Navigation Links
U of M begins nation's first clinical trial using T-reg cells from cord blood in leukemia treatment

University of Minnesota researchers have initiated a ground breaking clinical trial to determine the optimal dose and safety of T regulatory cells (T-regs) to decrease the risk of immune reactions common in patients undergoing blood and marrow transplantation.

Ultimately, the researchers hope the experimental cellular therapy will improve overall survival rates for blood cancer patients as well as offer a potential new paradigm for treating autoimmune diseases.


T-regs are a type of lymphocyte, or white blood cell that normally regulates the bodys immune responses. In the case of transplant, donor T-regs may suppress the recipients immune system so that the healthy donors blood-forming stem cells and immune cells can grow, helping ward off life-threatening graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). GVHD occurs when the immune cells within the donated cells attack the body of the transplant recipient. GVHD causes one-third of deaths after transplant.

Researchers have proven in animal models that infusing T-regs after transplant increases the chance of blood and marrow recovery and decreases the risk of GVHD.

Once we identified that T-regs were highly effective in mouse models, we then spent three years finding ways to make this therapy valuable for transplant patients and potentially useful for patients with autoimmune diseases, said Bruce Blazar, M.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine at the University.

The T-regs in this study are isolated from umbilical cord blood (blood collected from the placenta or afterbirth after the birth of a child) because they occur in higher frequency than what is typically found in most adults and are easier to expand in culture prior to treatment. This is the first human clinical trial in the world that uses T-regs derived from umbilical cord blood.

This trial is designed to find the highest possible safe dose of T-regs in immune suppressed patients undergoing a double umbilical cord blood transplant for leukemia, other blood cancer, or bone marrow failure. From data in animal models, University researchers believe there will be no acute side effects with the T-regs.

If the data in humans mimics animal models, T-regs will be a powerful therapy to prevent GVHD and enhance engraftment in transplant patients. Once safety and efficacy data are known, researchers hope to test T-regs for treatment of various autoimmune diseases, such as type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis. University researchers hypothesize that if T-regs are transplanted early in the life of the disease, the cells may help prevent disease progression.



Contact: Molly Portz
University of Minnesota

Related biology news :

1. International trial of two microbicides begins
2. NIAID begins clinical trial of West Nile virus vaccine
3. EuroVacc 02 HIV Vaccine Trial Begins
4. Wyoming cloud seeding experiment begins this month
5. Cancer scientists create human leukemia process to map how disease begins, progresses
6. Parents need to be educated about HPV vaccinations for daughters
7. Simple idea to dramatically improve dengue vaccinations
8. Novel therapy combinations gain ground in treating hepatitis
9. New study suggests promising drug combinations for sleeping sickness
10. Failure to meet United Nations sanitation target could affect millions of the worlds poorest
11. Effect on breast tumors of DNA alternations in 3 genes described
Post Your Comments:
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):
Breaking Biology Technology: