Method for making dendritic cell vaccines from embryonic stem cells

摘要

This disclosure provides a technology for making a dendritic cell vaccine suitable for high volume manufacturing and distribution. Human stem cells are differentiated in a multi-step protocol to generate cell populations bearing a dendritic cell phenotype. The cells are loaded by pulsing with a specific tumor antigen, or by activation of an inducible transgene. The primed dendritic cells are powerful components of a vaccination strategy to elicit an immune response against tumor-associated antigens like telomerase. Vaccines and reagent combinations prepared according to this invention can be used on demand as off-the-shelf products for treating cancer.