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Renner A, Stahringer A, Ruppel KE, Fricke S, Koehl U, Schmiedel D. Development of KoRV-pseudotyped lentiviral vectors for efficient gene transfer into freshly isolated immune cells. Gene Ther 2024; 31:378-390. [PMID: 38684788 PMCID: PMC11257948 DOI: 10.1038/s41434-024-00454-0] [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: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
Allogeneic cell therapies, such as those involving macrophages or Natural Killer (NK) cells, are of increasing interest for cancer immunotherapy. However, the current techniques for genetically modifying these cell types using lenti- or gamma-retroviral vectors present challenges, such as required cell pre-activation and inefficiency in transduction, which hinder the assessment of preclinical efficacy and clinical translation. In our study, we describe a novel lentiviral pseudotype based on the Koala Retrovirus (KoRV) envelope protein, which we identified based on homology to existing pseudotypes used in cell therapy. Unlike other pseudotyped viral vectors, this KoRV-based envelope demonstrates remarkable efficiency in transducing freshly isolated primary human NK cells directly from blood, as well as freshly obtained monocytes, which were differentiated to M1 macrophages as well as B cells from multiple donors, achieving up to 80% reporter gene expression within three days post-transduction. Importantly, KoRV-based transduction does not compromise the expression of crucial immune cell receptors, nor does it impair immune cell functionality, including NK cell viability, proliferation, cytotoxicity as well as phagocytosis of differentiated macrophages. Preserving immune cell functionality is pivotal for the success of cell-based therapeutics in treating various malignancies. By achieving high transduction rates of freshly isolated immune cells before expansion, our approach enables a streamlined and cost-effective automated production of off-the-shelf cell therapeutics, requiring fewer viral particles and less manufacturing steps. This breakthrough holds the potential to significantly reduce the time and resources required for producing e.g. NK cell therapeutics, expediting their availability to patients in need.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Renner
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Department for Cell and Gene Therapy Development, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anika Stahringer
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Department for Cell and Gene Therapy Development, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Katharina Eva Ruppel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Department for Cell and Gene Therapy Development, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stephan Fricke
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Department for Cell and Gene Therapy Development, Leipzig, Germany
- Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence for Immune-Mediated Diseases, CIMD, Leipzig, Deutschland
| | - Ulrike Koehl
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Department for Cell and Gene Therapy Development, Leipzig, Germany
- Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence for Immune-Mediated Diseases, CIMD, Leipzig, Deutschland
- Institute for Clinical Immunology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dominik Schmiedel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Department for Cell and Gene Therapy Development, Leipzig, Germany.
- Institute for Clinical Immunology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
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Jargalsaikhan BE, Muto M, Been Y, Matsumoto S, Okamura E, Takahashi T, Narimichi Y, Kurebayashi Y, Takeuchi H, Shinohara T, Yamamoto R, Ema M. The Dual-Pseudotyped Lentiviral Vector with VSV-G and Sendai Virus HN Enhances Infection Efficiency through the Synergistic Effect of the Envelope Proteins. Viruses 2024; 16:827. [PMID: 38932120 PMCID: PMC11209056 DOI: 10.3390/v16060827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
A gene delivery system utilizing lentiviral vectors (LVs) requires high transduction efficiency for successful application in human gene therapy. Pseudotyping allows viral tropism to be expanded, widening the usage of LVs. While vesicular stomatitis virus G (VSV-G) single-pseudotyped LVs are commonly used, dual-pseudotyping is less frequently employed because of its increased complexity. In this study, we examined the potential of phenotypically mixed heterologous dual-pseudotyped LVs with VSV-G and Sendai virus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (SeV-HN) glycoproteins, termed V/HN-LV. Our findings demonstrated the significantly improved transduction efficiency of V/HN-LV in various cell lines of mice, cynomolgus monkeys, and humans compared with LV pseudotyped with VSV-G alone. Notably, V/HN-LV showed higher transduction efficiency in human cells, including hematopoietic stem cells. The efficient incorporation of wild-type SeV-HN into V/HN-LV depended on VSV-G. SeV-HN removed sialic acid from VSV-G, and the desialylation of VSV-G increased V/HN-LV infectivity. Furthermore, V/HN-LV acquired the ability to recognize sialic acid, particularly N-acetylneuraminic acid on the host cell, enhancing LV infectivity. Overall, VSV-G and SeV-HN synergistically improve LV transduction efficiency and broaden its tropism, indicating their potential use in gene delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bat-Erdene Jargalsaikhan
- Department of Stem Cells and Human Disease Models, Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta, Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu 520-2192, Japan; (B.-E.J.); (S.M.); (E.O.)
