CELL EXPRESSING A CAR AND A TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR AND ITS USE

1 . A cell which comprises a first exogenous nucleic acid molecule encoding a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) and a second exogenous nucleic acid molecule encoding a transcription factor.

2 . A cell according to claim 1 , wherein the transcription factor prevents or reduces differentiation and/or exhaustion of the cell.

3 . A cell according to claim 1 , wherein the transcription factor is an effector memory repressor.

4 . A cell according to claim 3 , wherein the transcription factor is BLIMP-1.

5 . A cell according to claim 1 , wherein the transcription factor is a central memory repressor.

6 . A cell according to claim 5 , wherein the transcription factor is BCL6 or Bach2.

7 . A cell according to claim 6 , wherein the transcription factor is or comprises Bach2.

8 . A cell according to claim 5 , wherein the transcription factor comprises a modified version of Bach2 which has reduced or removed capacity to be phosphorylated by ALK.

9 . A cell according to claim 8 , wherein the transcription factor comprises a modified version of Bach2 with a mutation at one or more of the following positions with reference to the amino acid sequence shown as SEQ ID No. 2: Ser-535, Ser-509, Ser-520.

10 . A nucleic acid construct which comprises a first nucleic acid sequence encoding a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) and a second nucleic acid sequence encoding a transcription factor.

11 . A nucleic acid construct according to claim 10 , which has the following structure:

CAR-coexpr-TF; or

TF-coexpr-CAR

in which:

CAR is a nucleic acid sequence encoding the CAR;

coexpr is a nucleic acid sequence enabling co-expression of the CAR and the transcription factor; and

TF is a nucleic acid sequence encoding the transcription factor.

12 . A nucleic acid construct according to claim 11 , wherein coexpr encodes a sequence comprising a self-cleaving peptide.

13 . A kit of nucleic acid sequences which comprises a first nucleic acid sequence encoding a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) and a second nucleic acid sequence encoding a transcription factor.

14 . A vector which comprises a nucleic acid construct according to claim 10 .

15 . A kit of vectors which comprises a first vector which comprises a first nucleic acid sequence encoding a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR); and a second vector which comprises a second nucleic acid sequence encoding a transcription factor.

16 . A method for making a cell according to claim 1 , which comprises the step of introducing: a nucleic acid construct, a kit of nucleic acid sequences, a vector according to claim 14 , or a kit of vectors that comprise(s) a first nucleic acid sequence encoding a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) and a second nucleic acid sequence encoding a transcription factor, into a cell.

17 . (canceled)

18 . A pharmaceutical composition comprising a plurality of cells according to claim 1 .

19 . A method for treating and/or preventing a disease, which comprises the step of administering a pharmaceutical composition according to claim 18 to a subject.

20 . A method according to claim 19 , which comprises the following steps:

(i) isolation of a cell-containing sample from a subject;

(ii) transduction or transfection of the cells with: a nucleic acid construct, a kit of nucleic acid sequences, a vector, or a kit of vectors that comprise(s) a first nucleic acid sequence encoding a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) and a second nucleic acid sequence encoding a transcription factor; and

(iii) administering the cells from (ii) to the subject.

21 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the disease is a cancer.

22 .- 23 . (canceled)