Somatic cells for use in cell therapy

• US 8,198,085 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2006
• Issued: 06/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Core Dynamics Limited
• Original Assignee: Core Dynamics Limited
• Inventors: Kanias, Tamir, Natan, Yehudit
• Primary Examiner(s): Schultz, Doug
• Application Number:
  US11/989,929
• Publication Number:
  US 20100105133A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,140 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 435/374
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 1/02 Preservation of living parts
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 1/0221 Freeze-process protecting agents, i.e. substances protecting cells from effects of the physical process, e.g. cryoprotectants, osmolarity regulators like oncotic agents
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 35/28 Bone marrow; Haematopoietic stem cells; Mesenchymal stem cells of any origin, e.g. adipose-derived stem cells
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 35/545 Embryonic stem cells; Pluripotent stem cells; Induced pluripotent stem cells; Uncharacterised stem cells

Abstract

The present invention generally concerns cell therapy and products for use in such therapy. Particularly, the invention provides a preserved cell preparation essentially free of one or more members of a group of cryoprotecting agents consisting of polyalcohols, DMSO and cryoprotecting proteins, the preserved cell preparation comprising somatic cells and at least one polyphenol, wherein upon reconstitution of cells in the cell preparation, at least a portion of said stem cells are viable, said portion being sufficient for use of the cell preparation in stem cell therapy. The invention also provides cells reconstituted from preserved somatic cells, and the use of the reconstituted cells in cell therapy. A preferred cell preparation in accordance with the invention comprises stem cells, preferably human stem cells.

Claims

1. A preserved cell preparation, comprising:

lyophilized cells; and

at least one polyphenol selected from the group consisting of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epicatechin gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin (EC), DL-Catechin (DL-C) and gallocatechin gallate (GCG), or mixtures thereof, the polyphenol being present in a concentration of from about 50 μ

M to about 4 mM,

the preserved cell preparation being essentially free of one or more cryoprotecting agents selected from the group consisting of polyalcohols, DMSO and cryoprotecting proteins, and

upon reconstitution of the preserved cell preparation, at least 60% of the lyophilized cells in the preserved cell preparation are viable and sufficient for use in cell therapy.

2. The preserved cell preparation of claim 1, wherein the polyphenol is EGCG.

3. The preserved cell preparation of claim 2, further comprising trehalose.

4. The preserved cell preparation of claim 1, wherein the lyophilized cells are obtained by cooling cells at a cooling rate of 5.1°

C./min.

5. The preserved cell preparation of claim 3, obtainable by freezing cells to obtain frozen cells and then freeze drying the frozen cells to obtain the preserved cell preparation.

6. The preserved cell preparation of claim 1, wherein the lyophilized cells comprise stem cells selected from the group consisting of hematopoietic stem cells, embryonic stern cells, embryonic germ cells and mesenchymal stem cells.

7. The preserved cell preparation of claim 1, wherein the lyophilized cells comprise human stem cells.