Autologous T cells engineered to express chimeric antigen receptor against the B cell antigen CD19 (CAR19) are achieving marked leukemic remissions in early-phase trials but can be difficult to manufacture, especially in infants or heavily treated patients. We generated universal CAR19 (UCART19) T cells by lentiviral transduction of non-human leukocyte antigen-matched donor cells and simultaneous transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN)-mediated gene editing of T cell receptor α chain and CD52 gene loci. Two infants with relapsed refractory CD19 B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia received lymphodepleting chemotherapy and anti-CD52 serotherapy, followed by a single-dose infusion of UCART19 cells. Molecular remissions were achieved within 28 days in both infants, and UCART19 cells persisted until conditioning ahead of successful allogeneic stem cell transplantation. This bridge-to-transplantation strategy demonstrates the therapeutic potential of gene-editing technology.

We generated a novel CD19CAR (CAT) with a lower affinity than FMC63, the binder utilised in many clinical studies. CAT CAR T cells showed increased proliferation/cytotoxicity in vitro and enhanced proliferative capacity and anti-tumor activity than FMC63 CAR T cells in a xenograft model. In a clinical study (CARPALL, NCT02443831), 12/14 patients with relapsed/refractory pediatric BALL obtained molecular remission after CAT CAR T cell therapy. CAR T cell expansion compared favourably with published data on other CD19CARs and persistence was demonstrated in 11 of 14 patients at last follow-up. Toxicity was low with no severe cytokine release syndrome. At a median follow up of 14 months, 5/14 patients (37%) remain in molecular CR with circulating CAR T cells.

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SummaryUmbilical cord blood transplant (UCBT) is associated with impaired early immune reconstitution. This might be explained by a lower T‐cell dose infused, the naivety of cord blood T‐cells and the use of in vivo T‐cell depletion. We studied the pattern of early immune reconstitution and the clinical outcome of children undergoing unrelated UCBT when in vivo T‐cell depletion was omitted. Thirty children affected by malignancies (46%) or immunodeficiencies (54%) underwent an unrelated UCBT. Prospective assessment of immune reconstitution and clinical outcome was performed. We observed an unprecedented CD4+ T‐cell reconstitution, with a median cell count at 30 and 60 d post UCBT of 0·3 × 109/l and 0·56 × 109/l, respectively. Early T‐cell expansion was thymic‐independent, with a rapid shift from naïve to central memory phenotype and early regulatory T‐cell recovery. Viral infections were frequent (63%) but resolved rapidly in most cases and virus‐specific T‐lymphocytes were detected within 2 months post‐UCBT. Acute graft‐versus‐host disease (GvHD) was frequent (grade II = 34%, grade III–IV = 16%) but steroid responsive, and the incidence of chronic GvHD was low (14%). The omission of in vivo T‐cell depletion promotes a unique thymic‐independent CD4+ T‐cell reconstitution after unrelated UCBT in children. We postulate that this relates to the specific immunological and ontological qualities of fetal‐derived lymphocytes.