Inspired by CAR-T, researchers present technique to ‘turbocharge’ B cells to produce targeted antibodies

The research conducted by the University of Southern California (USC) was published in Nature Biomedical Engineering

Scientists may have found a way to use antibody-producing B cells in surveillance machines that can produce antibodies that specifically target cancer cells or HIV.

In a study published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have developed a technique to modify the genes of immune cells called B cells, making them better at fighting off even the most insidious invaders. The work is a major step forward in harnessing the power of antibodies to treat diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s to arthritis.

“In some diseases or conditions, the natural antibodies produced by B cells are just not effective enough,” said lead author Paula Cannon, professor emeritus of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “HIV is a great example of this. It’s constantly mutating, staying one step ahead of the antibodies that are sent to it. We thought that one way to defeat B cells might be to make an antibody that was so broad in its ability to ‘see’ HIV that HIV couldn’t easily mutate around it.”

The beauty of this technique, the researchers say, is that it can be adapted to produce a wide range of different antibodies.

For this project, the researchers were inspired by CAR T (chimeric antigen receptor) cells, “living drugs” designed to target specific targets. They have revolutionized the treatment of blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. With CAR T therapy, T cells—sister cells to B cells—are extracted from a patient’s blood and genetically modified to identify cancer cells by recognizing a marker on their surface. Millions of cells are then infused into the patient’s body, where they fight the disease and then disappear.

B cells behave differently, making them better suited to fighting chronic disease. They function as both a safety system and an antibody factory, residing long-term in the bone marrow, lymph nodes, and spleen, and activating when needed.