Publications by authors named "Algeri Mattia"

Allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting disialoganglioside-GD2 (ALLO_GD2-CART01) could be a therapeutic option for patients with relapsed or refractory, high-risk neuroblastoma (r/r HR-NB) whose tumors did not respond to autologous GD2-CART01 or who have profound lymphopenia. We present a case series of five children with HR-NB refractory to more than three different lines of therapy who received ALLO_GD2-CART01 in a hospital exemption setting. Four of them had previously received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

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Human recombination-activating gene (RAG) deficiency can manifest with distinct clinical and immunological phenotypes. By applying a multiomics approach to a large group of -mutated patients, we aimed at characterizing the immunopathology associated with each phenotype. Although defective T and B cell development is common to all phenotypes, patients with hypomorphic variants can generate T and B cells with signatures of immune dysregulation and produce autoantibodies to a broad range of self-antigens, including type I interferons.

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JAGN1 (Jagunal-homolog1) is a ER-resident transmembrane protein which is part of the early secretory pathway and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor receptor mediated signaling. Autosomal recessively inherited variants in the JAGN1 gene lead to congenital neutropenia, early-onset bacterial infections, aphthosis and skin abscesses due to aberrant differentiation and maturation of neutrophils. In addition, bone metabolism disorders and a syndromic phenotype, including facial features, short stature and neurodevelopmental delay, have been reported in affected patients.

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  • Blinatumomab shows strong effectiveness in treating relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) in children and young adults, often leading to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).
  • In a study with 78 patients, the 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 72.2% and overall survival (OS) was 89.2%, with low non-relapse mortality at 2.6%.
  • Patients who were in first complete remission had better DFS compared to those in later remissions, and those receiving both inotuzumab and blinatumomab had lower relapse rates post-HSCT.
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  • The study focuses on the safety and effectiveness of CD19-targeting CAR T cells in a 12-year-old boy with resistant juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM).
  • The patient underwent a single CAR T cell infusion after intensive lymphodepletion and showed significant immune response with complete B cell depletion and a mild side effect profile.
  • Remarkably, he experienced sustained clinical improvements over eight months post-infusion without needing ongoing immunosuppressive therapy.
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Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are innate-like T cells implicated in the response to fungal and bacterial infections. Their contribution to restoring T-cell immunity and influencing hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) outcomes remains poorly understood. We retrospectively studied MAIT-cell recovery in 145 consecutive children and young adults with hematologic malignancies undergoing allogeneic (allo)-HSCT between April 2019 and May 2022, from unrelated matched donor (MUD, N=52), with standard graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD) prophylaxis, or HLA-haploidentical (Haplo, N=93) donor after in vitro αβT/CD19-cell depletion, without post-HSCT pharmacological prophylaxis.

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HLA-mismatched transplants with either in vitro depletion of CD3+ T-cell receptor (TCR)αβ/CD19 (TCRαβ) cells or in vivo T-cell depletion using posttransplant cyclophosphamide (PTCY) have been increasingly used for patients with inborn errors of immunity (IEIs). We performed a retrospective multicenter study via the EBMT registry on 306 children with IEIs undergoing their first transplant between 2010 and 2019 from an HLA-mismatched donor using TCRαβ (n = 167) or PTCY (n = 139). The median age for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was 1.

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  • Exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) is a novel cell therapy using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to boost fetal hemoglobin production in patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia.
  • In a phase 3 study, 52 patients aged 12 to 35 underwent treatment with exa-cel after myeloablative conditioning, and 91% achieved transfusion independence for at least 12 months.
  • The therapy showed promising results with high mean total and fetal hemoglobin levels, a favorable safety profile, and no serious adverse events like deaths or cancers reported during the follow-up period.
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  • Haploidentical stem cell transplantation (haplo-SCT) helps children with a genetic problem that affects their bone marrow when they can’t find a matching donor.
  • A study looked at 162 patients and found that the best type of T-cell removal, called TCRαβ/CD19 depletion, led to better survival rates and fewer serious side effects.
  • Overall, the study shows that haplo-SCT is a safe option and that the TCRαβ/CD19 method could give kids with these conditions a better chance to live without severe complications.
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In recent years, a growing number of clinical trials have been initiated to evaluate gene therapy approaches for the treatment of patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia and sickle cell disease (SCD). Therapeutic modalities being assessed in these trials utilize different molecular techniques, including lentiviral vectors to add functional copies of the gene encoding the hemoglobin β subunit in defective cells and CRISPR-Cas9, transcription activator-like effector protein nuclease, and zinc finger nuclease gene editing strategies to either directly address the underlying genetic cause of disease or induce fetal hemoglobin production by gene disruption. Here, we review the mechanisms of action of these various gene addition and gene editing approaches and describe the status of clinical trials designed to evaluate the potentially for these approaches to provide one-time functional cures to patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia and SCD.

