A Safeguard System for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Rejuvenated T Cell Therapy

Lineage-tracing hematopoietic stem cell origins in vivo to efficiently make human HLF+ HOXA+ hematopoietic progenitors from pluripotent stem cells

The developmental origin of blood-forming hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) is a longstanding question. Here, our non-invasive genetic lineage tracing in mouse embryos pinpoints that artery endothelial cells generate HSCs. Arteries are transiently competent to generate HSCs for 2.5 days (∼E8.5-E11) but subsequently cease, delimiting a narrow time frame for HSC formation in vivo. Guided by the arterial origins of blood, we efficiently and rapidly differentiate human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into posterior primitive streak, lateral mesoderm, artery endothelium, hemogenic endothelium, and >90% pure hematopoietic progenitors within 10 days. hPSC-derived hematopoietic progenitors generate T, B, NK, erythroid, and myeloid cells in vitro and, critically, express hallmark HSC transcription factors HLF and HOXA5-HOXA10, which were previously challenging to upregulate. We differentiated hPSCs into highly enriched HLF+ HOXA+ hematopoietic progenitors with near-stoichiometric efficiency by blocking formation of unwanted lineages at each differentiation step. hPSC-derived HLF+ HOXA+ hematopoietic progenitors could avail both basic research and cellular therapies.

Rejuvenated iPSC-derived GD2-directed CART Cells Harbor Robust Cytotoxicity Against Small Cell Lung Cancer

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is exceptionally aggressive, with limited treatment options. Disialoganglioside (GD2) is highly expressed on SCLC and is considered a good target for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells (CART). Although GD2-directed CARTs (GD2-CART) exhibit cytotoxicity against various GD2-expressing tumors, they lack significant cytotoxicity against SCLC. To enhance cytotoxicity of GD2-CARTs against SCLC, we introduced GD2-CAR into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-derived rejuvenated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (GD2-CARrejT). GD2-CARrejTs acted much more strongly against SCLC cells than did GD2-CARTs both in vitro and in vivo. Single-cell RNA sequencing elucidated that levels of expression of TIGIT were significantly lower and levels of expression of genes associated with cytotoxicity were significantly higher in GD2-CARrejTs than those in GD2-CARTs. Dual blockade of TIGIT and programmed death-1 (PD-1) increased the cytotoxicity of GD2-CARTs to some extent, suggesting that low TIGIT and PD-1 expression by GD2-CARrejTs is a major factor required for robust cytotoxicity against SCLC. Not only for robust cytotoxicity but also for availability as "off-the-shelf" T-cell therapy, iPSC-derived GD2-CARrejTs are a promising novel treatment for SCLC.

SIGNIFICANCE

This research introduces iPSC-derived rejuvenated GD2-CARTs (GD2-CARrejT) as a novel approach to combat SCLC. Compared with conventional GD2-CARTs, GD2-CARrejTs with reduced TIGIT and PD-1 expression demonstrate robust cytotoxicity against SCLC and would be a promising therapy for SCLC.

Stem cell therapy for cardiac regeneration: past, present, and future

Cardiac disorders remain the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Current clinical strategies, including drug therapy, surgical interventions, and organ transplantation offer limited benefits to patients without regenerating the damaged myocardium. Over the past decade, stem cell therapy has generated a keen interest owing to its unique self-renewal and immune privileged characteristics. Furthermore, the ability of stem cells to differentiate into specialized cell types, has made them a popular therapeutic tool against various diseases. This comprehensive review provides an overview of therapeutic potential of different types of stem cells in reference to cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, it sheds light on the advantages and limitations associated with each cell type. An in-depth analysis of the challenges associated with stem cell research and the hurdles for its clinical translation and their possible solutions have also been elaborated upon. It examines the controversies surrounding embryonic stem cells and the emergence of alternative approaches, such as the use of induced pluripotent stem cells for cardiac therapeutic applications. Overall, this review serves as a valuable resource for researchers, clinicians, and policymakers involved in the field of regenerative medicine, guiding the development of safe and effective stem cell-based therapies to revolutionize patient care.

iPSC-derived hypoimmunogenic tissue resident memory T cells mediate robust anti-tumor activity against cervical cancer

Functionally rejuvenated human papilloma virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (HPV-rejTs) generated from induced pluripotent stem cells robustly suppress cervical cancer. However, autologous rejT generation is time consuming, leading to difficulty in treating patients with advanced cancer. Although use of allogeneic HPV-rejTs can obviate this, the major obstacle is rejection by the patient immune system. To overcome this, we develop HLA-A24&-E dual integrated HPV-rejTs after erasing HLA class I antigens. These rejTs effectively suppress recipient immune rejection while maintaining more robust cytotoxicity than original cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Single-cell RNA sequencing performed to gain deeper insights reveal that HPV-rejTs are highly enriched with tissue resident memory T cells, which enhance cytotoxicity against cervical cancer through TGFβR signaling, with increased CD103 expression. Genes associated with the immunological synapse also are upregulated, suggesting that these features promote stronger activation of T cell receptor (TCR) and increased TCR-mediated target cell death. We believe that our work will contribute to feasible "off-the-shelf" T cell therapy with robust anti-cervical cancer effects.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells: The Intersection of Stem Cells and Immunotherapy

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is a promising cell-based immunotherapy applicable to various cancers. High cost of production, immune rejection, heterogeneity of cell product, limited cell source, limited expandability, and relatively long production time have created the need to achieve a universal allogeneic CAR-T cell product for "off-the-shelf" application. Since the innovation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by Yamanaka et al., extensive efforts have been made to prepare an unlimited cell source for regenerative medicine, that is, immunotherapy. In the autologous grafting approach, iPSCs prepare the desired cell source for generating autologous CAR-T cells through more accessible and available sources. In addition, generating iPSC-derived CAR-T cells is a promising approach to achieving a suitable source for producing an allogeneic CAR-T cell product. In brief, the first step is reprogramming somatic cells (accessible from peripheral blood, skin, etc.) to iPSCs. In the next step, CAR expression and T cell lineage differentiation should be applied in different arrangements. In addition, in an allogeneic manner, human leukocyte antigen/T cell receptor (TCR) deficiency should be applied in iPSC colonies. The allogeneic iPSC-derived CAR-T cell experiments showed that simultaneous performance of HLA/TCR deficiency, CAR expression, and T cell lineage differentiation could bring the production to the highest efficacy in generating allogeneic iPSC-derived CAR-T cells.

Advancing cell-based cancer immunotherapy through stem cell engineering

Advances in cell-based therapy, particularly CAR-T cell therapy, have transformed the treatment of hematological malignancies. Although an important step forward for the field, autologous CAR-T therapies are hindered by high costs, manufacturing challenges, and limited efficacy against solid tumors. With ongoing progress in gene editing and culture techniques, engineered stem cells and their application in cell therapy are poised to address some of these challenges. Here, we review stem cell-based immunotherapy approaches, stem cell sources, gene engineering and manufacturing strategies, therapeutic platforms, and clinical trials, as well as challenges and future directions for the field.

