Allergen specific T-cell clones for antibody testing - Isis Project No 2816
Oxford researchers have generated human CD4+ T cell clones specific for house dust mite allergens, for use as research tools.
MARKET OPPORTUNITY
Monoclonal antibodies represent some of the most important and successful therapies of the last few years, and increasing numbers are entering clinical development. However, testing the safety of human antibodies is not without challenges, as their incredibly high level of specificity increases the probability of misleading results in non-human animal models. The need for accurate animal models for testing human antibodies was highlighted recently via the tragic events surrounding the Tegenero antibody trial at Northwick Park.
THE OXFORD INVENTION
Oxford researchers have developed T-cell clones which could enable safety testing of human antibodies in rodent models. They identified various T-cell receptors which are specific for particular epitopes of Der p 1, and have subsequently produced three CD4 positive T-cell clones expressing different T-cell receptors specific for the same Der p 1 epitope. In contrast to CD8 positive T-cell clones, CD4 T-cells are particularly difficult to generate and there are thought to be only a handful of well-characterised examples worldwide.
These clones produce a well-defined cytokine profile including IL-4, IFN-g and many others. Adoptive transfer of these cells to SCID mice would create a rodent model with human cells producing human cytokines, which offers the potential to test human antibodies designed to block the pertinent cytokines and cell surface molecules. Other uses envisaged for the clones include testing of inhibitor drugs in vitro, transfer into animal models of disease and subsequent manipulation, and possibly T-cell receptor structural or ligand binding work and inhibition.
COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITY
The cell lines are now available for non-exclusive licensing as research tools, and Isis would like to talk to companies interested in inflammation research. Please contact the Isis Project Manager to discuss this further.
Keywords
allergy, dust-mite, t-cell, research tool, cell-line, assay.