Summit on cell therapy for cancer: The importance of the interaction of multiple disciplines to advance clinical therapy

The field of cellular therapy of cancer is moving quickly and the issues involved with its advancement are complex and wide ranging. The growing clinical applications and success of adoptive cellular therapy of cancer has been due to the rapid evolution of immunology, cancer biology, gene therapy and stem cell biology and the translation of advances in these fields from the research laboratory to the clinic. The continued development of this field is dependent on the exchange of ideas across these diverse disciplines, the testing of new ideas in the research laboratory and in animal models, the development of new cellular therapies and GMP methods to produce these therapies, and the testing of new adoptive cell therapies in clinical trials. The Summit on Cell Therapy for Cancer to held on November 1 and 2, 2011 at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus will include a mix of perspectives, concepts and ideas related to adoptive cellular therapy that are not normally presented together at any single meeting. This novel assembly will generate new ideas and new collaborations and possibly increase the rate of advancement of this field

Immunomodulatory properties of human multipotent stromal cells

The application of MSC as therapeutic agent to treat a variety of immune related diseases is currently under investigation in preclinical and clinical studies. Although promising results have been reported, more insight in the basic MSC biology and in the mechanisms by which MSC modulate the immune system are necessary to optimize the safe and effective application of MSC in the clinic. This thesis describes our contributions to the understanding of the immunomodulatory mechanisms of MSC. We also investigated some translational aspects of MSC therapy, aiming at selecting the preferred tissue source for clinical application. The work supports the role of MSC as powerful modulators of the innate and adaptive immune response. Immune suppression by MSC through modulation of monocytes and macrophages sheds a new light on the possible mechanism of therapeutic application of MSC for immunomodulatory purposes and the invo lvement of type 2 macrophages in tissue repair might link the immunomodulatory properties of MSC to the possibly advantageous effects of MSC for tissue regeneration. The fundamental studies on the immunomodulatory effects of MSC may provide valuable knowledge on how to proceed with applying MSC as a therapy in immune related diseases.Greiner Bio-one; Becton Dickinson; PeprotechUBL - phd migration 201