Engineered and banked iPSCs for advanced NK- and T-cell immunotherapies

The development of methods to derive induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has propelled stem cell research, and has the potential to revolutionize many areas of medicine, including cancer immunotherapy. These cells can be propagated limitlessly and can differentiate into nearly any specialized cell type. The ability to perform precise multigene engineering at the iPSC stage, generate master cell lines after clonal selection, and faithfully promote differentiation along natural killer (NK) cells and T-cell lineages is now leading to new opportunities for the administration of off-the-shelf cytotoxic lymphocytes with direct antigen targeting to treat patients with relapsed/refractory cancer. In this review, we highlight the recent progress in iPSC editing and guided differentiation in the development of NK- and T-cell products for immunotherapy. We also discuss some of the potential barriers that remain in unleashing the full potential of iPSC-derived cytotoxic effector cells in the adoptive transfer setting, and how some of these limitations may be overcome through gene editing.

Optimization of the proliferation and persistency of CAR T cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells

The effectiveness of chimaeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapies against solid tumours relies on the accumulation, proliferation and persistency of T cells at the tumour site. Here we show that the proliferation of CD8αβ cytotoxic CAR T cells in solid tumours can be enhanced by deriving and expanding them from a single human induced-pluripotent-stem-cell clone bearing a CAR selected for efficient differentiation. We also show that the proliferation and persistency of the effector cells in the tumours can be further enhanced by genetically knocking out diacylglycerol kinase, which inhibits antigen-receptor signalling, and by transducing the cells with genes encoding for membrane-bound interleukin-15 (IL-15) and its receptor subunit IL-15Rα. In multiple tumour-bearing animal models, the engineered hiPSC-derived CAR T cells led to therapeutic outcomes similar to those of primary CD8 T cells bearing the same CAR. The optimization of effector CAR T cells derived from pluripotent stem cells may aid the development of long-lasting antigen-specific T-cell immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumours.

Sourcing cells for in vitro models of human vascular barriers of inflammation

The vascular system plays a critical role in the progression and resolution of inflammation. The contributions of the vascular endothelium to these processes, however, vary with tissue and disease state. Recently, tissue chip models have emerged as promising tools to understand human disease and for the development of personalized medicine approaches. Inclusion of a vascular component within these platforms is critical for properly evaluating most diseases, but many models to date use "generic" endothelial cells, which can preclude the identification of biomedically meaningful pathways and mechanisms. As the knowledge of vascular heterogeneity and immune cell trafficking throughout the body advances, tissue chip models should also advance to incorporate tissue-specific cells where possible. Here, we discuss the known heterogeneity of leukocyte trafficking in vascular beds of some commonly modeled tissues. We comment on the availability of different tissue-specific cell sources for endothelial cells and pericytes, with a focus on stem cell sources for the full realization of personalized medicine. We discuss sources available for the immune cells needed to model inflammatory processes and the findings of tissue chip models that have used the cells to studying transmigration.

Combinatorial suicide gene strategies for the safety of cell therapies

Gene-modified cellular therapies carry inherent risks of severe and potentially fatal adverse events, including the expansion of alloreactive cells or malignant transformation due to insertional mutagenesis. Strategies to mitigate uncontrolled proliferation of gene-modified cells include co-transfection of a suicide gene, such as the inducible caspase 9 safety switch (ΔiC9). However, the activation of the ΔiC9 fails to completely eliminate all gene-modified cells. Therefore, we tested a two suicide gene system used independently or together, with the goal of complete cell elimination. The first approach combined the ΔiC9 with an inducible caspase 8, ΔiC8, which lacks the endogenous prodomain. The rationale was to use a second caspase with an alternative and complementary mechanism of action. Jurkat cells co-transduced to co-express the ΔiC8, activatable by a BB homodimerizer, and the ΔiC9 activatable by the rapamycin analog sirolimus were used in a model to estimate the degree of inducible cell elimination. We found that both agents could activate each caspase independently, with enhanced elimination with superior reduction in cell regrowth of gene-modified cells when both systems were activated simultaneously. A second approach was employed in parallel, combining the ΔiC9 with the RQR8 compact suicide gene. RQR8 incorporates a CD20 mimotope, targeted by the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituxan, and the QBend10, a ΔCD34 selectable marker. Likewise, enhanced cell elimination with superior reduction in cell regrowth was observed when both systems were activated together. A dose-titration effect was also noted utilizing the BB homodimerizer, whereas sirolimus remained very potent at minimal concentrations. Further in vivo studies are needed to validate these novel combination systems, which may play a role in future cancer therapies or regenerative medicine.

Biomanufacturing human tissues via organ building blocks

The construction of human organs on demand remains a tantalizing vision to solve the organ donor shortage. Yet, engineering tissues that recapitulate the cellular and architectural complexity of native organs is a grand challenge. The use of organ building blocks (OBBs) composed of multicellular spheroids, organoids, and assembloids offers an important pathway for creating organ-specific tissues with the desired cellular-to-tissue-level organization. Here, we review the differentiation, maturation, and 3D assembly of OBBs into functional human tissues and, ultimately, organs for therapeutic repair and replacement. We also highlight future challenges and areas of opportunity for this nascent field.

Dual-antigen targeted iPSC-derived chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy for refractory lymphoma

We generated dual-antigen receptor (DR) T cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to mitigate tumor antigen escape. These cells were engineered to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) for the antigen cell surface latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1; LMP1-CAR) and a T cell receptor directed to cell surface latent membrane protein 2 (LMP2), in association with human leucocyte antigen A24, to treat therapy-refractory Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphomas. We introduced LMP1-CAR into iPSCs derived from LMP2-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) to generate rejuvenated CTLs (rejTs) active against LMP1 and LMP2, or DRrejTs. All DRrejT-treated mice survived >100 days. Furthermore, DRrejTs rejected follow-up inocula of lymphoma cells, demonstrating that DRrejTs persisted long-term. We also demonstrated that DRrejTs targeting CD19 and LMP2 antigens exhibited a robust tumor suppressive effect and conferred a clear survival advantage. Co-operative antitumor effect and in vivo persistence, with unlimited availability of DRrejT therapy, will provide powerful and sustainable T cell immunotherapy.

Advances in Allogeneic Cancer Cell Therapy and Future Perspectives on “Off-the-Shelf” T Cell Therapy Using iPSC Technology and Gene Editing

The concept of allogeneic cell therapy was first presented over 60 years ago with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, complications such as graft versus host disease (GVHD) and regimen-related toxicities remained as major obstacles. To maximize the effect of graft versus leukemia, while minimizing the effect of GVHD, donor lymphocyte infusion was utilized. This idea, which was used against viral infections, postulated that adoptive transfer of virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes could reconstitute specific immunity and eliminate virus infected cells and led to the idea of banking third party cytotoxic T cells (CTLs). T cell exhaustion sometimes became a problem and difficulty arose in creating robust CTLs. However, the introduction of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) lessens such problems, and by using iPSC technology, unlimited numbers of allogeneic rejuvenated CTLs with robust and proliferative cytotoxic activity can be created. Despite this revolutionary concept, several concerns still exist, such as immunorejection by recipient cells and safety issues of gene editing. In this review, we describe approaches to a feasible “off-the-shelf” therapy that can be distributed rapidly worldwide. We also offer perspectives on the future of allogeneic cell cancer immunotherapy.

Bioluminescent Tracking of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

The discovery and development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) opened a novel venue for disease modeling, drug discovery, and personalized medicine. Additionally, iPSCs have been utilized for a wide variety of research and clinical applications without immunological and ethical concerns that arise from using embryonic stem cells. Understanding the in vivo behavior of iPSCs, as well as their derivatives, requires the monitoring of their localization, proliferation, and viability after transplantation. Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) gives investigators a non-invasive and sensitive means for spatio-temporal tracking in vivo. For scientists working within the field of iPSCs, this protocol provides a walk-through on how to conduct in vitro and in vivo experiments with an iPSCs constitutively expressing luciferase.

Regeneration of antigen-specific T cells by using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology

In currently ongoing adoptive T-cell therapies, T cells collected from the patient are given back to the patient after ex vivo cell activation and expansion. In some cases, T cells are transduced with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) or T-cell receptor (TCR) genes during the ex vivo culture period. Although such strategies have been shown to be effective in some types of cancer, there remain issues to be solved; these methods (i) are time-consuming, (ii) are costly and (iii) it is difficult to guarantee the quality because the products depend on patient-derived T cells. To address these issues, several groups including ours have developed methods in which cytotoxic cells are mass-produced by using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. For the regeneration of T cells, the basic idea is as follows: iPSCs produced from T cells inherit rearranged TCR genes, and thus all regenerated T cells should express the same TCR. Based on this idea, various types of T cells have been regenerated, including conventional cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), γδT cells, NKT cells and mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells. On the other hand, any cytotoxic cells can be used as the base cells into which CAR is introduced, and thus iPSC-derived NK cells have been developed. To apply the iPSC-based cell therapy in an allogeneic setting, the authors' group developed a method in which non-T-cell-derived iPSCs are transduced with exogenous TCR genes (TCR-iPSC method). This approach is being prepared for a clinical trial to be realized in Kyoto University Hospital, in which acute myeloid leukemia patients will be treated by the regenerated WT1 antigen-specific CTLs.

Advances in Adoptive Cell Therapy Using Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived T Cells

Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells holds impressive clinical outcomes especially in patients who are refractory to other kinds of therapy. However, many challenges hinder its clinical applications. For example, patients who undergo chemotherapy usually have an insufficient number of autologous T cells due to lymphopenia. Long-term ex vivo expansion can result in T cell exhaustion, which reduces the effector function. There is also a batch-to-batch variation during the manufacturing process, making it difficult to standardize and validate the cell products. In addition, the process is labor-intensive and costly. Generation of universal off-the-shelf CAR T cells, which can be broadly given to any patient, prepared in advance and ready to use, would be ideal and more cost-effective. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provide a renewable source of cells that can be genetically engineered and differentiated into immune cells with enhanced anti-tumor cytotoxicity. This review describes basic knowledge of T cell biology, applications in ACT, the use of iPSCs as a new source of T cells and current differentiation strategies used to generate T cells as well as recent advances in genome engineering to produce next-generation off-the-shelf T cells with improved effector functions. We also discuss challenges in the field and future perspectives toward the final universal off-the-shelf immunotherapeutic products.

Induced pluripotent stem cell-based disease modeling and prospective immune therapy for coronavirus disease 2019

The emergence of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic poses a never before seen challenge to human health and the economy. Considering its clinical impact, with no streamlined therapeutic strategies in sight, it is crucial to understand the infection process of SARS-CoV-2. Our limited knowledge of the mechanisms underlying SARS-CoV-2 infection impedes the development of alternative therapeutics to address the pandemic. This aspect can be addressed by modeling SARS-CoV-2 infection in the human context to facilitate drug screening and discovery. Human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived lung epithelial cells and organoids recapitulating the features and functionality of the alveolar cell types can serve as an in vitro human model and screening platform for SARS-CoV-2. Recent studies suggest an immune system asynchrony leading to compromised function and a decreased proportion of specific immune cell types in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Replenishing these specific immune cells may serve as useful treatment modality against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here the authors review protocols for deriving lung epithelial cells, alveolar organoids and specific immune cell types, such as T lymphocytes and natural killer cells, from iPSCs with the aim to aid investigators in making relevant in vitro models of SARS-CoV-2 along with the possibility derive immune cell types to treat COVID-19.

iPSC-Derived Neoantigen-Specific CTL Therapy for Ewing Sarcoma

The prognosis of Ewing sarcoma caused by EWS/FLI1 fusion is poor, especially after metastasis. Although therapy with CTLs targeted against altered EWS/FLI1 sequences at the gene break/fusion site may be effective, CTLs generated from peripheral blood are often exhausted because of continuous exposure to tumor antigens. We addressed this by generating induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived functionally rejuvenated CTLs (rejT) directed against the neoantigen encoded by the EWS/FLI1 fusion gene. In this study, we examined the antitumor effects of EWS/FLI1-rejTs against Ewing sarcoma. The altered amino acid sequence at the break/fusion point of EWS/FLI1, when presented as a neoantigen, evokes an immune response that targets EWS/FLI1 ⁺ sarcoma. Although the frequency of generated EWS/FLI1-specific CTLs was only 0.003%, we successfully established CTL clones from a healthy donor. We established iPSCs from a EWS/FLI1-specific CTL clone and redifferentiated them into EWS/FLI1-specific rejTs. To evaluate cytotoxicity, we cocultured EWS/FLI1-rejTs with Ewing sarcoma cell lines. EWS/FLI1-rejTs rapidly and continuously suppressed the proliferation of Ewing sarcoma for >40 hours. Using a Ewing sarcoma xenograft mouse model, we verified the antitumor effect of EWS/FLI1-rejTs via imaging, and EWS/FLI1-rejTs conferred a statistically significant survival advantage. "Off-the-shelf" therapy is less destructive and disruptive than chemotherapy, and radiation is always desirable, particularly in adolescents, whom Ewing sarcoma most often affects. Thus, EWS/FLI1-rejTs targeting a Ewing sarcoma neoantigen could be a promising new therapeutic tool.

Generation of hypoimmunogenic T cells from genetically engineered allogeneic human induced pluripotent stem cells

Avoiding the immune rejection of transplanted T cells is central to the success of allogeneic cancer immunotherapies. One solution to protecting T-cell grafts from immune rejection involves the deletion of allogeneic factors and of factors that activate cytotoxic immune cells. Here we report the generation of hypoimmunogenic cancer-antigen-specific T cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) lacking β₂-microglobulin, the class-II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) transactivator and the natural killer (NK) cell-ligand poliovirus receptor CD155, and expressing single-chain MHC class-I antigen E. In mouse models of CD20-expressing leukaemia or lymphoma, differentiated T cells expressing a CD20 chimeric antigen receptor largely escaped recognition by NKG2A⁺ and DNAM-1⁺ NK cells and by CD8 and CD4 T cells in the allogeneic recipients while maintaining anti-tumour potency. Hypoimmunogenic iPSC-derived T cells may contribute to the creation of off-the-shelf T cell immunotherapies.

