Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry: An Emerging Technology for Multiparametric Analysis of Tissue Antigens.

New analytical techniques for multiparametric characterisation of individual cells are likely to reveal important information about the heterogeneity of immunological responses at the single-cell level. In this proof-of-principle study, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was applied to the problem of concurrently detecting 24 lineage and activation markers expressed by human leucocytes. This approach was sufficiently sensitive and specific to identify subpopulations of isolated T, B, and natural killer cells.

Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: an emerging technology for detecting rare cells in tissue sections.

Administering immunoregulatory cells to patients as medicinal agents is a potentially revolutionary approach to the treatment of immunologically mediated diseases. Presently, there are no satisfactory, clinically applicable methods of tracking human cells in patients with adequate spatial resolution and target cell specificity over a sufficient period of time. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) represents a potential solution to the problem of detecting very rare cells in tissues.

Clinical management of patients receiving cell-based immunoregulatory therapy.

Administering immunoregulatory cells as medicinal agents is a revolutionary approach to the treatment of immunologically mediated diseases. Isolating, propagating, and modifying cells before applying them to patients allows complementation of specific cellular functions, which opens astonishing new possibilities for gain-of-function antigen-specific treatments in autoimmunity, chronic inflammatory disorders, and transplantation. This critical review presents a systematic assessment of the potential clinical risks posed by cell-based immunotherapy, focusing on treatment of renal transplant recipients with regulatory macrophages as a concrete example.

In question: the scientific value of preclinical safety pharmacology and toxicology studies with cell-based therapies.

A new cell-based medicinal product containing human regulatory macrophages, known as Mreg_UKR, has been developed and conforms to expectations of a therapeutic drug. Here, Mreg_UKR was subjected to pharmacokinetic, safety pharmacology, and toxicological testing, which identified no adverse reactions. These results would normally be interpreted as evidence of the probable clinical safety of Mreg_UKR; however, we contend that, owing to their uncertain biological relevance, our data do not fully support this conclusion.

Regulatory macrophages as therapeutic targets and therapeutic agents in solid organ transplantation.

Purpose Of Review: This review aims to provide a basic introduction to human macrophage biology and an appreciation of the diverse roles played by macrophage subsets in allograft damage and repair. Current and future strategies for therapeutically manipulating macrophage behaviour are discussed.

Recent Findings: Macrophages are extremely versatile effector cells that exert both immunostimulatory and immunosuppressive effects.

Cutting Edge: Immunological consequences and trafficking of human regulatory macrophages administered to renal transplant recipients.

Regulatory macrophages (M regs) were administered to two living-donor renal transplant recipients. Both patients were minimized to low-dose tacrolimus monotherapy within 24 wk of transplantation and subsequently maintained excellent graft function. After central venous administration, most M regs remained viable and were seen to traffic from the pulmonary vasculature via the blood to liver, spleen, and bone marrow.