Centre of Excellence for Cellular Therapy
The Centre of Excellence for Cellular Therapy (CETC) will open in 2011 thanks to such clinical research visionaries as Drs Denis Claude Roy, Jean Roy, Guy Sauvageau and Claude Perreault. Its opening would not have been possible without the important support of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Foundation, the University of Montreal, the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, the Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Québec, the Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade of Quebec, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
OBJECTIVES
The CETC will conduct leading-edge research on stem cells, the immune system and cancer, with the goal of developing treatments for a number of diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, macular degeneration, articular reconstruction, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
It will also play a significant role in training young researchers and will bridge together basic and clinical research.
EQUIPMENT AND PROVISION OF SERVICES
The CETC will consist of three separate branches:
- Branches 1 and 2: studies on patients who have undergone transplants (a positive pressure area and a negative pressure area);
- Branch 3: preclinical and post-transplant studies. The preclinical laboratory will be used to develop new procedures or cellular therapy strategies and to ensure screening, validation and final quality control prior to transferring the new procedures to clinical application.
The CETC’s facilities will be biosecured to level BSL2 or confined to level NC2. Handling procedures will be conducted under a biological safety hood; and a complete quality assurance and control system will be established.
The CETC will be equipped with highly sophisticated instruments such as:
- Bioreactors that serve to increase the number of stem cells;
- Zeiss laser scanning microscopes and inverted microscopes;
- A flow cytometer;
- Photodynamic lamps;
- A high-speed cell sorter;
- An 8-color FACS analyzer;
- Immunomagnetic separation devices.
In a controlled environment in compliance with the strictest of regulatory frameworks centered on patient safety, researchers will therefore be able to:
- Cultivate human stem cells in a highly secure environment with no risk of contamination;
control in vitro expansion of hematopoietic stem cells; - control ex vivo expansion of umbilical cord blood stem cells used in the absence of HLA-compatible donors;
- advance research in the fight against the recrudescence of original malignant tumors following a hematopoietic stem cell transplant by injecting cytotoxic T-lymphocytes;
- Control viral infections following a hematopoietic stem cell transplant by injecting antiviral T-lymphocytes;
- Integrate substantially all of the bone marrow transplants in research protocols centered on hematopoietic stem cells and cellular therapy (even though 10% currently);
- prevent or reduce complications of graft-versus-host disease following an allogeneic transplant;
Repair damaged cartilage resulting from an articular disease or traumatic lesion; - improve the heart muscle’s condition following an infarctus by infusing stem cells directly taken from bone marrow, or in vitro cultured myosatellite cells;
- further research on transplanting islets of Langerhans in diabetic patients;
- develop innovative approaches using stem cells for regenerating retinal and corneal cells;
- Develop experimental treatments to treat neurological disorders.