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Luk SJ, Schoppmeyer R, Ijsselsteijn ME, Somarakis A, Acem I, Remst DFG, Cox DT, van Bergen CAM, Briaire-de Bruijn I, Grönloh MLB, van der Meer WJ, Hawinkels LJAC, Koning RI, Bos E, Bovée JVMG, de Miranda NFCC, Szuhai K, van Buul JD, Falkenburg JHF, Heemskerk MHM. VISTA Expression on Cancer-Associated Endothelium Selectively Prevents T-cell Extravasation. Cancer Immunol Res 2023; 11:1480-1492. [PMID: 37695550 DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-22-0759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Cancers evade T-cell immunity by several mechanisms such as secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines, down regulation of antigen presentation machinery, upregulation of immune checkpoint molecules, and exclusion of T cells from tumor tissues. The distribution and function of immune checkpoint molecules on tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating leukocytes is well established, but less is known about their impact on intratumoral endothelial cells. Here, we demonstrated that V-domain Ig suppressor of T-cell activation (VISTA), a PD-L1 homolog, was highly expressed on endothelial cells in synovial sarcoma, subsets of different carcinomas, and immune-privileged tissues. We created an ex vivo model of the human vasculature and demonstrated that expression of VISTA on endothelial cells selectively prevented T-cell transmigration over endothelial layers under physiologic flow conditions, whereas it does not affect migration of other immune cell types. Furthermore, endothelial VISTA correlated with reduced infiltration of T cells and poor prognosis in metastatic synovial sarcoma. In endothelial cells, we detected VISTA on the plasma membrane and in recycling endosomes, and its expression was upregulated by cancer cell-secreted factors in a VEGF-A-dependent manner. Our study reveals that endothelial VISTA is upregulated by cancer-secreted factors and that it regulates T-cell accessibility to cancer and healthy tissues. This newly identified mechanism should be considered when using immunotherapeutic approaches aimed at unleashing T cell-mediated cancer immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sietse J Luk
- Department of Hematology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Rouven Schoppmeyer
- Molecular Cell Biology Lab, Department of Molecular Hematology, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Landsteiner Laboratory, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Leeuwenhoek Centre for Advanced Microscopy, Molecular Cytology, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Antonios Somarakis
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Ibtissam Acem
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Department of Oncological and Gastrointestinal Surgery, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Dennis F G Remst
- Department of Hematology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Daan T Cox
- Department of Hematology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Max L B Grönloh
- Molecular Cell Biology Lab, Department of Molecular Hematology, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Leeuwenhoek Centre for Advanced Microscopy, Molecular Cytology, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Werner J van der Meer
- Molecular Cell Biology Lab, Department of Molecular Hematology, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Leeuwenhoek Centre for Advanced Microscopy, Molecular Cytology, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Lukas J A C Hawinkels
- Department of Gastroenterology-Hepatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Roman I Koning
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Erik Bos
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Judith V M G Bovée
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | | | - Karoly Szuhai
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Jaap D van Buul
- Molecular Cell Biology Lab, Department of Molecular Hematology, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Landsteiner Laboratory, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Leeuwenhoek Centre for Advanced Microscopy, Molecular Cytology, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Mirjam H M Heemskerk
- Department of Hematology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Bastone AL, Dziadek V, John-Neek P, Mansel F, Fleischauer J, Agyeman-Duah E, Schaudien D, Dittrich-Breiholz O, Schwarzer A, Schambach A, Rothe M. Development of an in vitro genotoxicity assay to detect retroviral vector-induced lymphoid insertional mutants. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2023; 30:515-533. [PMID: 37693949 PMCID: PMC10491817 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2023.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Safety assessment in retroviral vector-mediated gene therapy remains challenging. In clinical trials for different blood and immune disorders, insertional mutagenesis led to myeloid and lymphoid leukemia. We previously developed the In Vitro Immortalization Assay (IVIM) and Surrogate Assay for Genotoxicity Assessment (SAGA) for pre-clinical genotoxicity prediction of integrating vectors. Murine hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (mHSPCs) transduced with mutagenic vectors acquire a proliferation advantage under limiting dilution (IVIM) and activate stem cell- and cancer-related transcriptional programs (SAGA). However, both assays present an intrinsic myeloid bias due to culture conditions. To detect lymphoid mutants, we differentiated mHSPCs to mature T cells and analyzed their phenotype, insertion site pattern, and gene expression changes after transduction with retroviral vectors. Mutagenic vectors induced a block in differentiation at an early progenitor stage (double-negative 2) compared to fully differentiated untransduced mock cultures. Arrested samples harbored high-risk insertions close to Lmo2, frequently observed in clinical trials with severe adverse events. Lymphoid insertional mutants displayed a unique gene expression signature identified by SAGA. The gene expression-based highly sensitive molecular readout will broaden our understanding of vector-induced oncogenicity and help in pre-clinical prediction of retroviral genotoxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella L. Bastone
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH – Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Violetta Dziadek
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH – Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Philipp John-Neek
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH – Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Friederike Mansel
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH – Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Jenni Fleischauer
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH – Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Eric Agyeman-Duah
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Dirk Schaudien
- Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM, Hannover, Germany
| | | | - Adrian Schwarzer
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH – Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Axel Schambach
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH – Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael Rothe
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH – Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
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3
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Fleischauer J, Bastone AL, Selich A, John-Neek P, Weisskoeppel L, Schaudien D, Schambach A, Rothe M. TGF β Inhibitor A83-01 Enhances Murine HSPC Expansion for Gene Therapy. Cells 2023; 12:1978. [PMID: 37566057 PMCID: PMC10416825 DOI: 10.3390/cells12151978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Murine hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) are commonly used as model systems during gene therapeutic retroviral vector development and preclinical biosafety assessment. Here, we developed cell culture conditions to maintain stemness and prevent differentiation during HSPC culture. We used the small compounds A83-01, pomalidomide, and UM171 (APU). Highly purified LSK SLAM cells expanded in medium containing SCF, IL-3, FLT3-L, and IL-11 but rapidly differentiated to myeloid progenitors and mast cells. The supplementation of APU attenuated the differentiation and preserved the stemness of HSPCs. The TGFβ inhibitor A83-01 was identified as the major effector. It significantly inhibited the mast-cell-associated expression of FcεR1α and the transcription of genes regulating the formation of granules and promoted a 3800-fold expansion of LSK cells. As a functional readout, we used expanded HSPCs in state-of-the-art genotoxicity assays. Like fresh cells, APU-expanded HSPCs transduced with a mutagenic retroviral vector developed a myeloid differentiation block with clonal restriction and dysregulated oncogenic transcriptomic signatures due to vector integration near the high-risk locus Mecom. Thus, expanded HSPCs might serve as a novel cell source for retroviral vector testing and genotoxicity studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenni Fleischauer
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (J.F.); (A.L.B.); (A.S.); (P.J.-N.); (L.W.); (A.S.)
- REBIRTH—Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Antonella Lucia Bastone
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (J.F.); (A.L.B.); (A.S.); (P.J.-N.); (L.W.); (A.S.)
- REBIRTH—Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Anton Selich
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (J.F.); (A.L.B.); (A.S.); (P.J.-N.); (L.W.); (A.S.)
- REBIRTH—Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Philipp John-Neek
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (J.F.); (A.L.B.); (A.S.); (P.J.-N.); (L.W.); (A.S.)
- REBIRTH—Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Luisa Weisskoeppel
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (J.F.); (A.L.B.); (A.S.); (P.J.-N.); (L.W.); (A.S.)
- REBIRTH—Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Dirk Schaudien
- Department of Inhalation Toxicology, Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM, Nikolai Fuchs Strasse 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany;
| | - Axel Schambach
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (J.F.); (A.L.B.); (A.S.); (P.J.-N.); (L.W.); (A.S.)
- REBIRTH—Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Michael Rothe
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (J.F.); (A.L.B.); (A.S.); (P.J.-N.); (L.W.); (A.S.)
- REBIRTH—Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
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Cano-Ortiz L, Gu Q, de Sousa-Pereira P, Zhang Z, Chiapella C, Penda Twizerimana A, Lin C, Cláudia Franco A, VandeWoude S, Luedde T, Baldauf HM, Münk C. Feline Leukemia Virus-B Envelope together with its GlycoGag and Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Nef Mediate Resistance to Feline SERINC5. J Mol Biol 2021; 434:167421. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2021.167421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Morgan MA, Galla M, Grez M, Fehse B, Schambach A. Retroviral gene therapy in Germany with a view on previous experience and future perspectives. Gene Ther 2021; 28:494-512. [PMID: 33753908 PMCID: PMC8455336 DOI: 10.1038/s41434-021-00237-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Gene therapy can be used to restore cell function in monogenic disorders or to endow cells with new capabilities, such as improved killing of cancer cells, expression of suicide genes for controlled elimination of cell populations, or protection against chemotherapy or viral infection. While gene therapies were originally most often used to treat monogenic diseases and to improve hematopoietic stem cell transplantation outcome, the advent of genetically modified immune cell therapies, such as chimeric antigen receptor modified T cells, has contributed to the increased numbers of patients treated with gene and cell therapies. The advancement of gene therapy with integrating retroviral vectors continues to depend upon world-wide efforts. As the topic of this special issue is "Spotlight on Germany," the goal of this review is to provide an overview of contributions to this field made by German clinical and research institutions. Research groups in Germany made, and continue to make, important contributions to the development of gene therapy, including design of vectors and transduction protocols for improved cell modification, methods to assess gene therapy vector efficacy and safety (e.g., clonal imbalance, insertion sites), as well as in the design and conduction of clinical gene therapy trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Morgan
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Melanie Galla
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- REBIRTH Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Manuel Grez
- Institute for Tumor Biology and Experimental Therapy, Georg-Speyer-Haus, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Boris Fehse
- Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Axel Schambach
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
- REBIRTH Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Woodchuck Hepatitis Virus Post-Transcriptional Regulation Element (WPRE) Promotes Anti-CD19 BiTE Expression in Expi293 Cells. IRANIAN BIOMEDICAL JOURNAL 2021; 25:275-83. [PMID: 34217158 PMCID: PMC8334396 DOI: 10.52547/ibj.25.4.275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Background: Bispecific antibodies represent an important class of mAbs, with great therapeutic potentials due to their ability to target simultaneously two distinct epitopes. The generation of functional bispecific antibodies with the highest possible yields is particularly critical for the production of these compounds on industrial scales. Anti- CD3 × CD19 bsAb is a bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) currently used for treating ALL. Herein, we have tried to optimize the expression level of this antibody in mammalian hosts. Methods: WPRE sequence was incorporated at the 3’ end of the expression cassette. This modification resulted in a notable about two-fold increase in the expression of the bsAb in the Expi293 cell line. Results & Conclusion: Follow-up flow cytometry analysis demonstrated the binding properties of the produced antibody at acceptable levels, and in vitro bioactivity assays showed that this product is potent enough for targeting and destroying CD19-positive cells. Our findings show that WPRE enhances the expression of this type of bispecific mAbs in HEK-293 family cell lines. This approach can be used in biopharma industry for the mass production of anti-CD3 × CD19 bispecific antibody.
