Manufacture of Clinical T-cell Products for Future Treatment

Viral diseases occur in up to 50% of patients after transplantation. In most cases, there is a reactivation of the virus, which can be found latent or dormant in the body's own cells. The main reason for the occurrence of these diseases is the limited T-cell immunity, which serves to control these viruses in healthy people. To date, there are few effective and, depending on the virus, no established therapies. In addition, the established therapies are often associated with considerable toxicity. An alternative therapy, which has already shown success in the 1990s, is the administration of virus-specific T cells. Adoptive T cell therapies for the major pathogens emerging post-transplant are intended to use. In order to be used as therapy these cells must be manufactured under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Leukapheresis from whole blood of maximum 300ml is used to generate the virus-specific T cells. These cells are examined for purity and specificity and are used for scientific purposes only. The aim of this study is to validate the manufacture of T-cell products using GMP-approved reagents for future clinical use.

Inclusion criteria

• signed informed consent
• Immunoglobulins (Ig) G available for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) or cytomegalovirus (CMV)
• Detectable T-cell response for EBV or CMV measured by flow cytometry (> 0.01%)

Exclusion criteria

• Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) or human T-cell lymphoma virus (HTLV)-I/II