Ito Yusuke, Suzuki Toshihiro, Shimomura Manami, Takenouchi Kazumasa, Ohnuki Kazunobu, Shoda Kayoko, Kenmochi Yuka, Yagyu Shigeki, Matsuura Kazuto, Hayashi Ryuichi, Nakatsura Tetsuya
Division of Cancer Immunotherapy, Exploratory Oncology Research and Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Japan.
Department of Head and Neck Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan.
Cancer Sci. 2025 May;116(5):1227-1238. doi: 10.1111/cas.70023. Epub 2025 Mar 3.
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) represents the most common type of oral cancer, and its prognosis remains poor. In this study, we found that almost OSCC cases showed high Ephrin type-B receptor 4 (EPHB4) expression that was mainly localized on the membrane of tumor cells. Therefore, EPHB4 represents a potential target of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for OSCC treatment. Because the oral cavity can be directly accessed, local administration of CAR-T cells is feasible for treating OSCC. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of intratumoral injection of EPHB4-specific CAR-T cells in OSCC using xenograft models. To evaluate the anti-tumor effect, the SAS OSCC cell line or an OSCC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumor was subcutaneously implanted into NOD SCID gamma mice, and EPHB4-CAR-T cells were intratumorally injected twice. As expected, administration of CAR-T cells suppressed tumor growth of both SAS cells and PDX tumor. EPHB4 expression in tumor tissues was attenuated by CAR-T cell treatment, which was accompanied by a reduction in tumor area and accumulation of CAR-T cells. Our findings suggest that intratumoral injection of EPHB4-CAR-T cells represents a potential therapeutic strategy for OSCC.
口腔鳞状细胞癌(OSCC)是最常见的口腔癌类型,其预后仍然很差。在本研究中,我们发现几乎所有OSCC病例均显示Ephrin B型受体4(EPHB4)高表达,且主要定位于肿瘤细胞膜上。因此,EPHB4是嵌合抗原受体(CAR)T细胞疗法治疗OSCC的潜在靶点。由于口腔可直接进入,局部给予CAR-T细胞治疗OSCC是可行的。在本研究中,我们使用异种移植模型研究了瘤内注射EPHB4特异性CAR-T细胞治疗OSCC的疗效。为评估抗肿瘤效果,将SAS OSCC细胞系或OSCC患者来源的异种移植(PDX)肿瘤皮下植入NOD SCIDγ小鼠体内,并瘤内注射EPHB4-CAR-T细胞两次。正如预期的那样,给予CAR-T细胞可抑制SAS细胞和PDX肿瘤的生长。CAR-T细胞治疗使肿瘤组织中的EPHB4表达减弱,同时伴有肿瘤面积减小和CAR-T细胞聚集。我们的研究结果表明,瘤内注射EPHB4-CAR-T细胞是治疗OSCC的一种潜在治疗策略。
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