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Jaguva Vasudevan AA, Balakrishnan K, Franken A, Krikoni A, Häussinger D, Luedde T, Münk C. Murine leukemia virus resists producer cell APOBEC3A by its Glycosylated Gag but not target cell APOBEC3A. Virology 2021; 557:1-14. [PMID: 33581610 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2021.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Revised: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The human APOBEC3A (A3A) polynucleotide cytidine deaminase has been shown to have antiviral activity against HTLV-1 but not HIV-1, when expressed in the virus producer cell. In viral target cells, high levels of endogenous A3A activity have been associated with the restriction of HIV-1 during infection. Here we demonstrate that A3A derived from both target cells and producer cells can block the infection of Moloney-MLV (MLV) and related AKV-derived strains of MLV in a deaminase-dependent mode. Furthermore, glycosylated Gag (glycoGag) of MLV inhibits the encapsidation of human A3A, but target cell A3A was not affected by glycoGag and exerted deamination of viral DNA. Importantly, our results clearly indicate that poor glycoGag expression in MLV gag-pol packaging constructs as compared to abundant levels in full-length amphotropic MLV makes these viral vectors sensitive to A3A-mediated restriction. This raises the possibility of acquiring A3A-induced mutations in retroviral gene therapy applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ananda Ayyappan Jaguva Vasudevan
- Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Kannan Balakrishnan
- Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany; Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India
| | - André Franken
- Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Aikaterini Krikoni
- Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Dieter Häussinger
- Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Tom Luedde
- Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Carsten Münk
- Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
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Sergeeva D, Lee GM, Nielsen LK, Grav LM. Multicopy Targeted Integration for Accelerated Development of High-Producing Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells. ACS Synth Biol 2020; 9:2546-2561. [PMID: 32835482 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The ever-growing biopharmaceutical industry relies on the production of recombinant therapeutic proteins in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The traditional timelines of CHO cell line development can be significantly shortened by the use of targeted gene integration (TI). However, broad use of TI has been limited due to the low specific productivity (qP) of TI-generated clones. Here, we show a 10-fold increase in the qP of therapeutic glycoproteins in CHO cells through the development and optimization of a multicopy TI method. We used a recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) platform to investigate the effect of gene copy number, 5' and 3' gene regulatory elements, and landing pad features on qP. We evaluated the limitations of multicopy expression from a single genomic site as well as multiple genomic sites and found that a transcriptional bottleneck can appear with an increase in gene dosage. We created a dual-RMCE system for simultaneous multicopy TI in two genomic sites and generated isogenic high-producing clones with qP of 12-14 pg/cell/day and product titer close to 1 g/L in fed-batch. Our study provides an extensive characterization of the multicopy TI method and elucidates the relationship between gene copy number and protein expression in mammalian cells. Moreover, it demonstrates that TI-generated CHO cells are capable of producing therapeutic proteins at levels that can support their industrial manufacture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daria Sergeeva
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby 2800, Denmark
| | - Gyun Min Lee
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby 2800, Denmark
- Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Lars Keld Nielsen
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby 2800, Denmark
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
| | - Lise Marie Grav
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby 2800, Denmark
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Orlans HO, Barnard AR, Patrício MI, McClements ME, MacLaren RE. Effect of AAV-Mediated Rhodopsin Gene Augmentation on Retinal Degeneration Caused by the Dominant P23H Rhodopsin Mutation in a Knock-In Murine Model. Hum Gene Ther 2020; 31:730-742. [DOI: 10.1089/hum.2020.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Harry O. Orlans
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alun R. Barnard
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Maria I. Patrício
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Robert E. MacLaren
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom
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10
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Morgan MA, Schambach A. Engineering CAR-T Cells for Improved Function Against Solid Tumors. Front Immunol 2018; 9:2493. [PMID: 30420856 PMCID: PMC6217729 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2018] [Accepted: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic engineering T cells to create clinically applied chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells has led to improved patient outcomes for some forms of hematopoietic malignancies. While this has inspired the biomedical community to develop similar strategies to treat solid tumor patients, challenges such as the immunosuppressive character of the tumor microenvironment, CAR-T cell persistence and trafficking to the tumor seem to limit CAR-T cell efficacy in solid cancers. This review provides an overview of mechanisms that tumors exploit to evade eradication by CAR-T cells as well as emerging approaches that incorporate genetic engineering technologies to improve CAR-T cell activity against solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Morgan
- Hannover Medical School, Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover, Germany.,REBIRTH Cluster of Excellence, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Axel Schambach
- Hannover Medical School, Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover, Germany.,REBIRTH Cluster of Excellence, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.,Division of Hematology/Oncology Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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11
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Ghosh S, Carmo M, Calero-Garcia M, Ricciardelli I, Bustamante Ogando JC, Blundell MP, Schambach A, Ashton-Rickardt PG, Booth C, Ehl S, Lehmberg K, Thrasher AJ, Gaspar HB. T-cell gene therapy for perforin deficiency corrects cytotoxicity defects and prevents hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis manifestations. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2018; 142:904-913.e3. [PMID: 29355678 PMCID: PMC6127027 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.11.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2017] [Revised: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 11/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mutations in the perforin 1 (PRF1) gene account for up to 58% of familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis syndromes. The resulting defects in effector cell cytotoxicity lead to hypercytokinemia and hyperactivation with inflammation in various organs. OBJECTIVE We sought to determine whether autologous gene-corrected T cells can restore cytotoxic function, reduce disease activity, and prevent hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) symptoms in in vivo models. METHODS We developed a gammaretroviral vector to transduce murine CD8 T cells in the Prf-/- mouse model. To verify functional correction of Prf-/- CD8 T cells in vivo, we used a lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) epitope-transfected murine lung carcinoma cell tumor model. Furthermore, we challenged gene-corrected and uncorrected mice with LCMV. One patient sample was transduced with a PRF1-encoding lentiviral vector to study restoration of cytotoxicity in human cells. RESULTS We demonstrated efficient engraftment and functional reconstitution of cytotoxicity after intravenous administration of gene-corrected Prf-/- CD8 T cells into Prf-/- mice. In the tumor model infusion of Prf-/- gene-corrected CD8 T cells eliminated the tumor as efficiently as transplantation of wild-type CD8 T cells. Similarly, mice reconstituted with gene-corrected Prf-/- CD8 T cells displayed complete protection from the HLH phenotype after infection with LCMV. Patients' cells showed correction of cytotoxicity in human CD8 T cells after transduction. CONCLUSION These data demonstrate the potential application of T-cell gene therapy in reconstituting cytotoxic function and protection against HLH in the setting of perforin deficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sujal Ghosh
- Infection, Immunity, Inflammation, Molecular and Cellular Immunology Section, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom; Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Clinical Immunology, Medical Faculty, Center of Child and Adolescent Health, Heinrich-Heine-University, Dusseldorf, Germany
| | - Marlene Carmo
- Infection, Immunity, Inflammation, Molecular and Cellular Immunology Section, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Miguel Calero-Garcia
- Infection, Immunity, Inflammation, Molecular and Cellular Immunology Section, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ida Ricciardelli
- Infection, Immunity, Inflammation, Molecular and Cellular Immunology Section, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Juan Carlos Bustamante Ogando
- Infection, Immunity, Inflammation, Molecular and Cellular Immunology Section, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michael P Blundell
- Infection, Immunity, Inflammation, Molecular and Cellular Immunology Section, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Axel Schambach
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Philip G Ashton-Rickardt
- Section of Immunobiology, Division of Inflammation and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Claire Booth
- Infection, Immunity, Inflammation, Molecular and Cellular Immunology Section, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Stephan Ehl
- Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kai Lehmberg
- Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, Division of Paediatric Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany
| | - Adrian J Thrasher
- Infection, Immunity, Inflammation, Molecular and Cellular Immunology Section, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - H Bobby Gaspar
- Infection, Immunity, Inflammation, Molecular and Cellular Immunology Section, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom.
