Cytotoxic T lymphocyte therapy with donor T cells prevents and treats adenovirus and Epstein-Barr virus infections after haploidentical and matched unrelated stem cell transplantation.

ABSTRACT: Viral infection or reactivation remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. We now show that infusions of single cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) lines (5 x 10(6)-1.35 x 10(8) cells/m(2)) with specificity for 2 commonly detected viruses, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and adenovirus, can be safely administered to pediatric transplantation recipients receiving partially human leukocyte antigen-matched and haploidentical stem cell grafts (n = 13), without inducing graft-versus-host disease. The EBV-specific component of the CTLs expanded in vivo and persisted for more than 12 weeks, but the adenovirus-specific component only expanded in vivo in the presence of concomitant adenoviral infection. Nevertheless, adenovirus-specific T cells could be detected

SUBMITTER: Leen AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2774556 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature