Polyclonal expansion of functional tumor-reactive lymphocyte infiltrating glioblastoma for personalized cell therapy

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Abstract Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL)-therapy has received FDA approval for the treatment of advanced melanoma and shows potential for broader applications in solid tumors, including glioblastoma. In this study, tumor-reactive TILs (tr-TILs) were isolated and enriched for CD137 expression from cavitron ultrasonic aspirator (CUSA) emulsions of 161 adult patients diagnosed with diffuse gliomas. tr-TILs were successfully expanded in 87 out of the 161 patients, reflecting an expansion rate of 54%. Notably, the presence of IDH1 mutation and the cumulative dose of steroids were identified as significant negative predictors of expansion efficacy. The expanded tr-TILs exhibited distinct phenotypic and molecular dysfunctional features yet showed upregulated expression of progenitor/memory-like markers and polyclonal T-cell receptors. Importantly, these tr-TILs demonstrated specific antitumor reactivity against autologous tumor cells in both in vitro and in vivo xenograft models. These findings provide a compelling background for a personalized immunotherapeutic approach while tackling one of the most significant challenges in oncology.
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Polyclonal expansion of functional tumor-reactive lymphocyte infiltrating glioblastoma for personalized cell therapy | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Polyclonal expansion of functional tumor-reactive lymphocyte infiltrating glioblastoma for personalized cell therapy Serena Pellegatta, Martina Maffezzini, Silvia Musio, Natalia Di Ianni, and 22 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6080471/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 25 Aug, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL)-therapy has received FDA approval for the treatment of advanced melanoma and shows potential for broader applications in solid tumors, including glioblastoma. In this study, tumor-reactive TILs (tr-TILs) were isolated and enriched for CD137 expression from cavitron ultrasonic aspirator (CUSA) emulsions of 161 adult patients diagnosed with diffuse gliomas. tr-TILs were successfully expanded in 87 out of the 161 patients, reflecting an expansion rate of 54%. Notably, the presence of IDH1 mutation and the cumulative dose of steroids were identified as significant negative predictors of expansion efficacy. The expanded tr-TILs exhibited distinct phenotypic and molecular dysfunctional features yet showed upregulated expression of progenitor/memory-like markers and polyclonal T-cell receptors. Importantly, these tr-TILs demonstrated specific antitumor reactivity against autologous tumor cells in both in vitro and in vivo xenograft models. These findings provide a compelling background for a personalized immunotherapeutic approach while tackling one of the most significant challenges in oncology. Biological sciences/Cancer/Cancer therapy/Cancer immunotherapy Health sciences/Neurology/Neurological disorders/CNS cancer Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryTables.docx Supplementary Tables Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 25 Aug, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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