title: Clinical-scale generation of human anti-Aspergillus T cells for adoptive immunotherapy.
abstract: Invasive aspergillosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic SCT. There is a growing body of evidence that T cells are important in the host defense against Aspergillus, and adoptively transferred anti-Aspergillus T-helper 1 (T(H)) 1 cells might reduce infectious mortality in hematopoietic transplant recipients. Here we present for the first time a simple and rapid method for the clinical-scale generation of functionally active anti-Aspergillus T cells according to good manufacturing practice conditions. A total of 1.1 x 10(9) WBCs derived from a leukapheresis product were incubated with Aspergillus antigens. Stimulated cells were selected by means of the IFN-gamma secretion assay and expanded. In three independent experiments, a median number of 2 x 10(7) CD3+CD4+cells (range, 0.9-3.2 x 10(7)) were obtained within 13 days. The cultured CD3+CD4+ cells exhibited almost exclusively a memory activated T-helper cell phenotype. Upon restimulation, the generated T cells produced IFN-gamma, but no IL-4 or IL-10, indicating a T(H)1-cell population. Additionally, the cells proliferated upon restimulation and showed reduced alloreactivity compared to unselected CD4+ cells. This method of generating is suitable for future prospective trials designed to evaluate the effect of adoptive immunotherapy in hematopoietic transplant recipients with invasive aspergillosis.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Children's Hospital III, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tramsen
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Koehl
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tonn
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Latgé
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borkhardt
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Uharek
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Quaritsch
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Seifried
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Klingebiel
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lehrnbecher