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Waddington SN, Peranteau WH, Rahim AA, Boyle AK, Kurian MA, Gissen P, Chan JKY, David AL. Fetal gene therapy. J Inherit Metab Dis 2024; 47:192-210. [PMID: 37470194 PMCID: PMC10799196 DOI: 10.1002/jimd.12659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
Fetal gene therapy was first proposed toward the end of the 1990s when the field of gene therapy was, to quote the Gartner hype cycle, at its "peak of inflated expectations." Gene therapy was still an immature field but over the ensuing decade, it matured and is now a clinical and market reality. The trajectory of treatment for several genetic diseases is toward earlier intervention. The ability, capacity, and the will to diagnose genetic disease early-in utero-improves day by day. A confluence of clinical trials now signposts a trajectory toward fetal gene therapy. In this review, we recount the history of fetal gene therapy in the context of the broader field, discuss advances in fetal surgery and diagnosis, and explore the full ambit of preclinical gene therapy for inherited metabolic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon N Waddington
- EGA Institute for Women's Health, University College London, London, UK
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Wits/SAMRC Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - William H Peranteau
- The Center for Fetal Research, Division of General, Thoracic, and Fetal Surgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ahad A Rahim
- UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ashley K Boyle
- EGA Institute for Women's Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Manju A Kurian
- Developmental Neurosciences, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, GOS-Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Neurology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK
| | - Paul Gissen
- Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
- Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- National Institute of Health Research Great Ormond Street Biomedical Research Centre, London, UK
| | - Jerry K Y Chan
- Department of Reproductive Medicine, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
- Academic Clinical Program in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
- Experimental Fetal Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Anna L David
- EGA Institute for Women's Health, University College London, London, UK
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Wagner AM, Schoeberlein A, Surbek D. Fetal gene therapy: opportunities and risks. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2009; 61:813-21. [PMID: 19426772 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2009.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2008] [Accepted: 04/28/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Advances in human prenatal medicine and molecular genetics have allowed the diagnosis of many genetic diseases early in gestation. In-utero transplantation of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) has been successfully used as a therapy in different animal models and recently also in human fetuses. Unfortunately, clinical success of this novel treatment is limited by the lack of donor cell engraftment in non-immunocompromised hosts and is thus restricted to diseases where the fetus is affected by severe immunodeficiency. Gene therapy using genetically modified autologous HSC circumvents allogeneic HLA barriers and constitutes one of the most promising new approaches to correct genetic deficits in the fetus. Recent developments of strategies to overcome failure of efficient transduction of quiescent hematopoietic cells include the use of new vector constructs and transduction protocols. These improvements open new perspectives for gene therapy in general and for prenatal gene transfer in particular. The fetus may be especially susceptible for successful gene therapy due to the immunologic naiveté of the immature hematopoietic system during gestation, precluding an immune reaction towards the transgene. Ethical issues, in particular those regarding treatment safety, must be taken into account before clinical trials with fetal gene therapy in human pregnancies can be initiated.