Generation of macrophages with altered viral sensitivity from genome-edited rhesus macaque iPSCs to model human disease

Because of their close biological similarity to humans, non-human primate (NHP) models are very useful for the development of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based cell and regenerative organ transplantation therapies. However, knowledge on the establishment, differentiation, and genetic modification of NHP-iPSCs, especially rhesus macaque iPSCs, is limited. We succeeded in establishing iPSCs from the peripheral blood of rhesus macaques (Rh-iPSCs) by combining the Yamanaka reprograming factors and two inhibitors (GSK-3 inhibitor [CHIR 99021] and MEK1/2 inhibitor [PD0325901]) and differentiated the cells into functional macrophages through hematopoietic progenitor cells. To confirm feasibility of the Rh-iPSC-derived macrophages as a platform for bioassays to model diseases, we knocked out TRIM5 gene in Rh-iPSCs by CRISPR-Cas9, which is a species-specific HIV resistance factor. TRIM5 knockout (KO) iPSCs had the same differentiation potential to macrophages as did Rh-iPSCs, but the differentiated macrophages showed a gain of sensitivity to HIV infection in vitro. Our reprogramming, gene editing, and differentiation protocols used to obtain Rh-iPSC-derived macrophages can be applied to other gene mutations, expanding the number of NHP gene therapy models.

T-Cell Dysfunction as a Limitation of Adoptive Immunotherapy: Current Concepts and Mitigation Strategies

Simple Summary

T cells are immune cells that can be used to target infections or cancers. Adoptive T-cell immunotherapy leverages these properties and/or confers new features to T cells through ex vivo manipulations prior to their use in patients. However, as a “living drug,” the function of these cells can be hampered by several built-in physiological constraints and external factors that limit their efficacy. Manipulating T cells ex vivo can impart dysfunctional features to T cells through repeated stimulations and expansion, but it also offers many opportunities to improve the therapeutic potential of these cells, including emerging interventions to prevent or reverse T-cell dysfunction developing ex vivo or after transfer in patients. This review outlines the various forms of T-cell dysfunction, emphasizes how it affects various types of T-cell immunotherapy approaches, and describes current and anticipated strategies to limit T-cell dysfunction.

Abstract

Over the last decades, cellular immunotherapy has revealed its curative potential. However, inherent physiological characteristics of immune cells can limit the potency of this approach. Best defined in T cells, dysfunction associated with terminal differentiation, exhaustion, senescence, and activation-induced cell death, undermine adoptive cell therapies. In this review, we concentrate on how the multiple mechanisms that articulate the various forms of immune dysfunction impact cellular therapies primarily involving conventional T cells, but also other lymphoid subtypes. The repercussions of immune cell dysfunction across the full life cycle of cell therapy, from the source material, during manufacturing, and after adoptive transfer, are discussed, with an emphasis on strategies used during ex vivo manipulations to limit T-cell dysfunction. Applicable to cellular products prepared from native and unmodified immune cells, as well as genetically engineered therapeutics, the understanding and potential modulation of dysfunctional features are key to the development of improved cellular immunotherapies.

Non-immunogenic Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, a Promising Way Forward for Allogenic Transplantations for Neurological Disorders

Neurological disorder is a general term used for diseases affecting the function of the brain and nervous system. Those include a broad range of diseases from developmental disorders (e.g., Autism) over injury related disorders (e.g., stroke and brain tumors) to age related neurodegeneration (e.g., Alzheimer's disease), affecting up to 1 billion people worldwide. For most of those disorders, no curative treatment exists leaving symptomatic treatment as the primary mean of alleviation. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) in combination with animal models have been instrumental to foster our understanding of underlying disease mechanisms in the brain. Of specific interest are patient derived hiPSC which allow for targeted gene editing in the cases of known mutations. Such personalized treatment would include (1) acquisition of primary cells from the patient, (2) reprogramming of those into hiPSC via non-integrative methods, (3) corrective intervention via CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing of mutations, (4) quality control to ensure successful correction and absence of off-target effects, and (5) subsequent transplantation of hiPSC or pre-differentiated precursor cells for cell replacement therapies. This would be the ideal scenario but it is time consuming and expensive. Therefore, it would be of great benefit if transplanted hiPSC could be modulated to become invisible to the recipient's immune system, avoiding graft rejection and allowing for allogenic transplantations. This review will focus on the current status of gene editing to generate non-immunogenic hiPSC and how these cells can be used to treat neurological disorders by using cell replacement therapy. By providing an overview of current limitations and challenges in stem cell replacement therapies and the treatment of neurological disorders, this review outlines how gene editing and non-immunogenic hiPSC can contribute and pave the road for new therapeutic advances. Finally, the combination of using non-immunogenic hiPSC and in vivo animal modeling will highlight the importance of models with translational value for safety efficacy testing; before embarking on human trials.

Immune Protection of Stem Cell-Derived Islet Cell Therapy for Treating Diabetes

Insulin injection is currently the main therapy for type 1 diabetes (T1D) or late stage of severe type 2 diabetes (T2D). Human pancreatic islet transplantation confers a significant improvement in glycemic control and prevents life-threatening severe hypoglycemia in T1D patients. However, the shortage of cadaveric human islets limits their therapeutic potential. In addition, chronic immunosuppression, which is required to avoid rejection of transplanted islets, is associated with severe complications, such as an increased risk of malignancies and infections. Thus, there is a significant need for novel approaches to the large-scale generation of functional human islets protected from autoimmune rejection in order to ensure durable graft acceptance without immunosuppression. An important step in addressing this need is to strengthen our understanding of transplant immune tolerance mechanisms for both graft rejection and autoimmune rejection. Engineering of functional human pancreatic islets that can avoid attacks from host immune cells would provide an alternative safe resource for transplantation therapy. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) offer a potentially limitless supply of cells because of their self-renewal ability and pluripotency. Therefore, studying immune tolerance induction in hPSC-derived human pancreatic islets will directly contribute toward the goal of generating a functional cure for insulin-dependent diabetes. In this review, we will discuss the current progress in the immune protection of stem cell-derived islet cell therapy for treating diabetes.

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells-Based Therapies for Neurodegenerative Diseases: Current Status and Challenges

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by irreversible cell damage, loss of neuronal cells and limited regeneration potential of the adult nervous system. Pluripotent stem cells are capable of differentiating into the multitude of cell types that compose the central and peripheral nervous systems and so have become the major focus of cell replacement therapies for the treatment of neurological disorders. Human embryonic stem cell (hESC) and human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cells have both been extensively studied as cell therapies in a wide range of neurodegenerative disease models in rodents and non-human primates, including Parkinson’s disease, stroke, epilepsy, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis and pain. In this review, we discuss the latest progress made with stem cell therapies targeting these pathologies. We also evaluate the challenges in clinical application of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-based therapies including risk of oncogenesis and tumor formation, immune rejection and difficulty in regeneration of the heterogeneous cell types composing the central nervous system.

Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiovascular Cells: From Developmental Biology to Therapeutic Applications

Advances in our understanding of cardiovascular development have provided a roadmap for the directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to the major cell types found in the heart. In this Perspective, we review the state of the field in generating and maturing cardiovascular cells from hPSCs based on our fundamental understanding of heart development. We then highlight their applications for studying human heart development, modeling disease-performing drug screening, and cell replacement therapy. With the advancements highlighted here, the promise that hPSCs will deliver new treatments for degenerative and debilitating diseases may soon be fulfilled.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC)-Derived Lymphocytes for Adoptive Cell Immunotherapy: Recent Advances and Challenges

Purpose of Review

In the rapidly developing field of adoptive cell immunotherapy, there is urgent need for discoveries that would improve outcomes, extend the applicability, and reduce the costs. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) can be a source of broadly applicable cellular immunotherapeutics, which have been manufactured, validated, and banked in advance, and can be applied across HLA barriers. Here, we discuss the recent advances and challenges in the generation of iPSC-derived cellular products for cancer therapy.

Recent Findings

iPSCs can be differentiated to functional tumor-specific T and NK cells in vitro with demonstrable in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activity. Genetic modifications employed at the iPSC level can deliver desirable immunotherapeutic attributes to the generated immune effectors. iPSC-NK cells are currently evaluated in a clinical setting and pre-clinical testing of iPSC-T cells shows promising results but their production seems more challenging.

Summary

The use of iPSCs for the generation of tumor-targeting T/NK cells constitutes a feasible strategy to overcome limitations in manufacturing, efficacy, and applicability of cellular therapeutics.

Sufficiency for inducible Caspase-9 safety switch in human pluripotent stem cells and disease cells

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have promising potential for opening new avenues in regenerative medicine. However, since the tumorigenic potential of undifferentiated pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) is a major safety concern for clinical transplantation, inducible Caspase-9 (iC9) is under consideration for use as a fail-safe system. Here, we used targeted gene editing to introduce the iC9 system into human iPSCs, and then interrogated the efficiency of inducible apoptosis with normal iPSCs as well as diseased iPSCs derived from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML-iPSCs). The iC9 system induced quick and efficient apoptosis to iPSCs in vitro. More importantly, complete eradication of malignant cells without AML recurrence was shown in disease mouse models by using AML-iPSCs. In parallel, it shed light on several limitations of the iC9 system usage. Our results suggest that careful use of the iC9 system will serve as an important countermeasure against posttransplantation adverse events in stem cell transplantation therapies.

Highly Efficient and Marker-free Genome Editing of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells by CRISPR-Cas9 RNP and AAV6 Donor-Mediated Homologous Recombination

Genome editing of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) provides powerful opportunities for in vitro disease modeling, drug discovery, and personalized stem cell-based therapeutics. Currently, only small edits can be engineered with high frequency, while larger modifications suffer from low efficiency and a resultant need for selection markers. Here, we describe marker-free genome editing in hPSCs using Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) in combination with AAV6-mediated DNA repair template delivery. We report highly efficient and bi-allelic integration frequencies across multiple loci and hPSC lines, achieving mono-allelic editing frequencies of up to 94% at the HBB locus. Using this method, we show robust bi-allelic correction of homozygous sickle cell mutations in a patient-derived induced PSC (iPSC) line. Thus, this strategy shows significant utility for generating hPSCs with large gene integrations and/or single-nucleotide changes at high frequency and without the need for introducing selection genes, enhancing the applicability of hPSC editing for research and translational uses.

Metabolic engineering generates a transgene-free safety switch for cell therapy

Safeguard mechanisms can ameliorate the potential risks associated with cell therapies but currently rely on the introduction of transgenes. This limits their application owing to immunogenicity or transgene silencing. We aimed to create a control mechanism for human cells that is not mediated by a transgene. Using genome editing methods, we disrupt uridine monophosphate synthetase (UMPS) in the pyrimidine de novo synthesis pathway in cell lines, pluripotent cells and primary human T cells. We show that this makes proliferation dependent on external uridine and enables us to control cell growth by modulating the uridine supply, both in vitro and in vivo after transplantation in xenograft models. Additionally, disrupting this pathway creates resistance to 5-fluoroorotic acid, which enables positive selection of UMPS-knockout cells. We envision that this approach will add an additional level of safety to cell therapies and therefore enable the development of approaches with higher risks, especially those that are intended for limited treatment durations.

Precision installation of a highly efficient suicide gene safety switch in human induced pluripotent stem cells

Human pluripotent stem cells, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and embryonic stem cells, hold great promise for cell‐based therapies, but safety concerns that complicate consideration for routine clinical use remain. Installing a “safety switch” based on the inducible caspase‐9 (iCASP9) suicide gene system should offer added control over undesirable cell replication or activity. Previous studies utilized lentiviral vectors to integrate the iCASP9 system into T cells and iPSCs. This method results in random genomic insertion of the suicide switch and inefficient killing of the cells after the switch is “turned on” with a small molecule (eg, AP1903). To improve the safety and efficiency of the iCASP9 system for use in iPSC‐based therapy, we precisely installed the system into a genomic safe harbor, the AAVS1 locus in the PPP1R12C gene. We then evaluated the efficiencies of different promoters to drive iCASP9 expression in human iPSCs. We report that the commonly used EF1α promoter is silenced in iPSCs, and that the endogenous promoter of the PPP1R12C gene is not strong enough to drive high levels of iCASP9 expression. However, the CAG promoter induces strong and stable iCASP9 expression in iPSCs, and activation of this system with AP1903 leads to rapid killing and complete elimination of iPSCs and their derivatives, including MSCs and chondrocytes, in vitro. Furthermore, iPSC‐derived teratomas shrank dramatically or were completely eliminated after administration of AP1903 in mice. Our data suggest significant improvements on existing iCASP9 suicide switch technologies and may serve as a guide to other groups seeking to improve the safety of stem cell‐based therapies.

Sustainable Tumor-Suppressive Effect of iPSC-Derived Rejuvenated T Cells Targeting Cervical Cancers

Immunotherapy utilizing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology has great potential. Functionally rejuvenated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) can survive long-term as young memory T cells in vivo, with continuous tumor eradication. Banking of iPSCs as an unlimited “off-the-shelf” source of therapeutic T cells may be feasible. To generate safer iPSCs, we reprogrammed human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV16) E6-specific CTLs by Sendai virus vector without cotransduction of SV40 large T antigen. The iPSCs efficiently differentiated into HPV16-specific rejuvenated CTLs that demonstrated robust cytotoxicity against cervical cancer. The tumor-suppressive effect of rejuvenated CTLs was stronger and more persistent than that of original peripheral blood CTLs. These rejuvenated HPV16-specific CTLs provide a sustained tumor-suppressive effect even for epithelial cancers and constitute promising immunotherapy for cervical cancer.

