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Mseis-Jackson N, Sharma M, Li H. Controlling the Expression Level of the Neuronal Reprogramming Factors for a Successful Reprogramming Outcome. Cells 2024; 13:1223. [PMID: 39056804 PMCID: PMC11274869 DOI: 10.3390/cells13141223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2024] [Revised: 07/16/2024] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Neuronal reprogramming is a promising approach for making major advancement in regenerative medicine. Distinct from the approach of induced pluripotent stem cells, neuronal reprogramming converts non-neuronal cells to neurons without going through a primitive stem cell stage. In vivo neuronal reprogramming brings this approach to a higher level by changing the cell fate of glial cells to neurons in neural tissue through overexpressing reprogramming factors. Despite the ongoing debate over the validation and interpretation of newly generated neurons, in vivo neuronal reprogramming is still a feasible approach and has the potential to become clinical treatment with further optimization and refinement. Here, we discuss the major neuronal reprogramming factors (mostly pro-neurogenic transcription factors during development), especially the significance of their expression levels during neurogenesis and the reprogramming process focusing on NeuroD1. In the developing central nervous system, these pro-neurogenic transcription factors usually elicit distinct spatiotemporal expression patterns that are critical to their function in generating mature neurons. We argue that these dynamic expression patterns may be similarly needed in the process of reprogramming adult cells into neurons and further into mature neurons with subtype identities. We also summarize the existing approaches and propose new ones that control gene expression levels for a successful reprogramming outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Mseis-Jackson
- Department of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA;
| | - Mehek Sharma
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science & Mathematics, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA;
| | - Hedong Li
- Department of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA;
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2
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Ercilla-Rodríguez P, Sánchez-Díez M, Alegría-Aravena N, Quiroz-Troncoso J, Gavira-O'Neill CE, González-Martos R, Ramírez-Castillejo C. CAR-T lymphocyte-based cell therapies; mechanistic substantiation, applications and biosafety enhancement with suicide genes: new opportunities to melt side effects. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1333150. [PMID: 39091493 PMCID: PMC11291200 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1333150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy has made significant strides in cancer treatment with strategies like checkpoint blockade antibodies and adoptive T cell transfer. Chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T) have emerged as a promising approach to combine these strategies and overcome their limitations. This review explores CAR-T cells as a living drug for cancer treatment. CAR-T cells are genetically engineered immune cells designed to target and eliminate tumor cells by recognizing specific antigens. The study involves a comprehensive literature review on CAR-T cell technology, covering structure optimization, generations, manufacturing processes, and gene therapy strategies. It examines CAR-T therapy in haematologic cancers and solid tumors, highlighting challenges and proposing a suicide gene-based mechanism to enhance safety. The results show significant advancements in CAR-T technology, particularly in structure optimization and generation. The manufacturing process has improved for broader clinical application. However, a series of inherent challenges and side effects still need to be addressed. In conclusion, CAR-T cells hold great promise for cancer treatment, but ongoing research is crucial to improve efficacy and safety for oncology patients. The proposed suicide gene-based mechanism offers a potential solution to mitigate side effects including cytokine release syndrome (the most common toxic side effect of CAR-T therapy) and the associated neurotoxicity.
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MESH Headings
- Humans
- Immunotherapy, Adoptive/adverse effects
- Immunotherapy, Adoptive/methods
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/genetics
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/immunology
- Genes, Transgenic, Suicide
- Neoplasms/therapy
- Neoplasms/immunology
- Neoplasms/genetics
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- Animals
- Genetic Therapy/adverse effects
- Genetic Therapy/methods
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/genetics
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/immunology
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marta Sánchez-Díez
- ETSIAAB, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Laboratorio Cancer Stem Cell, HST group, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Nicolás Alegría-Aravena
- Grupo de Biología y Producción de Cérvidos, Instituto de Desarrollo Regional, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
- Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC)-Fundación Científica AECC, Albacete, Spain
| | - Josefa Quiroz-Troncoso
- ETSIAAB, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Laboratorio Cancer Stem Cell, HST group, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Clara E. Gavira-O'Neill
- Laboratorio Cancer Stem Cell, HST group, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Sección de Oncología, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Raquel González-Martos
- ETSIAAB, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Laboratorio Cancer Stem Cell, HST group, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carmen Ramírez-Castillejo
- ETSIAAB, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Laboratorio Cancer Stem Cell, HST group, Centro de Tecnología Biomédica, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Sección de Oncología, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos, Madrid, Spain
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3
