Vaccine

Ex Vivo RBC Treatment for Enhanced Immunogenicity

Application

Novel method of treatment to increase RBC immunogenicity.

Key Benefits

Short, inexpensive treatment that complements existing alloimmunization techniques.
RBC processing involves compounds approved by the FDA for human use.
Potentially elevates antibody titer against any rare RBC antigen.

Technical Summary

Several immune globulin therapeutics are generated by immunizing volunteers with RBCs and harvesting the volunteer's antibodies. For reasons that are largely unknown, it is difficult to elicit an immune response against rare RBC antigens in a manner that yields a sufficient antibody titer. This is quite problematic and can result in significant time and monetary expenditures during product development. Thus, there is a need for improved immunization protocols.

Through their investigation into mechanisms of RBC alloimmunization, researchers at Emory University have devised methods that increase RBC immunogenicity. They have discovered that certain pharmacological agents, already approved by the FDA for human use, damage RBCs in such a way that alloimmune responses against rare RBC antigens are significantly increased. Proof of principle has been demonstrated in mouse models, where RhIg titers are increased ten-fold over normal alloimmunization techniques. These results indicate that this treatment could be used to increase RBC immunogenicity in humans, potentially increasing efficacy and reducing costs associated with immune globulin production.