- Putnam, A;
- Safinia, N;
- Medvec, A;
- Laszkowska, M;
- Wray, M;
- Mintz, M;
- Trotta, E;
- Szot, G;
- Liu, W;
- Lares, A;
- Lee, K;
- Laing, A;
- Lechler, R;
- Riley, J;
- Lombardi, G;
- Tang, Qizhi;
- Bluestone, Jeffrey
Regulatory T cell (Treg) therapy has the potential to induce transplantation tolerance so that immunosuppression and associated morbidity can be minimized. Alloantigen-reactive Tregs (arTregs) are more effective at preventing graft rejection than polyclonally expanded Tregs (PolyTregs) in murine models. We have developed a manufacturing process to expand human arTregs in short-term cultures using good manufacturing practice-compliant reagents. This process uses CD40L-activated allogeneic B cells to selectively expand arTregs followed by polyclonal restimulation to increase yield. Tregs expanded 100- to 1600-fold were highly alloantigen reactive and expressed the phenotype of stable Tregs. The alloantigen-expanded Tregs had a diverse TCR repertoire. They were more potent than PolyTregs in vitro and more effective at controlling allograft injuries in vivo in a humanized mouse model.