scholarly journals Hematopoietic Stem Cell Gene Therapy for Cystinosis: From Bench-to-Bedside

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 3273
Author(s):  
Stephanie Cherqui

Cystinosis is an autosomal recessive metabolic disease that belongs to the family of lysosomal storage disorders. The gene involved is the CTNS gene that encodes cystinosin, a seven-transmembrane domain lysosomal protein, which is a proton-driven cystine transporter. Cystinosis is characterized by the lysosomal accumulation of cystine, a dimer of cysteine, in all the cells of the body leading to multi-organ failure, including the failure of the kidney, eye, thyroid, muscle, and pancreas, and eventually causing premature death in early adulthood. The current treatment is the drug cysteamine, which is onerous and expensive, and only delays the progression of the disease. Employing the mouse model of cystinosis, using Ctns−/− mice, we first showed that the transplantation of syngeneic wild-type murine hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) led to abundant tissue integration of bone marrow-derived cells, a significant decrease in tissue cystine accumulation, and long-term kidney, eye and thyroid preservation. To translate this result to a potential human therapeutic treatment, given the risks of mortality and morbidity associated with allogeneic HSPC transplantation, we developed an autologous transplantation approach of HSPCs modified ex vivo using a self-inactivated lentiviral vector to introduce a functional version of the CTNS cDNA, pCCL-CTNS, and showed its efficacy in Ctns−/− mice. Based on these promising results, we held a pre-IND meeting with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to carry out the FDA agreed-upon pharmacological and toxicological studies for our therapeutic candidate, manufacturing development, production of the GMP lentiviral vector, design Phase 1/2 of the clinical trial, and filing of an IND application. Our IND was cleared by the FDA on 19 December 2018, to proceed to the clinical trial using CD34+ HSPCs from the G-CSF/plerixafor-mobilized peripheral blood stem cells of patients with cystinosis, modified by ex vivo transduction using the pCCL-CTNS vector (investigational product name: CTNS-RD-04). The clinical trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of CTNS-RD-04 and takes place at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and will include up to six patients affected with cystinosis. Following leukapheresis and cell manufacturing, the subjects undergo myeloablation before HSPC infusion. Patients also undergo comprehensive assessments before and after treatment to evaluate the impact of CTNS-RD-04 on the clinical outcomes and cystine and cystine crystal levels in the blood and tissues for 2 years. If successful, this treatment could be a one-time therapy that may eliminate or reduce renal deterioration as well as the long-term complications associated with cystinosis. In this review, we will describe the long path from bench-to-bedside for autologous HSPC gene therapy used to treat cystinosis.

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 821-821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Cavazzana-Calvo ◽  
Nathalie Cartier ◽  
Salima Hacein-Bey Abina ◽  
Gabor Veres ◽  
Manfred Schmidt ◽  
...  

