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CD19 is a marker on B cells and B-cell cancers, and was the target of the first CAR-T therapies ever approved.
CD19 is expressed throughout B-cell development and on nearly all B-cell malignancies. Target of tisagenlecleucel, axicabtagene, lisocabtagene, brexucabtagene, obecabtagene (CAR-T), blinatumomab (BiTE), tafasitamab, and loncastuximab tesirine (ADC). CD19 CAR-T is now also used in autoimmune disease.
In plain words · CD19 is a marker on B cells and B-cell cancers, and was the target of the first CAR-T therapies ever approved.
CD19 is a marker on B cells and B-cell cancers, and was the target of the first CAR-T therapies ever approved.
B-cell co-receptor; loss of CD19 is a common escape mechanism after CAR-T.
26 products aim at CD19: antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies, cell therapies and other agents. Because it sits on the outside of the cell, it can be reached from the bloodstream: antibodies flag the cell, ADCs deliver a toxin, radioligands deliver radiation, and CAR-T or bispecifics bring a T cell.
Lineage antigen shared with normal B-cells: the label readouts filed under it score its expression (CD19 expression (CD19-positive)), and HPA finds the gene lineage enriched in that blood lineage at or above 25 nTPM, so medicines aimed at it clear the normal lineage too. HPA CD19: RNA group enriched (intestine 31 nTPM, lymphoid tissue 71 nTPM); blood lineage lineage enriched (B-cells 173 nTPM); high antibody staining in 4 normal tissues; highest cancer staining lymphoma (5 of 11 high). Distribution: 2 cancer families in the corpus carry a prevalence row, label threshold or catalogue link for it (Leukaemia, Lymphoma); Open Targets associates it with 6 specific cancer types at or above 0.5 (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma). (Rule 3 of scripts/fetch-target-specificity.ts.)
Sources: CD19 expression (CD19-positive) label threshold; Human Protein Atlas CD19 tissue; Human Protein Atlas CD19 pathology; Open Targets ENSG00000177455 associations
First described 1988. Earliest sequence paper UniProt cites for the protein: Stamenkovic et al, J. Exp. Med, 1988, "CD19, the earliest differentiation antigen of the B cell lineage, bears three extracellular immunoglobulin-like domains and an Epstein-Barr virus-related cytoplasmic tail". Source.
What a pathology or genomic report can say about this target, each with the thresholds approvals use.
Cell lines and mouse models for this target →
B-cell co-receptor; loss of CD19 is a common escape mechanism after CAR-T.
RNA: group enriched (intestine 31 nTPM, lymphoid tissue 71 nTPM), detected in some normal tissues. Blood: lineage enriched (B-cells 173 nTPM).
Medium: Bone marrow, Colon, Rectum.
Medium only: melanoma, prostate cancer.
HPA CD19 tissue · HPA CD19 pathology · HPA protein class: CD markers, FDA approved drug targets
Human Protein Atlas version 25.1, antibody staining at reliability approved, enhanced or supported; used under CC BY-SA 3.0. Staining counts are patients per level in the atlas cohort, not population prevalence.
| Cancer | Prevalence | Measure | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia | >95% | B-ALL surface expression | Wikipedia | |
| Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma | >95% | Surface expression | Loss in ~30% of CAR-T relapses | Wikipedia |
| Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia | >95% | Surface expression | Wikipedia |
Approximate, population-level figures; the measure column says what was counted. Ranges show the midpoint as a bar.
AT101 is an experimental CAR-T cell therapy from AbClon in phase 2 trials for hodgkin lymphoma, aimed at CD19.
A CD19 CAR-T that cures about 40% of patients with large B-cell lymphoma who had failed everything, and beat transplant in second line.
AZD0120 is a car-t cell therapy from AstraZeneca, in registered phase 3 trials for multiple myeloma.
AZD0486 is an experimental bispecific antibody from AstraZeneca in phase 3 trials for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, aimed at CD19 and CD3.
Blinatumomab was the first T-cell engager (2014), and is now given to children and adults with leukaemia even when in remission, because it improves survival.
Brexucabtagene autoleucel is the CAR-T therapy for mantle cell lymphoma and adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, giving long remissions after BTK inhibitors fail.
CD19 t-haNK is an experimental cell therapy whose type is not stated from ImmunityBio in phase 2 trials for hodgkin lymphoma, aimed at CD19.
CRC01 is an experimental CAR-T cell therapy from Curocell in phase 2 trials for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, aimed at CD19.
CTX112 is an experimental CAR-T cell therapy from CRISPR Therapeutics in phase 2 trials for hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and follicular lymphoma, aimed at CD19.
Englumafusp alfa is an experimental fusion protein from Hoffmann-La Roche in phase 2 trials for hodgkin lymphoma, aimed at CD19.
GC012F is an experimental CAR-T cell therapy from Gracell Biotechnologies (Shanghai) in phase 2 trials for multiple myeloma, aimed at CD19 and BCMA.
Inati-cel is a Chinese CAR-T for adults with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia that has come back or stopped responding, approved in 2023.
JNJ-90014496 is an experimental CAR-T cell therapy from Janssen Research & Development in phase 2 trials for hodgkin lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, aimed at CD19 and CD20.