Using the Inducible Caspase-9 Suicide-Safeguard System with iPSC and Bioluminescent Tracking

For scientists working within the field of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), this protocol will provide a thorough walk-through on how to conduct in vitro and in vivo experiments that validate the function of a particular safeguard system technology. In short, we provide instructions on how to generate inducible Caspase-9 (iC9) safeguard system with human iPSCs that act as normal or abnormal models of the cells for therapeutics to be tried after differentiation. These iC9-iPSCs should be modified prior to beginning this protocol by constitutively expressing luciferase, an enzyme capable of generating bioluminescent signals through the oxidation of the substrate luciferin. Monitoring the bioluminescent signal over time provides the information on whether a safeguard system is working or not.

Improving the safety of human pluripotent stem cell therapies using genome-edited orthogonal safeguards

Despite their rapidly-expanding therapeutic potential, human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived cell therapies continue to have serious safety risks. Transplantation of hPSC-derived cell populations into preclinical models has generated teratomas (tumors arising from undifferentiated hPSCs), unwanted tissues, and other types of adverse events. Mitigating these risks is important to increase the safety of such therapies. Here we use genome editing to engineer a general platform to improve the safety of future hPSC-derived cell transplantation therapies. Specifically, we develop hPSC lines bearing two drug-inducible safeguards, which have distinct functionalities and address separate safety concerns. In vitro administration of one small molecule depletes undifferentiated hPSCs >10⁶-fold, thus preventing teratoma formation in vivo. Administration of a second small molecule kills all hPSC-derived cell-types, thus providing an option to eliminate the entire hPSC-derived cell product in vivo if adverse events arise. These orthogonal safety switches address major safety concerns with pluripotent cell-derived therapies.

Human pluripotent stem cell derived therapies can have serious safety risks. Here the authors design two drug inducible genetic safeguards to deplete undifferentiated hPSCs and hPSC-derived cell types.

Strategies for Genetically Engineering Hypoimmunogenic Universal Pluripotent Stem Cells

Despite progress in developing cell therapies, such as T cell or stem cell therapies to treat diseases, immunoincompatibility remains a major barrier to clinical application. Given the fact that a host's immune system may reject allogeneic transplanted cells, methods have been developed to genetically modify patients' primary cells. To advance beyond this time-consuming and costly approach, recent research efforts focus on generating universal pluripotent stem cells to benefit a broader spectrum of patients. In this review, we first summarize current achievements to harness immunosuppressive mechanisms in cells to reduce immunogenicity. Then, we discuss several recent studies demonstrating the feasibility of genetically modifying pluripotent stem cells to escape immune attack and summarize the methods to evaluate hypoimmunogenicity. Although challenges remain, progress to develop genetically engineered universal pluripotent stem cells holds the promise of expediting their use in future gene and cell therapeutics and regenerative medicine.

Targeted Integration of Inducible Caspase-9 in Human iPSCs Allows Efficient in vitro Clearance of iPSCs and iPSC-Macrophages

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer great promise for the field of regenerative medicine, and iPSC-derived cells have already been applied in clinical practice. However, potential contamination of effector cells with residual pluripotent cells (e.g., teratoma-initiating cells) or effector cell-associated side effects may limit this approach. This also holds true for iPSC-derived hematopoietic cells. Given the therapeutic benefit of macrophages in different disease entities and the feasibility to derive macrophages from human iPSCs, we established human iPSCs harboring the inducible Caspase-9 (iCasp9) suicide safety switch utilizing transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN)-based designer nuclease technology. Mono- or bi-allelic integration of the iCasp9 gene cassette into the AAVS1 locus showed no effect on the pluripotency of human iPSCs and did not interfere with their differentiation towards macrophages. In both, iCasp9-mono and iCasp9-bi-allelic clones, concentrations of 0.1 nM AP20187 were sufficient to induce apoptosis in more than 98% of iPSCs and their progeny-macrophages. Thus, here we provide evidence that the introduction of the iCasp9 suicide gene into the AAVS1 locus enables the effective clearance of human iPSCs and thereof derived macrophages.

High Frequency Production of T Cell-Derived iPSC Clones Capable of Generating Potent Cytotoxic T Cells

Current adoptive T cell therapies conducted in an autologous setting are costly, time-consuming, and depend on the quality of the patient’s T cells, and thus it would be highly beneficial to develop an allogeneic strategy. To this aim, we have developed a method by which cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are regenerated from induced pluripotent stem cells that are originally derived from T cells (T-iPSCs). In order to assess the feasibility of this strategy, we investigated the frequency of usable T-iPSC clones in terms of their T cell-generating capability and T cell receptor (TCR) affinity. We first established eight clones of T-iPSCs bearing different MART-1-specific TCRs from a healthy volunteer. Whereas all clones were able to give rise to mature CTLs, cell yield varied greatly, and five clones were considered to be usable. TCR affinity in the regenerated CTLs showed a large variance among the eight clones, but functional avidities measured by cytotoxic activity were almost equivalent among three selected clones representing high, medium, and low TCR affinity. In a total of 50 alloreactivity tests using five CTL clones versus ten target cells, alloreactivity was seen in only three cases. These findings collectively support the feasibility of this T-iPSC strategy.

Noninvasive application of mesenchymal stem cell spheres derived from hESC accelerates wound healing in a CXCL12-CXCR4 axis-dependent manner

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) derived from adult tissues effectively promote wound healing. However, MSC quality varies, and the quantity of MSC is limited, as MSC are acquired through donations. Moreover, the survival and functioning of dissociated MSC delivered to an inflammatory lesion are subject to challenges.

Methods: Here, spheres (EMSC_Sp) generated from human embryonic stem cell-derived MSC (EMSC) were directly dropped onto excised wounds in mice; the effects of EMSC_Sp were compared to those of dissociated EMSC (EMSC_Diss). Following transplantation, we measured the extent of wound closure, dissected the histological features of the wounds, determined transcriptomic changes in cells isolated from the treated and control wounds, and evaluated the molecular mechanism of the effects of EMSC.

Results: The application of EMSC_Sp onto murine dermal wounds substantially increased survival and efficacy of EMSC compared to the topical application of EMSC_Diss. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of cells isolated from the wounds highlighted the involvement of CXCL12-CXCR4 signaling in the effects of EMSC_Sp, which was verified in EMSC via CXCL12 knockdown and in target cells (vascular endothelial cells, epithelial keratinocytes, and macrophages) via CXCR4 inhibition. Finally, we enhanced the biosafety of EMSC_Sp by engineering cells with an inducible suicide gene.

Conclusions: Together, these data suggest the topical application of EMSC_Sp as an unlimited, quality-assured, safe, and noninvasive therapy for wound healing and the CXCL12-CXCR4 axis as a key player in this treatment.

