Lead Inventor: Nicole Suciu-foca, Ph.D.

Problem or Unmet Need:
The induction of immunological tolerance is a major challenge for increasing survival of clinical transplantation and improving treatment for autoimmune diseases. It is the ultimate goal to have specific suppression of the host's immune response to donor HLA antigen. In spite of considerable effort, however, allospecific human suppressor T cells have been very difficult to generate. So far immunosuppressive treatments that have been developed can only act non-specifically, placing the recipient at increased risk for infections and malignancies.

Details of the Invention:
This technology provides a method of generating antigen specific allospecific human suppressor CD8+CD28- T cells as well as a method of generating xenospecific human suppressor CD8+CD28- T cells. This technology further provides a method of generating allopeptide antigen specific human suppressor CD8+CD28- T cells. Methods of treatment for reduction of risk of rejection of allografts and xenografts and autoimmune diseases using the human suppressor CD8+CD28- T cells are also provides, as are methods of preventing rejection and autoimmune diseases, and vaccines comprising the produced suppressor T cells. Methods of diagnosis to determine whether a level of immuno-suppressant therapy requires a reduction are provided.

Applications:
• The method is useful for developing and characterizing suppressor T cell lines which inhibit specifically the alloimmune response
• The cells may be used to prevent autoimmune disease, and rejection of allograft or xenograft in a subject

Advantages:
• It is a new technology to generate antigen specific allospecific human suppressor CD8+CD28- T cells comprising stimulating a T cell line
• It established for the first time the existence of a population of CD8+CD28- T cells which are allorestricted by HLA-class I antigens expressed by the cells used for priming

Patent Status: Patent Issued (US 6,759,239) ~ see link below.

Licensing Status: Available for Licensing


Other Links:

• USPTO - US 6,759,239

Further Information
Sara Gusik
Email: TechTransfer@columbia.edu

File Number: 1072