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12
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Morgan MA, Schambach A. Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells: Extending Translation from Liquid to Solid Tumors. Hum Gene Ther 2018; 29:1083-1097. [PMID: 30156435 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2017.251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Successful translation of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells designed to target and eradicate CD19+ lymphomas has emboldened scientists and physicians worldwide to explore the possibility of applying CAR T-cell technology to other tumor entities, including solid tumors. Next-generation strategies such as fourth-generation CARs (CAR T cells redirected for universal cytokine killing, also known as TRUCKs) designed to deliver immunomodulatory cytokines to the tumor microenvironment, dual CAR designs to improve tumor control, inclusion of suicide genes as safety switches, and precision genome editing are currently being investigated. One major ongoing goal is to determine how best to generate CAR T cells that modulate the tumor microenvironment, overcome tumor survival mechanisms, and thus allow broader applicability as universal allogeneic T-cell therapeutics. Development of state-of-the-art and beyond viral vector systems to deliver designer CARs coupled with targeted genome editing is expected to generate more effective off-the-shelf CAR T cells with activity against a greater number of cancer types and importantly solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Morgan
- 1 Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School , Hannover, Germany .,2 REBIRTH Cluster of Excellence, Hannover Medical School , Hannover, Germany
| | - Axel Schambach
- 1 Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School , Hannover, Germany .,2 REBIRTH Cluster of Excellence, Hannover Medical School , Hannover, Germany .,3 Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital , Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
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13
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Gavvovidis I, Leisegang M, Willimsky G, Miller N, Nghiem P, Blankenstein T. Targeting Merkel Cell Carcinoma by Engineered T Cells Specific to T-Antigens of Merkel Cell Polyomavirus. Clin Cancer Res 2018; 24:3644-3655. [PMID: 29669806 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-17-2661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2017] [Revised: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Purpose: The causative agent of most cases of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) has been identified as the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV). MCV-encoded T antigens (Tag) are essential not only for virus-mediated tumorigenesis but also for maintaining MCC cell lines in vitro MCV Tags are thus an appealing target for viral oncoprotein-directed T-cell therapy for MCC. With this study, we aimed to isolate and characterize Tag-specific T-cell receptors (TCR) for potential use in gene therapy clinical trials.Experimental Design: T-cell responses against MCV Tag epitopes were investigated by immunizing transgenic mice that express a diverse human TCR repertoire restricted to HLA-A2. Human lymphocytes genetically engineered to express Tag-specific TCRs were tested for specific reactivity against MCC cell lines. The therapeutic potential of Tag-specific TCR gene therapy was tested in a syngeneic cancer model.Results: We identified naturally processed epitopes of MCV Tags and isolated Tag-specific TCRs. T cells expressing these TCRs were activated by HLA-A2-positive cells loaded with cognate peptide or cells that stably expressed MCV Tags. We showed cytotoxic potential of T cells engineered to express these TCRs in vitro and demonstrated regression of established tumors in a mouse model upon TCR gene therapy.Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that MCC cells can be targeted by MCV Tag-specific TCRs. Although recent findings suggest that approximately half of MCC patients benefit from PD-1 pathway blockade, additional patients may benefit if their endogenous T-cell response can be augmented by infusion of transgenic MCV-specific T cells such as those described here. Clin Cancer Res; 24(15); 3644-55. ©2018 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis Gavvovidis
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany.,Institute of Immunology, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Matthias Leisegang
- Institute of Immunology, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gerald Willimsky
- Institute of Immunology, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Natalie Miller
- University of Washington, Dermatology/Medicine/Pathology, Seattle, Washington
| | - Paul Nghiem
- University of Washington, Dermatology/Medicine/Pathology, Seattle, Washington
| | - Thomas Blankenstein
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin, Germany. .,Institute of Immunology, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
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14
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Weiser C, Petkova MV, Rengstl B, Döring C, von Laer D, Hartmann S, Küppers R, Hansmann ML, Newrzela S. Ectopic expression of transcription factor BATF3 induces B-cell lymphomas in a murine B-cell transplantation model. Oncotarget 2018; 9:15942-15951. [PMID: 29662618 PMCID: PMC5882309 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.24639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms involved in malignant transformation of mature B and T lymphocytes are still poorly understood. In a previous study, we compared gene expression profiles of the tumor cells of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) to their normal cellular counterparts and found the basic leucine zipper protein ATF-like 3 (BATF3) to be significantly upregulated in the tumor cells of both entities. To assess the oncogenic potential of BATF3 in lymphomagenesis and to dissect the molecular interactions of BATF3 in lymphoma cells, we retrovirally transduced murine mature T and B cells with a BATF3-encoding viral vector and transplanted each population into Rag1-deficient recipients. Intriguingly, BATF3-expressing B lymphocytes readily induced B-cell lymphomas after characteristic latencies, whereas T-cell transplanted animals remained healthy throughout the observation time. Further analyses revealed a germinal center B-cell-like phenotype of most BATF3-initiated lymphomas. In a multiple myeloma cell line, BATF3 inhibited BLIMP1 expression, potentially illuminating an oncogenic action of BATF3 in B-cell lymphomagenesis. In conclusion, BATF3 overexpression induces malignant transformation of mature B cells and might serve as a potential target in B-cell lymphoma treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Weiser
- Dr. Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, Goethe-University of Frankfurt, Medical School, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Mina V Petkova
- Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), Medical Faculty of the Charité and Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Benjamin Rengstl
- Dr. Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, Goethe-University of Frankfurt, Medical School, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Claudia Döring
- Dr. Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, Goethe-University of Frankfurt, Medical School, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Dorothee von Laer
- Division of Virology, Department of Hygiene, Microbiology, Social Medicine Medical University IBK, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Sylvia Hartmann
- Dr. Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, Goethe-University of Frankfurt, Medical School, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Ralf Küppers
- Institute of Cell Biology (Cancer Research), University of Duisburg-Essen, Medical School, Essen, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Martin-Leo Hansmann
- Dr. Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, Goethe-University of Frankfurt, Medical School, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Newrzela
- Dr. Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, Goethe-University of Frankfurt, Medical School, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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15
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Morgan RA, Gray D, Lomova A, Kohn DB. Hematopoietic Stem Cell Gene Therapy: Progress and Lessons Learned. Cell Stem Cell 2017; 21:574-590. [PMID: 29100011 PMCID: PMC6039108 DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2017.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 153] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The use of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to treat genetic blood cell diseases has become a clinical standard but is limited by the availability of suitable matched donors and potential immunologic complications. Gene therapy using autologous HSCs should avoid these limitations and thus may be safer. Progressive improvements in techniques for genetic correction of HSCs, by either vector gene addition or gene editing, are facilitating successful treatments for an increasing number of diseases. We highlight the progress, successes, and remaining challenges toward the development of HSC gene therapies and discuss lessons they provide for the development of future clinical stem cell therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Morgan
- Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, 90059; Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095
| | - David Gray
- Molecular Biology Institute Interdepartmental Doctoral Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095
| | - Anastasia Lomova
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095
| | - Donald B Kohn
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095; Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095; Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095; The Eli & Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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16
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Lorenz FKM, Ellinger C, Kieback E, Wilde S, Lietz M, Schendel DJ, Uckert W. Unbiased Identification of T-Cell Receptors Targeting Immunodominant Peptide-MHC Complexes for T-Cell Receptor Immunotherapy. Hum Gene Ther 2017; 28:1158-1168. [PMID: 28950731 PMCID: PMC5737719 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2017.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
T-cell receptor (TCR) immunotherapy uses T cells engineered with new TCRs to enable detection and killing of cancer cells. Efficacy of TCR immunotherapy depends on targeting antigenic peptides that are efficiently presented by the best-suited major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules of cancer cells. However, efficient strategies are lacking to easily identify TCRs recognizing immunodominant peptide-MHC (pMHC) combinations utilizing any of the six possible MHC class I alleles of a cancer cell. We generated an MHC cell library and developed a platform approach to detect, isolate, and re-express TCRs specific for immunodominant pMHCs. The platform approach was applied to identify a human papillomavirus (HPV16) oncogene E5-specific TCR, recognizing a novel, naturally processed pMHC (HLA-B*15:01) and a cytomegalovirus-specific TCR targeting an immunodominant pMHC (HLA-B*07:02). The platform provides a useful tool to isolate in an unbiased manner TCRs specific for novel and immunodominant pMHC targets for use in TCR immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix K M Lorenz
- 1 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association , Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian Ellinger
- 2 Institute for Molecular Immunology, Helmholtz-Zentrum Munich , Munich, Germany
| | - Elisa Kieback
- 1 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association , Berlin, Germany
| | - Susanne Wilde
- 2 Institute for Molecular Immunology, Helmholtz-Zentrum Munich , Munich, Germany
| | - Maria Lietz
- 1 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association , Berlin, Germany
| | - Dolores J Schendel
- 2 Institute for Molecular Immunology, Helmholtz-Zentrum Munich , Munich, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Uckert
- 1 Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association , Berlin, Germany .,3 Institute of Biology, Humboldt-University Berlin , Berlin, Germany .,4 Berlin Institute of Health , Berlin, Germany
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17
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Debnath S, Jaako P, Siva K, Rothe M, Chen J, Dahl M, Gaspar HB, Flygare J, Schambach A, Karlsson S. Lentiviral Vectors with Cellular Promoters Correct Anemia and Lethal Bone Marrow Failure in a Mouse Model for Diamond-Blackfan Anemia. Mol Ther 2017; 25:1805-1814. [PMID: 28434866 PMCID: PMC5542636 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2017.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2016] [Revised: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 04/01/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Diamond-Blackfan anemia is a congenital erythroid hypoplasia and is associated with physical malformations and a predisposition to cancer. Twenty-five percent of patients with Diamond-Blackfan anemia have mutations in a gene encoding ribosomal protein S19 (RPS19). Through overexpression of RPS19 using a lentiviral vector with the spleen focus-forming virus promoter, we demonstrated that the Diamond-Blackfan anemia phenotype can be successfully treated in Rps19-deficient mice. In our present study, we assessed the efficacy of a clinically relevant promoter, the human elongation factor 1α short promoter, with or without the locus control region of the β-globin gene for treatment of RPS19-deficient Diamond-Blackfan anemia. The findings demonstrate that these vectors rescue the proliferation defect and improve erythroid development of transduced RPS19-deficient bone marrow cells. Remarkably, bone marrow failure and severe anemia in Rps19-deficient mice was cured with enforced expression of RPS19 driven by the elongation factor 1α short promoter. We also demonstrate that RPS19-deficient bone marrow cells can be transduced and these cells have the capacity to repopulate bone marrow in long-term reconstituted mice. Our results collectively demonstrate the feasibility to cure RPS19-deficient Diamond-Blackfan anemia using lentiviral vectors with cellular promoters that possess a reduced risk of insertional mutagenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shubhranshu Debnath
- Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, Lund Strategic Center for Stem Cell Biology, Lund University, Lund 22184, Sweden
| | - Pekka Jaako
- Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, Lund Strategic Center for Stem Cell Biology, Lund University, Lund 22184, Sweden
| | - Kavitha Siva
- Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, Lund Strategic Center for Stem Cell Biology, Lund University, Lund 22184, Sweden
| | - Michael Rothe
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover 30625, Germany
| | - Jun Chen
- Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, Lund Strategic Center for Stem Cell Biology, Lund University, Lund 22184, Sweden
| | - Maria Dahl
- Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, Lund Strategic Center for Stem Cell Biology, Lund University, Lund 22184, Sweden
| | - H Bobby Gaspar
- Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Johan Flygare
- Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, Lund Strategic Center for Stem Cell Biology, Lund University, Lund 22184, Sweden
| | - Axel Schambach
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover 30625, Germany; Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Stefan Karlsson
- Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, Lund Strategic Center for Stem Cell Biology, Lund University, Lund 22184, Sweden.
