ASGCT Press Release

ASGCT 13th Annual Meeting:
Suicide Genes May Improve Safety of Stem Cell Therapies

WASHINGTON – Cells programmed to commit immediate suicide may increase the safety of cell therapy treatments for patients with cancer and other diseases, according to research to be presented at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy 13th Annual Meeting.

A primary risk of cell therapy is that the cells won’t behave as expected. Unlike a medication, which will clear from a patient’s body within a matter of days, cell transplants continue to grow, potentially worsening the problem as time passes.

In a recent study, researchers demonstrated an approach to mitigating this risk – engineering cells to self-destruct on command.

Prior to a transplant, researchers modify the capase 9 molecule within the cell. If the treatment does not work as intended, a synthetic trigger drug is given to patients and the modified cells activate and destroy themselves, dying within minutes and disappearing from the patient’s body.

“This is a built-in safety feature that may become increasingly important as therapies using stem cells enter the clinic,” said Malcolm Brenner, MD, PhD, a researcher on the study.

The study results will be presented at 9:45 a.m. Friday, May 21.

Members of the media interested in attending the ASGCT Annual Meeting should download the press registration form at www.asgct.org/am10.

Previous studies have tested a gene derived from herpes viruses to terminate wayward cell transplants. But this approach has limitations – it works slowly, only works efficiently in actively multiplying cells, and the viral gene itself may make the cell a target for unwanted destruction by the body’s natural immune response.

 Abstract: 288
Title: CASPALLO: Phase I Clinical Trial of Allodepleted T Cells Transduced with Inducible Caspase 9 Suicide Gene after Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplantation
Date: Friday, May 21, 2010
Session Info: Plenary Abstract Session (8-10 a.m.)
Presentation Time: 9:45 a.m.
Room: Marriott Ballroom Salons 1, 2 & 3

The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) is a professional non-profit medical and scientific organization dedicated to the understanding, development and application of genetic and cellular therapies and the promotion of professional and public education in the field. For more information on ASGCT, visit its website, www.asgct.org.

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