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Molecular Virology and Microbiology

Houston, Texas

Departmental Photograph
Faculty Research in Molecular Virology and Microbiology
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Cliona M. Rooney Ph.D.

Virus-Specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes for the Treatment of Virus-Associated Disease and Malignancies

Dr. Rooney's research interests are in cellular immunotherapy for virus-associated diseases and malignancies. Studies developed with Dr Helen Heslop have demonstrated the safety and anti-tumor efficacy of EBV-specific cytotoxic T-cells (CTLs) used for the prevention and treatment of EBV-associated lymphoma in stem cell transplant recipients. These studies have been expanded to encompass patients with relapsed EBV-positive Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Research activities involve increasing tumor antigen-specificity of the T cells, using specialized antigen-presenting cells and increasing their ability to home to tumor sites and there persist and function despite the presence of potent inhibitory factors produced both by the tumor itself and by tumor infiltrating cells. Producing resistant T cells involves genetic modification with retrovirus vectors. For example, CTL can be rendered resistant to the inhibitory cytokine TGF-ß secreted by tumor cells and by T regulatory cells, by transgenic expression of a dominant negative TGF-ß receptor.

Trainees in her laboratory can therefore work on basic science studies of immune responses to viruses or translational studies adapting these approaches to the clinic.

Recent Publications (PubMed)

Foster AE, Leen AM, Lee T, Okamura T, Lu A, Vera J, Atkinson R, Dotti G, Rooney CM. Autologous designer antigen presenting cells by gene modification of T lymphocyte blasts with IL-7 and IL-12. J.Immunotherapy 2007 (in press)

Straathof KC, Pulè MA, Yotnda P, Dotti G, Vanin EF, Brenner MK, Heslop HE, Spencer DM, Rooney CM. An Inducible Caspase 9 Safety Switch For T Cell Therapy. Blood Jun 2005;105:4247-4254.

Bollard CM, Gottschalk S, Leen AM, Weiss H, Straathof KC, Carrum G, Khalil M, Wu MF, Huls MH, Chang CC, Gresik MV, Gee AP, Brenner MK, Rooney CM, Heslop HE.Complete responses of relapsed lymphoma following genetic modification of tumor-antigen presenting cells and T-lymphocyte transfer. Blood. 2007 Jul 3; [Epub ahead of print]