Adoptive immunotherapy with the use of regulatory T cells and virus-specific T cells derived from cord blood

Cord blood transplantation, an alternative to traditional stem cell transplants (bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation), is an attractive option for patients lacking suitable stem cell transplant donors. Cord blood units have also proven to be a valuable donor source for the development of cellular therapeutics. Virus-specific T cells and regulatory T cells are two cord blood–derived products that have shown promise in early-phase clinical trials to prevent and/or treat viral infections and graft-versus-host disease, respectively. We describe how current strategies that use cord blood–derived regulatory T cells and virus-specific T cells have been developed to improve outcomes for cord blood transplant recipients.