Isolation and flow cytometric analysis of T-cell-depleted CD34+PBPCs

BACKGROUND: To extend allogeneic HPC transplantation to a greater range of patients, the use of partially matched related donors is under development. Because of the inherently higher degree of histoincom-patibility in such transplants, there is increased risk of GVHD as well as of graft failure. Ex vivo depletion of donor-derived T-lymphocytes from PBPCs is one of the most effective methods of preventing GVHD. Thus far, individual centers have used custom-developed procedures to deplete the graft of T cells that are responsible for alloreactivity, often employing relatively impure, nonstandardized reagents such as soybean agglutinin and complement. In addition, with improved methods of T-cell depletion, it has been difficult to accurately assess the number of T cells remaining. Because different centers have used different protocols to assay T cells, it has been difficult to reproduce and validate the results between institutions, and this has limited direct comparison of data between centers. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A standardized approach for T-cell depletion was developed by using a Good Manufacturing Practice-manufactured magnetic cell separator (Isolex 300i, Nexell Therapeutics) and commercially available OKT3 antibody. T-cell depletion was performed on PBPCs from six haploidentical donors. RESULTS: CD34+ cell recovery was 47 percent (range, 31-63%) with a median purity of 94 percent (range, 75-99%) and median T-cell log depletion of 4.72 (range, 3.90-5.83). Because this high degree of depletion makes it challenging to accurately quantitate the remaining T cells, two highly sensitive flow cytometric protocols were developed, each of which accurately detects T cells with a sensitivity of 2 per 10,000 (0.02%). The purified CD34+ cells administered to the patients (dose range, 6.13-13.50 x 10(6)/ kg) provided rapid neutrophil and platelet engraftment. CONCLUSION: With the Isolex 300i and a MoAb directed against T cells, a high degree of T-cell depletion is obtained. Sensitive, accurate, and reproducible assays have now been developed for T-cell enumeration in these highly purified cell populations.