The various embodiments of the disclosure relate generally to processes, methods, and systems for generating functional B cells ex vivo. It is particularly useful for ex vivo generation of antigen-specific germinal-center (GC) like B cells that are capable of efficient B cell expansion, immunoglobulin (Ig) class switching/class switching recombination (CSR), expression of germinal B cell phenotypes, antibody secretion, and somatic hypermutation (SHM) and resulting affinity maturation center phenotypes.

The present invention relates to alternatively activated macrophages (AAMs) for use in the treatment of liver injury and methods of treating and preventing liver injury using AAMs.

Provided is a method for manufacturing NKT-cell stimulating dendritic cells, the method including: a step for placing mononuclear cells in a culturing vessel and allowing some of the mononuclear cells to settle on a bottom surface of the vessel by keeping the culture still; a step for removing floating cells other than the cells that have settled on the bottom surface of the culturing vessel; a step for causing monocytes among the cells that have settled on the bottom surface to differentiate into immature dendritic cells by adding a predetermined factor to the culturing vessel; and a step for inducing mature dendritic cells into NKT-cell stimulating dendritic cells by adding ?-galactosylceramide to the culturing vessel.

Methods and composition for production of T cells are provided. Also provided are therapeutic methods using engineered T cells. For example, in certain aspects methods include preparing three dimensional cell culture compositions comprising stroma cells and hematopoietic stem or progenitor cells in a serum-free medium for producing T cells.

Methods of treating melanomas refractory to other therapies using tumor infiltrating lymphocytes are disclosed. Also disclosed is the use of IP-10 as a biomarker for predicting treatment efficacy.

Embodiments of the disclosure concern methods and compositions for immunotherapy for human papillomavirus infection and diseases associated therewith. In specific embodiments, methods concern production of immune cells that target one or more antigens of HPV16 and/or HPV18, including methods with stimulation steps that employ IL-7 and IL-15, but not IL-6 and/or IL-12. Other specific embodiments utilize stimulations in the presence of certain cells, such as costimulatory cells and certain antigen presenting cells.

The present disclosure provides a composition derived from a platelet concentrate, methods of making the composition, and culture medium supplemented with the composition. Preferred methods of making the composition include heat treating a platelet lysate composition.

The present disclosure relates to a novel process for expanding T cells, such as autologous T cells, cell populations therefrom, pharmaceutical compositions comprising the said cell populations and use of the cells and compositions for treatment, particular the treatment or prophylaxis of virus infection and/or cancer, for example in immune compromised or immune competent human patients.

The invention relates to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) produced from source dendritic cells (DCs). The invention also relates to synthetic DCs re-differentiated the iPSCs and which display a definitive adult phenotype rather than a primitive fetal/neonatal phenotype. The invention also relates to methods for making and methods of using the iPSCs and DCs of the invention.

The invention presented here relates to a method for producing an artificial environment of primary cell populations, particularly an artificial tumor environment of primary tumor cell populations and its use in an ex vivo method to test the cellular responsiveness of primary tumor cell populations to a drug or drugs. The method of the invention comprises incubation of the primary tumor cells with the artificial tumor environment and the drug or drugs and analyze the response of the primary tumor cell populations. The incubation of the primary tumor cells with the artificial tumor environment, enhances the viability of said tumor cells and/or induces greater levels of tumor cell proliferation and, consequently, increases the sensitivity and accuracy of the test with regard to the drug/s assayed.