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18
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Hollensen AK, Thomsen R, Bak RO, Petersen CC, Ermegaard ER, Aagaard L, Damgaard CK, Mikkelsen JG. Improved microRNA suppression by WPRE-linked tough decoy microRNA sponges. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2017; 23:1247-1258. [PMID: 28487381 PMCID: PMC5513069 DOI: 10.1261/rna.061192.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 04/26/2017] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Our genes are post-transcriptionally regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs) inducing translational suppression and degradation of targeted mRNAs. Strategies to inhibit miRNAs in a spatiotemporal manner in a desired cell type or tissue, or at a desired developmental stage, can be crucial for understanding miRNA function and for pushing forward miRNA suppression as a feasible rationale for genetic treatment of disease. For such purposes, RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II)-transcribed tough decoy (TuD) miRNA inhibitors are particularly attractive. Here, we demonstrate augmented miRNA suppression capacity of TuD RNA hairpins linked to the Woodchuck hepatitis virus post-transcriptional regulatory element (WPRE). This effect is position-dependent and evident only when the WPRE is positioned upstream of the TuD. In accordance, inclusion of the WPRE does not change nuclear export, translation, total levels of TuD-containing RNA transcripts, or cytoplasmic P-body localization, suggesting that previously reported WPRE functions are negligible for improved TuD function. Notably, deletion analysis of TuD-fused WPRE unveils truncated WPRE variants resulting in optimized miRNA suppression. Together, our findings add to the guidelines for production of WPRE-supported anti-miRNA TuDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Kruse Hollensen
- Department of Biomedicine, HEALTH, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Science and Technology, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Rune Thomsen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Science and Technology, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Rasmus O Bak
- Department of Biomedicine, HEALTH, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | | | - Eva R Ermegaard
- Department of Biomedicine, HEALTH, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Lars Aagaard
- Department of Biomedicine, HEALTH, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Christian Kroun Damgaard
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Science and Technology, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
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19
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Bandeira VS, Tomás HA, Alici E, Carrondo MJ, Coroadinha AS. Disclosing the Parameters Leading to High Productivity of Retroviral Producer Cells Lines: Evaluating Random Versus Targeted Integration. Hum Gene Ther Methods 2017; 28:78-90. [DOI: 10.1089/hgtb.2016.149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa S. Bandeira
- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Hélio A. Tomás
- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Evren Alici
- Cell and Gene Therapy Group, Center for Hematology and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Manuel J.T. Carrondo
- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal
| | - Ana S. Coroadinha
- Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
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20
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Jaguva Vasudevan AA, Hofmann H, Willbold D, Häussinger D, Koenig BW, Münk C. Enhancing the Catalytic Deamination Activity of APOBEC3C Is Insufficient to Inhibit Vif-Deficient HIV-1. J Mol Biol 2017; 429:1171-1191. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2017.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2016] [Revised: 03/08/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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21
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Ou L, Przybilla MJ, Koniar BL, Whitley CB. Elements of lentiviral vector design toward gene therapy for treating mucopolysaccharidosis I. Mol Genet Metab Rep 2016; 8:87-93. [PMID: 27556013 PMCID: PMC4987501 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymgmr.2015.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2015] [Accepted: 11/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I) is a lysosomal disease caused by α-l-iduronidase (IDUA) deficiency and accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAG). Lentiviral vector encoding correct IDUA cDNA could be used for treating MPS I. To optimize the lentiviral vector design, 9 constructs were designed by combinations of various promoters, enhancers, and codon optimization. After in vitro transfection into 293FT cells, 5 constructs achieved the highest IDUA activities (5613 to 7358 nmol/h/mg protein). These 5 candidate vectors were then tested by injection (1 × 107 TU/g) into neonatal MPS I mice. After 30 days, one vector, CCEoIDW, achieved the highest IDUA levels: 2.6% of wildtype levels in the brain, 9.9% in the heart, 200% in the liver and 257% in the spleen. CCEoIDW achieved the most significant GAG reduction: down 49% in the brain, 98% in the heart, 100% in the liver and 95% in the spleen. Further, CCEoIDW had the lowest transgene frequency, especially in the gonads (0.03 ± 0.01 copies/100 cells), reducing the risk of insertional mutagenesis and germ-line transmission. Therefore, CCEoIDW is selected as the optimal lentiviral vector for treating MPS I disease and will be applied in large animal preclinical studies. Further, taken both in vitro and in vivo comparisons together, codon optimization, use of EF-1α promoter and woodchuck hepatitis virus posttranscriptional response element (WPRE) could enhance transgene expression. These results provided a better understanding of factors contributing efficient transgene expression in lentiviral gene therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Ou
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, United States; Gene Therapy Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, United States
| | - Michael J Przybilla
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, United States; Gene Therapy Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, United States
| | - Brenda L Koniar
- Research Animal Resources, University of Minnesota, United States; Gene Therapy Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, United States
| | - Chester B Whitley
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, United States; Gene Therapy Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, United States
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22
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Pessel-Vivares L, Houzet L, Lainé S, Mougel M. Insights into the nuclear export of murine leukemia virus intron-containing RNA. RNA Biol 2016; 12:942-9. [PMID: 26158194 DOI: 10.1080/15476286.2015.1065375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The retroviral genome consists of an intron-containing transcript that has essential cytoplasmic functions in the infected cell. This viral transcript can escape splicing, circumvent the nuclear checkpoint mechanisms and be transported to the cytoplasm by hijacking the host machinery. Once in the cytoplasm, viral unspliced RNA acts as mRNA to be translated and as genomic RNA to be packaged into nascent viruses. The murine leukemia virus (MLV) is among the first retroviruses discovered and is classified as simple Retroviridae due to its minimal encoding capacity. The oncogenic and transduction abilities of MLV are extensively studied, whereas surprisingly the crucial step of its nuclear export has remained unsolved until 2014. Recent work has revealed the recruitment by MLV of the cellular NXF1/Tap-dependent pathway for export. Unconventionally, MLV uses of Tap to export both spliced and unspliced viral RNAs. Unlike other retroviruses, MLV does not harbor a unique RNA signal for export. Indeed, multiple sequences throughout the MLV genome appear to promote export of the unspliced MLV RNA. We review here the current understanding of the export mechanism and highlight the determinants that influence MLV export. As the molecular mechanism of MLV export is elucidated, we will gain insight into the contribution of the export pathway to the cytoplasmic fate of the viral RNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Pessel-Vivares
- a CNRS, UM; CPBS ; Montpellier , France.,b Department of Infectious Diseases ; King's College London ; London , UK
| | - Laurent Houzet
- c Inserm U1085-IRSET; Université de Rennes 1; Structure Fédérative Recherche Biosit ; Rennes , France
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23
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Suerth JD, Morgan MA, Kloess S, Heckl D, Neudörfl C, Falk CS, Koehl U, Schambach A. Efficient generation of gene-modified human natural killer cells via alpharetroviral vectors. J Mol Med (Berl) 2016; 94:83-93. [PMID: 26300042 DOI: 10.1007/s00109-015-1327-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2015] [Revised: 06/25/2015] [Accepted: 07/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in tumor immunotherapy with their unique capability of killing transformed cells without the need for prior sensitization and without major histocompatibility complex (MHC)/peptide restriction. However, tumor cells can escape NK cell cytotoxicity by various tumor immune escape mechanisms. To overcome these escape mechanisms, NK cells can be modified to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), enhancing their tumor-specific cytotoxicity. To determine the most efficacious method to modify human NK cells, we compared different retroviral vector systems, retroviral pseudotypes, and transduction protocols. Using optimized transduction conditions, the highest transduction levels (up to 60%) were achieved with alpharetroviral vectors. Alpharetroviral-modified primary human NK cells exhibited no alteration in receptor expression and had similar degranulation activity as untransduced NK cells, thus demonstrating that alpharetroviral modification did not negatively affect NK cell cytotoxicity. Transduction of NK cells with an alpharetroviral vector containing a CD19 CAR expression cassette selectively enhanced NK cell cytotoxicity towards CD19-expressing leukemia cells, achieving nearly complete elimination of leukemia cells after 48 h. Taken together, alpharetroviral vectors are promising tools for NK cell-mediated cancer immunotherapy applications. KEY MESSAGES Efficient modification of human NK cells using alpharetroviral vectors. Anti-CD19-CAR-NK cells exhibited improved cytotoxicity towards CD19(+) leukemia cells. Alpharetroviral vectors are promising tools for immunotherapy applications using NK cells.
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MESH Headings
- Alpharetrovirus/genetics
- Antigens, CD19/genetics
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cytotoxicity, Immunologic/genetics
- Cytotoxicity, Immunologic/immunology
- Genetic Therapy/methods
- Genetic Vectors/genetics
- Green Fluorescent Proteins/genetics
- Humans
- Immunotherapy, Adoptive/methods
- Killer Cells, Natural/cytology
- Killer Cells, Natural/immunology
- Leukemia/immunology
- Leukemia/therapy
- Receptors, Antigen/biosynthesis
- Receptors, Antigen/genetics
- Receptors, Antigen/immunology
- Transduction, Genetic/methods
- Tumor Escape/immunology
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia D Suerth
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Michael A Morgan
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Stephan Kloess
- Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, IFB-Tx, Hannover Medical School, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Dirk Heckl
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Christine Neudörfl
- Institute of Transplant Immunology, IFB-Tx, Hannover Medical School, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Christine S Falk
- Institute of Transplant Immunology, IFB-Tx, Hannover Medical School, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Ulrike Koehl
- Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, IFB-Tx, Hannover Medical School, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Axel Schambach
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625, Hannover, Germany.