Abstract We report preliminary results in 3 children with cerebral X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) who received in September 2006, January 2007 and June 2008 lentiviral vector transduced autologous hematopoietic stem cell (HSC). We have previously demonstrated that cerebral demyelination associated with cerebral ALD can be stopped or reversed within 12–18 months by allogeneic HSC transplantation. The long term beneficial effects of HCT transplantation in ALD are due to the progressive turn-over of brain macrophages (microglia) derived from bone-marrow cells. For the current HSC gene therapy procedure, we used mobilized peripheral blood CD34+ cells that were transduced ex vivo for 18 hours with a non-replicative HIV1-derived lentiviral vector (CG1711 hALD) at MOI25 and expressing the ALD cDNA under the control of the MND (myeloproliferative sarcoma virus enhancer, negative control region deleted, dl587rev primer binding site substituted) promoter, and in the presence of 4 human recombinant cytokines (Il- 3, Stem Cell Factor [SCF], Flt3-ligand and Megakaryocyte Growth and Differentiation Factor [MGDF]) and CH-296 retronectine. Transduced cells were frozen to perform the required (RCL) safety tests. After thawing and prior to reinjection, 50%, 30% and 40% of transduced CD34+ cells expressed the ALD protein with a mean of 0.7, 0.6 and 0.65 copies of integrated provirus per cell. Transduced CD34+ cells were infused to ALD patients after a conditioning regimen including full doses of cyclophosphamide and busulfan. Hematopoietic recovery occured at day 13–15 post-transplant and the procedure was uneventful. In patient P1 and P2, the percentage of lymphocytes and monocytes expressing the ALD protein declined from day 60 to 6 months after gene therapy (GT) and remained stable up to 16 months post-GT. In P1, 9 to 13% of CD14+, CD3+, CD19+ and CD15+ cells expressed ALD protein 16 months post-transplant. In P2 and at the same time-point after transplant, 10 to 18% of CD14+, CD3+, CD19+ and CD15+ cells expressed ALD protein. ALD protein was expressed in 18–20% of bone marrow CD34+ cells from patients P1 and P2, 12 months post-transplant. In patient P3, 20 to 23% of CD3+, CD14+ and CD15+ cells expressed ALD protein 2 months after transplant. Tests assessing vector-derived RCL and vector mobilization were negative up to the last followups in the 3 patients. Integration of the vector was polyclonal and studies of integration sites arein progress. At 16 months post-transplant, HSC gene therapy resulted in neurological effects comparable with allogeneic HSC transplantation in patient P1 and P2. These results support that: ex-vivo HSC gene therapy using HIV1-derived lentiviral vector is not associated with the emergence of RCL and vector mobilization; a high percentage of hematopoietic progenitors were transduced expressing ALD protein in long term; no early evidence of selective advantage of the transduced ALD cells nor clonal expansion were observed. (This clinical trial is sponsored by Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale and was conducted in part under a R&D collaboration with Cell Genesys, Inc., South San Francisco, CA)


Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 259-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Ferrua ◽  
Maria Pia Cicalese ◽  
Stefania Galimberti ◽  
Samantha Scaramuzza ◽  
Stefania Giannelli ◽  
...  

