The CXCL16/CXCR6 axis is linked to immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy.

BACKGROUND

Immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) is a common and potentially life-threatening complication of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. The underlying mechanisms of ICANS remain incompletely understood and are unlikely to be explained by cytokine excess alone.

METHODS

We analyzed paired peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from CAR T cell-treated patients who developed ICANS (n = 11) within 5-21 days post-infusion. ICANS severity was graded as follows: grade 1 (n = 3), grade 2 (n = 4), grade 3 (n = 1), and grade 4 (n = 3). Control samples were obtained from patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension, functional neurological disorders, and multiple sclerosis. We employed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and flow cytometry to profile immune cell populations and performed multi-modal spatial transcriptomics and immunofluorescence on postmortem choroid plexus and brain tissue from a patient with fatal grade 4 ICANS.

RESULTS

We identified a distinct population of proliferating, cytotoxic T cells characterized by CXCR6 expression, enriched in CD4 + CAR T cells and predominantly localized in ICANS CSF. These CXCR6 + T cells were largely absent from control CSF samples. Spatial mapping of postmortem brain tissue revealed widespread infiltration of myeloid cells and a striking spatial association between CXCR6 + T cells and CXCL16-expressing myeloid cells in both the choroid plexus and brain parenchyma. Notably, CSF levels of CXCL16 positively correlated with ICANS severity across the cohort, from grade 1 to grade 4.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings implicate the CXCL16/CXCR6 axis in the recruitment of cytotoxic CAR CD4 + T cells to the central nervous system (CNS) during ICANS. This interaction may be linked to neuroinflammatory processes and severity stratification in ICANS pathogenesis. These results provide a mechanistic rationale for exploring CXCL16/CXCR6 as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target in CAR T cell-associated neurotoxicity.