Lisocabtagene maraleucel is the only CAR-T approved for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, for patients whose disease has outrun both BTK and BCL-2 inhibitors.
Loncastuximab tesirine (Zynlonta) is a CD19 ADC with a DNA-crosslinking payload for relapsed large B-cell lymphoma.
MK-1045 is an experimental investigational agent whose form is not stated in the registry from Merck Sharp & Dohme in phase 3 trials for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, follicular lymphoma and hodgkin lymphoma, aimed at CD19.
A CD19 CAR-T built to grip and release quickly, which cut severe side effects and gave adults with relapsed ALL a real chance at durable remission.
Relma-cel was the first CAR-T therapy developed and made in China to be approved, for large B-cell lymphoma that has come back after two treatments.
Rondecabtagene autoleucel is an experimental CAR-T cell therapy from Lyell Immunopharma in phase 3 trials for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and hodgkin lymphoma, aimed at CD19 and CD20.
A CD19 antibody given with lenalidomide for lymphoma patients who cannot have a transplant; in 2026 it showed the first frontline gain over R-CHOP in high-risk disease.
India's first home-grown CAR-T cell therapy, approved in 2023 for relapsed leukaemia and lymphoma, made in Mumbai for roughly a tenth of what the same kind of treatment costs in the US.
TBI-1501 is an experimental CAR-T cell therapy from Takara Bio in phase 2 trials for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, aimed at CD19.
TC011 is an experimental CAR-T cell therapy from TICAROS in phase 2 trials for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma, aimed at CD19.
Tisagenlecleucel was the first CAR-T therapy ever approved (2017), for children and young adults whose leukaemia had come back after everything else.
India's second approved CAR-T therapy, a Bengaluru-made version of a Spanish hospital's academic CD19 cell therapy, for lymphoma that has come back after other treatments.
Zamtocabtagene autoleucel is an experimental CAR-T cell therapy from Miltenyi Biomedicine in phase 2 trials for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, primary CNS lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma, aimed at CD19 and CD20.
A new combination for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma that adds a CD19-directed antibody to the established lenalidomide and rituximab pairing, with the largest progression-free survival hazard ratio reported in the setting.
AALL1731 brings immunotherapy into the front-line treatment of the commonest childhood cancer, in the group of children where most relapses were occurring despite good initial risk. Blinatumomab was approved for this use in 2024 and paediatric protocols worldwide are being amended. Whether it can allow less chemotherapy, and its effect on very low-risk children, are the next questions.
E1910 changed the standard of care for adult B-ALL: immunotherapy is now part of front-line consolidation even for patients with no detectable leukaemia, because MRD-negative by flow cytometry does not mean cured. It also demonstrated that a T-cell engager can improve overall survival in a curative setting. Chemotherapy-light or chemotherapy-free regimens built on blinatumomab and inotuzumab are the next step.
Axicabtagene ciloleucel as an option in relapsed follicular and marginal zone lymphoma. Compared with tisagenlecleucel in ELARA, the response rates are higher and the neurological toxicity substantially greater, which is the trade-off a patient and centre weigh.
The reason second-line CAR-T is offered with axicabtagene ciloleucel or lisocabtagene maraleucel rather than tisagenlecleucel. The trial is also the strongest evidence in the field that the interval between apheresis and infusion, and what is given during it, is part of the treatment rather than logistics around it.
Chemotherapy-free cellular therapy for follicular lymphoma that has stopped responding, with a toxicity profile mild enough that the treatment is deliverable outside the largest centres.
TRANSFORM confirmed ZUMA-7's conclusion with a different CD19 CAR-T and a more permissive design that allowed bridging chemotherapy, making the results closer to real-world practice. Liso-cel's low toxicity makes it attractive for older or frailer patients and for outpatient delivery. Together the two trials made CAR-T the standard second-line therapy for early-relapsing aggressive lymphoma.
ZUMA-7 rewrote second-line treatment for aggressive lymphoma: patients whose disease returns within a year of R-CHOP should be offered CAR-T rather than salvage chemotherapy and transplant. It is also one of the few cell-therapy trials to show an overall survival benefit despite crossover. Patients relapsing later than 12 months were not studied and transplant remains standard for them if chemosensitive.
Query for this target: (TITLE:"CD19" OR ABSTRACT:"CD19") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about CD19, not a curated reading list.
Shares Allogene Therapeutics, Allogeneic (off-the-shelf) cell therapy, CAR-T cell therapy and the tag car-t-target.
Shares CAR-T cell therapy and the tag car-t-target.
Shares Kelonia Therapeutics, GC012F, Non-profit, open-licence lentiviral vectors and producer cell lines for CAR-T, AZD0120 and the tag car-t-target.
Shares Nirali N. Shah, Antigen escape: how a lymphoma loses the thing the drug was aimed at, What it costs to aim at a lineage antigen, High-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children (high-risk B-ALL and T-ALL) and the tag car-t-target.
Shares CAR-T cell therapy, Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) and the tag car-t-target.
Shares Childhood cancers (all types) and the tag car-t-target.
Shares CAR-T cell therapy and the tag car-t-target.
Shares Cellogen Therapeutics, Expression of immunoglobulin-T-cell receptor chimeric molecules as functional receptors with antibody-type specificity, Non-profit, open-licence lentiviral vectors and producer cell lines for CAR-T, Sana Biotechnology.