Adult Donor Rod Photoreceptors Integrate into the Mature Mouse Retina

Cell based therapy offers hope to individuals that have lost their sight through retinal degenerations. Previous studies have found that photoreceptors from immature mice can be successfully transplanted to the mature mouse retina; however, rod photoreceptors from adult donors failed to integrate into the host retina following transplantation. The authors have found that rod photoreceptors from adult mice can be successfully transplanted to the mature retina and this provides a potentially new avenue for cell based therapy

Locoregional CAR T cells for children with CNS tumors: Clinical procedure and catheter safety

Central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the most common solid malignancy in the pediatric population. Based on adoptive cellular therapy's clinical success against childhood leukemia and the preclinical efficacy against pediatric CNS tumors, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells offer hope of improving outcomes for recurrent tumors and universally fatal diseases such as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). However, a major obstacle for tumors of the brain and spine is ineffective T cell chemotaxis to disease sites. Locoregional CAR T cell delivery via infusion through an intracranial catheter is currently under study in multiple early phase clinical trials. Here, we describe the Seattle Children's single-institution experience including the multidisciplinary process for the preparation of successful, repetitive intracranial T cell infusion for children and the catheter-related safety of our 307 intracranial CAR T cell doses