Engineered immunostimulatory cells can convert PBMCs from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients into potent tumor killing immune cells.

Conclusions:

1. We demonstrate for the first time that PBMCs from CLL patients can be converted into SUPLEXA cells despite low numbers of normal immune cells at baseline and the known immunologic impairment present in CLL patients.
2. Importantly, SUPLEXA cells derived from CLL patients acquire potent tumor killing activity that is indistinguishable from SUPLEXA cells prepared from NHVs. 
3. These findings support the feasibility of converting PBMCs from CLL patients with low baseline percentages of NK and T cells into an autologous cellular therapy for cancer.