The National Cancer Institute is seeking licensees for a laboratory cell line designed to model a common route to resistance against cancer checkpoint immunotherapy.
The research tool is a CRISPR/Cas9-engineered version of the mouse MC38 colon-cancer cell line. NCI researchers deleted B2m, a gene needed for tumor cells to display major histocompatibility complex class I molecules.
MHC-I presentation helps cancer-killing CD8-positive T cells recognize tumor targets. Removing B2m takes away that immune-recognition signal and produces tumors that resist anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 treatment in the agency's model.
The original MC38 line responds strongly to PD-1 and PD-L1 checkpoint blockade, NCI says. Pairing the knockout and wild-type lines can therefore support controlled comparisons between resistant and responsive tumors.
Researchers could use the model to study the biology of defective antigen presentation and test preclinical strategies aimed at checkpoint-refractory tumors. The notice also identifies work on combination immunotherapies as a potential application.
The technology is a murine preclinical research tool, not a treatment, clinical-trial result or evidence that a strategy will work in people. Findings from a mouse model require separate validation before any clinical conclusion.
NCI lists the invention under reference E-123-2026-0 and says no patents are filed. The agency is offering licenses and may consider collaboration to further develop and evaluate the tool.
Availability for licensing does not establish commercial performance or clinical benefit. Terms, research plans and any downstream regulatory pathway would be handled separately.