CAR T Cell Generation by Transposition from Linear Doggybone DNA Vectors Requires Transposon DNA-Flanking Regions.

CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR19) T cells, generated using viral vectors, are an efficacious but costly treatment for B cell malignancies. The nonviral transposon system provides a simple and inexpensive alternative for CAR19 T cell production. Until now, has been plasmid based, facilitating economical vector amplification in bacteria. However, amplified plasmids have several undesirable qualities for clinical translation, including bacterial genetic elements, antibiotic-resistance genes, and the requirement for purification to remove endotoxin. Doggybones (dbDNA) are linear, covalently closed, minimal DNA vectors that can be inexpensively produced enzymatically at large scale. Importantly, they lack the undesirable features of plasmids. We used dbDNA incorporating to generate CAR19 T cells. Initially, expression of functional transposase was evident, but stable CAR expression did not occur. After excluding other causes, additional random DNA flanking the transposon within the dbDNA was introduced, promoting stable CAR expression comparable to that of using plasmid components. Our findings demonstrate that dbDNA incorporating can be used to generate CAR T cells and indicate that there is a requirement for DNA flanking the transposon to enable effective transposition. dbDNA may further reduce the cost and improve the safety of CAR T cell production with transposon systems.