MIT Koch Institute Unveils Sugar-Based CAR-T Cryopreservation That Could Expand Access Beyond the 5% of US Hospitals That Can Currently Deliver It

Researchers at MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research (postdocs Amy Lee and Khanh Tran, senior author Robert Langer, principal investigator Ana Jaklenec) published in Trends in Biotechnology a new cryopreservation method for CAR-T cells that uses naturally occurring sugars — trehalose and sucrose, the same antifreeze compounds found in cold-tolerant organisms like wood frogs — instead of relying primarily on DMSO, a toxic solvent that must be carefully removed before infusion. The sugars are loaded into cells via electroporation, briefly opening pores in the cell membrane. In mouse models of lymphoma and glioblastoma, sugar-preserved CAR-T cells showed improved post-thaw survival and antitumor activity versus conventionally DMSO-preserved cells. Because DMSO removal is a complex process most hospitals cannot perform, only about 5% of US hospitals currently have the infrastructure to deliver CAR-T therapy; the researchers say cells preserved this way could theoretically be thawed and injected directly, removing a major access bottleneck.