title: Immortalization of human and rhesus macaque primary antigen-specific T cells by retrovirally transduced telomerase reverse transcriptase.
abstract: Human and rhesus macaque primary antigen-specific T cells derived from infected or immunized individuals or animals are a valuable material with which to study cellular immune responses against pathogens and tumors. Antigen-specific T cells can be expanded in vitro but have a finite proliferative life span. After a limited period in culture, primary T cells undergo replicative senescence and stop dividing. This restricts their applicability to short-term experiments and complicates their use in adoptive immunotherapy. The proliferative life span of primary human and rhesus macaque T cells can be considerably extended by ectopically expressed human telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). Antigen-specific T cells transduced with TERT-expressing retroviral vectors can proliferate and expand in culture for long periods of time while maintaining their primary T cell characteristics, including antigen-specific responses. Thus, TERT-immortalized T cells are an important and valuable resource for studying T cell-mediated immune responses and, potentially, for adoptive immunotherapy.
authors: AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Frederick, Maryland, USA.
authors: Eugene V
authors: EV
authors: Barsov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000276:immunology*; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006801:Humans; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive; D009052:Leukemia Virus, Murine / Q000235:genetics; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D017252:CD3 Complex; C509186:TERT protein, human; D019098:Telomerase