Generation of antigen-specific T lymphocytes targeting Wilms tumor 1 using activated B cells

Abstract

In order to develop a therapeutic target for T cells, it is necessary to amplify T cells and increase activity through antigen-presenting cells (APCs) expressing an intracellular cancer antigen. Although dendritic cells are frequently used as APCs, producing dendritic cells is costly and time-consuming. In addition, as dendritic cells are attached cells, they are not suitable for mass production for use as immune cell therapy. On the other hand, B cells are non-adherent floating cells, and thus can easily be cultured in suspension systems. As such, B cells can be considered as suitable substance cells for the development of immune cell therapeutics.B cells lack the antigen-presenting ability of dendritic cells. Therefore, to use B cells as APCs, we previously reported a technology that can be used which simply and effectively produces anti-viral T cells in vitro by activating B cells with α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer). To apply this technology to anti-cancer treatment, Wilms tumor 1, the most representative cancer antigen expressed in various cancers, was selected. Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) was used to produce anti-cancer (anti-WT1) T cells using active B cells as APCs, and their respective activities were investigated.

Keywords: B cells; Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs); T lymphocytes; Wilms tumor 1 (WT1); α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer).