Engineering Natural Killer Cells to Increase their Potency

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The immune system has evolved to specifically recognize, target and kill infection and malignant cells. However, in several severe diseases, its capacity is dampened by the infectious agent or the tumor environment, limiting its scope of efficacy. For example, the severity of COVID-19 disease has been associated with a decreased number of immune cytotoxic cells, and these cells were found to be exhausted, meaning that they could no longer do their role in an effective way. In this proposal, we propose to apply state-of-the-art gene and cell engineering to the immune system to create tools that could be used to control viral infections or cancer. Natural Killer (NK) cells, which are white blood cells specialized in detection and elimination of viral infected cells and malignant cells, are interesting cell candidate to harness as they are safe and they can be administered regardless the compatibility of the donor. Hence, it would be interesting to modify them to enhance their potency. However, NK cells are notoriously difficult to engineer. To circumvent this issue, we have built a team of academic researchers in cell engineering and a Canadian biotechnology company, Feldan Therapeutics. Our team develops techniques to engineer NK cells to be more resistant to exhaustion (Feldan Therapeutic's technology) and to make them recognize more efficiently malignant cells or cells infected by virus, such as the SARS-CoV-2 (Dr. Haddad's laboratory's technology). In this project, we will devise innovative ways to create a new generation of engineered NK cells with increased potency and we will test the impact of these modifications on their function, survival and safety. If proven effective, this technology would be versatile and could significantly impact Feldan's business strategy by positioning the company as a leader in cell-based immuno-oncology by providing a breakthrough technology based on their Shuttle technology.