Abstract
We have incorporated a positron emission tomography (PET) functionality in T cells expressing a CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) to non-invasively monitor the adoptively transferred cells. We engineered T cells to express CD19-specific CAR, firefly luciferase (ffLuc), and herpes simplex virus type-1 thymidine kinase (TK) using the non-viral-based Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon/transposase system adapted for human application. Electroporated primary T cells were propagated on CD19+ artificial antigen-presenting cells. After 4weeks, 90% of cultured cells exhibited specific killing of CD19+ targets in vitro, could be ablated by ganciclovir, and were detected in vivo by bioluminescent imaging and PET following injection of 2'-deoxy-2'-[18F]fluoro-5-ethyl-1-β-D-arabinofuranosyl-uracil ([18F]FEAU). This is the first report demonstrating the use of SB transposition to generate T cells which may be detected using PET laying the foundation for imaging the distribution and trafficking of T cells in patients treated for B cell malignancies.
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