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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24
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Cobos Jiménez V, Martinez FO, Booiman T, van Dort KA, van de Klundert MAA, Gordon S, Geijtenbeek TBH, Kootstra NA. G3BP1 restricts HIV-1 replication in macrophages and T-cells by sequestering viral RNA. Virology 2015; 486:94-104. [PMID: 26432022 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2015.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2015] [Revised: 09/11/2015] [Accepted: 09/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
HIV-1 exploits the cellular machinery for replication and therefore several interactions with cellular factors take place, some of which are yet unknown. We identified GTPase-activating protein-(SH3 domain)-binding protein 1 (G3BP1) as a cellular factor that restricts HIV-1, by analyzing transcriptome profiles of in vitro-cytokine-activated macrophages that are non-permissive to HIV-1 replication. Silencing of G3BP1 by RNA interference resulted in increased HIV-1 replication in primary T-cells and macrophages, but did not affect replication of other retroviruses. G3BP1 specifically interacted with HIV-1 RNA in the cytoplasm, suggesting that it sequesters viral transcripts, thus preventing translation or packaging. G3BP1 was highly expressed in resting naïve or memory T-cells from healthy donors and HIV-1 infected patients, but significantly lower in IL-2-activated T-cells. These results strongly suggest that G3BP1 captures HIV-1 RNA transcripts and thereby restricts mRNA translation, viral protein production and virus particle formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviana Cobos Jiménez
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Sanquin Research, Landsteiner Laboratory, and Center for Infectious Diseases and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1105AZ, The Netherlands
| | - Fernando O Martinez
- Kennedy Rheumatology Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LD, United Kingdom
| | - Thijs Booiman
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Sanquin Research, Landsteiner Laboratory, and Center for Infectious Diseases and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1105AZ, The Netherlands
| | - Karel A van Dort
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Sanquin Research, Landsteiner Laboratory, and Center for Infectious Diseases and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1105AZ, The Netherlands
| | - Maarten A A van de Klundert
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Sanquin Research, Landsteiner Laboratory, and Center for Infectious Diseases and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1105AZ, The Netherlands
| | - Siamon Gordon
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom
| | - Teunis B H Geijtenbeek
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Sanquin Research, Landsteiner Laboratory, and Center for Infectious Diseases and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1105AZ, The Netherlands
| | - Neeltje A Kootstra
- Department of Experimental Immunology, Sanquin Research, Landsteiner Laboratory, and Center for Infectious Diseases and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1105AZ, The Netherlands.
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25
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Schmier S, Mostafa A, Haarmann T, Bannert N, Ziebuhr J, Veljkovic V, Dietrich U, Pleschka S. In Silico Prediction and Experimental Confirmation of HA Residues Conferring Enhanced Human Receptor Specificity of H5N1 Influenza A Viruses. Sci Rep 2015; 5:11434. [PMID: 26091504 PMCID: PMC4473683 DOI: 10.1038/srep11434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2014] [Accepted: 05/27/2015] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Newly emerging influenza A viruses (IAV) pose a major threat to human health by causing seasonal epidemics and/or pandemics, the latter often facilitated by the lack of pre-existing immunity in the general population. Early recognition of candidate pandemic influenza viruses (CPIV) is of crucial importance for restricting virus transmission and developing appropriate therapeutic and prophylactic strategies including effective vaccines. Often, the pandemic potential of newly emerging IAV is only fully recognized once the virus starts to spread efficiently causing serious disease in humans. Here, we used a novel phylogenetic algorithm based on the informational spectrum method (ISM) to identify potential CPIV by predicting mutations in the viral hemagglutinin (HA) gene that are likely to (differentially) affect critical interactions between the HA protein and target cells from bird and human origin, respectively. Predictions were subsequently validated by generating pseudotyped retrovirus particles and genetically engineered IAV containing these mutations and characterizing potential effects on virus entry and replication in cells expressing human and avian IAV receptors, respectively. Our data suggest that the ISM-based algorithm is suitable to identify CPIV among IAV strains that are circulating in animal hosts and thus may be a new tool for assessing pandemic risks associated with specific strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja Schmier
- Georg-Speyer-Haus, Institute for Tumor Biology and Experimental Therapy, Paul-Ehrlich-Str. 42-44, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Ahmed Mostafa
- Institute of Medical Virology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Schubertstrasse 81, Giessen, Germany.,Center of Scientific Excellence for Influenza Viruses, National Research Centre (NRC), Dokki, Giza, Egypt
| | - Thomas Haarmann
- Georg-Speyer-Haus, Institute for Tumor Biology and Experimental Therapy, Paul-Ehrlich-Str. 42-44, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Norbert Bannert
- Robert-Koch-Institute, Division for HIV and other Retroviruses, Nordufer 20, Berlin, Germany
| | - John Ziebuhr
- Institute of Medical Virology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Schubertstrasse 81, Giessen, Germany
| | - Veljko Veljkovic
- Centre for Multidisciplinary Research, Institute of Nuclear Sciences VINCA, Mihaila Petrovica 14, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Ursula Dietrich
- Georg-Speyer-Haus, Institute for Tumor Biology and Experimental Therapy, Paul-Ehrlich-Str. 42-44, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Stephan Pleschka
- Institute of Medical Virology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Schubertstrasse 81, Giessen, Germany
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26
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Pereverzev AP, Markina NM, Ianushevich IG, Gorodnicheva TV, Minasian BE, Luk'ianov KA, Gurskaia NG. [Intron 2 of human beta-globin in 3'-untranslated region enhances expression of chimeric genes]. RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF BIOORGANIC CHEMISTRY 2015; 40:293-6. [PMID: 25898735 DOI: 10.1134/s106816201403011x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Possibility to enhance heterologous gene expression in mammalian cells by introduction of an intron in 3' untranslated region (UTR) was investigated. To this end, a fragment of human beta-globin gene with intron 2 and flanked exon regions was introduced into vector encoding green fluorescent protein TagGFP2 after the TagGFP2 stop-codon (Int+). The distance between the stop-codon and the exonjunction was 35 nucleotides. It ensured that Int+ mRNA was resistant to degradation by nonsense mediated decay (NMD) machinery. A control vector Int- contained corresponding intronless sequence of the beta-globin mRNA. On the same plasmid, the second gene encoded far-red fluorescent protein Katushka was used to normalize fluorescence for transfection efficiency and expression level in individual cells. Transiently transfected HEK293T cells were analysed by flow cytometry. It was shown that cells transfected with plasmid carrying the Int+ gene possess 1.8 ± 0.2 fold higher green fluorescence compared to Int- cells. The observed effect was used to enhance expression of destabilized variants of yellow fluorescent protein TurboYFP-dest with high degradation rate in mammalian cells. We believe that introduction of beta-globin intron in the 3'-UTR of the chimeric gene can be used to enhance its expression and may be advantageous in some cases when usage of 5'-UTR intron is inappropriate.
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27
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Straetemans T, Gründer C, Heijhuurs S, Hol S, Slaper-Cortenbach I, Bönig H, Sebestyen Z, Kuball J. Untouched GMP-Ready Purified Engineered Immune Cells to Treat Cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2015; 21:3957-68. [PMID: 25991821 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-14-2860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2014] [Accepted: 05/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Engineering T cells with receptors to redirect the immune system against cancer has most recently been described as a scientific breakthrough. However, a main challenge remains the GMP-grade purification of immune cells selectively expressing the introduced receptor in order to reduce potential side effects due to poorly or nonengineered cells. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN In order to test a novel purification strategy, we took advantage of a model γδT cell receptor (TCR), naturally interfering with endogenous TCR expression and designed the optimal retroviral expression cassette to achieve maximal interference with endogenous TCR chains. Following retroviral transduction, nonengineered and poorly engineered immune cells characterized by a high endogenous αβTCR expression were efficiently depleted with GMP-grade anti-αβTCR beads. Next, the engineered immune cells were validated for TCR expression, function against a panel of tumor cell lines and primary tumors and potential allo-reactivity. Engineered immune cells were further validated in two humanized mouse tumor models. RESULTS The untouched enrichment of engineered immune cells translated into highly purified receptor-engineered cells with strong antitumor reactivity both in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, this approach eliminated residual allo-reactivity of engineered immune cells. Our data demonstrate that even with long-term suboptimal interference with endogenous TCR chains such as in resting cells, allo-reactivity remained absent and tumor control preserved. CONCLUSIONS We present a novel enrichment method for the production of untouched engineered immune cells, ready to be translated into a GMP-grade method and potentially applicable to all receptor-modified cells even if interference with endogenous TCR chains is far from complete.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trudy Straetemans
- Laboratory of Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Cordula Gründer
- Laboratory of Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Sabine Heijhuurs
- Laboratory of Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Samantha Hol
- Laboratory of Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | | | - Halvard Bönig
- Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology, Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Zsolt Sebestyen
- Laboratory of Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Jürgen Kuball
- Laboratory of Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
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28
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29
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Limited niche availability suppresses murine intrathymic dendritic-cell development from noncommitted progenitors. Blood 2014; 125:457-64. [PMID: 25411428 DOI: 10.1182/blood-2014-07-592667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The origins of dendritic cells (DCs) and other myeloid cells in the thymus have remained controversial. In this study, we assessed developmental relationships between thymic dendritic cells and thymocytes, employing retrovirus-based cellular barcoding and reporter mice, as well as intrathymic transfers coupled with DC depletion. We demonstrated that a subset of early T-lineage progenitors expressed CX3CR1, a bona fide marker for DC progenitors. However, intrathymic transfers into nonmanipulated mice, as well as retroviral barcoding, indicated that thymic dendritic cells and thymocytes were largely of distinct developmental origin. In contrast, intrathymic transfers after in vivo depletion of DCs resulted in intrathymic development of non-T-lineage cells. In conclusion, our data support a model in which the adoption of T-lineage fate by noncommitted progenitors at steady state is enforced by signals from the thymic microenvironment unless niches promoting alternative lineage fates become available.
