The present invention provides improved and/or shortened methods for expanding TILs and producing therapeutic populations of TILs, including novel methods for expanding TIL populations in a closed system that lead to improved efficacy, improved phenotype, and increased metabolic health of the TILs in a shorter time period, while allowing for reduced microbial contamination as well as decreased costs. Such TILs find use in therapeutic treatment regimens.

Methods of culturing T cells are provided. Accordingly there is provided a method of culturing T cells comprising adding to immune cells comprising T cells obtained from a subject having a pathology a non-cellular agent capable of binding 4-1BB and activating said 4-1BB signaling pathway; and culturing the immune cells with said agent for more than 7 days. Also provided are T cells obtainable by the method and uses thereof.

The invention relates to an immune cell that is capable of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and which comprises a nucleic acid sequence encoding a secreted antigen binding protein. The invention also concerns a method of producing the immune cell and medical uses for the immune cell.

Disclosed are improved methods for manufacturing large-scale populations of robust, highly pure, and functional T regulatory cells (Tregs). Also disclosed are expanded Treg populations, cryopreserved Treg populations and methods and uses of these cells in compositions formulated for treating one or more mammalian diseases, including, for example, treatment, prophylaxis, and/or amelioration of one or more symptoms of a human neurodegenerative disorder. In particular, the compositions and methods provided herein find clinical use in the treatment and amelioration of one or more symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease, and other neurological diseases and disorders.

The present invention discloses an in-vitro culture, induction, activation and cryopreservation method and cell bank establishment for immune cells. The method includes the follows: using a dedicated amplification medium of immune cells to perform first-stage amplification culture on mononuclear cells to obtain preliminarily amplified immune cells; using a dedicated induction medium of immune cells to perform second-stage induction and amplification culture on the preliminarily amplified immune cells to obtain induced immune cells; using a dedicated activation medium of immune cells to perform third-stage activation and amplification culture on the induced immune cells to obtain a large number of immune cells with activation functions; using a dedicated cryopreserving fluid of immune cells to cryopreserve the immune cells to obtain cryopreserved immune cells; and performing preservation according to ABO/RH typing and HLA typing; and establishing an information file of immune cells for retrieval to construct an immune cell bank.

Methods of culturing T cells with a 4-1BBL fusion polypeptide are provided. Accordingly there is provided a method of culturing T cells comprising adding to immune cells comprising T cells obtained from a subject having a pathology a PD1-4-1BBL or a SIRPalpha-4-1BBL fusion polypeptide; and culturing the immune cells with the fusion polypeptide for more than 7 days. Also provided are T cells obtainable by the method and uses thereof.

The present invention relates to the field of immunology, molecular biology and therapeutics. In particular, the invention relates to novel artificial feeder cells for activation and expansion of natural killer (NK) cells. The artificial feeder cell expresses endogenous ligands (HLA C1, C2, 5 and Bw4 type) for killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), non-KIR binding Bw6 ligand, endogenous HLA-E-ligand for inhibitory NKG2A receptor, and comprises at least one stimulatory cytokine either membrane bound or secreted or at least one co-stimulatory ligand where those ligands and cytokines each specifically bind to a cognate receptor on a NK cell of interest, thereby mediating expansion of the NK cell. The invention can be used as an “off the 10 shelf” artificial feeder cell that can be readily designed to expand a NK cell or a NK subset of interest and also specifically expand NK cells modified with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). By genetically introducing or knockdown of candidate genes, the artificial feeder cell of the invention can be used to identify the stimulatory, co-stimulatory, and any other factors that mediate growth, expansion and cytotoxicity of a NK cell. Thus, the present invention provides 15 powerful tools for development of novel therapeutics where activation and expansion of the NK cell and of the CAR-NK cell can provide a benefit.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for efficiently producing a B cell population comprising B cells that recognize a specific antigen. According to the present invention, provided is a method for producing a B cell population, comprising: a step (c) of culturing a cell population comprising B cells together with a specific antigen in the absence of IL-21, in the absence of IL-4, and in the presence of a cytokine other than IL-21 and IL-4, while giving stimulation mediated by CD40 and a BAFF receptor to the cells; and a step (d) of culturing the cell population comprising B cells, while giving stimulation mediated by has to the cells, so as to obtain a B cell population comprising B cells that recognize the specific antigen.

The present invention provides methods for preselecting TILs based on PD-1 expression, as well as methods for expanding those preselected PD-1 positive TILs in order to produce therapeutic populations of TILs with enhanced tumor-specific killing capacity (e.g., enhanced cytotoxicity).

Methods and compositions for treating cancer in a subject in need thereof. The method includes administering to the subject an effective amount of a composition comprising Tumor-Targeting Effectors (TITE) derived from a culture comprising a bispecific antibody armed activated T cell (BAT) and a cancer cell, to thereby treat cancer in the subject.