Patient-specific human immune system-bearing mouse model created by implanting human thymic cells derived from iPSC with Tolerance Bio’s proprietary process

Human T cells educated in vivo by thymic organoids delayed melanoma tumor growth in a patient derived xenograft model

Data support the development of Tolerance Bio’s thymic cells and pharmacological approaches for thymus regeneration in aging-related diseases, including cancer

Tolerance Bio, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering innovative approaches to extending healthspan by preserving, restoring, and manipulating the function of the thymus, the master regulator of immune tolerance, today announced the publication of a scientific article titled “Patient-specific autologous thymic organoids support functional T-cell education leading to antitumor activity in humanized mice with melanoma xenografts” in Cancer Research Communications, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The research was led by Antonio Jimeno, M.D., Ph.D., from the Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, and Holger A. Russ, Ph.D., from the Diabetes Institute and the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and scientific co-founder of Tolerance Bio.

The contributing teams utilized a novel approach, implanting patient-derived thymic cells generated via direct differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into thymectomized and humanized immune-deficient mice, along with matched tumor tissues from a patient with metastatic melanoma. The key finding was that tumors implanted in mice with human thymic tissue grew significantly slower compared to tumors implanted in control and in humanized mice without thymic tissue. Viable melanoma content was also significantly decreased in mice bearing thymic organoids, associated with an increase in intra-tumoral activated T-cells. Whole gene sequencing identified multiple candidate neoantigens that were eliminated in cancer cells in thymus-bearing mice, suggesting a more effective identification and T-cell-driven tumor clearance.

“An experiment is only as good as the models used to conduct it. Over the last 15 years, we have generated increasingly complex laboratory and mouse models that can bear both human immune and cancer cells, which we call humanized mice, to realize the promise of immune therapy. A fundamental limitation of humanized mice, generated with donor blood stem cells and implanted with mismatched patient tumors, is that the fidelity of the interaction between the immune and tumor cells is limited by lack of the organ that facilitates immune cell education, the thymus,” said Dr. Jimeno.

“Here we report the successful generation of a novel model that incorporates functional thymic organoids derived from iPSC generated using patient peripheral blood with tumors from the same patient, providing an important step towards improved personalized models,” remarked Dr. Russ.

“These results represent meaningful advance in oncology, both from a therapeutic and a diagnostic point of view, as iPSC thymic cells have the potential to serve as a cell therapy for cancer, alone or along immune agents, the patient derived xenograft model can improve new drug development by more accurately identifying promising drugs and vaccines, and it will allow for personalized medicine by testing which immune therapy is more likely to work for a specific patient,” added Dr. Jimeno. “We have a lot of work ahead, but I am looking forward to extending our interdisciplinary work into the future to realize this potential.”

“Tolerance Bio is proud to collaborate with Dr. Jimeno and Dr. Russ, and their superb teams at U. Colorado and U. Florida. Their work lays the foundation for the use of iPSC thymic cells in immune diseases, including cancer,” said Dr. Francisco Leon, M.D., Ph. D., CEO of Tolerance Bio. “The changes in the tumor growth kinetics provide critical proof of principle for the ability of iPSC thymic cells to reconstitute a T cell immune system in vivo with beneficial functional consequences. As we advance towards the clinic, we have developed a robust manufacturing process for our allogenic, off-the-shelf iPSC thymic cell product, and we plan to initiate pre-investigational new drug (IND) studies in the near future.”

About the University of Colorado Anschutz

The University of Colorado Anschutz is a world-class academic medical campus at the forefront of transformative science, medicine, education and patient care. The campus encompasses the University of Colorado health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes and two nationally ranked independent hospitals – UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado – which see more than two million adult and pediatric patient visits yearly. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, CU Anschutz delivers life-changing treatments, patient care and professional training and conducts world-renowned research fueled by $910 million in annual research funding, including $757 million in sponsored awards and $153 million in philanthropic gifts.

About the College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville

The College of Medicine at the University of Florida in Gainesville is a leading institution in medical education and research, focused on improving global health through superior education, clinical care, and discovery. It offers various degree programs, including its main M.D. program, and is known for its innovative competency-based and performance-based teaching models. The college is affiliated with UF Health Shands, its primary teaching hospital, and provides numerous graduate medical education opportunities.

About Tolerance Bio

Tolerance Bio, Inc., is a biopharmaceutical company focused on manipulating immune tolerance via the thymus to address various immune-mediated diseases. Tolerance Bio sponsors thymus-related research at the Universities of Colorado and Florida. The University of Colorado has filed patent applications based on these results, and the intellectual property has been exclusively licensed to Tolerance Bio. For more information, visit www.tolerancebio.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251027232982/en/