使用 [18F]四氟硼酸盐正电子发射断层扫描/计算机断层扫描对 CAR-T 细胞进行动态成像

T cells genetically engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) have shown unprecedented results in pivotal clinical trials for patients with B cell malignancies or multiple myeloma (MM).

However, numerous obstacles limit the efficacy and prohibit the widespread use of CAR T cell therapies due to poor trafficking and infiltration into tumor sites as well as lack of persistence in vivo.

Moreover, life-threatening toxicities, such as cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity, are major concerns. Efficient and sensitive imaging and tracking of CAR T cells enables the evaluation of T cell trafficking, expansion, and in vivo characterization and allows the development of strategies to overcome the current limitations of CAR T cell therapy.

This paper describes the methodology for incorporating the sodium iodide symporter (NIS) in CAR T cells and for CAR T cell imaging using [ 18 F]tetrafluoroborate-positron emission tomography ([ 18 F]TFB-PET) in preclinical models. The methods described in this protocol can be applied to other CAR constructs and target genes in addition to the ones used for this study.