Patent Application
20200208112
The present invention pertains to the field of hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy. The present invention relates to a method of selecting genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells, and its use for hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy.
Gene therapy via the ex vivo genetic modification of hematopoietic cells including hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), with a transfer vector that drives expression of a therapeutic polypeptide, followed by reinjection of the resulting genetically modified cells into a patient, offers great potential for the treatment of numerous hematologic and non-hematologic genetic and non-genetic disorders.
Although gene transfer to hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) has shown therapeutic efficacy for several individuals with inherited disorders in recent trials, gene transfer incompleteness of the HSC population remains a hurdle to yield a cure for all patients.
Gene transfer is a limiting step in HSC gene therapy, which necessitates the use of numerous vector particles to modify only few cells. While increasing the number of vectors integrating into the genome is an attractive approach for increasing the proportion of vector-bearing HSCs and the probability of the therapeutic gene being expressed, safety concerns remain, due to the risk of insertional mutagenesis.
In view of improving hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy, numerous methods for selecting genetically modified hematopoietic cells including stem cells have been proposed but failed to show practical utility for human clinical applications.
A first type of in vitro selection methods are based on (i) co-expression of a membrane marker with the gene of interest or expression of a fluorescent protein, using the gene transfer vector, and (ii) isolation of genetically modified hematopoietic cells including stem cells by magnetic-activated-separation (MACS) or fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS), before transplantation. These approaches are limited by the impracticability of isolating cells expressing fluorescent proteins for human use and the major loss of cells during the physical manipulation of the primary cells that are fragile, especially HSCs, and cannot withstand lengthy and/or traumatic physical manipulations.
In vivo selection methods are based on (i) co-expression of a selectable marker that confers resistance to a toxic drug, with the gene of interest, using the gene transfer vector, and (ii) administering the respective cytotoxic drug, after transplantation. The selectable marker is Multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1), Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) or Methylguanine-DNA-Methyltransferase (MGMT) gene. These approaches, however, are limited by undesirable hematological toxicity and myelosuppressive complications from the treatment. In addition, MGMT-based selection is not safe because the use of a genotoxic drug (carmustine (BCNU), nimustine (ACNU) or temozolomide (TMZ)) for the selection may result in mutations that could favor the uncontrolled amplification of hematopoietic clones bearing provectors near/in oncogenes and thus increase the risk of insertional mutagenesis as suggested in a clinical trial (Adair et al., Sci. Transl. Med., 2012, 4, 133ra57). Moreover, DHFR-based selection, using for example methotrexate (MTX) as selection agent does not allow the selection of genetically modified HSCs in nonhumate primate models (Persons et al., Blood, 2004, 103, 796) and MDR1 expression has led to leukemogenesis in mice after selection of clones with multiple insertion sites, throwing suspicion on the usability of MDR1 as a selective agent.
Another type of in vitro selection methods is based on (i) co-expression of a selectable marker that confers resistance to antibiotics (neomycin, hygromycin, puromycin) with the gene of interest, using the gene transfer vector, and (ii) adding the respective antibiotics to the cell culture, usually 10 days at minimum. These methods are limited by the loss of viability and engraftment potential of the cells after such lengthy culture in vitro. It is admitted that the culture of the cells in vitro for so many days is poorly compatible with sufficient maintenance of cell viability and state of differentiation of many primary cell types to be used in gene therapy protocols. Hence, hematopoietic stem cell populations submitted to this approach lose their engraftment potential in transplanted recipients.
WO 2012/094193 discloses a method of enhancing the reconstitution by transduced hematopoietic cells in a transplant recipient comprising selecting transduced hematopoietic cells in vitro using puromycin at a concentration of 1-25 μg/ml for 1 to 4 days.
However, the inventors have shown that this method is not suitable for hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy because human hematopoietic stem cells cannot be selected with puromycin (
To improve the efficacy of current gene transfer methods, there is a need for new gene transfer methods that increase the proportion of genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells. In addition, to improve the efficacy as well as the safety of current gene transfer methods, it would be most desirable to have a method that increases the proportion of genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells without also increasing the number of copies of the vector per cell.
The inventors have shown that the lack of selection of genetically modified human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) with puromycin was correlated with high level MDR1 expression on HSCs (
The present invention relates to a method of selecting genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells, comprising the steps of:
The combined use of the selection agent and the MDR1 inhibitor in step b) of the method of the invention allows to eliminate unmodified hematopoietic cells (in which the co-delivery in step a) has not occurred) with the selection agent and to select genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells (being genetically modified in their genome by the polynucleotide of interest) with the selection agent plus MDR1 inhibitor. Therefore, the population of genetically modified hematopoietic cells resulting from step b) of the method of the invention comprises a higher proportion of genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells compared with the corresponding population of genetically modified hematopoietic cells obtained by performing step b) only with the selection agent, as in the prior art method.
As used herein, the term “hematopoietic cells” refers to cells produced by the differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs or HSC). Hematopoietic cells include HSCs, multipotent and lineage-committed progenitors, precursor cells and mature cells. Mature hematopoietic cells include with no limitations, lymphocytes (B, T), NK cells, monocytes, macrophages, granulocytes, erythrocytes, platelets, plasmacytoid and myeloid dendritic cells, and microglial cells.
