Evan Weber, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, shared on LinkedIn:

“Memory genes are enriched in CAR T cells that persist and control tumours in patients. But which transcription factors drive beneficial memory programs? We answer this question in our lab’s first paper out today in Nature!

To summarize, the transcription factor, FOXO1, is required for CAR T cell memory and optimal antitumor function. Overexpression of FOXO1 represents a broadly applicable approach to enhance CAR T efficacy against solid and liquid tumors. And FOXO1 activity in patient CAR T cells or TILs correlates with positive clinical outcomes, indicating that FOXO1 is an important biological axis that can be leveraged to enhance T cell-based cancer immunotherapies.

Very proud of Alexander Doan, Katherine Mueller and Andy Chen for leading this work. And so grateful for my former postdoc mentor, Crystal Mackall, for her support in the early stages of this project and through its completion.

Finally, a big THANK YOU to our funders Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and The V Foundation, who believed in this idea before anyone else would.”

Additional information.
Source: Evan Weber/LinkedIn