CAR T Cell Adds Scorpion Venom to Tackle Tumor Heterogeneity

A newly engineered CAR T cell that incorporates a peptide isolated from the venom of the deathstalker scorpion has broad brain tumor–binding capabilities that will be investigated in an upcoming clinical trial.

Amy Schleunes

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ABOVE: A deathstalker scorpion
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In chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, patients’ T cells are genetically engineered to recognize an antigen present on the surface of their tumors and destroy cancer cells. According to a study published on March 4 in Science Translational Medicine, a new CAR that incorporates chlorotoxin, a small peptide derived from scorpion venom, binds to a large proportion of brain tumor cells, despite the vast cellular heterogeneity of these cancers. The authors argue that this novel design could have therapeutic benefits for glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer that is notoriously difficult to treat, and have already opened a clinical trial to test their intervention.

The study is “of great significance to the CAR T cell immunotherapy field” because it “presents the development and implementation of a potentially ‘universal’ CAR for the treatment of [glioblastoma],” Luis Sanchez-Perez, a neurosurgeon and immunotherapy researcher at ...

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Meet the Author

Amy Schleunes
A former intern at The Scientist, Amy studied neurobiology at Cornell University and later earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Iowa. She is a Los Angeles–based writer, editor, and communications strategist who collaborates on nonfiction books for Harper Collins and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and also teaches writing at Johns Hopkins University CTY. Her favorite projects involve sharing the insights of science and medicine.
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