Long-term eradication of extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, by induced pluripotent stem cell-derived Epstein-Barr virus-specific rejuvenated T cells in vivo

Functionally rejuvenated induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are expected to be a potent immunotherapy for tumors. When L-asparaginase-containing standard chemotherapy fails in extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKL), no effective salvage therapy exists. The clinical course then is miserable. We demonstrate prolonged and robust eradication of ENKL in vivo by Epstein-Barr virus-specific iPSC-derived antigen-specific CTL, with iPSC-derived antigen-specific CTL persisting as central memory T cells in the mouse spleen for at least six months. The anti-tumor response is so strong that any concomitant effect of the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blockade is unclear. These results suggest that long-term persistent Epstein-Barr virus-specific iPSC-derived antigen-specific CTL contribute to a continuous anti-tumor effect and offer an effective salvage therapy for relapsed and refractory ENKL.

Recent Updates on Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Hematological Disorders

Over the past decade, enormous progress has been made in the field of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Patients' somatic cells such as skin fibroblasts or blood cells can be used to generate disease-specific pluripotent stem cells, which have unlimited proliferation and can differentiate into all cell types of the body. Human iPSCs offer great promises and opportunities for treatments of degenerative diseases and studying disease pathology and drug screening. So far, many iPSC-derived disease models have led to the discovery of novel pathological mechanisms as well as new drugs in the pipeline that have been tested in the iPSC-derived cells for efficacy and potential toxicities. Furthermore, recent advances in genome editing technology in combination with the iPSC technology have provided a versatile platform for studying stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. In this review, an overview of iPSCs, patient-specific iPSCs for disease modeling and drug screening, applications of iPSCs and genome editing technology in hematological disorders, remaining challenges, and future perspectives of iPSCs in hematological diseases will be discussed.

Potential Clinical Applications of Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine

The field of regenerative medicine is looking for a pluripotent/multipotent stem cell able to differentiate across germ layers and be safely employed in therapy. Unfortunately, with the exception of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) for hematological applications, the current clinical results with stem cells are somewhat disappointing. The potential clinical applications of the more primitive embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have so far been discouraging, as both have exhibited several problems, including genomic instability, a risk of teratoma formation, and the possibility of rejection. Therefore, the only safe stem cells that have so far been employed in regenerative medicine are monopotent stem cells, such as the abovementioned HSPCs or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from postnatal tissues. However, their monopotency, and therefore limited differentiation potential, is a barrier to their broader application in the clinic. Interestingly, results have accumulated indicating that adult tissues contain rare, early-development stem cells known as very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs), which can differentiate into cells from more than one germ layer. This chapter addresses different sources of stem cells for potential clinical application and their advantages and problems to be solved.

CRISPR-enhanced engineering of therapy-sensitive cancer cells for self-targeting of primary and metastatic tumors

Tumor cells engineered to express therapeutic agents have shown promise to treat cancer. However, their potential to target cell surface receptors specific to the tumor site and their posttreatment fate have not been explored. We created therapeutic tumor cells expressing ligands specific to primary and recurrent tumor sites (receptor self-targeted tumor cells) and extensively characterized two different approaches using (i) therapy-resistant cancer cells, engineered with secretable death receptor-targeting ligands for "off-the-shelf" therapy in primary tumor settings, and (ii) therapy-sensitive cancer cells, which were CRISPR-engineered to knock out therapy-specific cell surface receptors before engineering with receptor self-targeted ligands and reapplied in autologous models of recurrent or metastatic disease. We show that both approaches allow high expression of targeted ligands that induce tumor cell killing and translate into marked survival benefits in mouse models of multiple cancer types. Safe elimination of therapeutic cancer cells after treatment was achieved by co-engineering with a prodrug-converting suicide system, which also allowed for real-time in vivo positron emission tomography imaging of therapeutic tumor cell fate. This study demonstrates self-tumor tropism of engineered cancer cells and their therapeutic potential when engineered with receptor self-targeted molecules, and it establishes a roadmap toward a safe clinical translation for different cancer types in primary, recurrent, and metastatic settings.

Functional Analysis of Dendritic Cells Generated from T-iPSCs from CD4+ T Cell Clones of Sjögren's Syndrome

Although it is important to clarify the pathogenic functions of T cells in human samples, their examination is often limited due to difficulty in obtaining sufficient numbers of dendritic cells (DCs), used as antigen-presenting cells, especially in autoimmune diseases. We describe the generation of DCs from induced pluripotent stem cells derived from T cells (T-iPSCs). We reprogrammed CD4+ T cell clones from a patient with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) into iPSCs, which were differentiated into DCs (T-iPS-DCs). T-iPS-DCs had dendritic cell-like morphology, and expressed CD11c, HLA-DR, CD80, CD86, and also BDCA-3. Compared with monocyte-derived DCs, the capacity for antigen processing was similar, and T-iPS-DCs induced the proliferative response of autoreactive CD4+ T cells. Moreover, we could evaluate T cell functions of the patient with SS. In conclusion, we obtained adequate numbers of DCs from T-iPSCs, which could be used to characterize pathogenic T cells in autoimmune diseases such as SS.

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Dendritic cells were generated from iPSCs derived from CD4+ T cells (T-iPS-DCs)

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Adequate numbers of functional DCs were generated from a small blood sample

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The comparison between T-iPS-DCs and monocyte-derived DCs was evaluated

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The functional assays of T cells in Sjögren's syndrome were analyzed by T-iPS-DCs

A Novel Construction of Lentiviral Vectors for Eliminating Tumorigenic Cells from Pluripotent Stem Cells

The risk of tumor formation poses a challenge for human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-based transplantation therapy. Specific and total elimination of tumorigenic hPSCs by suicide genes (SGs) has not been achieved because no methodology currently exists for testing multiple candidate transgene constructs. Here, we present a novel method for efficient generation of tumorigenic cell-targeting lentiviral vectors (TC-LVs) with diverse promoters upstream of a fluorescent protein and SGs. Our two-plasmid system achieved rapid and simultaneous construction of different TC-LVs with different promoters. Ganciclovir (GCV) exerted remarkable cytotoxicity in herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase-transduced hPSCs, and high specificity for undifferentiated cells was achieved using the survivin promoter (TC-LV.Surv). Moreover, GCV treatment completely abolished teratoma formation by TC-LV.Surv-infected hPSCs transplanted into mice, without harmful effects. Thus, TC-LV can efficiently identify the best promoter and SG for specific and complete elimination of tumorigenic hPSCs, facilitating the development of safe regenerative medicine.

