Making In Vivo Progress in CAR Therapeutic Development

Researchers use in vivo chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) approaches to reprogram immune cells inside living systems, offering more efficient alternatives to traditional ex vivo CAR T development.¹ As scientists work toward moving in vivo CAR methods from concept to clinic, they must ensure that complex, multistep discovery and development workflows yield reliable and biologically meaningful data.

In vivo CAR strategies involve delivering preclinically designed CAR-encoding DNA or mRNA to a patient’s T cells directly, for example via viral vectors or nanoparticle-based carriers.^1,2 In vivo CARs must meet specific criteria, including precise T cell targeting, high gene editing efficiency, and low toxicity.² As such, it is essential to begin lead antibody screening with high-quality recombinant antigens and CAR target proteins that adequately recapitulate target epitopes.

Candidate CARs are first generated and evaluated in living model systems.² Flow cytometry is central to evaluating expression and cell identity.³ Optimized panels simplify CAR-positive cell detection while simultaneously profiling immune subsets and activation states. Labeled target proteins, including fluorescently labeled proteins, also streamline lead analysis by enabling direct detection. This integrated view helps researchers correlate receptor expression with phenotype and function.

CRISPR gene editing allows researchers to interrogate CAR signaling pathways or enhance persistence in vivo. For clinical translation, high-fidelity Cas9 variants are essential.² Finally, as mRNA-based therapeutic strategies gain traction, mRNA quality control (QC) assays during vector construction are critical to ensure integrity and reliability in therapeutic applications.

To accelerate in vivo CAR research and manufacturing, ACROBiosystems has developed a series of labeled and unlabeled CAR-T target proteins, flow cytometry protocols for detecting CAR positive rates, and high editing efficiency Cas nucleases for vector construction. Together, these reagents form an interconnected quality framework that supports confident decision-making throughout in vivo CAR discovery and development.

Learn more about materials for in vivo CAR discovery and development.