Science Spotlight: Ultrasound-controlled CAR T cells

A team led by  Acoustic Cell Therapy Inc. co-founder Yingxiao Wang developed CAR T cells that are only activated locally with focused ultrasound, reducing off-tumor toxicity and CAR T exhaustion.

The CAR T cells, dubbed EchoBack-CAR Ts, use a heat-shock promoter that is only activated within an ultrasound-targeted region. Ultrasound energy generates mild heating in the tumor microenvironment, triggering the heat shock promoter to initiate CAR expression. Once activated, the CAR T cells sense tumor-specific antigens and ‘echo’ the initial ultrasound stimulus by amplifying their own activation only in the presence of the antigens. When the CAR T cells migrate away from tumors, the CAR molecules gradually degrade...