Rapid Generation of Virus-Specific T Cells Helps Fight Off Infection in Immunocompromised Patients

[AussieNeil]

The lengthy, complex, and costly process required to produce target specific T-Cells to fight cancers and viruses is a huge barrier that needs to be overcome if this technique is ever going to be more than a laboratory curiosity that benefits only a select few patients. Despite this, researchers continue to investigate how these barriers can be overcome so that this technology can be added to our arsenal in our fight against illnesses and cancer.

Here's a report of some new research aimed to reduce the time and expense to create cells that target a number of viruses which we are at increased risk of contracting:

cancernetwork.com/news/rapi...

"Rapidly generated virus-specific T cells (VSTs) were safe and effective against five infections that commonly affect immunocompromised patients after marrow or stem cell transplantation, according to a new small study. The approach could help many patients with various types of leukemia, among many other conditions."

:

:

"The researchers used direct stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMBCs) from allogeneic stem cell donors, and were able to generate a 13-fold expansion of the cells within 9 to 11 days, a drastic improvement over other methods. The cells were made to recognize immunogenic antigens from five viruses: Epstein-Barr virus, adenovirus, cytomegalovirus, BK virus, and human herpesvirus 6."

Neil