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Mikkelsen NS, Hernandez SS, Jensen TI, Schneller JL, Bak RO. Enrichment of transgene integrations by transient CRISPR activation of a silent reporter gene. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2023; 29:1-16. [PMID: 36922985 PMCID: PMC10009645 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2023.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas-mediated site-specific integration of transgenes by homology-directed repair (HDR) is challenging, especially in primary cells, where inferior editing efficiency may impede the development of gene- and cellular therapies. Various strategies for enrichment of cells with transgene integrations have been developed, but most strategies either generate unwanted genomic scars or rely on permanent integration and expression of a reporter gene used for selection. However, stable expression of a reporter gene may perturb cell homeostasis and function. Here we develop a broadly applicable and versatile enrichment strategy by harnessing the capability of CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) to transiently induce expression of a therapeutically relevant reporter gene used for immunomagnetic enrichment. This strategy is readily adaptable to primary human T cells and CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), where enrichment of 1.8- to 3.3-fold and 3.2- to 3.6-fold was achieved, respectively. Furthermore, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells were enriched 2.5-fold and demonstrated improved cytotoxicity over non-enriched CAR T cells. Analysis of HDR integrations showed a proportion of cells harboring deletions of the transgene cassette arising either from impartial HDR or truncated adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector genomes. Nonetheless, this novel enrichment strategy expands the possibility to enrich for transgene integrations in research settings and in gene and cellular therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Trine I Jensen
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jessica L Schneller
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.,RNA and Gene Therapies, Novo Nordisk A/S, Maaloev, Denmark
| | - Rasmus O Bak
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.,Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
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4
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Celichowski P, Turi M, Charvátová S, Radhakrishnan D, Feizi N, Chyra Z, Šimíček M, Jelínek T, Bago JR, Hájek R, Hrdinka M. Tuning CARs: recent advances in modulating chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell activity for improved safety, efficacy, and flexibility. J Transl Med 2023; 21:197. [PMID: 36922828 PMCID: PMC10015723 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04041-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapies utilizing genetically engineered T cells have emerged as powerful personalized therapeutic agents showing dramatic preclinical and clinical results, particularly in hematological malignancies. Ectopically expressed chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) reprogram immune cells to target and eliminate cancer. However, CAR T cell therapy's success depends on the balance between effective anti-tumor activity and minimizing harmful side effects. To improve CAR T cell therapy outcomes and mitigate associated toxicities, scientists from different fields are cooperating in developing next-generation products using the latest molecular cell biology and synthetic biology tools and technologies. The immunotherapy field is rapidly evolving, with new approaches and strategies being reported at a fast pace. This comprehensive literature review aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the latest developments in controlling CAR T cell activity for improved safety, efficacy, and flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Celichowski
- Department of Haematooncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Department of Haematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Marcello Turi
- Department of Haematooncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Department of Haematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Sandra Charvátová
- Department of Haematooncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Department of Haematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Dhwani Radhakrishnan
- Department of Haematooncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Department of Haematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Neda Feizi
- Department of Internal Clinical Sciences, Anesthesiology and Cardiovascular Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Zuzana Chyra
- Department of Haematooncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Department of Haematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Šimíček
- Department of Haematooncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Department of Haematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Jelínek
- Department of Haematooncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Department of Haematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Juli Rodriguez Bago
- Department of Haematooncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Department of Haematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Hájek
- Department of Haematooncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Department of Haematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Matouš Hrdinka
- Department of Haematooncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
- Department of Haematooncology, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
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5
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Yu J, Huang C, Wang Z, Kaushik RS, Sheng Z, Li F, Wang D. Development and characterization of an inducible assay system to measure Zika virus capsid interactions. J Med Virol 2022; 94:5392-5400. [PMID: 35822280 PMCID: PMC9474601 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.27991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The global spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus (ZIKV) infection and its complications including Guillain-Barré syndrome and fetus microcephaly in 2015 have made ZIKV as a significant public health threat. The capsid protein plays crucial roles in ZIKV replication and thus represents an attractive therapeutic target. However, inhibitors of ZIKV capsid assembly have not been rigorously identified due to the lack of a target-based screening system. In this study, we developed a novel ZIKV capsid interaction method based on a split-luciferase complementation assay, which can be used to measure and quantify ZIKV capsid-capsid (C-C) interaction by the restored luciferase signal when capsid proteins interact with each other. Furthermore, a Tet-on inducible stable cell line was generated to screen inhibitors of capsid dimerization. By using of this system, peptides (Pep.15-24 in the N-terminal region of ZIKV capsid protein and Pep.44-58 in the α2 helix of ZIKV capsid protein) were identified to inhibit ZIKV C-C interaction. Overall, this study developed a novel inducible assay system to measure ZIKV capsid interaction and identify ZIKV capsid multimerization inhibitors, which will be applied for future discovery of ZIKV assembly inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jieshi Yu
- Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40546, USA
| | - Chen Huang
- Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40546, USA
| | - Zhao Wang
- Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007
| | - Radhey S. Kaushik
- Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007
| | - Zizhang Sheng
- Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Feng Li
- Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40546, USA
| | - Dan Wang
- Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40546, USA
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6
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Saunderson SC, Hosseini-Rad SMA, McLellan AD. Noise-Reduction and Sensitivity-Enhancement of a Sleeping Beauty-Based Tet-On System. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13101679. [PMID: 36292564 PMCID: PMC9602432 DOI: 10.3390/genes13101679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Tetracycline-inducible systems are widely used control elements for mammalian gene expression. Despite multiple iterations to improve inducibility, their use is still compromised by basal promoter activity in the absence of tetracyclines. In a mammalian system, we previously showed that the introduction of the G72V mutation in the rtTA-M2 tetracycline activator lowers the basal level expression and increases the fold-induction of multiple genetic elements in a long chimeric antigen receptor construct. In this study, we confirmed that the G72V mutation was effective in minimising background expression in the absence of an inducer, resulting in an increase in fold-expression. Loss of responsiveness due to the G72V mutation was compensated through the incorporation of four sensitivity enhancing (SE) mutations, without compromising promoter tightness. However, SE mutations alone (without G72V) led to undesirable leakiness. Although cryptic splice site removal from rtTA did not alter the inducible control of the luciferase reporter gene in this simplified vector system, this is still recommended as a precaution in more complex multi-gene elements that contain rtTA. The optimized expression construct containing G72V and SE mutations currently provides the best improvement of fold-induction mediated by the rtTA-M2 activator in a mammalian system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C. Saunderson
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
- Correspondence:
| | - SM Ali Hosseini-Rad
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
- Centre of Excellence in Immunology and Immune-Mediated Diseases, University of Chulalongkorn, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Alexander D. McLellan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
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7
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Rad SMAH, Halpin JC, Tawinwung S, Suppipat K, Hirankarn N, McLellan AD. MicroRNA‐mediated metabolic reprogramming of chimeric antigen receptor T cells. Immunol Cell Biol 2022; 100:424-439. [PMID: 35507473 PMCID: PMC9322280 DOI: 10.1111/imcb.12551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini Rad
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology School of Biomedical Science University of Otago Dunedin Otago New Zealand
- Center of Excellence in Immunology and Immune‐mediated Diseases Chulalongkorn University Bangkok Thailand
- Department of Microbiology Faculty of Medicine Chulalongkorn University Bangkok Thailand
| | - Joshua Colin Halpin
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology School of Biomedical Science University of Otago Dunedin Otago New Zealand
| | - Supannikar Tawinwung
- Center of Excellence in Immunology and Immune‐mediated Diseases Chulalongkorn University Bangkok Thailand
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Chulalongkorn University Bangkok Thailand
| | - Koramit Suppipat
- Center of Excellence in Immunology and Immune‐mediated Diseases Chulalongkorn University Bangkok Thailand
| | - Nattiya Hirankarn
- Center of Excellence in Immunology and Immune‐mediated Diseases Chulalongkorn University Bangkok Thailand
- Department of Microbiology Faculty of Medicine Chulalongkorn University Bangkok Thailand
| | - Alexander D McLellan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology School of Biomedical Science University of Otago Dunedin Otago New Zealand
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8
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Application and Design of Switches Used in CAR. Cells 2022; 11:cells11121910. [PMID: 35741039 PMCID: PMC9221702 DOI: 10.3390/cells11121910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Among the many oncology therapies, few have generated as much excitement as CAR-T. The success of CAR therapy would not have been possible without the many discoveries that preceded it, most notably, the Nobel Prize-winning breakthroughs in cellular immunity. However, despite the fact that CAR-T already offers not only hope for development, but measurable results in the treatment of hematological malignancies, CAR-T still cannot be safely applied to solid tumors. The reason for this is, among other things, the lack of tumor-specific antigens which, in therapy, threatens to cause a lethal attack of lymphocytes on healthy cells. In the case of hematological malignancies, dangerous complications such as cytokine release syndrome may occur. Scientists have responded to these clinical challenges with molecular switches. They make it possible to remotely control CAR lymphocytes after they have already been administered to the patient. Moreover, they offer many additional capabilities. For example, they can be used to switch CAR antigenic specificity, create logic gates, or produce local activation under heat or light. They can also be coupled with costimulatory domains, used for the regulation of interleukin secretion, or to prevent CAR exhaustion. More complex modifications will probably require a combination of reprogramming (iPSc) technology with genome editing (CRISPR) and allogenic (off the shelf) CAR-T production.
