Abstract 2622: T cell content of lymphatic fluid in pediatric patients is biased towards naïve and early memory cells: Implications for immunotherapy

Lymphatic fluid originating from tissue and organs drains back into the venous system usually near the innominate vein on the left side. T lymphocytes make up a large majority of the cells in lymphatic fluid, but little is known about their functional status. Cellular therapies such as chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapy appear to depend on collecting large numbers of naive or early memory T cells, which may not be available in peripheral blood. We have prospectively characterized peripheral blood and lymphatic fluid T cells from 25 pediatric patients receiving therapeutic thoracic duct access procedures and identified the phenotype and CAR T cell potential. Patients were treated at the Children9s Hospital of Philadelphia for congenital or acquired lymphatic flow disorders, such as chylothorax, during which the thoracic duct was cannulated for therapeutic purposes. Excess fluid as well as a concomitant peripheral blood sample was collected and de-identified under an IRB-approved protocol. We quantified the CD3+ population using flow cytometry, and expanded these T cells using CD3/CD28 stimulatory beads as in CAR T cell manufacturing. We found an average cell concentration of 1.48e6 cells/mL of lymphatic fluid, with an average of 44% CD3+T cells versus 18% in blood (p Citation Format: David M. Barrett, Julie Storm, Jessica Perazzelli, Yoav Dori. T cell content of lymphatic fluid in pediatric patients is biased towards naive and early memory cells: Implications for immunotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2622.