COMPACT CELL CULTURE DEVICE FOR CELLULAR IMMUNOTHERAPY

ADOPTIVE CELLULAR IMMUNOTHERAPY (CI), SPECIFICALLY LYMPHOKINE-ACTIVATED KILLER (LAK) CELLS, HAS DEVELOPED INTO A PROMISING METHOD FOR EFFECTIVE CANCER THERAPY. UNFORTUNATELY, LAK CELL THERAPY IS LIMITED BY THE LABOR-INTENSIVE TASK OF GENERATING LARGE NUMBERS OF ACTIVATED LYMPHOCYTES. CONVENTIONAL CELL-CULTURE METHODS CAUSE LARGE-SCALE LAK CELL PRODUCTION TO BE EXTREMELY LABOR INTENSIVE. AS A RESULT, ROUTINE CLINICAL OR THERAPEUTIC APPLICATION IS HAMPERED BY THE MAGNITUDE OF THISTASK. ENDOTRONICS, INC.'S, HOLLOW-FIBER-BASED TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE AN EFFICIENT LARGE-SCALE APPROACH TO MASS LAK CELL PRODUCTION. THIS INSTRUMENTATION WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR LONG-TERM, LARGE-SCALE MAMMALIAN CELL CULTURE AND ASSOCIATED PROTEIN PRODUCTION. TO GAIN WIDESPREAD ACCEPTANCE IN THE FIELD OF CI, A USER-FRIENDLY, COST-EFFECTIVE SYSTEM MUST BE DEVELOPED. PHASE I RESEARCH WILL STUDY THE USE OF A SIMPLER, LESS COSTLY HOLLOW-FIBER SYSTEM FOR LAK CELL GROWTH. THE DESIGN GOALS ARE TO PRODUCE A COST-EFFECTIVE SYSTEM THAT WILL EXPAND 10(9) PERIPHERAL BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES INTO 10(11) LAK CELLS IN 14 DAYS. PHASE II DEVELOPMENT WILL INTEGRATE THE PHASE I INFORMATION INTO A DEDICATED CI SYSTEM THAT CAN BE EASILY OPERATED BY CLINICAL LABORATORY STAFF.