Paving the way for off-the-shelf adoptive Treg therapy using epigenetic forward programming

Introduction

Regulatory T cells (Treg) are a type of immune cell that can suppress harmful inflammation caused by autoimmune diseases or organ transplant rejection. Using Treg as a living drug is a promising form of precision medicine, but it faces many practical and economic challenges, such as the need to produce a specific cell product for each patient.

Objective

A more feasible solution would be to create ‘off-the-shelf’ Treg products that are readily available and can be used universally without customizing them for each patient. One way to do this is to use human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), which can be differentiated into many different cell types. However, for Tregs, this has not been achieved yet in a clinically relevant way.

Methodology

In this proof of concept study, we will test our novel method of epigenetic editing on hiPSCs, which can modify the DNA structure and gene expression of the cells, to make them differentiate into functional Treg for their application in therapy. This method is based on our previous work in the ERC starting grant project EpiTune.

Expected Outcomes

If successful, it will open new avenues for the production of off-the-shelf therapeutic Treg products, which would mean a very important innovation for the field of Treg therapy.

Team Composition

For this project, we assembled a team of experts who have experience in developing and testing new T cell therapy products in the clinic, including:

• Regulatory affairs experts
• IP protection professionals
• Marketing strategists

Future Steps

If the PoC succeeds, their advice and guidance will help us prepare for the next steps of developing a clinical-grade manufacturing process.