Method for culturing T precursor cells under conditions of high oxygen concentration

Patent Number: 5476780

The stem cells that generate T cells originate in the bone marrow and differentiate in the thymus. This patent teaches that T cell precursors can be expanded in high oxygen conditions in a thymic-like microenvironment. This patent is very interesting not only from the point of view of generating T cells for immune stimulation, but also because theoretically it can be applied to the generation of T cells that suppress the immune system called T regulatory cells. The addition of specific antigens into the culture conditions described can allow for the generation of antigen-specific T regulatory cells that can be useful for the treatment of autoimmunity, or any disease in which antigen-specific suppression of T cell activity is sought.

View this patent on the USPTO website.