TS-000906 — Natural Killer (NK) cells express a range of receptors to activate or inhibit certain cellular behavior to kill cancer cells. Additionally, CD38 presenting cells have been used as a marker for cancer stem cells, specifically those that often avoid recognition when common surface antigen processes are used. CARK1 is a phosphorylate that impacts cell growth and development. A team led by Dr. Dean Lee has developed CD38k0 NK cells that they combine with CARK1 to create a series of monoclonal antibodies that targets cancer cells. Along with better cell targeting, this combination improves the efficacy of treatment in comparison to the CAR, NK, or CD38 antibodies as independent components.

TS-000857 — CD33 is a receptor that spans multiple membranes and is expressed on myeloid lineage cells and sometimes lymphoid cells. A team of researchers led by Dr. Dean Lee have found a new way to modify existing CD33 processes to provide Natural Killer (NK) cells the additional ability to recognize cell targets expressing CD33. Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) expresses multiple antigens, where CD33 is the most common. This new process, labeled as CD33-CAR, shows a significant advantage in targeting AML that presents with CD33, especially in cases that resist unmodified NK cells.

TS-000841 — Natural Killer (NK) cells express a range of receptors to activate or inhibit certain cellular behavior to kill cancer cells. In a group study it was found that by using TGFb-imprinting, NK cells are driven to a pro-inflammatory phenotype with hypersecretion of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and GM- CSF. These cells, now TGFbi, had decreased degrees of CD38 at both the RNA and the protein level. Studies performed by Drs. Dean Lee and Marcelo Pereira found that CD38 NK cells can be utilized to target CD38+ multiple myeloma patients and improve their progression-free survival by avoiding death of healthy surrounding cells, as well as enhancement of NK cell function.

TS-000834 — Cancer and their tumors create and thrive in a microenvironment that is highly immune suppressant. By targeting specific genes and genetically modifying natural killer (NK) cells, the clinical outcomes of cancer immunotherapy have the advanced ability to overcome these diseases. NK cells in solid tumors have been reported to exhibit an inactive and dysfunctional state, and expanded NK cells under hypoxic conditions showed a decrease in cytotoxic ability. Drs. Dean Lee and Marcelo Pereira found that by using the developed approach that focuses on Cas9/RNP, the HIF1a in NK cells can permanently overcome the effects of hypoxia without the noted disadvantages of small-molecule inhibitors.