# MECHANICALLY-OPTIMIZED SYNTHETIC DENDRITIC CELLS FOR THE EXPANSION OF ANTIGEN-SPECIFIC T CELLS

> **NIH NIH R21** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $190,625

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Dendritic cells (DC) are responsible for initiating the most antigen-specific immune responses. In particular,
DCs form an immunological synapse with T cells, orchestrated by three main signals, which forms the basis for
antigen-specific immune responses. For high-throughput production of T cells specific to sub-dominant tumor-
associated antigens, DC-like biological and mechanical properties should be emulated in culture platforms
used for T cell expansion. The existing culture platforms with DC-like properties are made of rigid materials,
which disable the movement of effector molecules required for T cell receptor clustering and thus remain
inefficient in activating T cells. The central goal of this proposal is to fabricate synthetic DCs out of matrices
whose mechanical properties are optimized for maximal expansion of antigen-specific central memory T cells.
This research is organized around two key goals: (1) to develop mechanically optimized synthetic DCs
providing three signals for efficient T cell expansion, and (2) to fabricate the stiffness-optimized synthetic
micro-DCs for T cell growth in the form of 3D microcapsules. Successful completion of the proposed aims will
provide a new paradigm for expanding T cells against individualized tumor-specific mutational antigens through
interaction with novel mechanically optimized synthetic DCs. While this project is `high-risk', given the novel
integration of biological and mechanical signals through synthetics DCs, it will launch a new direction for T cell
manufacturing and may lead to `high-payoff' outcomes in the fields of immunoengineering and immunotherapy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9832659
- **Project number:** 5R21EB024767-03
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Eynav Yafit Klechevsky
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $190,625
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-02-01 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9832659

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9832659, MECHANICALLY-OPTIMIZED SYNTHETIC DENDRITIC CELLS FOR THE EXPANSION OF ANTIGEN-SPECIFIC T CELLS (5R21EB024767-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9832659. Licensed CC0.

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