Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2023 Jan 20;82(2):160-168. doi: 10.1093/jnen/nlac121.
Immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) is a prevalent condition seen after treatment with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy and other cancer cell therapies. The underlying pathophysiology and neuropathology of the clinical syndrome are incompletely understood due to the limited availability of brain tissue evaluation from patient cases, and a lack of high-fidelity preclinical animal models for translational research. Here, we present the cellular and tissue neuropathologic analysis of a patient who experienced grade 4 ICANS after treatment with anti-CD19 CAR T therapy for mantle cell lymphoma. Our pathologic evaluation reveals a pattern of multifocal demyelinating leukoencephalopathy associated with a clinical course of severe ICANS. A focused analysis of glial subtypes further suggests region-specific oligodendrocyte lineage cell loss as a potential cellular and pathophysiologic correlate in severe ICANS. We propose a framework for the continuum of neuropathologic changes thus far reported across ICANS cases. Future elucidation of the mechanistic processes underlying ICANS will be critical in minimizing neurotoxicity following CAR T-cell and related immunotherapy treatments across oncologic and autoimmune diseases.
免疫效应细胞相关神经毒性综合征(ICANS)是嵌合抗原受体 T 细胞(CAR T)疗法和其他癌细胞疗法治疗后常见的病症。由于患者病例脑组织评估的可用性有限,以及缺乏用于转化研究的高保真临床前动物模型,因此该临床综合征的潜在病理生理学和神经病理学仍不完全清楚。在这里,我们介绍了一名接受抗 CD19 CAR T 疗法治疗套细胞淋巴瘤后出现 4 级 ICANS 的患者的细胞和组织神经病理学分析。我们的病理评估显示出多灶性脱髓鞘性脑白质病的模式,与严重 ICANS 的临床病程相关。对神经胶质亚型的重点分析进一步表明,在严重 ICANS 中,特定区域的少突胶质细胞谱系细胞丢失可能是一种潜在的细胞和病理生理学相关性。我们提出了一个框架,用于描述迄今为止在 ICANS 病例中报告的连续神经病理学变化。阐明 ICANS 背后的机制过程对于在癌症和自身免疫性疾病中减少 CAR T 细胞和相关免疫疗法治疗后的神经毒性至关重要。