Selective ex vivo expansion of cytomegalovirus-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocytes using dendritic cells pulsed with a human leucocyte antigen A*0201-restricted peptide

Adoptive transfer of ex vivo-generated cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific T lym phocytes may be effective in preventing CMV disease in allogeneic haematopo ietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients. We developed a procedure for expansion of CMV-specific T lymphocytes based on the antigen-presentin g function of donor dendritic cells (DCs), pulsed with a human leucocyte an tigen A*0201-restricted pp65 nonamer peptide. CMV-specific T lymphocytes we re identified following induction of interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) secretion prompted by peptide exposure. Both CD8(+) and CD4(+) CMV-specific T lympho cytes were selectively produced in these cultures and showed CMV-restricted cytotoxicity. The simultaneous and selective expansion of CD4(+) and CD8() CMV-specific lymphocytes might be instrumental for more efficient in vivo function of infused CMV-specific lymphocytes.