Alba Gonzalez-Junca, PhD, on Logic-gated CAR-NK Cell Development

"By targeting multiple tumor antigens we can target (in the case of AML) the bulk leukemic cells, but also the leukemic stem cells. That will cause better responses and longer remissions. But on the other hand, this can also raise the levels of toxicity on the healthy cells, and that's why the NOT gate is necessary. So the more you expand the tumor-targeting, the more risks you have of healthy tissue toxicity, so that's why both things go hand in hand."

Logic-gated gene circuits can enhance the ability of CAR-NK cells to target tumor antigens, but they can also increase the risks of toxicity to healthy tissue by expanding the range of targeted cells.

Alba Gonzalez-Junca, associate director of Research, Senti Biosciences, presented on the company's logic-gated CAR-NK cell development projects for treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and solid tumors that express the CEA tumor antigen at the Onco Cell Therapy Summit (OCTS) USA 2022, held June 29-30 in Boston, Massachusetts.

CGTLive spoke to Gonzalez-Junca to learn more about logic-gated CAR-NK cells, including their NOT gate, which addresses toxicitiy risks by helping to prevent the killing of healthy cells. She also discussed the adding of cytokines to their CAR-NK cell therapies.