Placenta-derived stromal cells in severe acute GvHD
Mats Remberger, adjunct professor at the Department of Medical Sciences, Hematology, is working on a method to treat acute GvHD with placenta-derived stromal cells (DSC).
Acute graft versus host disease (GvHD) is a clinical syndrome that can occur when foreign T cells are transferred from a donor to an immunocompromised patient. This situation is most common in the context of an allogeneic stem cell transplant. The infused T cells recognize the patient's cells as foreign (non-native) and react against them, which can lead to serious, sometimes life-threatening, conditions. Initial treatment is cortisone, but only about 50% of patients respond to this treatment. There are currently limited options for treating acute GvHD that does not respond to cortisone as effective treatments are few and help only a proportion of patients.
Mats Remberger, adjunct professor at the Department of Medical Sciences, Hematology, is working on a method to treat acute GvHD with placenta-derived stromal cells (DSC). The cells are collected from the placenta during a caesarean section (donated tissue), cultured and given as an allogeneic treatment. The cells seek out damaged tissue in the patient and have an immunosuppressive effect there.
In a clinical trial (DSC-BROMS, EudraCT: 2019-002186-36) coordinated from Uppsala University Hospital, patients with acute GvHD are being randomized to treatment with either DSC or best available treatment (BAT). The study also has treatment centers in Lund in Sweden, Toronto in Canada, Copenhagen in Denmark and Oslo in Norway. The ATMP used in the study is produced at the Department of Cell Therapy at Oslo University Hospital in Norway. Three patients have been treated in the study, of which 2 have responded well.
4 patients with GVHD grade III-IV (skin, gut, liver) were treated in Oslo and Toronto before the study started. All of them benefited from the treatment and their GvHD healed. The treatment has not shown any side effects in any of the patients who received it.
19 patients with COVID-19 triggered Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) have been treated in a study in Toronto, Canada. In these patients, DSC was also effective and 16 of the patients survived. Their oxygenation (P/F ratio) increased by 40% after treatment with DSC.