autologous HBV envelope-specific TCR-redirected T cells

Autologous HBV envelope-specific TCR-redirected T cells is an experimental adoptive cell therapy developed by researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School. The therapy involves harvesting the patient's own peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), expanding them ex vivo, and genetically redirecting them with a T-cell receptor (TCR) specific for the hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) envelope epitope (specifically the HLA-A*02:01-restricted HBs183-91 epitope) using mRNA electroporation or retroviral/lentiviral transduction. The engineered T cells are then reinfused intravenously into the patient to specifically recognize and lyse HBsAg-expressing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. This approach is particularly designed to target HBV-associated HCC relapses after liver transplantation, minimizing the risk of graft rejection by targeting tumor-specific HBV integrations rather than the donor liver. It has been evaluated in early-phase exploratory clinical studies.

Other names

HBV envelope-specific TCR-redirected T cellsHBV-TCR T cellsHBV-TCR-T cellsHBV-specific TCR-redirected autologous T cellsautologous HBV-specific TCR-redirected T cellsautologous ex vivo activated T cells genetically redirected with an HBV envelope-specific T-cell receptor