In the morning edition of Yomiuri Shimbun on April 9th, 2021 (Science and medicine section, Page 15), the research collaboration among the team led by Professor Hiroshi Kawamoto (Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University), Fujita Health University, and Rebirthel (called as “venture company” in the article) to develop a novel therapy for the novel coronavirus infections was introduced.
The article entitled “Challenge to develop novel therapies and drugs using iPS cell technology” explains that killer T cells will be collected from recovered patients, and TCR gene that recognizes coronavirus-infected cells will be cloned. Such TCR gene will be transferred into iPS cells, and killer T cells will be regenerated from these iPS cells.
Professor Kawamoto mentions “This technology can be expanded to target other infectious diseases. We will also be able to provide a solution to future pandemics of unknown infectious diseases.”
Link to the article (Available to members and only in Japanese)
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/kansai/feature/CO049294/20210409-OYTAT50004/