Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy represents a major advancement in personalized cancer therapy and offers new hope for pancreatic cancer therapy. Alfa Cytology offers a comprehensive range of research services, from the isolation of TILs to their genetic modification and expansion, aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of TILs by improving their ability to recognize and attack pancreatic tumor cells.
Introduction to TIL Therapy
TIL therapy involves the isolation of lymphoid T-cells that are naturally infiltrated into the tumor microenvironment, the expansion of these cells in the laboratory, and then their use in therapy. These lymphocytes are specifically trained to recognize and attack tumor-associated antigens. Unlike other cellular therapies, TIL is derived from tumor tissue, whereas most cellular therapies are derived from blood, a difference that significantly impacts the tumor-recognition ability of immune cells: more than 60% of TIL recognizes tumors, compared to less than 0.5% of blood-derived immune cells.
Fig. 1 TIL versus CAR T therapy. (Singh R, 2024)
TIL Therapy Development for Pancreatic Cancer
The development of TIL therapies offers hope for solid tumors that have limited treatment options, and it has already had great success in melanoma. In February, regulators approved lifileucel (Amtagvi) for advanced melanoma, which can infuse patients with 7.5 billion cancer-fighting cells, the first emerging therapy for a solid tumor. Nonetheless, to date, the use of TIL in pancreatic cancer is still in the early stages of development, which is attributed to the fact that pancreatic cancer presents unique challenges due to its highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.tumors.
Our Services
Alfa Cytology's TIL therapy development service provides a comprehensive solution for the development of advanced immunotherapies against pancreatic cancer. We focus on overcoming immunosuppressive barriers to pancreatic tumors and enhancing the activity and persistence of TIL in order to help our clients advance their TIL therapeutics development programs.
One-stop Solutions for TIL Therapy Development
TME
Characterization
Including profiling of immune cell populations, cytokine levels, and identification of immunosuppressive factors that could influence TIL efficacy.
TIL Isolation and
Expansion
This includes optimizing the conditions for the efficient extraction and in vitro expansion of TILs to obtain sufficient quantities for research purposes.
Genetic Modification of
TILs
We develop and implement genetic engineering techniques, involving the insertion of CARs or other modifications to improve TIL recognition and killing of pancreatic cancer cells.
Co-Culture and
Functional Assays
Offer co-culture systems that mimic the pancreatic TME to conduct cytotoxicity assays, proliferation assays, and cytokine release measurements to evaluate the therapeutic potential of TILs in vitro.
Optimization of TIL
Activation Protocols
We provide services to optimize the activation and expansion protocols for TILs using specific cytokines, such as IL-2, IL-15, or IL-21, to enhance their proliferation, persistence, and cytotoxic activity.
Preclinical TIL Therapy
Models
We develop and provide preclinical models of pancreatic cancer, including establishing patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models or syngeneic models that can be used to evaluate the therapeutic potential of TILs in a controlled setting.
Including RNA sequencing, flow cytometry, and multiplex immunohistochemistry to track immune cell infiltration, activation status, and other relevant biomarkers in pancreatic tumors.
Combination Therapy
Development
We support the development of combination therapies that involve testing TIL in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, lysoviruses or other immunomodulators.
TIL therapies are a promising frontier in the fight against pancreatic cancer, and Alfa Cytology employs advanced technologies and methodologies to support early-stage studies of TIL therapies targeting pancreatic cancer only in accelerating clients' development programs. For more information or to discuss potential collaborations, interested parties are welcome to contact us directly.
Reference
- Singh R. Beyond the CAR T Cells: TIL Therapy for Solid Tumors. Immune Network. 2024, 24(2).