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Park PJ, Colletti E, Ozturk F, Wood JA, Tellez J, Almeida-Porada G, Porada C. Factors determining the risk of inadvertent retroviral transduction of male germ cells after in utero gene transfer in sheep. Hum Gene Ther 2009; 20:201-15. [PMID: 19301473 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2007.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The possibility of permanent genetic changes to the germline is central to the bioethics of in utero gene therapy (IUGT) because of the concern of inadvertent potentially deleterious alterations to the gene pool. Despite presumed protection of the male germline due to early germ cell (GC) compartmentalization, we reported that GCs within the developing ovine testes are transduced at low levels after retrovirus-mediated IUGT, thus underscoring the need for a thorough understanding of GC development in clinically predictive models to determine the optimal time to perform IUGT and avoid germline modification. In the present studies, we used the fetal sheep model to analyze GCs for phenotype, location, proliferation, and incidence of transduction after IUGT at various fetal ages to learn when during development the nascent germline is likely to be at greatest risk of retrovirus-mediated alteration. Our studies show that although GCs were transduced at all injection ages, the levels of transduction varied by nearly 700-fold as a function of the age at transfer. After remaining largely quiescent as they migrated to/settled within nascent sex cords, GCs began active cycling before cord closure was complete, suggesting this is likely the point at which they would be most susceptible to retroviral transduction.Furthermore, we observed that compartmentalization of GCs continued into early postnatal life, suggesting the male germline may be vulnerable to low-level inadvertent retroviral vector modification throughout fetal life, but that this risk can be minimized by performing IUGT later in gestation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J Park
- Department of Animal Biotechnology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA
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Park PJ, Colletti E, Ozturk F, Wood JA, Tellez J, Almeida-Porada G, Porada C. Factors Determining the Risk of Inadvertent Retroviral Transduction of Male Germ Cells Following in Utero Gene Transfer in Sheep. Hum Gene Ther 2008. [DOI: 10.1089/hgt.2007.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
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Surbek D, Schoeberlein A, Wagner A. Perinatal stem-cell and gene therapy for hemoglobinopathies. Semin Fetal Neonatal Med 2008; 13:282-90. [PMID: 18420474 DOI: 10.1016/j.siny.2008.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Most genetic diseases of the lymphohematopoietic system, including hemoglobinopathies, can now be diagnosed early in gestation. However, as yet, prenatal treatment is not available. Postnatal therapy by hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation from bone marrow, mobilized peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood is possible for several of these diseases, in particular for the hemoglobinopathies, but is often limited by a lack of histocompatible donors, severe treatment-associated morbidity, and preexisting organ damage that developed before birth. In-utero transplantation of allogeneic HSC has been performed successfully in various animal models and recently in humans. However, the clinical success of this novel treatment is limited to diseases in which the fetus is affected by severe immunodeficiency. The lack of donor cell engraftment in nonimmunocompromised hosts is thought to be due to immunologic barriers, as well as to competitive fetal marrow population by host HSCs. Among the possible strategies to circumvent allogeneic HLA barriers, the use of gene therapy by genetically corrected autologous HSCs in the fetus is one of the most promising approaches. The recent development of strategies to overcome failure of efficient transduction of quiescent hematopoietic cells using new vector constructs and transduction protocols opens new perspectives for gene therapy in general, as well as for prenatal gene transfer in particular. The fetus might be especially susceptible for successful gene therapy approaches because of the developing, expanding hematopoietic system during gestation and the immunologic naiveté early in gestation, precluding immune reaction towards the transgene by inducing tolerance. Ethical issues, in particular regarding treatment safety, must be addressed more closely before clinical trials with fetal gene therapy in human pregnancies can be initiated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Surbek
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
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Gallo J, Kamínek P, Tichá V, Riháková P, Ditmar R. Particle disease. A comprehensive theory of periprosthetic osteolysis: a review. Biomed Pap Med Fac Univ Palacky Olomouc Czech Repub 2002; 146:21-8. [PMID: 12572890 DOI: 10.5507/bp.2002.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Aseptic loosening and osteolysis are considered the main long-term problems of hip arthroplasty. Pathogenesis of periprosthetic osteolysis is multifactorial, and both the biological and mechanical factors seem to play an important role. Bearing surfaces continuously generate excessive amounts of micron and submicron particles provoking an adverse inflammatory response of periprosthetic connective tissues. In general, a key role has been attributed to macrophages. Cytokines, growth factors, PGE2, and enzymes are secreted with activated periprosthetic cells resulting in formation of osteolytic granulomas. The final osteolytic step is taken predominantly by osteoclasts which are getting ready for action mainly by an osteoprotegerin ligand (RANKL) and TNFalpha. Rankl is expressed by activated macrophages, osteoblasts, and lymphocytes. In parallel, a repetitive hydraulic effect of the joint fluid is manifested on the susceptible bone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jirí Gallo
