Engineering armoured in vivo CAR T cells through targeted delivery and transient mRNA gating

Abstract

In vivo generation of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells offers an off-the-shelf, scalable alternative to ex-vivo therapies, but is constrained by inefficiency, toxicity and durability. We report the first armoured in-vivo CAR T platform with tunable, transient activity, that enhances safety and efficacy. Our platform utilises CD8 targeted lipid nanoparticles (LNP) to transiently deliver CAR and armouring membrane-bound IL12 mRNAs. Payloads utilize a T-cell-restricted (T-trex) strategy to constrain CAR and IL-12 expression to T cells, enabling potent antigen-dependent activity with spatio-temporal control. Selective targeting of T-cells with a T-trex CAR showed enhanced expression. The addition of T-trex IL12 mRNA provides a tunable, localised amplification of CAR function, enhancing antigen-dependent cytotoxicity and cytokine production with robust tumour control. These findings establish a novel dose-efficient armoured in-vivo CAR T approach and general framework for programmable immune cell engineering.