CAR T Cells: Hitting the Pause Button

Abstract

Researchers have shown, preclinically, that the small-molecule inhibitor dasatinib can temporarily halt the action of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells without compromising therapeutic efficacy. Dasatinib's effects are reversible upon drug removal, and the hope is that this strategy could be used to mitigate cytokine release syndrome, a serious side effect of CAR T-cell therapy.