The first human clinical trial of an immune rejuvenation therapy designed to restore worn-out T-cell function is expected to begin later this year, based on research by UCLA scientists into the mechanisms of immune aging.
The phase 1 trial will focus on frail or elderly people T cellsWhich accumulates with age and chronic diseases and becomes less effective in coordinating immune protection.
The researchers hope that resetting these metabolic cells may help the immune system regain properties associated with smaller, healthier immune responses. This work may have clinical benefit for treating diseases such as cancer, HIV and dementia.
Our immune system protects us from infection, cancer, and disease. However, as we age, some immune cells become exhausted and lose their ability to work effectively. This process, known as immunosenescence, can make people more susceptible to disease and less able to respond to health challenges.
The new treatment, developed by biotech company SenTcell founded by Dr Alessio Lana (UCL Medicine), is designed to replenish these worn-out immune cells. Instead of attacking diseased cells directly, it works by restoring the immune system’s natural ability to recognize and respond to threats.
The treatment is a liquid formulation given by intramuscular injection, similar to many commonly used vaccines. Once delivered, it is designed to reprogram key pathways that cause immune dysfunction, helping immune cells regain the properties of younger, healthier cells.
The goal is to improve immune resilience, enhance protection against disease, and ultimately support healthy aging.
People infected with HIV can now live long, healthy lives thanks to major advances in treatment, but many still suffer from features of accelerated immune aging. Similar patterns of immune dysfunction also appear in cancer and other chronic diseases.
This trial is an important step toward testing whether we can safely replenish exhausted immune cells and restore aspects of healthy immune function. “Our goal is to help rejuvenate immunity as a new way to treat diseases associated with immune aging and dysfunction.”
Dr Alessio Lana, University College London School of Medicine
The trial builds on research suggesting that some dysfunctional T cells — a type of white blood cell that helps coordinate the body’s immune response — can be restored to a more youthful, functional state. Researchers are focusing on CD4+ T cells, which are often described as the “conductors” of the immune system because they help direct other immune cells to respond to infection, cancer and disease.
Inside each cell, chromosomes are protected by structures called telomeres, which lie at their ends like protective caps. Telomeres help protect genetic material from damage and gradually shorten as cells divide over time, making them a well-established marker of biological aging.
Previous laboratory studies suggest that regenerated CD4+ T cells may be able to release telomere-containing structures into the bloodstream. The researchers have dubbed these structures “telomere rivers” and are investigating whether they can help explain how regenerating immune cells affect the health and function of other tissues throughout the body. This idea is still under active investigation and has not yet been proven in humans.
The research program was supported through the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP), recognizing its potential to address significant unmet needs associated with age-related immune decline and immune dysfunction.
UCL researchers are preparing for the first phase of the trial, which will carefully select adult participants and is expected to initially focus on people with evidence of immune dysfunction, including immune senescence and chronic viral infection. Participants will undergo detailed immune profiling before and after treatment.
Researchers will look at whether the treatment can restore features of healthy immune function. As an early-stage trial, the primary goals are safety and biological activity rather than demonstrating clinical benefit.
If successful, the program could establish immune regeneration as a new therapeutic approach: restoring the protective capacity of the immune system rather than targeting each pathogen or disease process individually.
The researchers believe this strategy could eventually be relevant to conditions characterized by immune exhaustion, including chronic infections. Autoimmune disease and cancer, while directing broader efforts to improve healthy aging.
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