T lymphocyte depletion of human peripheral blood and bone marrow using monoclonal antibodies and magnetic microspheres.

It has previously been demonstrated that graft-versus-host disease can be overcome in patients receiving HLA-mismatched bone marrow transplants by prior in vitro depletion of T lymphocytes from the marrow. In this report we describe the use of monoclonal antibodies and magnetic microspheres for the depletion of T cells from peripheral blood and bone marrow. The target cells are sensitized with antibodies directed against the CD2, CD3, CD4 and/or CD8 cell surface antigens, captured by magnetic beads coated with sheep anti-mouse IgG antibody and collected by placing the cell suspension in a magnetic field. This simple, rapid procedure results in the efficient removal of T cells from peripheral blood and from bone marrow without affecting the colony-forming potential of normal hematopoietic stem cells. The procedure is capable of being scaled up for the treatment of larger volumes of marrow that are required for clinical transplantation.