Based on Cell Therapy, It Could Eventually Eliminate the Need for Immunosuppressive Drugs
The study shows promising results in the three transplanted infants already being treated with this technique.
A team of researchers at Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón has presented a pioneering cell-based treatment designed to prevent rejection of transplanted organs and potentially eliminate the need for immunosuppressive drugs.
After more than six years of research led by Rafael Correa Rocha, the Immunoregulation Laboratory reports that, because the therapy uses the patient’s own cells, side effects are minimal — significantly improving quality of life for transplant recipients. The thyTreg cell therapy, derived from thymic tissue, could be implemented in Spanish hospitals in the near future.
According to the Regional Government of Madrid, the study has yielded promising results in the three infant transplant patients currently being treated with this innovative technique developed at the public hospital.
Irene, the First Patient
The first baby to receive the treatment at Hospital Gregorio Marañón was six-month-old Irene, who was born with a congenital heart condition requiring transplantation.
She is progressing favorably in her immune response, and researchers are closely analyzing how thyTreg therapy may reduce the risk of rejecting her new heart — particularly during the first year post-transplant, considered the most critical period.
In the months following treatment, Irene has shown higher-than-usual levels of regulatory T cells compared to similar patients who did not receive the therapy. The presence of these cells appears to be keeping inflammatory mechanisms and immune cell proliferation that could trigger rejection under control.
The Thymus: An Alternative Source of Regulatory T Cells
In recent years, scientific studies have demonstrated that the immune system has an intrinsic regulatory or tolerance mechanism mediated by regulatory T cells (Tregs), which control and suppress inappropriate inflammatory responses.
Over the past six years, the Immunoregulation Laboratory at Gregorio Marañón, led by Rafael Correa Rocha, has investigated how to obtain large quantities of high-quality Tregs using a source alternative to blood.
The research conducted by Esther Bernaldo de Quirós, Marjorie Pion, and the rest of the team has led to the development of a completely new strategy to manufacture therapeutic doses of Treg cells from the thymus — a tissue located near the heart. Tregs derived from thymic tissue (thyTregs) possess unique properties and exceptionally high regulatory capacity. The protocol developed by the group allows for the production of thousands more cells than can be obtained from blood.
This team is pioneering the therapeutic use of thyTreg cells in patients and, together with the Pediatric Heart Unit and the Cell Production Unit of the Gregorio Marañón Health Research Institute, has launched a clinical trial of thyTreg cell therapy.
ThyTreg cell therapy may restore proper immune balance and could completely inhibit — or significantly reduce — the immune responses responsible for rejection, potentially extending graft viability indefinitely and prolonging patient survival.
The study is supported by the Organización Nacional de Trasplantes (ONT) and endorsed by the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program.
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