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  • In kids with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who don't have a sibling that is a perfect match for a donor, doctors can use other types of donors.
  • This study looked at how well kids with AML did after receiving stem cell transplants from two different types of donors from 2011 to 2021.
  • It found that while one type of transplant (from a haploidentical donor) had a higher risk of certain complications, both transplant types showed similar success rates in keeping the leukemia away and overall survival after two years.
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  • Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic blood disorder caused by a mutation in the β-globin gene, affecting millions worldwide and offering a target for gene therapy due to its monogenic nature.
  • Recent advancements in gene therapy and genome editing have led to various strategies aimed at treating SCD, focusing on correcting mutations or reactivating the fetal γ-globin gene.
  • While these methods show promise in preclinical studies, concerns about their long-term effects and potential genotoxicity remain, prompting interest in newer, nuclease-free genome editing technologies that may provide safer solutions.
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TCRαβ/CD19 cell depletion is a promising graft manipulation technique frequently used in the context of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We previously reported the results of a phase I-II clinical trial (NCT01810120) to assess the safety and the efficacy of this type of exvivo T-cell depletion in 80 children with acute leukemia, showing promising survival outcomes. We now report an updated analysis on a cohort of 213 children with a longer follow-up (median, 47.

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  • Acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) are serious complications after allogeneic stem cell transplantation, and while steroids are the standard first-line treatment, there is a lack of consistent options for those who don't respond.
  • Ruxolitinib has emerged as a promising second-line therapy for patients with steroid-refractory GvHD, showing significant improvements in clinical trials, particularly in two phase-III randomized studies.
  • Despite its effectiveness, there are still unanswered questions about ruxolitinib's long-term use, indicating a need for further research and observation to enhance patient management strategies.*
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BACKGROUNDSevere forms of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) require prolonged immunosuppressive therapies and repeated courses of high-dose glucocorticoids. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have promising immunomodulatory properties that may be employed therapeutically to reduce patient exposure to medications and their side effects.METHODSWe performed a phase I open-label trial assessing safety and feasibility of autologous bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) in children and young adults with severe forms of steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome.

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Autologous CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells have shown unprecedented efficacy in children with relapsed/refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL). However, patients either relapsing after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) or displaying profound lymphopenia and/or rapidly progressing disease often cannot access autologous products. These hurdles may be overcome by allogeneic, donor-derived CAR-T cells.

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Background: Evidence regarding health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (SR-aGvHD) is lacking. Evaluating HRQoL was a secondary objective of the HOVON 113 MSC trial. Here we describe the outcomes of the EQ-5D-5L, EORTC QLQ-C30, and FACT-BMT for all adult patients who completed these questionnaires at baseline (i.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is being explored as a way to help patients accept solid organ transplants without needing long-term immune suppression.
  • A boy received a liver transplant from a deceased donor and had previously undergone HSCT from an unrelated donor due to a blood condition.
  • Remarkably, after the HSCT, he was able to stop immune suppression permanently without suffering any liver damage, marking the first documented case of operational tolerance in such a scenario.
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Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is often the only curative treatment option for patients suffering from various types of malignant diseases and some non-cancerous conditions. Nevertheless, it is associated with a high risk of complications leading to transplant-related mortality and long-term morbidity. An increasing number of therapeutic and prevention strategies have been developed over the last few years to tackle the complications arising in patients receiving an HSCT.

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Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is the only consolidated, potentially curative treatment for patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia major. In the past few decades, several new approaches have reduced the toxicity of conditioning regimens and decreased the incidence of graft-versus-host disease, improving patients' outcomes and quality of life. In addition, the progressive availability of alternative stem cell sources from unrelated or haploidentical donors or umbilical cord blood has made HSCT a feasible option for an increasing number of subjects lacking an human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical sibling.

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Excess body weight has been considered beneficial to bone health because of its anabolic effect on bone formation; however, this results in a poor quality bone structure. In this context, we evaluated the involvement of circulating extracellular vesicles in the impairment of the bone phenotype associated with obesity. Circulating extracellular vesicles were collected from the plasma of participants with normal weight, as well as overweight and obese participants, quantified by flow cytometry analysis and used to treat mesenchymal stromal cells and osteoblasts to assess their effect on cell differentiation and activity.

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  • High genetic variability in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) increases the effectiveness of immune responses against diseases like cancer; this variability can be measured through HLA evolutionary divergence (HED).
  • A study analyzed 153 pediatric and young adult patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and found that higher HED scores for specific HLA types (B and DRB1) correlated with better disease-free and overall survival rates.
  • The findings suggest that HED could serve as an important prognostic tool in transplant outcomes, potentially guiding clinical decisions in the future if further research supports these results.
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Background: Paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is characterized by poor outcomes in patients with relapsed/refractory disease, despite the improvements in intensive standard therapy. The leukaemic cells of paediatric AML patients show high expression of the CD123 antigen, and this finding provides the biological basis to target CD123 with the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). However, CAR.

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Current surgical options for patients requiring esophageal replacement suffer from several limitations and do not assure a satisfactory quality of life. Tissue engineering techniques for the creation of customized "self-developing" esophageal substitutes, which are obtained by seeding autologous cells on artificial or natural scaffolds, allow simplifying surgical procedures and achieving good clinical outcomes. In this context, an appealing approach is based on the exploitation of decellularized tissues as biological matrices to be colonized by the appropriate cell types to regenerate the desired organs.

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