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CAR-T cell therapy targeting surface expression of TYRP1 to treat cutaneous and rare melanoma subtypes.

Sameeha JilaniJustin D SacoEdurne MugarzaAleida Pujol-MorcilloJeffrey ChokryClement NgGabriel Abril-RodriguezDavid Berger-ManerioAmi PantJane HuRubi GuptaAgustin Vega-CrespoIgnacio Baselga-CarreteroJia Ming ChenDaniel Sanghoon ShinPhilip O ScumpiaRoxana A RaduYvonne ChenAntoni RibasCristina Puig-Saus
Published in: Nature communications (2024)
A major limitation to developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies for solid tumors is identifying surface proteins highly expressed in tumors but not in normal tissues. Here, we identify Tyrosinase Related Protein 1 (TYRP1) as a CAR-T cell therapy target to treat patients with cutaneous and rare melanoma subtypes unresponsive to immune checkpoint blockade. TYRP1 is primarily located intracellularly in the melanosomes, with a small fraction being trafficked to the cell surface via vesicular transport. We develop a highly sensitive CAR-T cell therapy that detects surface TYRP1 in tumor cells with high TYRP1 overexpression and presents antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo in murine and patient-derived cutaneous, acral and uveal melanoma models. Furthermore, no systemic or off-tumor severe toxicities are observed in an immunocompetent murine model. The efficacy and safety profile of the TYRP1 CAR-T cell therapy supports the ongoing preparation of a phase I clinical trial.
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