The Division of Immune Therapy and Autoimmune Disease (DIAD) may be viewed as a division of Cellular Transplantation. Innovative protocols are ongoing or being developed concerning the use of 1) stem cells and 2) lymphocytes.

Stem cells

Clinical Program

Blood stem cells are being used in clinical trials to induce tolerance of autoimmune diseases. These include hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, chronic demyelinating inflammatory polyneuropathy, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, Crohn's diseaase, Bechets, and phemphigus. Phase III trials that are funded by the National Institutes of Health are being developed and should start this fall.

Protocols combining blood stem cells and living related kidney transplants to induce solid organ tolerance are in progress with the Transplant Surgery.

Animal studies are in progress to document plasticity of blood stem cells to regenerate myocytes, islet cells and neurons. These will lead to clinical trials in using stem cells for regenerative therapy of damaged organs such as patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure, spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis.

Stem Cell Laboratory (SCL)

A SCL will be located at 303 East Chicago Ave and will be devoted to stem cell biology including a GMP (Good Manufacturing Procedure) facility for expansion of stem cells prior to infusion in order to markedly decrease the risks and toxicity of transplantation.

Lymphocytes

Traditional therapies for cancer are surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. DIAD will focus on cellular immune therapy. The effectiveness of allogeneic transplants for cancer is due to an anti-tumor effect of the allogeneic lymphocytes. These cells may also kill a patient from damage to the normal body tissues, called graft versus host disease (GVHD). Allogenic lymphocytes genetically altered to contain a suicide gene have been infused into patients to treat their blood cancer (leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma). This has resulted in anti-tumor responses in some patients and ability to immediately stop GVHD by "activating" the suicide gene within the infused lymphocytes. This protocol is supported by the Leukemia Society of America. Lymphocytes may also be targeted to cancer without risk of GVHD by growing tumor specific clones. The DIAD division will develop a lymphocyte propagation laboratory (LPL) under GMP conditions to allow for clinical production of tumor-specific lymphocytes and gene altered lymphocytes.