journal article·2025-08Open access

An Engineered Soluble Single‐Chain TCR Engager for KRAS‐G12V Specific Tumor Immunotherapy

Keke Ma, Jie Wang, Min Jiang, Juanhua He, Fangyang Li, Dan Lu, Chao Su, Yan Chai, Wenjing Jin, Yu Chen, Catherine W.H. Zhang, Xiaopeng Ma, Hui Tan, George F. Gao, Shuguang Tan

Advanced Science· Volume 12· Issue 31

Abstract

Abstract T cell receptor (TCR) based immunotherapy is an attractive strategy to target a wide range of intra‐tumoral antigens and elicit robust tumor cytotoxicity. However, engineering soluble TCR engagers that preserve physiological affinity is crucial for universal TCR drug development, yet remains challenging. In the present study, multiple TCR engagers featuring diverse architectures based on the KRAS‐G12V specific 1–2C TCR in the context of HLA‐A*11:01 is designed and evaluated. Notably, a soluble tandem double single‐chain TCR (STanD‐scTCR) engager, comprising two repeated single‐chain variable fragment (scFv) TCRs, exhibit enhanced binding avidity and potent T‐cell activation. Through site‐directed mutagenesis, T96F mutation (T96F‐TCR) within the TCR β chain is identified, which substantially augment T cell reactivity while maintaining physiological affinity and minimizing off‐target cross‐reactivity. The T96F‐mutated STanD‐scTCR engager demonstrates improved antigen sensitivity, promotes multi‐functional T‐cell responses, and facilitates immune synapse formation between T cells and target cells. In a xenograft tumor model harboring the KRAS‐G12V mutation, the TCR engager displays substantial tumor suppression efficacy. These findings underscore the therapeutic potential of 1–2C STanD‐scTCR engage in targeting KRAS‐G12V mutations in the context of HLA‐A*11:01. Furthermore, the engineering strategies employ in the development of STanD‐scTCR engager provide an invaluable for future designs of TCR engager drugs.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: CAR-T cell therapy research · Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research · Immunotherapy and Immune Responses

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Infectious Diseases Shenzhen Children's Hospital Shenzhen 518026 China

CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology Institute of Microbiology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100101 China

Innovative Vaccine and Immunotherapy Research Center the Second Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine Hangzhou 310009 China

Medical School University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100101 China

YKimmu (Beijing) Biotechnology Co. Ltd Beijing 100000 China

Department of Immunology Beijing Children's Hospital Capital Medical University National Centre for Children's Health Beijing 100045 China

School of Medicine Zhongda Hospital Southeast University Nanjing 210009 China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · Chinese Academy of Sciences · Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province

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