| | - Masanaga Muto
- Department of Stem Cells and Human Disease Models, Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta, Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu 520-2192, Japan; (B.-E.J.); (S.M.); (E.O.)
| | - Youngeun Been
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan;
| | - Shoma Matsumoto
- Department of Stem Cells and Human Disease Models, Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta, Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu 520-2192, Japan; (B.-E.J.); (S.M.); (E.O.)
| | - Eiichi Okamura
- Department of Stem Cells and Human Disease Models, Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta, Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu 520-2192, Japan; (B.-E.J.); (S.M.); (E.O.)
| | - Tadanobu Takahashi
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan; (T.T.); (Y.N.); (Y.K.); (H.T.)
| | - Yutaka Narimichi
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan; (T.T.); (Y.N.); (Y.K.); (H.T.)
| | - Yuuki Kurebayashi
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan; (T.T.); (Y.N.); (Y.K.); (H.T.)
| | - Hideyuki Takeuchi
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan; (T.T.); (Y.N.); (Y.K.); (H.T.)
| | - Takashi Shinohara
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan;
| | - Ryo Yamamoto
- Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (ASHBi), Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan;
| | - Masatsugu Ema
- Department of Stem Cells and Human Disease Models, Research Center for Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta, Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu 520-2192, Japan; (B.-E.J.); (S.M.); (E.O.)
- Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (ASHBi), Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan;
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Harfmann M, Schröder T, Głów D, Jung M, Uhde A, Kröger N, Horn S, Riecken K, Fehse B, Ayuk FA. CD45-Directed CAR-T Cells with CD45 Knockout Efficiently Kill Myeloid Leukemia and Lymphoma Cells In Vitro Even after Extended Culture. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:334. [PMID: 38254824 PMCID: PMC10814116 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16020334] [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: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND CAR-T cell therapy has shown impressive results and is now part of standard-of-care treatment of B-lineage malignancies, whereas the treatment of myeloid diseases has been limited by the lack of suitable targets. CD45 is expressed on almost all types of blood cells including myeloid leukemia cells, but not on non-hematopoietic tissue, making it a potential target for CAR-directed therapy. Because of its high expression on T and NK cells, fratricide is expected to hinder CD45CAR-mediated therapy. Due to its important roles in effector cell activation, signal transduction and cytotoxicity, CD45 knockout aimed at preventing fratricide in T and NK cells has been expected to lead to considerable functional impairment. METHODS CD45 knockout was established on T and NK cell lines using CRISPR/Cas9-RNPs and electroporation, and the successful protocol was transferred to primary T cells. A combined protocol was developed enabling CD45 knockout and retroviral transduction with a third-generation CAR targeting CD45 or CD19. The functionality of CD45ko effector cells, CD45ko/CD45CAR-T and CD45ko/CD19CAR-T cells was studied using proliferation as well as short- and long-term cytotoxicity assays. RESULTS As expected, the introduction of a CD45-CAR into T cells resulted in potent fratricide that can be avoided by CD45 knockout. Unexpectedly, the latter had no negative impact on T- and NK-cell proliferation in vitro. Moreover, CD45ko/CD45CAR-T cells showed potent cytotoxicity against CD45-expressing AML and lymphoma cell lines in short-term and long-term co-culture assays. A pronounced cytotoxicity of CD45ko/CD45CAR-T cells was maintained even after four weeks of culture. In a further setup, we confirmed the conserved functionality of CD45ko cells using a CD19-CAR. Again, the proliferation and cytotoxicity of CD45ko/CD19CAR-T cells showed no differences from those of their CD45-positive counterparts in vitro. CONCLUSIONS We report the efficient production of highly and durably active CD45ko/CAR-T cells. CD45 knockout did not impair the functionality of CAR-T cells in vitro, irrespective of the target antigen. If their activity can be confirmed in vivo, CD45ko/CD45CAR-T cells might, for example, be useful as part of conditioning regimens prior to stem cell transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maraike Harfmann
- Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246 Hamburg, Germany (A.U.)
| | - Tanja Schröder
- Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246 Hamburg, Germany (A.U.)
| | - Dawid Głów
- Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246 Hamburg, Germany (A.U.)
| | - Maximilian Jung
- Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246 Hamburg, Germany (A.U.)
| | - Almut Uhde
- Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246 Hamburg, Germany (A.U.)
| | - Nicolaus Kröger
- Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Horn
- Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246 Hamburg, Germany (A.U.)
| | - Kristoffer Riecken
- Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246 Hamburg, Germany (A.U.)
| | - Boris Fehse
- Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246 Hamburg, Germany (A.U.)
| | - Francis A. Ayuk
- Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246 Hamburg, Germany
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