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30
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Lai CK, Moon Y, Kuchenbauer F, Starzcynowski DT, Argiropoulos B, Yung E, Beer P, Schwarzer A, Sharma A, Park G, Leung M, Lin G, Vollett S, Fung S, Eaves CJ, Karsan A, Weng AP, Humphries RK, Heuser M. Cell fate decisions in malignant hematopoiesis: leukemia phenotype is determined by distinct functional domains of the MN1 oncogene. PLoS One 2014; 9:e112671. [PMID: 25401736 PMCID: PMC4234417 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2014] [Accepted: 10/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Extensive molecular profiling of leukemias and preleukemic diseases has revealed that distinct clinical entities, like acute myeloid (AML) and T-lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), share similar pathogenetic mutations. It is not well understood how the cell of origin, accompanying mutations, extracellular signals or structural differences in a mutated gene determine the phenotypic identity of leukemias. We dissected the functional aspects of different protein regions of the MN1 oncogene and their effect on the leukemic phenotype, building on the ability of MN1 to induce leukemia without accompanying mutations. We found that the most C-terminal region of MN1 was required to block myeloid differentiation at an early stage, and deletion of an extended C-terminal region resulted in loss of myeloid identity and cell differentiation along the T-cell lineage in vivo. Megakaryocytic/erythroid lineage differentiation was blocked by the N-terminal region. In addition, the N-terminus was required for proliferation and leukemogenesis in vitro and in vivo through upregulation of HoxA9, HoxA10 and Meis2. Our results provide evidence that a single oncogene can modulate cellular identity of leukemic cells based on its active gene regions. It is therefore likely that different mutations in the same oncogene may impact cell fate decisions and phenotypic appearance of malignant diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courteney K. Lai
- Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Yeonsook Moon
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical School of Inha University, Incheon, Korea
| | - Florian Kuchenbauer
- Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
- Institute of Experimental Cancer Research, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, University Hospital of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Daniel T. Starzcynowski
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Bob Argiropoulos
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Eric Yung
- Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Philip Beer
- Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Adrian Schwarzer
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Amit Sharma
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Gyeongsin Park
- Department of Hospital Pathology, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
| | - Malina Leung
- Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Grace Lin
- Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Sarah Vollett
- Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Stephen Fung
- Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Connie J. Eaves
- Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Aly Karsan
- Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Andrew P. Weng
- Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - R. Keith Humphries
- Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - Michael Heuser
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
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31
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Mock U, Riecken K, Berdien B, Qasim W, Chan E, Cathomen T, Fehse B. Novel lentiviral vectors with mutated reverse transcriptase for mRNA delivery of TALE nucleases. Sci Rep 2014; 4:6409. [PMID: 25230987 PMCID: PMC4166709 DOI: 10.1038/srep06409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2014] [Accepted: 08/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
TAL-effector nucleases (TALENs) are attractive tools for sequence-specific genome modifications, but their delivery still remains problematic. It is well known that the presence of multiple sequence repeats in TALEN genes hampers the use of lentiviral vectors. We report that lentiviral vectors readily package full-length vector mRNAs encoding TALENs, but recombination during reverse transcription prevents successful delivery. We reasoned that preventing reverse transcription of lentiviral-vector RNA would allow transfer of TALENs as mRNA. We demonstrate that lentiviral particles containing genetically inactivated reverse transcriptase (RT) mediated efficient transduction of cultured cells and supported transient transgene expression. For proof-of-principle, we transferred CCR5- and TCR-specific TALEN pairs for efficient targeted genome editing and abrogated expression for each of the receptor proteins in different cell lines. Combining the high specificity of TALENs with efficient lentiviral gene delivery should advance genome editing in vitro and potentially in vivo, and RT-deficient lentiviral vectors may be useful for transient expression of various other genes-of-interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrike Mock
- Research Dept. Cell and Gene Therapy, Clinic for Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Kristoffer Riecken
- Research Dept. Cell and Gene Therapy, Clinic for Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Belinda Berdien
- Research Dept. Cell and Gene Therapy, Clinic for Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Waseem Qasim
- Molecular Immunology Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom
| | - Emma Chan
- Molecular Immunology Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom
| | - Toni Cathomen
- 1] Institute for Cell and Gene Therapy, University Medical Centre Freiburg, Hugstetter Str. 55, 79106 Freiburg, Germany [2] Centre for Chronic Immunodeficiency, University Medical Centre Freiburg, Hugstetter Str. 55, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Boris Fehse
- Research Dept. Cell and Gene Therapy, Clinic for Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
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32
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Sharma A, Yun H, Jyotsana N, Chaturvedi A, Schwarzer A, Yung E, Lai CK, Kuchenbauer F, Argiropoulos B, Görlich K, Ganser A, Humphries RK, Heuser M. Constitutive IRF8 expression inhibits AML by activation of repressed immune response signaling. Leukemia 2014; 29:157-68. [PMID: 24957708 DOI: 10.1038/leu.2014.162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2013] [Revised: 04/28/2014] [Accepted: 05/05/2014] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Myeloid differentiation is blocked in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but the molecular mechanisms are not well characterized. Meningioma 1 (MN1) is overexpressed in AML patients and confers resistance to all-trans retinoic acid-induced differentiation. To understand the role of MN1 as a transcriptional regulator in myeloid differentiation, we fused transcriptional activation (VP16) or repression (M33) domains with MN1 and characterized these cells in vivo. Transcriptional activation of MN1 target genes induced myeloproliferative disease with long latency and differentiation potential to mature neutrophils. A large proportion of differentially expressed genes between leukemic MN1 and differentiation-permissive MN1VP16 cells belonged to the immune response pathway like interferon-response factor (Irf) 8 and Ccl9. As MN1 is a cofactor of MEIS1 and retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA), we compared chromatin occupancy between these genes. Immune response genes that were upregulated in MN1VP16 cells were co-targeted by MN1 and MEIS1, but not RARA, suggesting that myeloid differentiation is blocked through transcriptional repression of shared target genes of MN1 and MEIS1. Constitutive expression of Irf8 or its target gene Ccl9 identified these genes as potent inhibitors of murine and human leukemias in vivo. Our data show that MN1 prevents activation of the immune response pathway, and suggest restoration of IRF8 signaling as therapeutic target in AML.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sharma
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - H Yun
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - N Jyotsana
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - A Chaturvedi
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - A Schwarzer
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - E Yung
- Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - C K Lai
- Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - F Kuchenbauer
- Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
| | - B Argiropoulos
- Department of Medical Genetics, HSC, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - K Görlich
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - A Ganser
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - R K Humphries
- 1] Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada [2] Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - M Heuser
- Department of Hematology, Hemostasis, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
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33
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Bajgelman MC, Medrano RF, Carvalho ACP, Strauss BE. AAVPG: A vigilant vector where transgene expression is induced by p53. Virology 2013; 447:166-71. [DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2013.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2013] [Revised: 06/14/2013] [Accepted: 09/05/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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34
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Preclinical demonstration of lentiviral vector-mediated correction of immunological and metabolic abnormalities in models of adenosine deaminase deficiency. Mol Ther 2013; 22:607-622. [PMID: 24256635 DOI: 10.1038/mt.2013.265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2013] [Accepted: 11/11/2013] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene transfer into autologous hematopoietic stem cells by γ-retroviral vectors (gRV) is an effective treatment for adenosine deaminase (ADA)-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). However, current gRV have significant potential for insertional mutagenesis as reported in clinical trials for other primary immunodeficiencies. To improve the efficacy and safety of ADA-SCID gene therapy (GT), we generated a self-inactivating lentiviral vector (LV) with a codon-optimized human cADA gene under the control of the short form elongation factor-1α promoter (LV EFS ADA). In ADA(-/-) mice, LV EFS ADA displayed high-efficiency gene transfer and sufficient ADA expression to rescue ADA(-/-) mice from their lethal phenotype with good thymic and peripheral T- and B-cell reconstitution. Human ADA-deficient CD34(+) cells transduced with 1-5 × 10(7) TU/ml had 1-3 vector copies/cell and expressed 1-2x of normal endogenous levels of ADA, as assayed in vitro and by transplantation into immune-deficient mice. Importantly, in vitro immortalization assays demonstrated that LV EFS ADA had significantly less transformation potential compared to gRV vectors, and vector integration-site analysis by nrLAM-PCR of transduced human cells grown in immune-deficient mice showed no evidence of clonal skewing. These data demonstrated that the LV EFS ADA vector can effectively transfer the human ADA cDNA and promote immune and metabolic recovery, while reducing the potential for vector-mediated insertional mutagenesis.
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35
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Schambach A, Zychlinski D, Ehrnstroem B, Baum C. Biosafety features of lentiviral vectors. Hum Gene Ther 2013; 24:132-42. [PMID: 23311447 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2012.229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the past decades, lentiviral vectors have evolved as a benchmark tool for stable gene transfer into cells with a high replicative potential. Their relatively flexible genome and ability to transduce many forms of nondividing cells, combined with the potential for cell-specific pseudotyping, provides a rich resource for numerous applications in experimental platforms and therapeutic settings. Here, we give an overview of important biosafety features of lentiviral vectors, with detailed discussion of (i) the principles of the lentiviral split-genome design used for the construction of packaging cells; (ii) the relevance of modifications introduced into the lentiviral long terminal repeat (deletion of enhancer/promoter sequences and introduction of insulators); (iii) the basic features of mRNA processing, including the Rev/Rev-responsive element (RRE) interaction and the modifications of the 3' untranslated region of lentiviral vectors with various post-transcriptional regulatory elements affecting transcriptional termination, polyadenylation, and differentiation-specific degradation of mRNA; and (iv) the characteristic integration pattern with the associated risk of transcriptional interference with cellular genes. We conclude with considerations regarding the importance of cell targeting via envelope modifications. Along this course, we address canonical biosafety issues encountered with any type of viral vector: the risks of shedding, mobilization, germline transmission, immunogenicity, and insertional mutagenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Schambach
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, D-30625 Hannover, Germany
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36
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Abstract
Mutations in the metabolic enzymes isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) and 2 (IDH2) are frequently found in glioma, acute myeloid leukemia (AML), melanoma, thyroid cancer, and chondrosarcoma patients. Mutant IDH produces 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG), which induces histone- and DNA-hypermethylation through inhibition of epigenetic regulators. We investigated the role of mutant IDH1 using the mouse transplantation assay. Mutant IDH1 alone did not transform hematopoietic cells during 5 months of observation. However, mutant IDH1 greatly accelerated onset of myeloproliferative disease-like myeloid leukemia in mice in cooperation with HoxA9 with a mean latency of 83 days compared with cells expressing HoxA9 and wild-type IDH1 or a control vector (167 and 210 days, respectively, P = .001). Mutant IDH1 accelerated cell-cycle transition through repression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors Cdkn2a and Cdkn2b, and activated mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling. By computational screening, we identified an inhibitor of mutant IDH1, which inhibited mutant IDH1 cells and lowered 2HG levels in vitro, and efficiently blocked colony formation of AML cells from IDH1-mutated patients but not of normal CD34(+) bone marrow cells. These data demonstrate that mutant IDH1 has oncogenic activity in vivo and suggest that it is a promising therapeutic target in human AML cells.
