Pre-clinical CRO Service
Cell therapy evaluation platform
Basic Information
1.Cellular immunity and its therapeutic effects
The human immune system consists of immune organs and tissues, immune cells, and immune molecules. It is closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors, infectious diseases, and autoimmune diseases. Cellular immunity refers to the immune cells directly participating in and secreting immunologically active substances (such as antibodies, complement, interferons, interleukins, tumor necrosis factors, etc.) to kill tumors and pathogenic microorganisms. However, when immune cells are deficient or their functions are impaired, it can also lead to autoimmune diseases in the body. The use of various immune cells or immune-related cells for the treatment of tumors, infectious diseases, and autoimmune diseases has become a hot topic in biomedical research in recent years.
2.Immunocell Therapy
The immune cells used in clinical immunotherapy include dendritic (DC) cells, natural killer (NK) cells, lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells, chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL)cells.
2.1Dendritic cell (DC) therapy
Dendritic cells (DCs) are a heterogeneous cell population with high cytotoxic activity that are widely distributed in various organs throughout the body, except for the brain. However, their population is less than 1% of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Different lineages of DCs have distinct functions. Based on different origins and properties in the human body, there are two main types of DCs: deriving from bone marrow and from lymphoid tissues. The former is the predominant source of most DCs, derived from bone marrow CD34+ cells and associated with the monocyte-phagocytic system. They are widely distributed throughout the body. The latter, derived from precursor cells isolated from the thymus, have low expression of CD34 and are mainly distributed in the thymic medulla, spleen, and T cell zones of lymph nodes. When used in combination with CIK cells, they exhibit synergistic anti-tumor effects.
DC therapy is a treatment approach that involves utilizing the antigen-presenting capability of dendritic cells to activate cytotoxic T cells within the human body, with the aim of killing cancer cells. Dendritic cell vaccines are developed using the patient's own cells, where monocytes are extracted from peripheral blood and cultured to mature dendritic cells. Cancer antigens are then introduced into these dendritic cells, creating a vaccine that can be administered to the patient.
2.2 Natural killer (NK) cell therapy
NK cells are a type of effector lymphocyte in the innate immune system. They develop and differentiate from hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. NK cells are not only involved in anti-tumor, anti-viral infection, and immune regulation, but also play a role in hypersensitivity reactions and the development of autoimmune diseases under certain circumstances. They primarily target certain tumor cells, virus-infected cells, certain self-tissue cells (such as blood cells).
2.3Lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell therapy
Lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells are cytotoxic cells that are generated through the in vitro culture of NK cells or T cells, induced by high doses of cytokines such as IL-2. LAK cells have the ability to kill NK cell-resistant tumor cells and possess a broad-spectrum anti-tumor effect, they are not an independent lymphocyte subset. LAK cell therapy is particularly effective when combined with interleukin-2 (IL-2).
2.4(CAR-T)Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy
CAR-T is a novel targeted therapy for B-cell malignancies in which the T cell receptor gene and anti-CD19 antibody gene are fused, the modified genes are then transfected into T cells, which are expanded in vitro and subsequently reinfused into the patient. These genetically modified CAR-T cells have a specific binding site on their surface, allowing them to recognize the CD19 antigen on the surface of B cells in B-cell malignancies. Continuous stimulation from the CD19 antigen leads to the proliferation and activation of CAR-T cells, which can effectively kill tumor cells.
2.5 Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are a heterogeneous population of lymphocytes found within the tumor stroma, including T cells and NK cells. These cells are mobilized by the body's immune system to infiltrate deep into the tumor tissue and are considered as a "superhero" with the strongest recognition, resistance, and attack capabilities against cancer cells. Once they reach the tumor site, TILs exert their antitumor effects by directly killing tumor cells through the release of cytotoxic substances. Additionally, TILs can modulate the body's immune function and enhance its ability to eliminate tumor cells. Similar to CAR-T therapy, TILs are a form of adoptive immunotherapy. However, TIL therapy represents a novel solid tumor T-cell therapy that surpass the efficacy of CAR-T treatment.
Different cell therapies have different indications, and studying these therapies requires various cellular tumor models. Our company has a comprehensive cell bank and animal experiment platform, allowing us to provide immunodeficient mouse models of different cancer types (solid tumors such as melanoma and non-solid tumors such as leukemia). We can also offer corresponding efficacy evaluation systems for clients' products (immune cells) in these models.
Services We Provide
We can build specific mouse tumor models using different cancer types and cell lines according to the client's requirements and conduct efficacy evaluation of these immune cells provided by the client.
Procedure of Services
1)Preparation of primary immune cells (provided by the client)
2)Construction of mouse tumor models
3)Intravenous injection of immune cells for administration
4)Efficacy evaluation (for solid tumors: measuring tumor size, for non-solid tumors: in vivo imaging)
5)Detection of immune parameters
Features
1.Our cell bank offers a variety of human cancer cell lines, which allows multiple choices of cell lines to study the therapy effects on different cancer types.
2.Our animal facility can accommodate 1000-2000 mouse cages simultaneously, which helps us to ensure the project punctuality.
Representative Case
Our Laboratory