou Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8675-8055)
- Poonam Yadav (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0280-4136)
- Ruby Freeman
- William Liu
- Paul Chun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2055-7688)
- Abir Muhuri
- Andrew M. Johnson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4417-3155)
- Kory Wells
- Srijon Sarkar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0335-3254)
Institutions
- Georgia Institute of Technology (US)
- Emory University (US)
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (US)
- Healthcentric Advisors (US)
- Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (US)
- OASIS Clinic (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Translational Medicine
- Published
- 2026-07-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.adt9565
- Primary Topic
- CAR-T cell therapy research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00