1568-Synthetic Transcription Factors for CAR T Cells

This paper describe the development of DESynR, a high-throughput molecular platform designed to engineer synthetic transcription factors by recombining protein domains from natural gene families. By shuffling these structural building blocks, researchers created thousands of non-natural genes that were screened to enhance the therapeutic performance of CAR T cells. The study identifies specific synthetic variants, such as JUN-FOS-BATF, that significantly outperform natural proteins in promoting antitumor immunity, persistence, and cytotoxicity. These engineered factors work by reprogramming T cells into optimized, non-natural states, co-opting gene modules from other tissues to resist exhaustion. Ultimately, the research demonstrates that reconfiguring existing evolutionary components can unlock latent cellular functions for advanced cancer immunotherapy.References:Takacsi-Nagy O, Kasinathan S, Hartman A, et al. Synthetic transcription factors designed by domain recombination enhance CAR T cell antitumor function[J]. Cell, 2026.前往小宇宙评论区与主播互动