Cord Blood-Derived Virus-Specific T Cells After Cord Blood Transplantation

Cord blood transplantation is an alternative method of stem celltransplantation that can be curative for some malignancies and geneticdisorders. However, the necessary conditioning associated with thetransplant renders patients susceptible to viral infections, such as thosefrom CMV, EBV, and adenovirus. Our group and others have shownthat virus-specific T cells are an attractive option for the treatment orprophylaxis of viral infection, while the expansion of virus-specific T cellsis challenging when the donor is not seropositive for the virus. Here,we will discuss a new approach to expanding virus-specific T cells fromthe naive T cell population that is predominant in cord blood. We willdiscuss new methods of expanding these cells as well as their clinicalsafety and potential efficacy.

Keywords:

Cord blood-derived virus-specific T cells , Cord blood transplantation