Generation of human-induced pluripotent stem cells from burn patient-derived skin fibroblasts using a non-integrative method

Patient specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been recognized as a possible source of cells for skin tissue engineering. They have the potential to greatly benefit patients with large areas of burned skin or skin defects. However, the integration virus-based reprogramming method is associated with a high risk of genetic mutation and mouse embryonic fibroblast feeder-cells may be a pollutant. In the present study, human skin fibroblasts (HSFs) were successfully harvested from patients with burns and patient-specific iPSCs were generated using a non-integration method with a feeder-free approach. The octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4), sex-determining region Y box 2 (SOX2) and NANOG transcription factors were delivered using Sendai virus vectors. iPSCs exhibited representative human embryonic stem cell-like morphology and proliferation characteristics. They also expressed pluripotent markers, including OCT4, NANOG, SOX2, TRA181, stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 and TRA-160, and exhibited a normal karyotype. Teratoma and embryoid body formation revealed that iPSCs were able to differentiate into cells of all three germ layers in vitro and in vivo. The results of the present study demonstrate that HSFs derived from patients with burns, may be reprogrammed into stem cells with pluripotency, which provides a basis for cell-based skin tissue engineering in the future.

Using low-risk factors to generate non-integrated human induced pluripotent stem cells from urine-derived cells

BACKGROUND

Because the lack of an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) induction system with optimal safety and efficiency limits the application of these cells, development of such a system is important.

METHODS

To create such an induction system, we screened a variety of reprogrammed plasmid combinations and multiple compounds and then verified the system's feasibility using urine cells from different individuals. We also compared large-scale iPSC chromosomal variations and expression of genes associated with genomic stability between this system and the traditional episomal system using karyotype and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses.

RESULTS

We developed a high-efficiency episomal system, the 6F/BM1-4C system, lacking tumorigenic factors for human urine-derived cell (hUC) reprogramming. This system includes six low-risk factors (6F), Oct4, Glis1, Klf4, Sox2, L-Myc, and the miR-302 cluster. Transfected hUCs were treated with four compounds (4C), inhibitor of lysine-demethylase1, methyl ethyl ketone, glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta, and histone deacetylase, within a short time period. Comparative analysis revealed significantly decreased chromosomal variation in iPSCs and significantly increased Sirt1 expression compared with iPSCs induced using the traditional episomal system.

CONCLUSION

The 6F/BM1-4C system effectively induces reprogramming of urine cells in samples obtained from different individuals. iPSCs induced using the 6F/BM1-4C system are more stable at the cytogenetic level and have potential value for clinical application.

Thalidomide induces apoptosis in undifferentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells

Thalidomide, which was formerly available commercially to control the symptoms of morning sickness, is a strong teratogen that causes fetal abnormalities. However, the mechanism of thalidomide teratogenicity is not fully understood; thalidomide toxicity is not apparent in rodents, and the use of human embryos is ethically and technically untenable. In this study, we designed an experimental system featuring human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to investigate the effects of thalidomide. These cells exhibit the same characteristics as those of epiblasts originating from implanted fertilized ova, which give rise to the fetus. Therefore, theoretically, thalidomide exposure during hiPSC differentiation is equivalent to that in the human fetus. We examined the effects of thalidomide on undifferentiated hiPSCs and early-differentiated hiPSCs cultured in media containing bone morphogenetic protein-4, which correspond, respectively, to epiblast (future fetus) and trophoblast (future extra-embryonic tissue). We found that only the number of undifferentiated cells was reduced. In undifferentiated cells, application of thalidomide increased the number of apoptotic and dead cells at day 2 but not day 4. Application of thalidomide did not affect the cell cycle. Furthermore, immunostaining and flow cytometric analysis revealed that thalidomide exposure had no effect on the expression of specific markers of undifferentiated and early trophectodermal differentiated cells. These results suggest that the effect of thalidomide was successfully detected in our experimental system and that thalidomide eliminated a subpopulation of undifferentiated hiPSCs. This study may help to elucidate the mechanisms underlying thalidomide teratogenicity and reveal potential strategies for safely prescribing this drug to pregnant women.

Survival of iPSC-derived grafts within the striatum of immunodeficient mice: Importance of developmental stage of both transplant and host recipient

Degeneration of the striatum can occur in multiple disorders with devastating consequences for the patients. Infantile infections with streptococcus, measles, or herpes can cause striatal necrosis associated with dystonia or dyskinesia; and in patients with Huntington's disease the striatum undergoes massive degeneration, leading to behavioral, psychological and movement issues, ultimately resulting in death. Currently, only supportive therapies are available for striatal degeneration. Clinical trials have shown some efficacy using transplantation of fetal-derived primary striatal progenitors. Large banks of fetal progenitors that give rise to medium spiny neurons (MSNs), the primary neuron of the striatum, are needed to make transplantation therapy a reality. However, fetal tissue is of limited supply, has ethical concerns, and is at risk of graft immunorejection. An alternative potential source of MSNs is induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), adult somatic tissues reprogrammed back to a stem cell fate. Multiple publications have demonstrated the ability to differentiate striatal MSNs from iPSCs. Previous publications have demonstrated that the efficacy of fetal progenitor transplants is critically dependent upon the age of the donor embryo/fetus as well as the age of the transplant recipient. With the advent of iPSC technology, a question that remains unanswered concerns the graft's "age," which is crucial since transplanting pluripotent cells has an inherent risk of over proliferation and teratoma formation. Therefore, in order to also determine the effect of transplant recipient age on the graft, iPSCs were differentiated to three stages along a striatal differentiation paradigm and transplanted into the striatum of both neonatal and adult immunodeficient mice. This study demonstrated that increased murine transplant-recipient age (adult vs neonate) resulted in decreased graft survival and volume/rostro-caudal spread after six weeks in vivo, regardless of "age" of the cells transplanted. Importantly, this study implicates that the in vivo setting may provide a better neurogenic niche for iPSC-based modeling as compared to the in vitro setting. Together, these results recapitulate findings from fetal striatal progenitor transplantation studies and further demonstrate the influence of the host environment on cellular survival and maturation.

Technical approaches to induce selective cell death of pluripotent stem cells

Despite the recent promising results of clinical trials using human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-based cell therapies for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the risk of teratoma formation resulting from residual undifferentiated hPSCs remains a serious and critical hurdle for broader clinical implementation. To mitigate the tumorigenic risk of hPSC-based cell therapy, a variety of approaches have been examined to ablate the undifferentiated hPSCs based on the unique molecular properties of hPSCs. In the present review, we offer a brief overview of recent attempts at selective elimination of undifferentiated hPSCs to decrease the risk of teratoma formation in hPSC-based cell therapy.

Exploiting Cell Death Pathways for Inducible Cell Elimination to Modulate Graft-versus-Host-Disease

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a potent form of immunotherapy, potentially life-saving for many malignant hematologic diseases. However, donor lymphocytes infused with the graft while exerting a graft versus malignancy effect can also cause potentially fatal graft versus host disease (GVHD). Our group has previously validated the inducible caspase-9 suicide gene in the haploidentical stem cell transplant setting, which proved successful in reversing signs and symptoms of GVHD within hours, using a non-therapeutic dimerizing agent. Cellular death pathways such as apoptosis and necroptosis are important processes in maintaining healthy cellular homeostasis within the human body. Here, we review two of the most widely investigated cell death pathways active in T-cells (apoptosis and necroptosis), as well as the emerging strategies that can be exploited for the safety of T-cell therapies. Furthermore, such strategies could be exploited for the safety of other cellular therapeutics as well.