Advantages
- Antifungal activity against azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus.
- Novel modality for treating invasive aspergillosis and mucormycosis, especially when existing therapies are not effective.
Technology Overview & Background
Invasive aspergillosis and mucormycosis are life-threatening diseases, especially among immunocompromised patients. Drug-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus strains have been isolated worldwide, which can pose a serious clinical problem. As invasive aspergillosis mainly occurs in patients with compromised immune systems, the ideal therapeutic approach should aim to bolster the immune system.
In this study, researchers focused on the proliferated gamma-delta (γδ) T cells which exhibit immune effector functions, and explored the possibility of using the unconventional T cell subset as a novel therapeutic modality for invasive aspergillosis. The researchers’ group has so far succeeded in synthesizing new chemical entities that can selectively proliferate only γδ T cells, especially those of the Vγ9Vδ2 (same as Vγ2Vδ2) type, from peripheral blood. One of them, named PTA, was experimentally confirmed to have a cell proliferative capacity thousands of times greater than known third-generation N-containing bisphosphonates (such as zoledronic acid).
The proliferated γδ T cells exhibited antifungal activity against hyphae of all Aspergillus spieces, Cunninghamella bertholletiae, and Rhizopus microsporus but not against their conidia. Furthermore, they also exhibited antifungal activity against azole-resistant A. fumigatus, indicating that γδ T cells could be used for treating drug-resistant A. fumigatus. Therefore, γδ T cells could be developed as a novel modality for treating invasive aspergillosis and mucormycosis, especially when existing therapies are not effective.
Publications
- Satoru Koga, et al. “Human Vγ9Vδ2 T cells exhibit antifungal activity against Aspergillus fumigatus and other filamentous fungi.” Microbiol. Spectr. (2024) Vol.12, No.4.
[doi] https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.03614-23
Patents
PCT/JP2013/010134
* Note: The PCT application is published on WIPO website as WO2023/176896(A1) in Japanese, and its transition application is pending.
Principal Investigator & Academic Institution
Takahiro Takazono, MD, PhD (Associate Professor, Nagasaki University, Japan), et al.
Expectations
TECH MANAGE is now looking for companies to collaborate with the researcher(s) and develop this technology further under the licensing of the related patent(s) described above. It is also possible to consider joint research using this invention, provision of related know-how based on a confidentiality agreement (CDA), evaluation options and licensing options.
Project. JT-04316