Chimeric antigen receptor T cells targeting CD147 for non-small cell lung cancer therapy

•Tumor specific antigen CD147 plays a critical role in NSCLC progression.•CD147-CART cells are successfully constructed through lentiviral transfection.•CD147-CART cells exhibit robust cytotoxicity and cytokine production in vitro.•CD147-CART cells have strong anti-tumor activity against NSCLC cells in vivo in both CDX and PDX models and no adverse side effects.