Adoptive transfer of cytotoxic T lymphocytes for the treatment of transplant-associated lymphoma. Discussion

Background. Immunocompromised organ transplant recipients have a high incidence of B cell lymphomas (BCL). Severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice develop human BCL when engrafted with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) transformed and immortalized B lymphoblastoid cell lines (BLCL). Because a lack of effective EB V-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (EB V-CTL) is thought to lead to lymphoma development, the SCID mouse model was used to determine the relationship between EBV-infected B cells and EBV-specific CTL in BCL development in vivo. Methods. EBV-CTL were generated by in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood leukocytes with autologous BLCL