Abstract: The invention relates to nucleic acid constructs comprising a combination of a first sequence encoding a CAR and second sequence encoding an amino acid transporter, and to cells comprising such nucleic acid constructs. It also relates to methods of manufacturing said cells, and to pharmaceutical compositions comprising said nucleic acid constructs or cells, for use in the treatment of diseases with cellular amino-acid depletion such as cancer.

Abstract: The present invention provides, among other things, a method of treating cancer comprising administering a GM-CSF antagonist to the patient in need of treatment, wherein the administration of the GM-CSF antagonist results in inhibition of an immunosuppressive activity of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). The present invention also provides, among other things, a method of inhibiting immunosuppressive activity of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in a patient suffering from cancer comprising administering a GM-CSF antagonist to the patient.