Study Finds Serum Replacement Improves Efficacy of Nonviral CAR T-cell Therapy for Blood Cancer Treatment

CAR T-cell therapy is a new treatment for certain types of blood cancer that involves genetically engineering T cells to target cancer cells. The therapy involves growing and expanding CAR T-cells in the laboratory. A common way to genetically engineer T cells is by using a viral vector, but nonviral methods such as the piggyBac transposon system have also been used. The use of fetal bovine serum (FBS) as a supplement for T-cell and CAR T-cell growth has raised concerns due to the risk of contamination and immune reactions. Therefore, alternative serum supplements have been developed, but little is known about their effect on nonviral-based CAR T-cells. This study evaluated the effect of different serum supplements on piggyBac CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (PB CD19 CAR T-cells) and found that serum replacement (SR), a serum-free chemically defined reagent, produced CAR T-cells that were better at fighting the cancer and grew better over time. This study provides evidence for the feasibility of using SR as an alternative serum source for PB CD19 CAR T-cell production.