METHODS FOR INDUCING THE DIFFERENTIATION OF MONOCYTES INTO FUNCTIONAL DENDRITIC CELLS AND IMMUNOTHERAPEUTIC COMPOSITIONS INCLUDING SUCH DENDRITIC CELLS

摘要

A method for inducing differentiation of monocytes contained in an extracorporeal quantity of a subject's blood into functional dendritic antigen presenting cells is provided. The monocytes are induced to differentiate into dendritic cells by activation forces resulting from flow of the monocytes through a plastic channel, such as the plastic channel in a conventional photopheresis apparatus. Functional dendritic cells generated from induced monocytes are incubated together with apoptotic or inactivated disease effector agents to enhance the presentation of at least one disease-causing antigen expressed by the disease effector agents.Fig.1 is a graph which illustrates the generation of both dentritic antigen presenting cells and apoptotic T-cells following overnight incubation compositions including such dendritic cells incubated with disease effector agents are also provided for use in immunotherapeutic treatment.