Bispecific chimeric antigen receptors, encoding polynucleotides thereof and methods of use thereof to treat disease

1. A bispecific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), comprising:

a. two antigen-specific targeting regions;

b. a CD8α hinge extracellular spacer domain;

c. a CD8α transmembrane domain;

d. a 4-1BB co-stimulatory domain; and

e. CD3 zeta intracellular signaling domain.

2. The bispecific CAR of claim 1 , wherein each antigen-specific targeting region comprises an antigen-specific single-domain antibody, a V H domain, or a full length antibody heavy chain.

3. The bispecific CAR of claim 2 , wherein the two antigen-specific targeting regions target an antigen specific for cancer.

4. The bispecific CAR of claim 3 , wherein the antigen specific for cancer comprises 4-1BB, 5T4, adenocarcinoma antigen, alpha-fetoprotein, BAFF, B-lymphoma cell, C242 antigen, CA-125, carbonic anhydrase 9 (CA-IX), C-MET, CCR4, CD152, CD19, CD20, CD200, CD22, CD221, CD23 (IgE receptor), CD28, CD30 (TNFRSF8), CD33, CD4, CD40, CD44 v6, CD51, CD52, CD56, CD74, CD80, CEA, CNTO888, CTLA-4, DR5, EGFR, EpCAM, CD3, FAP, fibronectin extra domain-B, folate receptor 1, GD2, GD3 ganglioside, glycoprotein 75, GPNMB, HER2/neu, HGF, human scatter factor receptor kinase, IGF-1 receptor, IGF-I, IgG1, L1-CAM, IL-13, IL-6, insulin-like growth factor I receptor, integrin α5β1, integrin αvβ3, MORAb-009, MS4A1, MUC1, mucin CanAg, N-glycolylneuraminic acid, NPC-1C, PDGF-R α, PDL192, phosphatidylserine, prostatic carcinoma cells, RANKL, RON, ROR1, SCH 900105, SDC1, SLAMF7, TAG-72, tenascin C, TGF beta 2, TGF-β, TRAIL-R1, TRAIL-R2, tumor antigen CTAA16.88, VEGF-A, VEGFR-1, VEGFR2, or vimentin.

5. The bispecific CAR of claim 2 , wherein the two antigen-specific targeting regions bind specifically to an antigen expressed on cells associated with a hematologic disease.

6. The bispecific CAR of claim 5 , wherein the hematologic disease is a B-cell-associated disease.

7. A polynucleotide encoding the bispecific CAR of claim 2 .

8. A vector comprising the polynucleotide of claim 7 , wherein the vector is a plasmid transposon, a lentiviral vector, a retroviral vector, a foamy virus vector, an adenoviral vector, an RNA virus vector, a pox virus vector, a herpes virus vector, or an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector.

9. A method of producing a quantity of T-cells expressing a chimeric antigen receptor, comprising:

i. transfecting one or more T-cells with the vector of claim 8 ; and

ii. stimulating the one or more T-cells, whereby the T-cells proliferate so as to produce the quantity of T-cells.

10. A bispecific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), comprising:

a. two antigen-specific targeting regions;

b. a CD8α hinge extracellular spacer domain;

c. a CD8α transmembrane domain;

d. a 4-1BB co-stimulatory domain; and

e. a CD3 zeta intracellular signaling domain,

wherein the two antigen-specific targeting regions are arranged in tandem and wherein the two antigen-specific targeting regions bind specifically to an antigen expressed on cells associated with a B-cell-associated disease.

11. The bispecific CAR of claim 10 , wherein the two antigen-specific targeting regions are separated by a linker peptide.

12. The bispecific CAR of claim 11 , wherein each of the two antigen-specific targeting region comprises a V H domain.

13. A genetically engineered cell derived from a T-lymphocyte (T-cell), a naïve T cell, a central memory T cell, an effector memory T cell, a natural killer (NK) cell, a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC), an embryonic stem cell, or a pluripotent stem cell, wherein the genetically engineered cell expresses a bispecific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), and the bispecific CAR comprises:

a. two antigen-specific targeting regions;

b. a CD8α extracellular spacer domain;

c. a CD8α transmembrane domain;

d. a 4-1BB co-stimulatory domain; and

e. a CD3 zeta intracellular signaling domain.

14. A genetically engineered cell of claim 13 , which is derived from a T-cell.

15. A pharmaceutical composition, comprising the genetically engineered cell of claim 13 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

16. A method for treating a disease in a subject in need thereof, comprising:

administering a therapeutically effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition of claim 15 to the subject so as to treat the disease,

wherein the two antigen-specific targeting regions target an antigen associated with the disease.

17. A method for treating a disease in a subject in need thereof, comprising:

administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition comprising the genetically engineered cell of claim 14 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier,

wherein the two antigen-specific targeting regions target an antigen associated with the disease.