Single-day nonactivated IL-18-armed CAR T cells establish a durable, stemlike state with enhanced persistence.

Single-day nonactivated IL-18-armed CAR T cells achieve durable, stemlike states with enhanced persistence and antitumor activity across multiple cancer models.

• Why it matters: Overcoming manufacturing delays, T-cell exhaustion, and limited persistence is critical to expanding CAR T-cell therapy success in diverse cancers.
• What they did: Engineered nonactivated CAR T cells secreting IL-18 were produced in one day and analyzed through single-cell transcriptomics and metabolomics, revealing improved functional states.
• The result: These IL-18 CAR T cells showed increased persistence, metabolic fitness, and resistance to exhaustion, enabling stronger, longer-lasting antitumor responses and supporting clinical development.