Abstract Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS) is an X-linked primary immunodeficiency characterized by thrombocytopenia, recurrent infections, eczema, autoimmunity and increased susceptibility to malignancies. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a recognized curative treatment for WAS, but is still associated with transplant-related complications and long-term morbidity, particularly in the absence of fully matched donors. In April 2010, we initiated a phase I/II clinical trial with hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy (GT) for WAS. The investigational medicinal product (IMP) consists of autologous CD34+ HSC engineered with a lentiviral vector (LV) driving the expression of WAS cDNA from an endogenous 1.6 kb human WAS promoter (LV-WAS), infused after a reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) based on anti-CD20 mAb, targeted busulfan and fludarabine. We previously reported early follow up (FU) results from the first 3 patients (Aiuti et al., Science 2013). Seven patients (Zhu score ≥3) have now been treated at a median age of 1.9 years (1.1 - 11.1). As of May 2015, all patients are alive with a median FU of 3.2 years (0.7 - 5.0). CD34+ cell source was bone marrow (BM) (n=5), mobilized peripheral blood (MPB) (n=1) or both (n=1). IMP dose ranged between 7.0 and 14.1 x106 CD34+/kg, containing on average 94.4 ± 3.5% transduced clonogenic progenitors and a mean vector copy number (VCN)/genome in bulk CD34+ cells of 2.7 ± 0.8. No adverse reactions were observed after IMP infusion and RIC was well tolerated. Median duration of severe neutropenia was 19 days; granulocyte-colony stimulating factor was administered to 1 patient. In the first 6 treated patients with FU >2 years, we observed robust and persistent engraftment of gene corrected cells. At the most recent FU, transduced BM progenitors ranged between 20.7 and 59.7%, and LV-transduced cells were detected in multiple lineages, including PB granulocytes (VCN 0.34 - 0.93) and lymphocytes (VCN 1.18 - 2.73). WAS protein expression, measured by flow-cytometry, was detected in the majority of PB platelets [mean ± standard deviation (SD), 71.4 ± 14.0%], monocytes (63.3 ± 18.5%) and lymphocytes (78.9 ± 14.9%). Lymphocyte subset counts were normal in most patients and proliferative response to anti-CD3 mAb was in the normal range in all 6 patients. After immune reconstitution, a marked reduction in the annualized estimated rate of severe infections was observed, as compared with baseline (figure 1A). The first 6 treated patients discontinued anti-infective prophylaxis and no longer require a protected environment. Four patients stopped immunoglobulin supplementation and 2 of them developed specific antibodies after vaccination. Eczema resolved in 4 patients and remains mild in 2. No clinical manifestations of autoimmunity were observed ≥1 year after GT in accordance with improved B-cell development and decreased autoantibody production. All patients became platelet transfusion independent at a median of 4 months after GT (range: 1.0 - 8.7). Mean platelet counts progressively increased after treatment (mean ± SD: before GT, 13.4 ± 7.8 x109/l; 24-30 month FU, 45.8 ± 22.0 x109/l; 36-42 month FU, 57.0 ± 18.7 x109/l). The frequency and the severity of bleeding events decreased after the 1st year of FU. No severe bleedings were recorded after treatment (figure 1B). Quality of life improved in all patients after GT. From the 2nd year of FU, the number of hospitalizations for infections decreased and no hospitalizations due to bleeding were observed after treatment. The seventh patient treated, who received MPB derived CD34+ cells only, showed the fastest platelet recovery with the highest level of transduced myeloid cell engraftment, and is clinically well. No Serious Adverse Events (SAE) related to the IMP were observed. The most frequent SAE were related to infections (85%), occuring mainly during the 1st year of FU. Importantly, no evidence of abnormal clonal proliferations emerged after GT and the LV integration profile show a polyclonal pattern, with no skewing for proto-oncogenes. In conclusion, this updated report in 7 WAS patients show that GT is well tolerated and leads to a sustained clinical benefit. The high level of gene transfer obtained with LV-WAS results in robust engraftment of transduced HSC, even when combined with RIC. Prolonged FU will provide additional information on the long-term safety and clinical efficacy of this treatment. Figure 1. Figure 1. Disclosures Villa: Fondazione Telethon: Research Funding. Dott:GlaxoSmithKline: Consultancy. van Rossem:GlaxoSmithKline: Employment. Naldini:Salk Institute: Patents & Royalties: Lentiviral vectors; San Raffaele Telethon Institute: Patents & Royalties: Lentiviral vector technology; GlaxoSmithKline: Other: GSK licensed gene therapies developed at my Institute and the Institute receives milestone payments; Sangamo Biosciences: Research Funding; Biogen: Research Funding; Genenta Sciences: Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Aiuti:GlaxoSmithKline (GSK): Other: PI of clinical trial which is financially sponsored by GSK; Fondazione Telethon: Research Funding.


Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 1859-1859
Author(s):  
Richard H. Smith ◽  
Daisuke Araki ◽  
Andre Larochelle

