autologous dendritic cell vaccine pulsed with leukemic apoptotic corpse

Autologous dendritic cell vaccine pulsed with leukemic apoptotic corpse is an investigational personalized cellular immunotherapy designed to treat hematological malignancies, most notably acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The vaccine is produced by harvesting a patient's own monocytes via leukapheresis and differentiating them ex vivo into mature dendritic cells (DCs). These DCs are then "pulsed" or loaded with apoptotic bodies (corpses) derived from the patient's own leukemic blasts, which have been induced into apoptosis typically through irradiation. This process allows the dendritic cells to engulf and process a broad spectrum of leukemia-associated antigens (LAAs). Upon re-administration to the patient, these antigen-presenting cells migrate to lymphoid organs where they present the processed leukemic antigens to T-lymphocytes. This stimulates a robust, polyvalent immune response involving both CD4+ helper T cells and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, aimed at eliminating minimal residual disease and preventing clinical relapse in patients who have achieved complete remission.

Other names

autologous apoptotic cell-pulsed dendritic cell vaccineapoptotic leukemic cell-loaded dendritic cell vaccine