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Palacký University Faculty of Medicine, 775 15 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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Endoh M, Koibuchi N, Sato M, Morishita R, Kanzaki T, Murata Y, Kaneda Y. Fetal gene transfer by intrauterine injection with microbubble-enhanced ultrasound. Mol Ther 2002; 5:501-8. [PMID: 11991740 DOI: 10.1006/mthe.2002.0577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Intrauterine injection of naked DNA expressing luciferase, green fluorescent protein (GFP), or beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) and fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled oligodeoxynucleotide (FITC-ODN), in combination with microbubble-enhanced ultrasound (US), referred to as the "shotgun method" (SGM), produced high-level protein expression in fetal mice. With the SGM, luciferase expression increased approximately 10(3)-fold in comparison with expression after injection of naked DNA alone. Electron microscopic analysis demonstrated transient formation of pores on the skin surface after intraamniotic (i.a.) injection with the SGM. Widespread expression of GFP and beta-gal and delivery of FITC-ODN were observed in multiple fetal tissues adjacent to the injection points. PCR analysis indicated that germline transfection was only transient following intraperitoneal (i.p) injection, and there was no evidence of transfer of the reporter gene to the offspring. Thus, SGM might provide a useful means to clarify the molecular mechanisms of genetic diseases in utero, as well as a tool to develop gene therapies in utero.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masayuki Endoh
- Department of Gene Therapy Science, Osaka University Medical School, Yamada-oka 2-2, Suita, Japan
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Thakur A, Lansford R, Thakur V, Narone JN, Atkinson JB, Buchmiller-Crair T, Fraser SE. Gene transfer to the embryo: strategies for the delivery and expression of proteins at 48 to 56 hours postfertilization. J Pediatr Surg 2001; 36:1304-7. [PMID: 11479882 DOI: 10.1053/jpsu.2001.25804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE Although gene and protein transfer may potentiate the cure of genetic disease, current strategies involving fetal gene therapy remain nonfocal and confounded by the lack of imaging techniques and in vivo markers for precise gene transfer. METHODS Fourteen white Leghorn chick eggs were incubated for 48 to 56 hours postfertilization until they reached stages 11 to 16, about 3 mm in size. In 7 chick embryos, a glass needle was placed at the midbrain/hindbrain level and 1 x 10(7) pfu of an adenovirus containing the green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene was injected into the lateral head. In another 7 chicken embryos, colored agarose beads coated with Sonic hedgehog (Shh) protein were implanted at the level of the hindbrain under direct microscopy. The eggs were then sealed, incubated at 37 degrees C for 24 hours, and reimaged using fluorescent microscopy and confocal laser microscopy. RESULTS At 24 hours postinjection, all embryos were alive and were imaged in vivo. Fluorescent microscopic imaging showed green fluorescence in the region of the injection site in all the embryos. In embryos that underwent bead placement, the beads were visualized under microscopy in the lateral hindbrain of all embryos, and the presence of the Shh protein was confirmed using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated secondary antibody. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that embryonic 3-mm chick embryos survive adenoviral transduction or agarose bead implantation in a focal manner in vivo and that this delivery results in production of imageable levels of protein. This may be used in mammalian systems, including humans, to introduce genes and proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Thakur
- Division of Pediatric Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, California Institute of Technology, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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Lipshutz GS, Gruber CA, Hardy J, Contag CH, Gaensler KM. In utero delivery of adeno-associated viral vectors: intraperitoneal gene transfer produces long-term expression. Mol Ther 2001; 3:284-92. [PMID: 11273769 DOI: 10.1006/mthe.2001.0267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAV) are promising gene transfer vectors that produce long-term expression without toxicity. To investigate future approaches for in utero gene delivery, the efficacy and safety of prenatal administration of rAAV were determined. Using luciferase as a reporter, expression was assessed by whole-body imaging and by analysis of luciferase activity in tissue extracts, at the time of birth and monthly thereafter. Transgene expression was detected in all injected animals. Highest levels of luciferase activity were detected at birth in the peritoneum and liver, while the heart, brain, and lung demonstrated low-level expression. In vivo luciferase imaging revealed persistent peritoneal expression for 18 months after in utero injection and provided a sensitive whole-body assay, useful in identifying tissues for subsequent analyses. There was no detectable hepatocellular injury. Antibodies that reacted with either luciferase or rAAV were not found. AAV sequences were not detected in germ-line tissues of injected animals or in tissues of their progeny. In utero AAV-mediated gene transfer in this animal model demonstrates that novel therapeutic vectors and strategies can be rapidly tested in vivo and that rAAV may be developed to ameliorate genetic diseases with perinatal morbidity and mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- G S Lipshutz
- Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143-0793, USA
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