CD7-specific CAR-T cells

CD7-specific CAR-T cells are a type of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy designed to target and eliminate CD7-positive cancer cells. The CAR construct typically consists of an anti-CD7 single-chain variable fragment (scFv) for antigen recognition, a CD137 (4-1BB) co-stimulatory domain, and a CD3ζ intracellular signaling domain for T-cell activation. This therapy is being developed for the treatment of relapsed or refractory T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL), and other CD7-positive hematologic malignancies. A critical aspect of this therapy involves engineering the CAR-T cells to be CD7-negative themselves, often through natural selection methods, to prevent fratricide (self-killing) among the CAR-T cells, as CD7 is also expressed on normal T cells.