Pluristem's PLacental eXpanded (PLX) Cells

Pluristem’s PLX cells are being developed as allogeneic therapeutic products. Pluristem retrieves adherent stromal cells (ASCs) from the placenta (obtained after birth) and places these cells in its proprietary PluriX™ Bioreactor System. The PluriX™ Bioreactor expands these cells over several weeks. After expansion, the ASCs are separated from the culture used in the PluriX™ Bioreactor. These separated cells are known as PLacental eXpanded (PLX) cells. Following production, PLX cells are stored “ready to use” and shipped to hospitals or clinics for use as a primary or adjuvant cellular therapy.

PLX cells have been found to possess favorable characteristics that Pluristem believes will allow them to be used in the treatment of a variety of disorders. These characteristics include the PLX cells being not only immune privileged, but also possessing immunomodulatory properties; both favorable immunological qualities that should help prevent and even treat the rejection reactions that so often occur with transplantation. Additionally, Pluristem has evidence to suggest that PLX cells appear to exert their effects through a diverse array of biological mechanisms. It may become apparent that PLX cells exert many, if not all, of their effects via paracrine mechanisms, that is - by supplying the necessary environment for a host tissue to repair itself without excessive scar tissue formation.
Therefore, Pluristem believes their proprietary PLX cells may be useful in a spectrum of diseases including hematological malignancies, autoimmune disorders, limb ischemia, neurological disorders and orthopedic injuries.

A depiction of this process is provided in Figure 7.

Figure 7

Pluristem's process of developing PLX cells