142 results about "Adoptive immunity" patented technology

Methods for developing engineered T-cells for immunotherapy that are both non-alloreactive and resistant to immunosuppressive drugs. The present invention relates to methods for modifying T-cells by inactivating both genes encoding target for an immunosuppressive agent and T-cell receptor, in particular genes encoding CD52 and TCR. This method involves the use of specific rare cutting endonucleases, in particular TALE-nucleases (TAL effector endonuclease) and polynucleotides encoding such polypeptides, to precisely target a selection of key genes in T-cells, which are available from donors or from culture of primary cells. The invention opens the way to standard and affordable adoptive immunotherapy strategies for treating cancer and viral infections.

The present invention comprises compositions and methods for treating a tumor or neoplastic disease in a host, The methods employ conjugates comprising superantigen polypeptides or nucleic acids with other structures that preferentially bind to tumor cells and are capable of inducing apoptosis. Also provided are superantigen-glycolipid conjugates and vesicles that are loaded onto antigen presenting cells to activate both T cells and NKT cells. Cell-based vaccines comprise tumor cells engineered to express a superantigen along with glycolipids products which, when expressed, render the cells capable of eliciting an effective anti-tumor immune response in a mammal into which these cells are introduced. Included among these compositions are tumor cells, hybrid cells of tumor cells and accessory cells, preferably dendritic cells. Also provided are T cells and NKT cells activated by the above compositions that can be administered for adoptive immunotherapy.

The present invention provides a method of carrying out adoptive immunotherapy in a primate subject in need thereof by administering the subject a cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) preparation in a treatment-effective amount. The method comprises administering as the CTL preparation a preparation consisting essentially of an in vitro expanded primate CTL population, the CTL population enriched prior to expansion for central memory T lymphocytes, and depleted prior to expansion of effector memory T lymphocytes. In some embodiments, the method may further comprise concurrently administering Interleukin-15 to the subject in an amount effective to increase the proliferation of the central memory T cells in the subject. Pharmaceutical formulations produced by the method, and methods of using the same, are also described.

The invention includes compositions and methods to rapidly isolate and culture cells that are potent for use in adoptive immunotherapy. In one embodiment, the isolated cells of the invention are tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) that express CD137 (also known as 4-1BB and TNFSFR9).

The present invention relates to methods of developing genetically engineered, preferably non-alloreactive T-cells for immunotherapy. This method involves the use of RNA-guided endonucleases, in particular Cas9/CRISPR system, to specifically target a selection of key genes in T-cells. The engineered T-cells are also intended to express chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) to redirect their immune activity towards malignant or infected cells. The invention opens the way to standard and affordable adoptive immunotherapy strategies using T-Cells for treating cancer and viral infections.

The present invention relates to methods of developing genetically engineered, preferably non-alloreactive T-cells for immunotherapy. This method involves the use of RNA-guided endonucleases, in particular Cas9/CRISPR system, to specifically target a selection of key genes in T-cells. The engineered T-cells are also intended to express chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) to redirect their immune activity towards malignant or infected cells. The invention opens the way to standard and affordable adoptive immunotherapy strategies using T-Cells for treating cancer and viral infections.

The present invention relates to methods and compositions for enhancing immunological responses and for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases or primary and metastatic neoplastic diseases based on the administration of macrophages and/or other antigen presenting cells (APC) sensitized with heat shock proteins non-covalently bound to peptide complexes and/or antigenic components. APC are incubated in the presence of hsp-peptide complexes and/or antigenic components in vitro. The sensitized cells are reinfused into the patient with or without treatment with cytokines including but not limited to interferon- alpha , interferon- alpha , interleukin-2, interleukin-4, interleukin-6 and tumor neurosis factor.

The present invention calls utilized genes differentially expressed in target cells to design vaccines to generate an immune response. Unlike prior art methods that seek to identify antigenic proteins from phenotypic analysis, the subject method applies functional genomics for antigen identification. The method is exemplified herein and therefore provides compositions and methods for inducing an immune response against gp 100 melanoma cells and for inducing an immune response against HER-2+cells. Cancer vaccines and adoptive immunotherapeutic methods to treat and prevent conditions associated with the presence of these cells in a subject also are provided. The methods can be practiced by administering the appropriate gene or cancer vaccine, antibody, protein, polypeptide, antigen-presenting cell or immune effector cell.

