Costimulation to enhance the antitumor activity of CD19 eng T cells

Background Immunotherapy with T cells or bispecific T cell engagers is one promising approach to improve outcomes for patients with CD19-positive hematological malignancies. We had previously shown that T cells expressing bispecific T cell engagers that recognize CD19 and CD3 (CD19-ENG T cells) are activated in an antigen dependent manner, recruit resident T cells to tumors, and have anti-tumor activity in preclinical models. In this project we now wanted to evaluate if provision of co-stimulation enhances the effector function of CD19-ENG T cells by expressing CD80 and 41BBL on their cell surface (CD19 ENG/costim T cells).