Ex vivo generation of cytokine-induced killer cells (CD3+ CD56+) from post-stem cell transplant pediatric patients against autologous-Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines

Abstract

EBV-PTLDs affect as high as 20% of SCT recipients especially those with T-cell depleted grafts while high mortality rates were also noted. Adoptive allogeneic and autologous CTLs have a therapeutic potential in this setting. However, the process of expansion of these cells is tedious and time consuming in both allogeneic and autologous CTL generation. For the allogeneic SCT, another major obstacle is unavailability of donors especially in an unrelated SCT setting. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the efficacy of autologous CIK cells (CD3+ CD56+) against autologous EBV-LCLs from post-SCT pediatric patients. We could demonstrate that CIK cells can be generated within two wk and did show the significant cytotoxicity against autologous EBV-LCLs. CIK cells may provide a potent tool for use in post-transplantation adoptive immunotherapy. © 2007 Blackwell Munksgaard.