Abstract Leukocyte adhesion deficiency type 1 (LAD-1) is an inherited primary immunodeficiency caused by loss-of-function mutation within the ITGB2 gene, which encodes the beta2 integrin subunit CD18. Individuals with LAD-1 experience significant loss of neutrophil-mediated innate cellular immune function, resulting in delayed wound healing, severe periodontitis, and life-long bouts of bacterial infection. LAD-1 is a prime candidate for lentiviral vector-mediated genetic intervention as i) it is an intractable, potentially life-threatening disease with limited treatment options, ii) it is amenable to current ex vivo gene therapy procedures, and iii) partial phenotypic correction would present a high likelihood of significant clinical benefit. Allogeneic stem cell transplant can be curative, but suffers from matched donor availability and the potential for graft-versus-host disease. Autologous ex vivo gene therapy may provide a viable alternative to allogeneic transplant in LAD-1 patients. We have evaluated the ability of a CD18-expressing lentiviral vector (LV-hCD18) to mediate ex vivo transduction of LAD-1 patient-derived CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and subsequent long-term LAD-1 HSPC engraftment in immunodeficient NOD-scid IL2Rg null (NSG) mice. An open reading frame encoding human CD18 was placed under the transcriptional control of the MND promoter (a modified retroviral promoter associated with high levels of stable transgene expression) and packaged in VSV-G-pseudotyped lentiviral particles. After 1 day of pre-stimulation, LAD-1 HSPCs were transduced with LV-hCD18 (MOI = 10) in the presence or absence of transduction-enhancing adjuvants, poloxamer 407 (P407) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE 2), for 24 hours. Sublethally irradiated NSG mice (7 mice/group) were transplanted with either mock-transduced LAD-1 HSPCs, LAD-1 HSPCs transduced in the absence of adjuvants, or LAD-1 HSPCs transduced in the presence of P407/PGE 2. Bone marrow was harvested at ~5.5 months post-transplant for flow cytometric analyses of engraftment efficiency, transgene marking, and human blood cell lineage reconstitution. Bone marrow from mice that received mock-transduced LAD-1 HSPCs showed an average total of 6.45 ± 2.54% (mean ± SEM) CD45+ human cells. Mice that received LAD-1 HSPCs transduced in the absence of adjuvants showed 7.99 ± 1.82% CD45+ human cells, whereas mice transplanted with LAD-1 HSPCs transduced in the presence of adjuvants showed 7.33 ± 1.90% CD45+ cells. A Kruskal-Wallis statistical test indicated no significant difference in the level of human cell engraftment among the recipient groups (P=0.72). Consistent with the LAD-1 phenotype, human myeloid cells from mice that received mock-transduced LAD-1 HSPCs displayed only background levels of CD18 marking (0.13 ± 0.06% CD45+CD13+CD18+ cells). Mice that received LAD-1 HSPCs transduced in the absence of adjuvants showed 4.05 ± 0.40% CD18+ human myeloid cells (range 2.19% to 5.50%), whereas mice that received LAD-1 HSPCs transduced in the presence of P407/PGE 2 showed 9.56 ± 0.96% CD18+ human myeloid cells (range 4.63% to 13.10%), thus representing a >2-fold increase in in vivo, vector-mediated transgene marking levels when adjuvant was used. Moreover, vector-mediated expression of CD18 rescued endogenous expression of a major CD18 heterodimerization partner in neutrophils, CD11b. In mock-transduced LAD-1 HSPC recipients, CD13+ human myeloid cells were devoid of cell surface CD11b expression (0.01 ± 0.01% CD45+CD13+CD11b+ cells). In contrast, CD13+ human myeloid cells in mice that received LAD-1 HSPCs transduced in the absence of adjuvant showed detectable levels of CD11b expression (2.62 ± 0.19% of CD18-expressing human myeloid cells), and CD11b levels were increased to 6.90 ± 0.98% in LAD-1 HSPCs transduced in the presence of P407/PGE 2. Multilineage engraftment, as evidenced by the presence of CD3+ T cells and CD20+ B cells, was noted within all groups; however, human myeloid cells represented the most prominent human blood cell compartment observed. Colony-forming-unit assays of transduced cells and non-transduced control cells pre-transplant showed similar clonogenic output and colony diversity. In sum, successful transduction, engraftment, transgene marking, CD11b rescue, and multilineage reconstitution supports further development of lentiviral vector-mediated gene therapy for LAD-1. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 124 (21) ◽  
