In Vitro Conversion of Activated T Cells into Stem Cell Memory-Like T Cells

Adoptive T cell therapy is an attractive strategy in tumor immunotherapy. The transfer of in vitro expanded tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-specific T cells from patients may effectively destroy the original tumor cells. One of the limitations is a rapid acquisition of tolerant (anergy, deletion, dysfunctional, and/or exhausted) phenotypes. We and others found that stem cell memory T (T_SCM) cells are strongly resistant to tolerance, showing strong expansion and persistence in vivo and providing long-lasting antitumor effects. We previously established that phenotypically T_SCM cells (iT_SCM) can be induced using a simple coculture of activated T cells with OP9 stroma cells expressing a Notch ligand. Here, we describe a defined protocol for generating human iT_SCM cells, including reagents, culture setting, and procedure.