{"id":1667,"date":"2024-10-16T12:31:12","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T19:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/?p=1667"},"modified":"2024-10-16T12:31:13","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T19:31:13","slug":"10-chronic-viral-infections-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/?p=1667","title":{"rendered":"#10…”Chronic Viral Infections”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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New post on The Stem Cellar<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n

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A look back: CIRM funded trial aims to help patients suffering from chronic viral\u00a0infections<\/a><\/h2>\n

by Yimy Villa<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Dr. Michael Pulsipher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

All this month we are using our blog and social media to highlight a new chapter in CIRM\u2019s life, thanks to the voters approving Proposition 14. We are looking back at what we have done since we were created in 2004, and also looking forward to the future. Today we look at a way of making blood stem cell transplants safer and more readily available<\/em><\/p>\n

Blood stem cell transplants have provided lifechanging treatments to individuals.\u00a0 This statement is observed firsthand in several patients in CIRM funded trials for X-linked Chronic Granulomatous Disease (X-CGD)<\/a>, Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)<\/a>, and Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID)<\/a>.\u00a0 The personal journeys of Evangelina Padilla-Vaccaro<\/a>, Evie Junior<\/a>, and Brenden Whittaker<\/a> speak volumes for the potential this treatment holds.\u00a0 In these trials, defective blood stem cells from the patient are corrected outside the body and then returned to the patient in a transplant procedure.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there is still a certain degree of risk that accompanies this procedure.\u00a0 Before a blood stem cell transplant can be performed, \u00a0diseased or defective blood stem cells in the patient\u2019s bone marrow need to be removed using chemotherapy or radiation to make room for the transplant.\u00a0 This leaves the patient temporarily without an immune system and at risk for a life-threatening viral infection.\u00a0 Additionally, viral infections pose a serious risk to patients with immune deficiency disorders, with viruses accounting upwards of 40% of deaths in these patients.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why in October 2017, the CIRM ICOC Board awarded $4.8M to fund a clinical trial<\/a> conducted by Dr. Michael Pulsipher at the Children\u2019s Hospital of Los Angeles.\u00a0 Dr. Pulsipher and his team are using virus-specific T cells (VSTs), a special type of cell that plays an important role in the immune response, to treat immunosuppressed or immune deficient patients battling life-threatening viral infections.\u00a0 This trial includes patients with persistent viral infections after having received a blood stem cell transplant as well as those with immune deficiency disorders that have not yet received a blood stem cell transplant.\u00a0 The VSTs used in this trial specifically treat cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and adenovirus infections.\u00a0 They are manufactured using cells from healthy donors and are banked so as to be readily available when needed.<\/p>\n

One challenge of receiving a stem cell transplant can be finding a patient and donor that are a close or identical match.\u00a0 This is done by looking at specific human leukocyte antigens (HLA), which are protein molecules we inherit from our parents.\u00a0 To give you an idea of how challenging this can be, you only have a 25% chance of being an HLA identical match with your sibling.<\/p>\n

Because VSTs are temporary soldiers that are administered to fight the viral infection and then disappear, Dr. Pulsipher and his team are using partially HLA-matched VSTs to treat patients in their trial.\u00a0 Previous studies have indicated that partially HLA-matched T-cells can be effective in treating patients.\u00a0 The availability of partially HLA-matched VST banks that can be used \u201coff the shelf\u201d improves accessibility and shortens the time for patients to receive VST therapy, which will save lives.<\/p>\n

To learn more about Dr. Pulsipher\u2019s work, please view the video below:<\/p>\n

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Yimy Villa<\/a><\/strong> | January 13, 2021 at 10:20 am | Tags: adenovirus<\/a>, Blood stem cell transplant<\/a>, CIRM<\/a>, cmv<\/a>, cytomegalovirus<\/a>, Dr. Michael Pulsipher<\/a>, EBV<\/a>, Epstein-Barr virus<\/a>, HLA<\/a>, virus-specific T-cells VSTs<\/a> | Categories: California Institute for Regenerative Medicine<\/a>, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles<\/a>, Clinical Trials<\/a>, Month of CIRM<\/a>, Stem cell research<\/a> | URL: https:\/\/wp.me\/p4BBpx-4I8<\/a><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New post on The Stem Cellar A look back: CIRM funded trial aims to help patients suffering from chronic viral\u00a0infections by Yimy Villa Dr. Michael Pulsipher All this month we are using our blog and social media to highlight a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1667"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1668,"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667\/revisions\/1668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mydiabeticsoul.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}