pp. 549-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexis A. Thompson ◽  
John E Rasko ◽  
Suradej Hongeng ◽  
Janet L. Kwiatkowski ◽  
Gary Schiller ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy has the potential to induce globin production and mitigate the need for blood transfusions in β-thalassemia major. Promising early results for 2 subjects with β0/βE -thalassemia major in the ongoing HGB-205 study suggested that transplantation with autologous CD34+ cells transduced with a replication-defective, self-inactivating LentiGlobin BB305 lentiviral vector containing an engineered β-globin gene (βA-T87Q) can be safe and yield robust production of βA-T87Qglobin resulting in rapid transfusion independence. The Northstar study (HGB-204), which uses the same lentivirus vector and analogous study design as study HGB-205, is multi-center and multi-national, and centralizes drug product manufacturing. Herein, we provide the initial data on subjects enrolled and treated in this study. Subjects and Methods: Transfusion-dependent subjects with β-thalassemia major undergo HSC collection via mobilized peripheral blood apheresis and CD34+ cells are selected. Estimation of the mean ex-vivo vector copy number (VCN) is obtained by quantitative PCR performed on pooled colony-forming progenitors. Subjects undergo myeloablation with intravenous busulfan, followed by infusion of transduced CD34+ cells. Subjects are monitored for hematologic engraftment, βA-T87Q -globin expression (by high performance liquid chromatography) and transfusion requirements. Integration site analysis (ISA, by linear amplification-mediated PCR and high-throughput sequencing on nucleated cells) and replication-competent lentivirus (RCL) assays are performed for safety monitoring. Results: As of 31 July 2014, 3 subjects have undergone HSC collection and ex-vivo LentiGlobin BB305 gene transfer. One subject (Subject 1102) has undergone myeloablation and drug product infusion. Outcomes data are shown in Table 1. The initial safety profile is consistent with myeloablation, without serious adverse events or gene therapy-related adverse events. This subject has increasing production of βA-T87Q-globin: the proportion of βA-T87Qglobin was 1.5%, 10.9% and 19.5% of total Hb at 1, 2 and 3 months post-infusion, respectively. This subject received pRBCs on Day +14 following drug product infusion and required no further transfusions until a single unit of pRBC was transfused on Day +96 for a Hb of 8.6 g/dL and fatigue. Two additional subjects have undergone drug product manufacture and are awaiting transplantation. Safety data related to ISA and RCL assays are pending. Abstract 549. Table 1 Preliminary results of dosing parameters and transplantation outcomes Subject Age (years) and Gender Genotype BB305 Drug Product Day of Neutrophil Engraftment Drug Product- related Adverse Events βA-T87Q-Hb at last follow-up visit /Total Hb (g/dL) VCN CD34+ cell dose (x106 per kg) 1102 18 F β0/βE 1.0/1.1a 6.5 Day +17 None 1.77/8.6 1104 21 F β0/βE 0.7/0.7a 5.4 P P P 1106 20 F β0/β0 1.5 12.3 P P P As of 31 July 2014; P, pending a If more than one drug product were manufactured, the VCN of each drug product lot is presented. Conclusion: The first subject treated on the Northstar study has safely undergone drug product infusion with autologous HSCs transduced with LentiGlobin BB305 lentiviral vector and is producing steadily increasing amounts of βA-T87Q-globin. Additional follow-up of this subject plus data on additional subjects who undergo drug product infusion will be presented at the meeting. Ex-vivo gene transfer of βA-T87Q-globin to autologous HSCs is a promising approach for the treatment of patients with β-thalassemia major. Disclosures Thompson: ApoPharma: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding; Glaxo Smith Kline: Research Funding; Mast: Research Funding; Eli Lilly: Research Funding. Kwiatkowski:Shire Pharmaceuticals and Sideris Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy. Schiller:Sunesis, Amgen, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding. Leboulch:bluebird bio: Consultancy, Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding. Petrusich:bluebird bio, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Soni:bluebird bio, Inc.: Employment. Walters:Via Cord and AllCells, Inc.: Medical Director Other.