As used herein, the term “hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)” refers to self-renewing cells capable of reconstituting short or long-term hematopoiesis following transplantation.
As used herein, the term “genetic modification” refers to the insertion, deletion, and/or substitution of one or more nucleotides into a genomic sequence.
As used herein, the term “HSC gene therapy” refers to the transfer of a polynucleotide sequence of interest into HSCs, in order to obtain genetically modified HSCs useful for the treatment and/or the prevention of inherited or acquired diseases.
As used herein, the term “MDR1” refers to ABCB1, the first member of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter subfamily B genes (ABCB), also known as MDR/TAP subfamily. Human MDR1 gene encodes P-glycoprotein (P-gp or P170) which is an ATP-dependent drug efflux pump.
The polynucleotide of interest according to the invention is a polynucleotide that modify the genome of hematopoietic stem cells to generate genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells. The polynucleotide may be DNA, RNA or a synthetic or semi-synthetic nucleic acid.
The genome-editing enzyme according to the invention is an enzyme or enzyme complex that induces a genetic modification at a target genomic locus. The genome-editing enzyme is advantageously an engineered nuclease which generates a double-strand break (DSB) in the target genomic locus, such as with no limitations, a meganuclease, zinc finger nuclease (ZFN), transcription activator-like effector-based nuclease (TALENs) and clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas system. The genome-editing enzyme, in particular an engineered nuclease, is usually but not necessarily used in combination with a homologous recombination (HR) matrix or template (also named DNA donor template) which modifies the target genomic locus by double-strand break (DSB)-induced homologous recombination. In particular, the HR template may introduce a transgene of interest into the target genomic locus or repair a mutation in the target genomic locus, preferably in a gene of interest.
In some embodiments, the polynucleotide of interest comprises a sequence encoding a protein and/or an RNA of interest a transgene of interest) in expressible form.
In some embodiments, the polynucleotide of interest comprises a sequence which modifies a gene of interest in the genome of HSCs, in particular a sequence which repairs a mutation in said gene of interest.
In some embodiments, the polynucleotide of interest is a homologous recombination template that is used in combination with a genome-editing enzyme, in particular an engineered nuclease, as defined above. The homologous recombination template comprises advantageously a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein of interest or a nucleotide sequence which modifies a gene of interest, as defined above. The method of the invention may be performed using hematopoietic cells including stem cells obtained from a variety of sources, using conventional methods known and available in the art. For example, hematopoietic cells may be recovered from bone marrow, mobilized peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), umbilical cord blood, embryonic stem (ES) cells or induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Peripheral blood stem cell mobilization is usually performed using granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and/or plerixafor. Hematopoietic cells may be purified or selected, for example based upon cell surface marker(s) that are differentially expressed on primitive cells (hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs)) and more differentiated cells. The most important marker of primitive human hematopoietic cells is CD34. Other most common markers include Lin which is absent on HSPCs, CD38 and CD45RA which are absent or weakly expressed on primitive cells, CD90 (Thy-1) which is expressed at higher levels on primitive cells than on differentiated cells, CD133 which is expressed on HSCs, or combination thereof. HSPCs are purified using at least one antibody directed to a marker, by standard antibody-based cell isolation methods such as magnetic-activated-separation (MACS) or fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS).
The population of hematopoietic cells, preferably human hematopoietic cells, is advantageously obtained from bone marrow, mobilized peripheral blood mononuclear cells or umbilical cord blood.
In some embodiments, said population of hematopoietic cells is CD34+ hematopoietic cells, preferably human CD34+ hematopoietic cells.
The method of the invention can be carried out in vitro using culture media and conditions suitable for the maintenance, growth or proliferation of hematopoietic cells including stem cells. Suitable culture media and conditions are well known in the art.
The method of the invention uses standard nucleic acid and/or protein delivery agents or systems. The method of the invention may be performed using chemical or physical delivery methods or a combination thereof. Chemical methods include the use of particles, lipids, polymers, vectors and combination thereof. For example, the method of the invention may use microparticles, nanoparticles, lipid particles, nanocomplexes, liposomes, cationic polymers, and vectors. Physical methods include with no limitations electroporation, microinjection and magnetofection.
In some embodiments of the method of the invention, step a) comprises the co-delivery of at least a genome-editing enzyme and a positive selection marker, preferably with a polynucleotide of interest as defined above.
In some other embodiments of the method of the invention, step a) comprises the co-delivery of at least a polynucleotide of interest and a positive selection marker. In some other embodiments of the method of the invention, step a) comprises the co-delivery of at least a polynucleotide of interest and a polynucleotide encoding the positive selection marker in expressible form.
