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USC researchers have shown in laboratory and mouse experiments that granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (GMPs) can be expanded extensively, genetically equipped to recognize cancer and used to produce functional immune cells. The result is a promising preclinical platform—not a proven, never-ending treatment for people.
What the USC team discovered
Granulocyte-monocyte progenitors, or GMPs, are immature blood-forming cells that normally produce macrophages and related immune cells. In the study, USC Stem Cell researchers maintained GMPs in a defined laboratory culture and expanded them extensively without losing their identity or their ability to generate functional immune cells.
The finding challenges the conventional view that durable self-renewal in blood formation is mainly a property of hematopoietic stem cells. Under the researchers’ controlled conditions, GMPs continued dividing while preserving the characteristics of GMPs and their immune-cell output. “The study establishes a scalable and engineerable GMP platform for cellular immunotherapy,” said Qi-Long Ying, MD, PhD, professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Why starting with a progenitor matters
Many cell therapies begin with a limited collection of mature immune cells. A renewable progenitor population could give manufacturers a larger, more consistent starting supply instead of repeatedly collecting mature cells from individual donors or patients. It also provides cells that can be modified before they mature into their final immune-cell forms.
How the cells were engineered
The team genetically modified the expanded GMPs, including adding chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) designed to recognize cancer markers. The researchers also added signaling intended to recruit or activate other immune cells. After engineering, the progenitors could produce immune cells equipped for cancer-directed activity, creating a single starting population that may generate a continuing supply of engineered cells.
What the experiments showed—and what they did not
| Evidence stage | Reported result | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Defined laboratory culture | GMPs expanded extensively while retaining their identity and immune-cell output. | Supports long-term self-renewal under the study’s controlled conditions. |
| Mouse bone marrow | Engineered cells established themselves in bone marrow and produced new immune cells. | Shows that the cells can persist and function in living animals. |
| Mouse blood-cancer models | The engineered cells slowed cancer progression. | Provides preclinical evidence of activity against blood cancers. |
| Mouse solid-tumor models | The engineered cells also slowed progression of solid tumors. | Suggests the approach is not limited to one tumor type in animal testing. |
| Human participants | No human participants, response rates, survival results or clinical safety data are reported. | The platform remains preclinical and is not an available patient treatment. |
The work is described in “Expansion and CAR engineering of granulocyte-monocyte progenitors for cellular immunotherapy,” published in Cell in 2026 (DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2026.05.043). The available reports provide qualitative laboratory and mouse findings, not a human efficacy statistic.
Rank #2
Could this become an off-the-shelf cancer treatment?
Potentially, but that outcome has not been demonstrated. “Off-the-shelf” generally means producing a standardized cell product in advance, storing it and administering it without first creating a bespoke batch for each patient. A self-renewing GMP source could help with the supply and scale required for that model.
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Several development problems still have to be solved:
Rank #3
- Manufacturing consistency: batches would need reliable identity, potency, purity and genetic characteristics under regulated production.
- Safety: researchers must establish that engineered cells do not grow uncontrollably, produce harmful immune reactions or affect healthy tissues.
- Persistence and control: cells that remain in bone marrow and continue producing immune cells may be useful, but developers would also need ways to control or stop activity if serious toxicity occurs.
- Tumor escape: cancers can vary or lose the marker targeted by a CAR, reducing effectiveness.
- Human translation: results in mice do not establish an appropriate dose, safety profile or benefit in patients.
- Regulatory development: clinical trials, quality systems and regulatory authorization would be required before routine treatment.
What “GMP cells” means here
In this study, GMP means granulocyte-monocyte progenitor, a developmental stage in blood formation. It is not the abbreviation for good manufacturing practice, the quality standard used to make regulated medicines. The same three letters can therefore describe both the biological starting cell and the manufacturing environment in which a future therapy might be produced.
How far the research is from a patient treatment
The published work establishes a research platform in culture and mice. It does not report a clinical trial, regulatory approval, a treatment schedule or a product that patients can purchase or receive. No patient-count, response-rate or survival figure is available from the reported results.
USC says Ying, Shi Yue, Xueyuan A. Jing, Zheng Guo, Ravindra Majeti, Chao Zhang, Tai Nguyen and Jiaqi Tang are co-inventors on patents related to the study. USC also reports that those patents were licensed to Myelogene Inc. That licensing relationship signals an effort to translate the technology; it is not evidence of a marketed therapy or a patient access pathway.
What researchers will need to show next
Further work would need to confirm the cells’ behavior across larger and more representative animal studies, define manufacturing controls, test safety and establish how engineered cells interact with human immune systems. Only after those steps could early-phase human trials determine whether the approach is tolerable and biologically active. Later trials would be needed to show whether it improves outcomes compared with existing cancer treatments.
Best Value
The same expandable and engineerable platform has been described as potentially useful beyond cancer, including infectious disease. Those applications remain research possibilities, not established therapies.
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