Science ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 341 (6148) ◽  
pp. 1233151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Aiuti ◽  
Luca Biasco ◽  
Samantha Scaramuzza ◽  
Francesca Ferrua ◽  
Maria Pia Cicalese ◽  
...  

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is an inherited immunodeficiency caused by mutations in the gene encoding WASP, a protein regulating the cytoskeleton. Hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSPC) transplants can be curative, but, when matched donors are unavailable, infusion of autologous HSPCs modified ex vivo by gene therapy is an alternative approach. We used a lentiviral vector encoding functional WASP to genetically correct HSPCs from three WAS patients and reinfused the cells after a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen. All three patients showed stable engraftment of WASP-expressing cells and improvements in platelet counts, immune functions, and clinical scores. Vector integration analyses revealed highly polyclonal and multilineage haematopoiesis resulting from the gene-corrected HSPCs. Lentiviral gene therapy did not induce selection of integrations near oncogenes, and no aberrant clonal expansion was observed after 20 to 32 months. Although extended clinical observation is required to establish long-term safety, lentiviral gene therapy represents a promising treatment for WAS.


Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 4429-4429
Author(s):  
Amani Ouedrani ◽  
Lounes Djerroudi ◽  
Isabelle Hmitou ◽  
Marina Cavazzana ◽  
Fabien Touzot

Abstract Gene therapy represents an alternative and promising strategy that could provide a path to a curative therapy for HIV-1 infection. One approach involves the introduction of protective gene into a cell, thereby conferring protection against HIV. We plan to conduct an open label phase I/II gene therapy trial for HIV-1 infected patients presenting with lymphoma. The patients will received autologous hematopoietic stem cells transplantation with gene modified CD34+ cells and CD4+ T-cells. CD34+ and CD4+ will be ex vivo transduced by the LVsh5/C46 lentiviral vector (Cal-1, Calimmune, Inc. Tucson, USA). LVsh5/C46 is a SIN lentiviral vector that inhibits two crucial steps of CD4+ T cell infection by the HIV virus: (i) attachment of the virus to its target by downregulation of CCR5 via a short hairpin RNA, (ii) fusion of the virus to the target cell through expression of the C46 inhibitor. We developed a transduction process for CD4+ T-cells using the TransAct™ reagent (Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach , Germany) for CD4+ T-cells activation. Compared to previously published T-cells transduction protocols, the use of Miltenyi TransAct™ permits an equivalent efficacy of transduction - evaluated by measurement of vector copy number through quantitative PCR - without major phenotypic modification. Indeed, CD4+ T-cells ex vivo transduced after activation with the TransAct™ reagent display very few changes in their surface marker with conservation of naive (CCR7+CD62L+CD45RA+), central memory (CCR7+CD62L+CD45RA-) and effector memory (CCR7-CD62L-CD45RA-) subsets in superimposable proportions as initially. Moreover, expression of CD25 remains below 15-25% of cells suggesting a more "gentle " activation of the transduced CD4+ T-cells. Our transduction process had no significant impact in TCRβ repertoire diversity as evaluated by high-throughput sequencing and analyzis of diversity through the Gini-Simpson index or the Shannon index. Finally, transduced CD4 + T-cells retained the ability to to be primed towards the TH1, TH2 and TH17 pathways suggesting that the transduction protocol used did not alter the functional properties of the target cells. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 115 (26) ◽  
pp. 5329-5337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niek P. van Til ◽  
Merel Stok ◽  
Fatima S. F. Aerts Kaya ◽  
Monique C. de Waard ◽  
Elnaz Farahbakhshian ◽  
...  

AbstractPompe disease (acid α-glucosidase deficiency) is a lysosomal glycogen storage disorder characterized in its most severe early-onset form by rapidly progressive muscle weakness and mortality within the first year of life due to cardiac and respiratory failure. Enzyme replacement therapy prolongs the life of affected infants and supports the condition of older children and adults but entails lifelong treatment and can be counteracted by immune responses to the recombinant enzyme. We have explored the potential of lentiviral vector–mediated expression of human acid α-glucosidase in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in a Pompe mouse model. After mild conditioning, transplantation of genetically engineered HSCs resulted in stable chimerism of approximately 35% hematopoietic cells that overexpress acid α-glucosidase and in major clearance of glycogen in heart, diaphragm, spleen, and liver. Cardiac remodeling was reversed, and respiratory function, skeletal muscle strength, and motor performance improved. Overexpression of acid α-glucosidase did not affect overall hematopoietic cell function and led to immune tolerance as shown by challenge with the human recombinant protein. On the basis of the prominent and sustained therapeutic efficacy without adverse events in mice we conclude that ex vivo HSC gene therapy is a treatment option worthwhile to pursue.


Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. 163-163
Author(s):  
Patrick Aubourg ◽  
Salima Hacein-Bey-Abina ◽  
Cynthia Bartholomae ◽  
Manfred Schmidt ◽  
Ina Kutschera ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 163FN2 The most severe form of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is characterized by rapidly progressive and lethal cerebral demyelination in childhood. The progression of cerebral demyelination of ALD can be arrested by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation (HCT) within 12–18 months, provided the procedure is performed at an early stage of the disease. The long term beneficial effects of HCT in ALD are likely due to the progressive turn-over of brain microglia that are derived from myeloid progenitors in the bone-marrow. Despite the increased availability of cord blood, not all boys with cerebral ALD and who are candidate for HCT have a suitable HLA-matched donor. In addition, allogeneic HCT remains associated with significant mortality risk. In late 2009, we reported that HSC gene therapy with lentiviral vector was able to arrest the progression of cerebral ALD in two boys who have no HLA-matched donor to perform HCT. ALD protein expression in myeloid and lymphoid lineages as well as the identification of identical lentiviral insertion sites in myeloid and lymphoid lineages strongly suggested that multi-potent long-term repopulating hematopoietic cells were transduced. In those 2 treated patients, hematopoiesis has remained polyclonal without evidence of clonal skewing or dominance up to the last follow-up. Data on clinical efficacy, gene marking and lentiviral integration studies with a longer follow-up (4 years ½) will be presented. HSC gene therapy however failed to arrest the progression of cerebral ALD in a third treated ALD patient, 36 months after gene therapy. Hematopoiesis remained also polyclonal in this patient and biological data that could explain failure of gene therapy in this patient will be presented. At last, data on a fourth patient who has been treated more recently (12 months) by HSC gene therapy will also be presented. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2021 ◽  
Vol 132 (2) ◽  
pp. S51-S52
Author(s):  
Leslie Jacobsen ◽  
Julie A. Kerner ◽  
Rachel Ciotti ◽  
Azadeh Golipour ◽  
Josie Yang ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e001143
Author(s):  
Tereza Andreou ◽  
Jennifer Williams ◽  
Rebecca J Brownlie ◽  
Robert J Salmond ◽  
Erica Watson ◽  
...  

Patients with glioblastoma (GBM) have a poor prognosis, and inefficient delivery of drugs to tumors represents a major therapeutic hurdle. Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC)-derived myeloid cells efficiently home to GBM and constitute up to 50% of intratumoral cells, making them highly appropriate therapeutic delivery vehicles. Because myeloid cells are ubiquitously present in the body, we recently established a lentiviral vector containing matrix metalloproteinase 14 (MMP14) promoter, which is active specifically in tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells as opposed to myeloid cells in other tissues, and resulted in a specific delivery of transgenes to brain metastases in HSC gene therapy. Here, we used this novel approach to target transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) as a key tumor-promoting factor in GBM. Transplantation of HSCs transduced with lentiviral vector expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) into lethally irradiated recipient mice was followed by intracranial implantation of GBM cells. Tumor-infiltrating HSC progeny was characterized by flow cytometry. In therapy studies, mice were transplanted with HSCs transduced with lentiviral vector expressing soluble TGFβ receptor II–Fc fusion protein under MMP14 promoter. This TGFβ-blocking therapy was compared with the targeted tumor irradiation, the combination of the two therapies, and control. Tumor growth and survival were quantified (statistical significance determined by t-test and log-rank test). T cell memory response was probed through a repeated tumor challenge. Myeloid cells were the most abundant HSC-derived population infiltrating GBM. TGFβ-blocking HSC gene therapy in combination with irradiation significantly reduced tumor burden as compared with monotherapies and the control, and significantly prolonged survival as compared with the control and TGFβ-blocking monotherapy. Long-term protection from GBM was achieved only with the combination treatment (25% of the mice) and was accompanied by a significant increase in CD8+ T cells at the tumor implantation site following tumor rechallenge. We demonstrated a preclinical proof-of-principle for tumor myeloid cell-specific HSC gene therapy in GBM. In the clinic, HSC gene therapy is being successfully used in non-cancerous brain disorders and the feasibility of HSC gene therapy in patients with glioma has been demonstrated in the context of bone marrow protection. This indicates an opportunity for clinical translation of our therapeutic approach.


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