Virus-Specific T Cells From Cryopreserved Blood During an Emergent Virus Outbreak for a Potential Off-the-Shelf Therapy.

During the first outbreak of an emergent virus, methods need to be developed to rapidly establish suitable therapies for patients with high risk of severe disease caused by the pathogen. Considering the importance of the T-cell response in controlling viral infections, adoptive cell therapy with virus-specific T cells has been used as a safe and effective antiviral prophylaxis and treatment for immunocompromised patients. The main objective of this study was to establish an effective and safe method to cryostore whole blood as starting material and to adapt a T-cell activation and expansion protocol to generate an off-the-shelf antiviral therapeutic option.