Differentiation and Proliferation of Therapeutic T cells from umbilical cord blood derived cells

Abstract

Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide; in 2018, there were 18.1 million new cases and 9.5 million cancer-related deaths. Current methods, such as chemotherapy, have been used for decades and while it is a decent treatment, it is not feasible in the long run for consistent reference because of the effects of radiation and the growing resistance that cancer cells develop. As a result of cancer cells having mutations that can result in “hidden” receptors, making them undiscoverable by the body's T cells, immunotherapy has emerged as a new approach to cancer treatments. Adoptive cell therapies using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, more specifically, have shown promise due to their ability to incorporate the receptors and antibodies necessary to discover the cancer cells despite mutated patterns. Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB) T cells are a new, up and coming technology that are obtained through derivation from umbilical cord blood. In this thesis, UCB T cells are combined with 3 variable expansion systems and cultured with and without transduction to determine proliferation rate, phenotypic qualities, and CAR expression to determine the capabilities of their usage as an allogeneic adoptive cell therapy.