A group from Baylor University has developed a novel immunotherapy technique for limiting the effects of multiple viruses known to cause complications following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The therapy focuses on the rapid generation of polyclonal cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that are specific for 15 antigens from 7 different viruses: EBV, CMV, Adenovirus, BK, HHV-6, RSV, and Influenza. This approach offers many advantages over conventional antiviral treatment options, because there is no toxicity and it can be used for patients infected with strains that are resistant to commonly used antivirals. T-cell therapy has been shown to treat and prevent EBV related post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) in several studies by the same group (Bollard 2012).
For more information, read the full paper, “Rapidly Generated Multivirus-specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes for the Prophylaxis and Treatment of Viral Infections”
This study was partially funded through the HHV-6 Pilot Grant Program.