Cancer antigens containing mutations in an expressed gene of cancer cells from a cancer patient are identified. Sequences from cancer cells obtained using a parallel sequencing platform are selected by comparing to the patient's normal genes or to normal genes from an HLA-matched individual. Sequences are further selected by identifying an HLA supertype of the cancer patient and selecting for that HLA supertype, sequences that have a particular amino acid at the mutant position and/or corresponding wild-type position in the effected gene. Peptides containing cancer antigens (i.e., mutations—once a mutation is defined, what makes it an immunogen is its ability to induce an immune response) are optionally tested for binding to HLA antigens of the cancer patient. Peptides containing the cancer antigens are evaluated for activating T cells (e.g., helper T lymphocytes and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL)) cell lines from the cancer patient or from an HLA-matched donor. The cancer antigen(s) identified for a cancer patient are used to prepare a cancer vaccine and to treat the cancer patient.

The present invention pertains to engineered immune cells, method for their preparation and their use as medicament, particularly for immunotherapy. The engineered immune cells of the present invention are characterized in that at least one gene selected from a gene encoding GCN2 and a gene encoding PRDM1 is inactivated or repressed. Such modified Immune cells are resistant to an arginine and/or tryptophan depleted microenvironment caused by, e.g., tumor cells, which makes the immune cells of the invention particularly suitable for immunotherapy. The invention opens the way to standard and affordable adoptive immunotherapy strategies using immune cells for treating different types of malignancies.

DNA and protein constructs useful in producing vaccines against human cytomegalovirus contain optionally N-end modified and N-terminal ubiquitinated human cytomegalovirus antigenic proteins, including pp65, pp150, IE1, gB and antigenic fragments thereof. Vaccine viruses, in particular poxviruses such as vaccinia and Modified Vaccinia Ankara, that express the constructs may be used as vaccines to augment the immune response to human cytomegalovirus, both prophylatically and in patients already carrying human cytomegalovirus, as well as to create and expand cytomegalovirus-reactive T cells for transfer of adoptive immunity.

The present invention pertains to engineered immortalized T-cell lines, method for their preparation and their use as medicament, particularly for immunotherapy. The engineered immortalized T-cell lines of the invention are characterized in that the expression of endogenous T-cell receptors (TCRs) and beta 2-microglobulin (B2M) is inhibited, e.g., by using an endonuclease able to selectively inactivate the TCR and B2M genes in order to render the immortalized T-cells non-alloreactive. In addition, expression of immunosuppressive polypeptide can be performed on those engineered immortalized T-cells in order to prolong the survival of these T-cells in host organisms. Such engineered immortalized T-cells are particularly suitable for allogeneic transplantations, especially because it reduces both the risk of rejection by the host's immune system and the risk of developing graft versus host disease. The invention opens the way to standard and affordable adoptive immunotherapy strategies using immortalized T-cells for treating cancer, infections and auto-immune diseases.

Adoptive immunotherapy using T cells genetically redirected via expression of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) is a promising approach for cancer treatment. However, this immunotherapy is dependent in part on the optimal molecular design of the CAR, which involves an extracellular ligand-binding domain connected to an intracellular signaling domain by spacer and/or transmembrane sequences.

The requirement of T cell activation for efficient expression of genes after messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) transfection is leveraged to identify and enrich antigen-specific T cells responding to antigen-pulsed dendritic cells (DCs). RNA transfection of marker genes is used for the selection and enrichment of antigen-specific T cells for use in adoptive immunotherapy. RNA-modified T cells are also used for the generation of enhanced effector populations for use in adoptive immunotherapy. Genes whose transient expression may significantly enhance the in vivo function of T cells (i.e., migratory receptors, anti-apoptotic genes or cytokines enhancing T cell proliferation/differentiation) are used in this modality.

The present invention provides methods for inducing, maintaining and expanding CTL (cytotoxic T cell) having an antigen-specific cytotoxic activity at a high level, which is useful in the adoptive immunotherapy, by using as an effective ingredient at least one compound selected from the group consisting of acidic polysaccharides, acidic oligosaccharides, acidic monosaccharides, and salts thereof. The above-mentioned compounds include fucoidans, heparins, alginic acid, chondroitin sulfate A, chondroitin sulfate B, pectic acid, hyaluronic acid, degradation products of fucoidans, sulfated glucose, sulfated fucose and salts thereof.