Immunological detection of altered cells
AssigneeAsthra, LLC
InventorsThomas Ichim, Santosh Kesari
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed are methods, compositions of matter, and protocols useful for the detection of altered cells in a patient. Immune cells capable of clonal expansion are engineered to produce a soluble signal upon activation and/or clonal expansion. The cells may possess a suicide gene, inducible upon administration pharmacological or light/radiation activatable, so as to eliminate the cells from body when desired. In another embodiment, immune cells produce a localized marker, the marker being visible with imaging technology. In other embodiments cells capable of non-clonal expansion are utilized. The disclosure provides means of utilizing the immunosurveillance properties of immune cells to diagnose and localize diseases associated with alteration of host cells.
Claims16
A method of in vivo labeling a melanoma cell in an individual having melanoma cancer, the method comprising the steps of:
- obtaining a population of lymphocytes capable of activation subsequent to binding to an antigen on the melanoma cell;
- labeling the population of lymphocytes with a label capable of producing a detectable signal;
- administering to the individual the labeled population of lymphocytes;
- and
- detecting the melanoma cell with the labeled population of lymphocytes in vivo.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.