# A streamlined, high-throughput platform for validation of cancer antigen presentation and isolation of cancer antigen reactive T cells

> **NIH NIH R33** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2021 · $394,894

## Abstract

Abstract
T cell receptor (TCR) based cancer immunotherapies, either infusing expanded patient autologous tumor-
specific T cells or infusing cancer-specific TCR engineered autologous T cells, have shown great clinical benefit
in several types of cancer. However, two challenges have prevented the broad application of these therapies to
many types of cancer. First, there lacks a quick and sensitive method to detect patient-specific presentation of
cancer antigen peptides on the surface of tumor cells. Second, there lacks a rapid method for the isolation of
antigen-specific T cells that can be propagated quickly in vitro to meet the real-time needs of adoptive cell transfer
therapy. These challenges have become road blocks for the application of TCR based cancer immunotherapy
to many types of cancer and have prevented the exploration of other classes of cancer-antigens in addition to
neo-antigens (NeoAs) that also have therapeutic potential, such as cancer germline antigens (CGA).
In this study, we propose the development of AbTR (Antigen sensing-based T cell Recall) technology to address
these two critical challenges in large scale. The AbTR technology will provide a quick and streamlined path to
identify cancer antigens presented on tumor cell from hundreds of possible targets and isolate many antigen-
specific T cell clones that are functionally capable of killing tumor cells and are ready to be used in adoptive cell
transfer therapy. The success of the project address two urgent needs in cancer immunotherapy. This technology
not only can be applied to all types of cancer but may also be relevant for the study of other immunological
diseases, such as infection and autoimmune diseases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10272349
- **Project number:** 1R33CA256086-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Amy Brock
- **Activity code:** R33 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $394,894
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-23 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10272349

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10272349, A streamlined, high-throughput platform for validation of cancer antigen presentation and isolation of cancer antigen reactive T cells (1R33CA256086-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10272349. Licensed CC0.

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