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Heinrich T, Rengstl B, Muik A, Petkova M, Schmid F, Wistinghausen R, Warner K, Crispatzu G, Hansmann ML, Herling M, von Laer D, Newrzela S. Mature T-cell lymphomagenesis induced by retroviral insertional activation of Janus kinase 1. Mol Ther 2013; 21:1160-8. [PMID: 23609016 DOI: 10.1038/mt.2013.67] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Retroviral vectors (RVs) are powerful tools in clinical gene therapy. However, stable genomic integration of RVs can be oncogenic, as reported in several animal models and in clinical trials. Previously, we observed that T-cell receptor (TCR) polyclonal mature T cells are resistant to transformation after gammaretroviral transfer of (proto-)oncogenes, whereas TCR-oligoclonal T cells were transformable in the same setting. Here, we describe the induction of a mature T-cell lymphoma (MTCL) in TCR-oligoclonal OT-I transgenic T cells, transduced with an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-encoding gammaretroviral vector. The tumor cells were of a mature T-cell phenotype and serially transplantable. Integration site analysis revealed a proviral hit in Janus kinase 1 (Jak1), which resulted in Jak1 overexpression and Jak/STAT-pathway activation, particularly via signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). Specific inhibition of Jak1 markedly delayed tumor growth. A systematic meta-analysis of available gene expression data on human mature T-cell lymphomas/leukemias confirmed the relevance of Jak/STAT overexpression in sporadic human T-cell tumorigenesis. To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe RV-associated insertional mutagenesis in mature T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Heinrich
- Senckenberg Institute of Pathology, Goethe-University Hospital, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Chervin AS, Stone JD, Soto CM, Engels B, Schreiber H, Roy EJ, Kranz DM. Design of T-cell receptor libraries with diverse binding properties to examine adoptive T-cell responses. Gene Ther 2012; 20:634-44. [PMID: 23052828 PMCID: PMC5330764 DOI: 10.1038/gt.2012.80] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Adoptive T cell therapies have shown significant promise in the treatment of cancer and viral diseases. One approach, that introduces antigen-specific T cell receptors (TCRs) into ex vivo activated T cells, is designed to overcome central tolerance mechanisms that prevent responses by endogenous T cell repertoires. Studies have suggested that use of higher affinity TCRs against class I MHC antigens could drive the activity of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, but the rules that govern the TCR binding optimal for in vivo activity are unknown. Here we describe a high-throughput platform of “reverse biochemistry” whereby a library of TCRs with a wide range of binding properties to the same antigen is introduced into T cells and adoptively transferred into mice with antigen-positive tumors. Extraction of RNA from tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes or lymphoid organs allowed high-throughput sequencing to determine which TCRs were selected in vivo. The results showed that CD8+ T cells expressing the highest affinity TCR variants were deleted in both the tumor infiltrating lymphocyte population and in peripheral lymphoid tissues. In contrast, these same high-affinity TCR variants were preferentially expressed within CD4+ T cells in the tumor, suggesting they played a role in antigen-specific tumor control. The findings thus revealed that the affinity of the transduced TCRs controlled the survival and tumor infiltration of the transferred T cells. Accordingly, the TCR library strategy enables rapid assessment of TCR binding properties that promote peripheral T cell survival and tumor elimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- A S Chervin
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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39
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T-cell receptor gene transfer exclusively to human CD8(+) cells enhances tumor cell killing. Blood 2012; 120:4334-42. [PMID: 22898597 DOI: 10.1182/blood-2012-02-412973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Transfer of tumor-specific T-cell receptor (TCR) genes into patient T cells is a promising strategy in cancer immunotherapy. We describe here a novel vector (CD8-LV) derived from lentivirus, which delivers genes exclusively and specifically to CD8(+) cells. CD8-LV mediated stable in vitro and in vivo reporter gene transfer as well as efficient transfer of genes encoding TCRs recognizing the melanoma antigen tyrosinase. Strikingly, T cells genetically modified with CD8-LV killed melanoma cells reproducibly more efficiently than CD8(+) cells transduced with a conventional lentiviral vector. Neither TCR expression levels, nor the rate of activation-induced death of transduced cells differed between both vector types. Instead, CD8-LV transduced cells showed increased granzyme B and perforin levels as well as an up-regulation of CD8 surface expression in a small subpopulation of cells. Thus, a possible mechanism for CD8-LV enhanced tumor cell killing may be based on activation of the effector functions of CD8(+) T cells by the vector particle displaying OKT8-derived CD8-scFv and an increase of the surface density of CD8, which functions as coreceptor for tumor-cell recognition. CD8-LV represents a powerful novel vector for TCR gene therapy and other applications in immunotherapy and basic research requiring CD8(+) cell-specific gene delivery.
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40
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Montiel-Equihua CA, Zhang L, Knight S, Saadeh H, Scholz S, Carmo M, Alonso-Ferrero ME, Blundell MP, Monkeviciute A, Schulz R, Collins M, Takeuchi Y, Schmidt M, Fairbanks L, Antoniou M, Thrasher AJ, Gaspar HB. The β-globin locus control region in combination with the EF1α short promoter allows enhanced lentiviral vector-mediated erythroid gene expression with conserved multilineage activity. Mol Ther 2012; 20:1400-9. [PMID: 22434141 PMCID: PMC3381857 DOI: 10.1038/mt.2012.50] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2011] [Accepted: 02/20/2012] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Some gene therapy strategies are compromised by the levels of gene expression required for therapeutic benefit, and also by the breadth of cell types that require correction. We designed a lentiviral vector system in which a transgene is under the transcriptional control of the short form of constitutively acting elongation factor 1α promoter (EFS) combined with essential elements of the locus control region of the β-globin gene (β-LCR). We show that the β-LCR can upregulate EFS activity specifically in erythroid cells but does not alter EFS activity in myeloid or lymphoid cells. Experiments using the green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter or the human adenosine deaminase (ADA) gene demonstrate 3-7 times upregulation in vitro but >20 times erythroid-specific upregulation in vivo, the effects of which were sustained for 1 year. The addition of the β-LCR did not alter the mutagenic potential of the vector in in vitro mutagenesis (IM) assays although microarray analysis showed that the β-LCR upregulates ~9% of neighboring genes. This vector design therefore combines the benefits of multilineage gene expression with high-level erythroid expression, and has considerable potential for correction of multisystem diseases including certain lysosomal storage diseases through a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia A Montiel-Equihua
- Centre for Immunodeficiency, Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Lin Zhang
- Centre for Immunodeficiency, Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Sean Knight
- MRC/UCL Centre for Medical Virology, Division of Infection and Immunity, UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London, UK
| | - Heba Saadeh
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, King's College London, Guy's Hospital, London, UK
| | | | - Marlene Carmo
- Centre for Immunodeficiency, Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Maria E Alonso-Ferrero
- Centre for Immunodeficiency, Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Michael P Blundell
- Centre for Immunodeficiency, Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Aiste Monkeviciute
- Centre for Immunodeficiency, Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Reiner Schulz
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, King's College London, Guy's Hospital, London, UK
| | - Mary Collins
- MRC/UCL Centre for Medical Virology, Division of Infection and Immunity, UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London, UK
| | - Yasuhiro Takeuchi
- Wohl Virion Centre, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, Cruciform Building, London, UK
| | | | | | - Michael Antoniou
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, King's College London, Guy's Hospital, London, UK
| | - Adrian J Thrasher
- Centre for Immunodeficiency, Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - H Bobby Gaspar
- Centre for Immunodeficiency, Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
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41
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Cotugno G, Annunziata P, Barone MV, Karali M, Banfi S, Auricchio A. Impact of age at administration, lysosomal storage, and transgene regulatory elements on AAV2/8-mediated rat liver transduction. PLoS One 2012; 7:e33286. [PMID: 22428010 PMCID: PMC3302848 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0033286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2011] [Accepted: 02/08/2012] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Liver-directed gene transfer is being investigated for the treatment of systemic or liver-specific diseases. Recombinant vectors based on adeno-associated virus serotype 8 (AAV2/8) efficiently transduce liver cells allowing long term transgene expression after a single administration in animal models and in patients.We evaluated the impact on AAV2/8-mediated rat liver transduction of the following variables: i) age at vector administration, ii) presence of lysosomal storage in liver cells, and iii) regulatory elements included in the transgene expression cassette. We found that systemic administration of AAV2/8 to newborn rats results in vector genome dilution and reduced transduction efficacy when compared to adult injected animals, presumably due to hepatocyte proliferation. Accumulation of glycosaminoglycans in lysosomes does not impact on levels and distribution of AAV2/8-mediated liver transduction. Transgene expression occurs in hepatocytes but not in Kupffer or liver endothelial cells when the liver-specific thyroxine-binding-globulin promoter is used. However, extra-hepatic transduction is observed in the spleen and kidney of animals injected at birth. The use of target sequences for the hematopoietic-specific microRNA miR142-3p does not improve liver transduction efficacy neither reduce immune responses to the lysosomal enzyme arylsulfatase B. The inclusion of a variant of the Woodchuck hepatitis virus post-transcriptional regulatory element (WPRE-m) decreases AAV2/8-mediated liver transduction levels.As AAV2/8-mediated liver gene transfer is entering in the clinical arena, these data will provide relevant information to the design of efficient AAV2/8-based therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriella Cotugno
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Naples, Italy
- Medical Genetics, Dept. of Pediatrics, “Federico II” University, Naples, Italy
| | - Patrizia Annunziata
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Naples, Italy
- Medical Genetics, Dept. of Pediatrics, “Federico II” University, Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Vittoria Barone
- Department of Pediatrics and European Laboratory for the Investigation of Food-Induced Diseases, “Federico II” University, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Sandro Banfi
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Naples, Italy
- Medical Genetics, Dept. of General Pathology, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy
| | - Alberto Auricchio
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Naples, Italy
- Medical Genetics, Dept. of Pediatrics, “Federico II” University, Naples, Italy
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42
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Hsu CYM, Uludağ H. Nucleic-acid based gene therapeutics: delivery challenges and modular design of nonviral gene carriers and expression cassettes to overcome intracellular barriers for sustained targeted expression. J Drug Target 2012; 20:301-28. [PMID: 22303844 DOI: 10.3109/1061186x.2012.655247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The delivery of nucleic acid molecules into cells to alter physiological functions at the genetic level is a powerful approach to treat a wide range of inherited and acquired disorders. Biocompatible materials such as cationic polymers, lipids, and peptides are being explored as safer alternatives to viral gene carriers. However, the comparatively low efficiency of nonviral carriers currently hampers their translation into clinical settings. Controlling the size and stability of carrier/nucleic acid complexes is one of the primary hurdles as the physicochemical properties of the complexes can define the uptake pathways, which dictate intracellular routing, endosomal processing, and nucleocytoplasmic transport. In addition to nuclear import, subnuclear trafficking, posttranscriptional events, and immune responses can further limit transfection efficiency. Chemical moieties, reactive linkers or signal peptide have been conjugated to carriers to prevent aggregation, induce membrane destabilization and localize to subcellular compartments. Genetic elements can be inserted into the expression cassette to facilitate nuclear targeting, delimit expression to targeted tissue, and modulate transgene expression. The modular option afforded by both gene carriers and expression cassettes provides a two-tier multicomponent delivery system that can be optimized for targeted gene delivery in a variety of settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlie Yu Ming Hsu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Cananda
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43
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Voelkel C, Galla M, Dannhauser PN, Maetzig T, Sodeik B, Schambach A, Baum C. Pseudotype-independent nonspecific uptake of gammaretroviral and lentiviral particles in human cells. Hum Gene Ther 2012; 23:274-86. [PMID: 22010882 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2011.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The effective entry of retroviruses into target cells depends on the presence of viral envelope (Env) proteins and cognate cellular receptors, such as the murine cationic amino acid transporter-1 (mCAT-1) for the ecotropic murine leukemia virus (MLV-E). Here, we examined whether human cells internalize MLV-E or other retroviral pseudotypes irrespective of the presence of a specific receptor. Using fluorescently tagged Gag to monitor viral internalization, and treating cells with chloroquine or bafilomycin A1, we show that endocytosis is the main pathway for productive transduction with ecotropic particles, but endocytosis of retroviral particles itself does not depend on a suitable receptor or Env. Nonspecific endosomal uptake and lysosomal degradation occurred with all "illegitimate" envelope-receptor combinations tested: MLV particles pseudotyped with the ecotropic envelope or measles virus H and F proteins as well as "ecotropic" or "bald" HIV-1 particles. Kinetic studies in cell lines and primary human T lymphocytes showed the persistence of Gag-GFP signals for more than 10 days after exposure to retroviral vector particles, even in the absence of a suitable receptor. Further studies testing the Gag-mediated transfer of protein or retroviral mRNA revealed that nonspecific endocytosis prevented the release of functional particle-associated proteins and nucleic acids into the cytosol. We conclude that receptor-targeted retroviral particles are unlikely to escape nonspecific cellular uptake unless appropriate protective principles are discovered. Conversely, as lysosomal degradation was found to inactivate mRNA and proteins embedded into retroviral particles, receptor targeting is a useful strategy for both transient and permanent cell modification by retrovirus-like particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Voelkel
- Institute of Experimental Hematology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
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44
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Abstract
Retroviruses are useful tools for the efficient delivery of genes to mammalian cells, owing to their ability to stably integrate into the host cell genome. Over the past few decades, retroviral vectors have been used in gene therapy clinical trials for the treatment of a number of inherited diseases and cancers. The earliest retrovirus vectors were based on simple oncogenic gammaretroviruses such as Moloney murine leukemia virus (MMLV) which, when pseudotyped with envelope proteins from other viruses such as the gibbon ape leukemia virus envelope protein (GALV) or vesicular stomatitis virus G protein (VSV-G), can efficiently introduce genes to a wide range of host cells. However, gammaretroviral vectors have the disadvantage that they are unable to efficiently transduce nondividing or slowly dividing cells. As a result, specific protocols have been developed to activate cells through the use of growth factors and cytokines. In the case of hematopoietic stem cells, activation has to be carefully controlled so that pluripotency is maintained. For many applications, gammaretroviral vectors are being superseded by lentiviral vectors based on human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) which has additional accessory proteins that enable integration in the absence of cell division. In addition, retroviral and lentiviral vector design has evolved to address a number of safety concerns. These include separate expression of the viral genes in trans to prevent recombination events leading to the generation of replication-competent viruses. Further, the development of self-inactivating (SIN) vectors reduces the potential for transactivation of neighboring genes and allows the incorporation of regulatory elements that may target gene expression more physiologically to particular cell types.
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45
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Friedrich RI, Nopora K, Brocker T. Transcriptional targeting of B cells with viral vectors. Eur J Cell Biol 2012; 91:86-96. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2011.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2010] [Revised: 01/25/2011] [Accepted: 01/25/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
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46
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Ho SCL, Yap MGS, Yang Y. Post-transcriptional regulatory elements for enhancing transient gene expression levels in mammalian cells. Methods Mol Biol 2012; 801:125-35. [PMID: 21987251 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-61779-352-3_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Low yield from transient gene expression in mammalian cells limits its application to areas where large amount of proteins are needed. One effective approach to enhance transient gene expression levels is to use post-transcriptional regulatory elements (PTREs). We have evaluated the effect of five PTREs on the transient gene expression of three proteins in two cell lines. Most of the elements increased expression but exhibited cell-specific and gene-specific effects. The tripartite leader sequence of human adenovirus mRNA linked with a major late promoter enhancer gave the most universal and highest enhancement of gene expression levels. It increased the expression of all three proteins in HEK293 cells and two proteins in CHO K1 cells by 3.6- to 7.6-fold. Combinations of multiple PTREs increased protein expression as much as 10.5-fold.
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47
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Improvement of lentiviral transfer vectors using cis-acting regulatory elements for increased gene expression. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2011; 91:1581-91. [PMID: 21674167 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-011-3392-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2011] [Revised: 05/16/2011] [Accepted: 05/16/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Lentiviral vectors are an important tool for gene delivery in vivo and in vitro. The success of gene transfer approaches relies on high and stable levels of gene expression. To this end, several molecular strategies have been employed to manipulate these vectors towards improving gene expression in the targeted animal cells. Low gene expression can be accepted due to the weak transcription from the majority of available mammalian promoters; however, this obstacle can be in part overcome by the insertion of cis-acting elements that enhance gene expression in various expression contexts. In this work, we created different lentiviral vectors in which several posttranscriptional regulatory elements, namely the Woodchuck hepatitis posttranscriptional regulatory element (WPRE) and different specialized poly(A) termination sequences (BGH and SV40) were used to develop vectors leading to improved transgene expression. These vectors combine the advantages of restriction enzyme/ligation-independent cloning eliminating the instability and recombinogenic problems occurring from traditional cloning methods in lentiviral expression vectors and were tested by expressing GFP and the firefly Luciferase reporter gene from different cellular promoters in different cell lines. We show that the promoter activity varies between cell lines and is affected by the lentiviral genomic context. Moreover, we show that the combination of the WPRE element with the BGH poly(A) signal significantly enhances transgene expression. The vectors herein created can be easily modified and adapted without the need for extensive recloning making them a valuable tool for viral vector development.
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48
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Gammaretroviral vectors: biology, technology and application. Viruses 2011; 3:677-713. [PMID: 21994751 PMCID: PMC3185771 DOI: 10.3390/v3060677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2011] [Revised: 05/03/2011] [Accepted: 05/09/2011] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Retroviruses are evolutionary optimized gene carriers that have naturally adapted to their hosts to efficiently deliver their nucleic acids into the target cell chromatin, thereby overcoming natural cellular barriers. Here we will review—starting with a deeper look into retroviral biology—how Murine Leukemia Virus (MLV), a simple gammaretrovirus, can be converted into an efficient vehicle of genetic therapeutics. Furthermore, we will describe how more rational vector backbones can be designed and how these so-called self-inactivating vectors can be pseudotyped and produced. Finally, we will provide an overview on existing clinical trials and how biosafety can be improved.
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49
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Schwäble J, Schultze-Strasser S, Stein S, Grez M. [Gene therapy for septic granulomatosis: risks and opportunities. The road to successful treatment of congenital immunodeficiency]. PHARMAZIE IN UNSERER ZEIT 2011; 40:264-271. [PMID: 21698616 DOI: 10.1002/pauz.201100422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Joachim Schwäble
- Chemotherapeutisches Forschungsinstitut, Georg-Speyer-Haus, Frankfurt
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50
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Anticancer effects of the nitric oxide-modified saquinavir derivative saquinavir-NO against multidrug-resistant cancer cells. Neoplasia 2011; 12:1023-30. [PMID: 21170266 DOI: 10.1593/neo.10856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2010] [Revised: 08/27/2010] [Accepted: 08/31/2010] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease inhibitor saquinavir shows anticancer activity. Although its nitric oxide-modified derivative saquinavir-NO (saq-NO) was less toxic to normal cells, it exerted stronger inhibition of B16 melanoma growth in syngeneic C57BL/6 mice than saquinavir did. Saq-NO has been shown to block proliferation, upregulate p53 expression, and promote differentiation of C6 glioma and B16 cells. The anticancer activity of substances is frequently hampered by cancer cell chemoresistance mechanisms. Therefore, we here investigated the roles of p53 and the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters P-glycoprotein (P-gp), multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1), and breast cancer resistance protein 1 (BCRP1) in cancer cell sensitivity to saq-NO to get more information about the potential of saq-NO as anticancer drug. Saq-NO exerted anticancer effects in lower concentrations than saquinavir in a panel of human cancer cell lines. Neither p53 mutation or depletion nor expression of P-gp, MRP1, or BCRP1 affected anticancer activity of saq-NO or saquinavir. Moreover, saq-NO sensitized P-gp-, MRP1-, or BCRP1-expressing cancer cells to chemotherapy. Saq-NO induced enhanced sensitization of P-gp- or MRP1-expressing cancer cells to chemotherapy compared with saquinavir, whereas both substances similarly sensitized BCRP1-expressing cells. Washout kinetics and ABC transporter ATPase activities demonstrated that saq-NO is a substrate of P-gp as well as of MRP1. These data support the further investigation of saq-NO as an anticancer drug, especially in multidrug-resistant tumors.
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