{
  "abstract": "Background: Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a fatal demyelinating disease caused by JC polyomavirus that affects immunosuppressed individuals and has no approved therapy. Here, we evaluate the safety and efficacy of third-party, off-the-shelf, partially HLA-matched BK virus-specific T cells (BK-VST) in patients with PML.\n\nMethods: We conducted a single-center phase 2 study (including 3 patients treated under compassionate or emergency, INDs); 37 patients received most closely HLA-matched BK-VST at a median dose of 2.0 × 105 T cells/kg, with additional infusions permitted for subjects who did not achieve a complete response (CR). Twenty-three patients had an underlying diagnosis of hematologic malignancy. Each patient received a median of 2 doses (range, 1–12; IQR 2). Overall response (OR) was defined as virologic response with neurologic stabilization or improvement.\n\nResults: During 12 months of follow-up, 21 patients (56.8%) achieved an OR, including 16 (43.2%) with a CR or CR with neurologic sequelae (CRnesq). Responses were rapid (median 23 days) and durable, with no loss of response observed despite limited HLA matching. The 1-year overall survival was 61.1% (95% CI, 41.9–77.4). Patients achieving an OR after the first infusion had markedly improved 1-year survival compared with nonresponders (93.3% vs 0%; P < .001). Greater HLA matching correlated with clinical benefit.\n\nConclusions: These data demonstrate that third-party BK-VST infusions are safe and potentially effective, supporting a scalable immunotherapeutic approach for this otherwise fatal disease.\n\nClinical Trials Registration. NCT02479698.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 28,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Amanda Olson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ye Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "David Marin"
    },
    {
      "name": "Peter F Thall",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7293-529X"
    },
    {
      "name": "Roland L Bassett"
    },
    {
      "name": "Melissa Barnett"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rafet Basar"
    },
    {
      "name": "Pinaki P Banerjee"
    },
    {
      "name": "T Anne Kleiman"
    },
    {
      "name": "Merry Chen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jennie Rexer"
    },
    {
      "name": "Max Wintermark"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jeanie Choi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kim Learned",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5125-4022"
    },
    {
      "name": "Indreshpal Kaur"
    },
    {
      "name": "Melihate Sylejmani"
    },
    {
      "name": "Glorette Abueg"
    },
    {
      "name": "Roy F Chemaly",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0277-3088"
    },
    {
      "name": "Victor Mulanovich",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7028-4860"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rejeena Shrestha"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nadima Uprety"
    },
    {
      "name": "Karla M Castro"
    },
    {
      "name": "May Daher"
    },
    {
      "name": "Isabel M Galvan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Dominique Washington"
    },
    {
      "name": "Richard E Champlin"
    },
    {
      "name": "Elizabeth J Shpall"
    },
    {
      "name": "Katayoun Rezvani"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c6enwp21r8hj1.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1093/cid/ciag404",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13715966/",
  "id": "c6enwp21r8hj1",
  "issns": [
    "1058-4838",
    "1537-6591"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciag404",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "AcademicSubjects/MED00290"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Clinical Trials"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Editor's Choice"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Major Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2730|Polyomavirus and related diseases"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7167405671",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13715966",
  "pmid": "42402341",
  "published": "2026-07-06",
  "publisher": "Oxford University Press",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c6enwp21r8hj1.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T12:23:08Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13715966",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciag404"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "heading:Clinical Trials",
      "subfield": "clinical-trials"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Treatment of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy With Third-Party Allogeneic BK Virus T Cells",
  "title_text": "Treatment of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy With Third-Party Allogeneic BK Virus T Cells",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:23:08Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c6enwp21r8hj1",
  "venue": "Clinical Infectious Diseases: An Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America",
  "versions": []
}