Blockade or Deletion of IFNγ Reduces Macrophage Activation without Compromising CAR T-cell Function in Hematologic Malignancies

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells induce impressive responses in patients with hematologic malignancies but can also trigger cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a systemic toxicity caused by activated CART cells and innate immune cells. Although IFN gamma production serves as a potency assay for CART cells, its biologic role in conferring responses in hematologic malignancies is not established. Here we show that pharmacologic blockade or genetic knockout of IFN gamma reduced immune checkpoint protein expression with no detrimental effect on antitumor efficacy against hematologic malignancies in vitro or in vivo. Furthermore, IFN gamma blockade reduced macrophage activation to a greater extent than currently used cytokine antagonists in immune cells from healthy donors and serum from patients with CAR T-cell-treated lymphoma who developed CRS. Collectively, these data show that IFN gamma is not required for CAR T-cell efficacy against hematologic malignancies, and blocking IFN gamma could simultaneously mitigate cytokine-related toxicities while preserving persistence and antitumor efficacy. SIGNIFICANCE: Blocking IFN gamma in CAR T cells does not impair their cytotoxicity against hematologic tumor cells and paradoxically enhances their proliferation and reduces macrophage-mediated cytokines and chemokines associated with CRS. These findings suggest that IFN gamma blockade may improve CAR T-cell function while reducing treatment-related toxicity in hematologic malignancies.