Autologous T-cell vaccination for multiple sclerosis: A perspective on progress

Arthur A. Vandenbark, Rivka Abulafia-Lapid

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

T-cell vaccination (TCV) is a unique approach to induce immune regulation that may have importance in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). TCV employs a classic vaccine strategy of injecting an attenuated form of the disease-causing agent - in this case, myelin-reactive T cells - that have been selected and expanded from each MS donor and then re-injected after irradiation to induce protective immunity. This anti-T-cell immunity consistently results in selective deletion or regulation of the targeted pathogenic T cells in vivo. Longitudinal studies have established that TCV is safe and often results in a reduced relapse rate and clinical stability or improvement, at least temporarily, in the majority of treated MS patients. These results lend direct support to the involvement of inflammatory myelin-reactive T cells in the MS disease process. However, these hopeful trends reported in a number of pilot trials await validation in larger proof-of-principle trials that are now in progress.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)265-273
Number of pages9
JournalBioDrugs
Volume22
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008

Keywords

  • Immunomodulators, therapeutic use
  • Multiple sclerosis, treatment
  • Vaccines, therapeutic use

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacology (medical)

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