Development of a replication-competent lentivirus assay for dendritic cell-targeting lentiviral vectors

Lentiviral Vectors for Ocular Gene Therapy

This review offers the basics of lentiviral vector technologies, their advantages and pitfalls, and an overview of their use in the field of ophthalmology. First, the description of the global challenges encountered to develop safe and efficient lentiviral recombinant vectors for clinical application is provided. The risks and the measures taken to minimize secondary effects as well as new strategies using these vectors are also discussed. This review then focuses on lentiviral vectors specifically designed for ocular therapy and goes over preclinical and clinical studies describing their safety and efficacy. A therapeutic approach using lentiviral vector-mediated gene therapy is currently being developed for many ocular diseases, e.g., aged-related macular degeneration, retinopathy of prematurity, inherited retinal dystrophies (Leber congenital amaurosis type 2, Stargardt disease, Usher syndrome), glaucoma, and corneal fibrosis or engraftment rejection. In summary, this review shows how lentiviral vectors offer an interesting alternative for gene therapy in all ocular compartments.

Detection of Replication Competent Lentivirus Using a qPCR Assay for VSV-G

Lentiviral vectors are a common tool used to introduce new and corrected genes into cell therapy products for treatment of human diseases. Although lentiviral vectors are ideal for delivery and stable integration of genes of interest into the host cell genome, they potentially pose risks to human health, such as integration-mediated transformation and generation of a replication competent lentivirus (RCL) capable of infecting non-target cells. In consideration of the latter risk, all cell-based products modified by lentiviral vectors and intended for patient use must be tested for RCL prior to treatment of the patient. Current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines recommend use of cell-based assays to this end, which can take up to 6 weeks for results. However, qPCR-based assays are a quick alternative for rapid assessment of RCL in products intended for fresh infusion. We describe here the development and qualification of a qPCR assay based on detection of envelope gene sequences (vesicular stomatitis virus G glycoprotein [VSV-G]) for RCL in accordance with Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments (MIQE) guidelines. Our results demonstrate the sensitivity, linearity, specificity, and reproducibility of detection of VSV-G sequences, with a low false-positive rate. These procedures are currently being used in our phase 1 clinical investigations.

Absence of Replication-Competent Lentivirus in the Clinic: Analysis of Infused T Cell Products

Exposure to replication-competent lentivirus (RCL) is a theoretical safety concern for individuals treated with lentiviral gene therapy. For certain ex vivo gene therapy applications, including cancer immunotherapy trials, RCL detection assays are used to screen the vector product as well as the vector-transduced cells. In this study, we reviewed T cell products screened for RCL using methodology developed in the National Gene Vector Biorepository. All trials utilized third-generation lentiviral vectors produced by transient transfection. Samples from 26 clinical trials totaling 460 transduced cell products from 375 subjects were evaluated. All cell products were negative for RCL. A total of 296 of the clinical trial participants were screened for RCL at least 1 month after infusion of the cell product. No research subject has shown evidence of RCL infection. These findings provide further evidence attesting to the safety of third-generation lentiviral vectors and that testing T cell products for RCL does not provide added value to screening the lentiviral vector product.

"RCL-Pooling Assay": A Simplified Method for the Detection of Replication-Competent Lentiviruses in Vector Batches Using Sequential Pooling

Nonreplicative recombinant HIV-1-derived lentiviral vectors (LV) are increasingly used in gene therapy of various genetic diseases, infectious diseases, and cancer. Before they are used in humans, preparations of LV must undergo extensive quality control testing. In particular, testing of LV must demonstrate the absence of replication-competent lentiviruses (RCL) with suitable methods, on representative fractions of vector batches. Current methods based on cell culture are challenging because high titers of vector batches translate into high volumes of cell culture to be tested in RCL assays. As vector batch size and titers are continuously increasing because of the improvement of production and purification methods, it became necessary for us to modify the current RCL assay based on the detection of p24 in cultures of indicator cells. Here, we propose a practical optimization of this method using a pairwise pooling strategy enabling easier testing of higher vector inoculum volumes. These modifications significantly decrease material handling and operator time, leading to a cost-effective method, while maintaining optimal sensibility of the RCL testing. This optimized "RCL-pooling assay" ameliorates the feasibility of the quality control of large-scale batches of clinical-grade LV while maintaining the same sensitivity.

Design of a titering assay for lentiviral vectors utilizing direct extraction of DNA from transduced cells in microtiter plates

Using lentiviral vector products in clinical applications requires an accurate method for measuring transduction titer. For vectors lacking a marker gene, quantitative polymerase chain reaction is used to evaluate the number of vector DNA copies in transduced target cells, from which a transduction titer is calculated. Immune Design previously described an integration-deficient lentiviral vector pseudotyped with a modified Sindbis virus envelope for use in cancer immunotherapy (VP02, of the ZVex platform). Standard protocols for titering integration-competent lentiviral vectors employ commercial spin columns to purify vector DNA from transduced cells, but such columns are not optimized for isolation of extrachromosomal (nonintegrated) DNA. Here, we describe a 96-well transduction titer assay in which DNA extraction is performed in situ in the transduction plate, yielding quantitative recovery of extrachromosomal DNA. Vector titers measured by this method were higher than when commercial spin columns were used for DNA isolation. Evaluation of the method’s specificity, linear range, and precision demonstrate that it is suitable for use as a lot release assay to support clinical trials with VP02. Finally, the method is compatible with titering both integrating and nonintegrating lentiviral vectors, suggesting that it may be used to evaluate the transduction titer for any lentiviral vector.