Evolutionary guided transcription factor design programs novel T cell states [RNAseq_Paired]

Here, we develop a scalable, evolutionarily guided method to assemble novel protein-coding genes from constituent domains within a protein family, termed DESynR (Domain Engineered via Synthesis and Recombination) genes. Using primary human chimeric antigen receptor T cells as a model, we find that the expression of DESynR Activator Protein-1 (AP-1) transcription factors (TFs) significantly outperforms the overexpression of natural AP-1 TFs in multiple functional assays in vitro and in vivo.

Top DESynR AP-1 TFs exhibit non-intuitive domain architectures, including from TFs not canonically expressed in T cells. DESynR AP-1 TFs induce broad transcriptional and epigenetic reprogramming and establish non-natural T cell states that optimize features of exhaustion, effector and cytotoxic function, and persistence— in some cases co-opting gene expression modules from disparate cell types. We show that this reprogramming is primarily driven by differential regulation of established AP-1-bound regulatory elements, rather than unique binding.