Tumor-specific T cell activation by recombinant immunoreceptors: CD3 zeta signaling and CD28 costimulation are simultaneously required for efficient IL-2 secretion and can be integrated into one combined CD28/CD3 zeta signaling receptor molecule.

Abstract Recombinant immunoreceptors with specificity for the carcinoembryonic Ag (CEA) can redirect grafted T cells to a MHC/Ag-independent antitumor response. To analyze receptor-mediated cellular activation in the context of CD28 costimulation, we generated: 1) CEA+ colorectal tumor cells that express simultaneously B7-1 and B7-2, and 2) CEA-specific immunoreceptors that harbor intracellularly the signaling moities either of CD28 (BW431/26-scFv-Fc-CD28), CD3ζ (BW431/26-scFv-Fc-CD3ζ), or FcεRIγ (BW431/26-scFv-Fc-γ). By retroviral gene transfer, we grafted activated T cells from the peripheral blood with these immunoreceptors. T cells that express the FcεRIγ or CD3ζ signaling receptor lyse…