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9
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Doshi A, Bandey I, Nevozhay D, Varadarajan N, Cirino PC. Design and characterization of a salicylic acid-inducible gene expression system for Jurkat cells. J Biotechnol 2022; 346:11-14. [PMID: 35051448 PMCID: PMC9618363 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2022.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 12/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
With continued progress in cell and gene therapies, there is an immediate need for exogenously tunable gene expression systems with safe and predictable behavior in specific human cell types. Here, we demonstrate the ability of the salicylic acid (SA)-inducible MarR repressor protein from Escherichia coli to regulate target gene expression in a human T lymphocyte cell line. Two lentiviral vectors, one encoding an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter cassette and the other a repressor cassette, were sequentially transduced into Jurkat cells, using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to isolate stable Jurkat progeny. As a result, EGFP expression was repressed by MarR and was inducible upon the addition of SA (~1.3 fold). This represents the first example of functional expression of bacterial MarR in mammalian cells, and opens the possibility for further development of regulated, SA-tunable gene expression system for T-cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aarti Doshi
- Dept. of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Irfan Bandey
- Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Dmitry Nevozhay
- Dept. of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA; School of Biomedicine, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia.
| | - Navin Varadarajan
- Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Patrick C. Cirino
- Dept. of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX,Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX
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Rad S. M. AH, Halpin JC, Mollaei M, Smith Bell SWJ, Hirankarn N, McLellan AD. Metabolic and Mitochondrial Functioning in Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T Cells. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:1229. [PMID: 33799768 PMCID: PMC8002030 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13061229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has revolutionized adoptive cell therapy with impressive therapeutic outcomes of >80% complete remission (CR) rates in some haematological malignancies. Despite this, CAR T cell therapy for the treatment of solid tumours has invariably been unsuccessful in the clinic. Immunosuppressive factors and metabolic stresses in the tumour microenvironment (TME) result in the dysfunction and exhaustion of CAR T cells. A growing body of evidence demonstrates the importance of the mitochondrial and metabolic state of CAR T cells prior to infusion into patients. The different T cell subtypes utilise distinct metabolic pathways to fulfil their energy demands associated with their function. The reprogramming of CAR T cell metabolism is a viable approach to manufacture CAR T cells with superior antitumour functions and increased longevity, whilst also facilitating their adaptation to the nutrient restricted TME. This review discusses the mitochondrial and metabolic state of T cells, and describes the potential of the latest metabolic interventions to maximise CAR T cell efficacy for solid tumours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Hosseini Rad S. M.
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9010, Otago, New Zealand; (J.C.H.); (S.W.J.S.B.)
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;
- Center of Excellence in Immunology and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Joshua Colin Halpin
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9010, Otago, New Zealand; (J.C.H.); (S.W.J.S.B.)
| | - Mojtaba Mollaei
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran 14117-13116, Iran;
| | - Samuel W. J. Smith Bell
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9010, Otago, New Zealand; (J.C.H.); (S.W.J.S.B.)
| | - Nattiya Hirankarn
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;
- Center of Excellence in Immunology and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Alexander D. McLellan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9010, Otago, New Zealand; (J.C.H.); (S.W.J.S.B.)
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11
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He K, Rad SMAH, Poudel A, McLellan AD. Compact Bidirectional Promoters for Dual-Gene Expression in a Sleeping Beauty Transposon. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21239256. [PMID: 33291599 PMCID: PMC7731152 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21239256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Revised: 11/26/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Promoter choice is an essential consideration for transgene expression in gene therapy. The expression of multiple genes requires ribosomal entry or skip sites, or the use of multiple promoters. Promoter systems comprised of two separate, divergent promoters may significantly increase the size of genetic cassettes intended for use in gene therapy. However, an alternative approach is to use a single, compact, bidirectional promoter. We identified strong and stable bidirectional activity of the RPBSA synthetic promoter comprised of a fragment of the human Rpl13a promoter, together with additional intron/exon structures. The Rpl13a-based promoter drove long-term bidirectional activity of fluorescent proteins. Similar results were obtained for the EF1-α and LMP2/TAP1 promoters. However, in a lentiviral vector, the divergent bidirectional systems failed to produce sufficient titres to translate into an expression system for dual chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) expression. Although bidirectional promoters show excellent applicability to drive short RNA in Sleeping Beauty transposon systems, their possible use in the lentiviral applications requiring longer and more complex RNA, such as dual-CAR cassettes, is limited.
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