Generation and administration of HA-1-specific T-cell lines for the treatment of patients with relapsed leukemia after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: a pilot study

Since HA-1-specific T cells have been shown to make a significant contribution to the clinical responses in patients with relapsed leukemia, we investigated the feasibility of adoptive transfer of in vitro induced HA-1-specific CD8 positive T cells to patients with relapsed leukemia after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The in vitro generation of clinical grade HA-1-specific T-cell lines from HA-1 negative donors was seen to be feasible and 3 patients were treated with HA-1-specific T-cell lines. No toxicity after infusion was observed. Although in one patient, during a period of stable disease, HA-1-specific T cells could be detected in the peripheral blood and bone marrow, these patients had no clear clinical response.