autologous CD40 ligand-expressing B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells

Autologous CD40 ligand-expressing B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells represent an ex vivo gene therapy and autologous cell vaccine designed to overcome the immune-evasive nature of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In this approach, a patient's own CLL cells are harvested and transduced with an adenoviral vector (typically Ad-hCD154 or ISF35) encoding the human CD40 ligand (CD154). These modified cells express CD154 on their surface, which interacts with the CD40 receptor (TNFRSF5) present on bystander CLL cells and professional antigen-presenting cells. This CD40 ligation triggers a phenotypic shift in the malignant B-cells, inducing the upregulation of MHC molecules and costimulatory proteins such as CD80 (B7-1), CD86 (B7-2), and CD54 (ICAM-1). By transforming the leukemic cells into functional antigen-presenting cells, the therapy facilitates the activation of a systemic, T-cell-mediated anti-tumor immune response. Developed primarily at the University of California, San Diego, and licensed by Memgen, this modality has been evaluated in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of refractory CLL and small lymphocytic lymphoma.

Other names

CD154-expressing autologous CLL cellsCD-154-expressing autologous CLL cellsCD 154-expressing autologous CLL cellsAd-hCD154-modified autologous CLL cellsAd-hCD-154-modified autologous CLL cellsAd-hCD 154-modified autologous CLL cellsISF35-transduced autologous CLL cellsISF-35-transduced autologous CLL cellsISF 35-transduced autologous CLL cellsautologous CD154-expressing B-CLL cells