A CAR-T Cell-Based Strategy for Eliminating Pathogenic Microglia in ALS

Abstract

Neurodegenerative diseases are defined by the propagation of neuroinflammation, driven in part by disease-associated microglia (DAM) that amplify inflammatory signaling and hasten neurodegeneration. Strategies to selectively eliminate DAM to attenuate disease progression remain elusive. Using existing datasets in combination with multiplexed immunofluorescence analysis of post-mortem ALS tissues, we identified the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) as a novel surface marker of DAM. uPAR protein is markedly elevated in IBA1/CD68 microglia within ALS-affected regions of both sporadic and familial cases, with negligible expression in unaffected areas or control tissues. These uPAR-high microglia drive neurite retraction in iPSC-derived neurons. To target these cells, we engineered 3rd-generation CAR-T cells expressing an anti-uPAR single-chain variable fragment, enabling specific recognition and elimination of uPAR-expressing microglia. Target specificity was assessed in human microglia C20 cells driven into a pathogenic state by poly(IC) or IFN{gamma} stimulation, which resulted in robust surface uPAR expression alongside phagocytic (CD68) and antigen-presenting (CD80) markers. uPAR-CAR-T cells induced antigen-dependent cytolysis of uPAR-high microglia, reducing their viability by over 80% while sparing resting microglia and neurons in a mixed culture system. These results position uPAR-directed CAR-T cells as a viable immunotherapeutic approach to selectively disrupt disease-amplifying microglial subsets and modify the trajectories of neuroinflammatory diseases. One Sentence SummaryCAR-T cells targeting uPAR selectively ablate pathogenic microglia while sparing neurons, enabling precision immunotherapy for ALS.