Method for producing dendritic cells - Isis Project No 131
Dr Fairchild, Professor Waldmann, Professor Gardner and their teams have discovered a method for the production of dendritic cells from embryonic stem cells. The invention makes use of embryonic cell differentiation in vitro and provides a novel approach to genetic modification of dendritic cells.
Therapeutic Areas
Cancer, tumours, autoimmune diseases and disorders.
Introduction
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US, exceeded only by heart disease. Nearly five million lives have been lost to cancer since 1990. Since 1990, approximately 13 million new cases have been diagnosed and about 1,220,100 new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in the year 2000.
Dendritic cells are the most potent antigen-presenting cells involved in host defence. All immunogenic and tolerogenic responses are initiated upon the recognition of antigen presented by mature dendritic cells, playing an important role in the immune response in cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Dendritic cells hold a promise for their use in therapeutics for cancer through manipulation of the immune system. However, neither a useful or renewable source of dendritic cells nor one that can be genetically manipulated have been identified previously.
The Technology
Dr Fairchild and Professor Waldmann (Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Oxford), Professor Gardner (Department of Zoology, Oxford) and their teams have discovered a method for the production of dendritic cells from embryonic stem cells. The invention makes use of embryonic cell differentiation in vitro and provides a novel approach to genetic modification of dendritic cells.
Benefits
- Tumour immunotherapy
By down-modulating a detrimental immune response or altering dendritic cell function.
- Dendritic cell manipulation
Dendritic cells can be genetically modified, for example, to inactivate a gene that is normally expressed in dendritic cells.
- Diagnostic Reagents
The invention would allow the production of genetically modified dendritic cells for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals for use in therapeutics or prophylaxis.
Commercialisation Opportunity
The patent applications are available for licence and we are actively seeking partners for the licensing and commercial development of this technology.