GenExpress Gesellschaft
für Proteindesign mbH
Eresburgstraße 22–23, D-12103 Berlin
info@genexpress.de
Telefon: +49 (0)30 78 70 98 28
Telefax: +49 (0)30 78 70 98 27
1. Protective T cell transplants through microencapsulation
Funding code: 0311594
A joint research project funded by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) for the establishment of a supplemental therapy in bone marrow transplantation through protective T cells that are supposed to be generated through microencapsulation. The focus is on minimization of adenoviral infections during the posttranslation phase.
Project partners:
- DRFZ, Berlin
- RKI, Berlin
- Charité, Berlin
- Fresenius, Bad Homburg
- EuroFerm, Erlangen
- Institut für BVT, Erlangen
- GenExpress, Berlin
Within the joint project it was GenExpress's job to develop a molecular quality control on the basis of a T cell-specific cDNA chip as well as generate suitable antigens - in terms of recom-bination - for the T cell stimulation.
Already available human gene fragments which are suitable for the creation of tissue-specific chips were selected and the collection was expanded by the genes that were additionally required for specification.
An expression system designed by GenExpress served as platform for the recombinant antigens to be produced. Specifically for the particular clinical requirements GenExpress estab-lished a procedure for the generation of the immunodominant antigen.
The stimulation of donor material with the antigen generated by GenExpress allows the generation of a sufficient volume of adenovirus-specific CD-4 cells so that they allow clinical application.
The most important result of the joint research is that it was possible to successfully develop or establish, respectively, the T cell isolation and expansion as well as the virus monitoring. In addition to the known potential antigens we were able to identify another protein which shows antigenic properties.
The developed procedure allows the original objective of performing a clinical study regarding proof of the positive influence of protective T cell transplants. The first phase of the clinical trial was started in 2006 within the framework of DFG funding (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, German Research Foundation).