Boosting virus-fighting T cells after stem cell transplant by removing CD52
Official title: Enhancing efficacy of virus-specific T cell therapy following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation by CD52 knockout
Funded at Children's Research Institute · NIH-11184362 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests if virus-targeting T cells edited to lack CD52 can survive and control infections better in adults after a hematopoietic stem cell (bone marrow) transplant, even when patients receive the immune-suppressing drug alemtuzumab.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Children's Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Washington, United States) |
| Project start | September 5, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $579,879 |
| NIH project number | 5R33HL175692-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11184362 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults (21+) who have had or will have hematopoietic stem cell transplants and are at risk for CMV, EBV, or adenovirus infections or being considered for adoptive virus-specific T cell therapy are the most relevant candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People under 21, patients who are not transplant recipients, or those medically ineligible for cellular therapies are unlikely to benefit from this work directly.
What this research studies
Researchers will take virus-specific T cells grown from healthy donors and use CRISPR/Cas9 to remove the CD52 protein so the cells may resist the effects of the drug alemtuzumab. They will expand these multivirus-targeting T cells (against CMV, EBV, and adenovirus) and compare their antiviral activity, cytokine responses, and ability to kill infected cells against non-edited cells in lab tests. The team will also study whether the CD52-knockout cells persist and remain safe in vivo to see if they could work when patients are immunosuppressed. Findings will guide whether this approach could be moved toward use for transplant patients at risk of viral infections.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could allow virus-specific T cell therapy to work alongside immune-suppressing drugs and better prevent or treat dangerous viral infections after transplant.
How similar studies have gone: Virus-specific T cell therapy has helped transplant patients before, and earlier lab work showed CD52 knockout can preserve CMV-specific T cell function, but applying CD52-KO to multivirus cells and proving persistence with alemtuzumab in vivo is still new.
Where this research is happening
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Children's Research Institute
Washington, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Keller, Michael Daniel — Children's Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Keller, Michael Daniel
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.