In Vitro Studies May Be Useful in Donor Selection and Evaluating the Effectiveness of CD8⁺ T-Cell Reprogramming: Experience of a Pilot Study

The survival and cytotoxicity of reprogrammed human CD8+ T-cells (hrT-cells) were evaluated in a culture of cancer stem cells (CSCs) isolated from a patient with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). T-cells were isolated from the blood of healthy volunteers and patients with lung diseases. Reprogramming with MEK and PD-1 inhibitors increased the survival and cytotoxicity of allogeneic T-cells in vitro. The positive effect of reprogramming is more pronounced in patients with lung diseases than in healthy donors. Autologous hrT-cells showed high effectiveness in eliminating CSCs. Thus, in vitro studies are significant in the selection of potential cell donors and evaluating the effectiveness of their reprogramming.