Lymphocyte therapeutic method for hematological conditions

This technology is a method to identify and isolate T lymphocytes for effective therapeutics of hematological conditions.

Unmet Need: Increased mechanistic understanding of lymphocyte leukemia therapies

Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) is a current method for treating relapsed hematological conditions. However, the treatment is less effective for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) than for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), likely due to donor cell differences, but a mechanistic understanding is lacking. A clear association with increased T cell activity and cancer suppression has been established, but the advancement of diagnostic and treatment methods remains limited without targeting specific genes linked to this relationship.

The Technology: Identification and isolation method of enriched T lymphocytes for leukemia treatment

This technology identifies and isolates CD8+ T lymphocytes with a specific phenotype (CD3+, CD8+, CD62L-, CD45RA+, and CD57+) for therapeutic use against leukemia cells in patients diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The isolation method involves a combination of cell sorting and antibodies to create an enriched population of T lymphocytes for cancer treatment. Success has been demonstrated in cancer patients who have relapsed or undergone other failed treatment methods. When the CD8+ T lymphocyte therapy is effective, the enriched T cells exhibit high expression of specific genes such as ZNF683/HOBIT and B3GAT1/CD57, which can serve as biomarkers to evaluate and predict the effectiveness of lymphocyte-based treatments.

Applications:

• Therapeutic for hematological malignancies
• Cell isolation method
• Cell screening tool for lymphocyte therapeutics
• Research tool for development of cancer therapeutics

Advantages:

• More targeted, effective cell therapy
• Functional validation through upregulation of CD137 and IFN-γ in the presence of leukemia cells
• Predictive diagnostic tool for assessing DLI product potency before infusion
• Potential for combination with TIGIT inhibitors to further enhance therapeutic efficacy
• Accurate gene identification tool

Lead Inventor:

Elham Azizi, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Pending (WO/2025/0726925)

Related Publications:

• Maurer K, Park CY, Mani S, Borji M, Raths F, Gouin KH, Penter L, Jin Y, Zhang JY, Shin C, Brenner JR, Southard J, Krishna S, Lu W, Lyu H, Abbondanza D, Mangum C, Olsen LR, Lawson MJ, Fabani M, Neuberg DS, Bachireddy P, Glezer EN, Farhi SL, Li S, Livak KJ, Ritz J, Soiffer RJ, Wu CJ, Azizi E. “Coordinated immune networks in leukemia bone marrow microenvironments distinguish response to cellular therapy.” Sci. Immunol. 2025 Jan 24;10(103):eadr0782

Tech Ventures Reference:

• IR CU24081

• Licensing Contact: Joan Martinez