The described invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a therapeutic amount of an educated mononuclear cell product, a process for preparing the educated mononuclear cell product, and a method for treating a disease characterized by lymphocyte autoreactivity. Mononuclear cells from a diseased subject are co-cultured with a viable population of adherent umbilical cord blood stem cells at at least 80% confluence to form an educated mononuclear cell product. A therapeutic amount of the educated mononuclear cell product is returned by infusion intravascularly to the subject. The therapeutic amount is effective to modulate autoreactivity in a T cell compartment of the subject and to reduce symptoms of the disease characterized by lymphocyte autoreactivity.