Selective Depletion of Alloreactive T Lymphocytes Using Patient-Derived Nonhematopoietic Stimulator Cells in Allograft Engineering

Background. Selective depletion of alloreactive T cells in vitro results in efficient graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis in allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, but it is accompanied by increased recurrence of leukemia. To spare donor T-cell-mediated graft-versus-leukemia immunity against hematopoiesis-restricted minor histocompatibility (minor-H) antigens, we explored the use of patient-derived nonhematopoietic antigen-presenting cells (APC) as allogeneic stimulators for selective allodepletion in leukemia-reactive donor T-cell lines. Methods. Primary keratinocytes, dermal fibroblasts, and bone marrow fibroblasts were generated from skin biopsies and diagnostic bone marro…