The polynucleotide of interest and/or the polynucleotide encoding the selection marker are advantageously introduced into a vector. The two polynucleotides may be introduced in the same vector or in separate vectors. Recombinant transfer vector(s), gene transfer vector(s) or transfer vector(s) which can be used in the present invention includes, in a non-limiting manner, linear or circular DNA or RNA molecules consisting of chromosomal, non-chromosomal, synthetic or semi-synthetic nucleic acids, such as in particular viral vectors, plasmid or RNA vectors. Numerous vectors into which a nucleic acid molecule of interest can be inserted in order to introduce it into and maintain it in a eukaryotic host cell including hematopoietic cell are known per se; the choice of an appropriate vector depends on the use envisioned for this vector (for example, replication of the sequence of interest, expression of this sequence, maintaining of this sequence in extrachromosomal form, or else integration into the chromosomal material of the host), and also on the nature of the host cell.
Naked nucleic acid vector such as plasmid is usually combined with a substance which allows it to cross the host cell membrane, such as a transporter, for instance a nanotransporter or a preparation of liposomes, or of cationic polymers. Alternatively, the naked nucleic acid may be introduced into said host cell using physical methods such as electroporation or microinjection. In addition, these methods can advantageously be combined, for example using electroporation combined with liposomes.
Viral vectors are by nature capable of penetrating into cells and delivering polynucleotide(s) of interest into cells, according to a process named as viral transduction. Therefore, the polynucleotide sequence(s) according to the invention are usually introduced into cells by contacting the recombinant viral vector with said cells. Sometimes, viral transduction may be combined with physical methods such as for example magnetofection.
Viral vectors include those derived from retroviridae, adenoviridae, parvoviridae, poxviridae (retrovirus, adenovirus, adeno-associated virus (AAV), herpes virus, poxvirus), and other virus vectors. Retrovirus includes in particular gammaretrovirus, spumavirus, and lentivirus. Lentivirus includes in particular human immunodeficiency virus, including HIV type 1 (HIV1) and HIV type 2 (HIV2), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV), equine immunodeficiency virus (EIV), simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), visna-maedi and caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV), Jembrana disease virus, and Puma lentivirus.
The recombinant vectors are constructed using standard recombinant DNA technology techniques and produced using conventional methods that are known in the art.
In some embodiments, the method uses at least one vector suitable for stable gene transfer and long-term gene expression into mammalian cells, such as by replication of the sequence of interest, expression of this sequence, maintaining of this sequence in extrachromosomal form, or else integration into the chromosomal material of the host. Such vector is usually used to perform the delivery of the polynucleotide of interest in the absence of genome-editing enzyme. The polynucleotide of interest comprises advantageously a transgene of interest in expressible form. The delivery of the polynucleotide sequence encoding the selection marker may also be performed using the same type of vector, wherein the two polynucleotides are in the same vector or in two separate vectors. The at least one vector(s) for stable gene transfer and long-term gene expression into mammalian cells is advantageously an integrating vector, in particular an integrating viral vector such as a retrovirus or AAV vector. Preferably, the vector is a lentiviral vector. The lentivirus vector is advantageously a self-inactivating vector (SIN vector). The lentiviral vector comprises advantageously a central polypurine tract/DNA FLAP sequence (cPPT-FLAP), and/or insulator sequence(s) such as chicken beta-globin insulator sequence(s) to improve expression of the gene(s) of interest. The lentiviral vector is advantageously pseudotyped with another envelope protein, preferably another viral envelope protein, preferably the vesicular stomatis virus (VSV) glycoprotein. In some preferred embodiments, said lentiviral vector is a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vector.
The delivery of the polynucleotide of interest, when performed in the presence of a genome editing enzyme, and/or the delivery of the positive selection marker may use transient expression vector(s), in particular plasmid vector(s).
In some embodiments, the polynucleotide of interest, preferably comprising a transgene of interest in expressible form, is inserted in an integrating vector as defined above. The polynucleotide encoding the selection marker may be inserted in the same vector or in another vector such as a transient expression vector, in particular a plasmid vector, as defined above.
The recombinant transfer vector used for the delivery of the transgene of interest and/or the polynucleotide encoding the selection marker is an expression vector. The expression vector comprises appropriate means for expression of said protein of interest and/or said selection marker in hematopoietic cells including stem cells. Usually, each coding sequence (protein of interest and selection marker) is inserted in a separate expression cassette. Each expression cassette comprises the coding sequence (open reading frame or ORF) functionally linked to the regulatory sequences which allow the expression of the corresponding protein (protein of interest or selection marker) in the host cell, such as in particular promoter, promoter/enhancer, initiation codon (ATG), codon stop, transcription termination signal. Alternatively, the protein of interest and the selection marker may be expressed from a unique expression cassette using an Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES) inserted between the two coding sequences or a viral 2A peptide. The coding sequences of the selection marker and protein of interest may also be fused in frame to produce a fusion protein. In addition, the codon sequence encoding the protein of interest and/or the selection marker is advantageously optimized for expression in host cells, in particular in human cells.
The promoter may be a tissue-specific, ubiquitous, constitutive or inducible promoter that is functional in hematopoietic cells including stem cells. Examples of constitutive promoters which can be used in the present invention include with no limitations: phosphoglycerate kinase promoter (PGK), elongation factor-1 alpha (EF-1 alpha) promoter including the short form of said promoter (EFS), viral promoters such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate early enhancer and promoter, and retroviral 5′ and 3′ LTR promoters including hybrid LTR promoters. An example of tissue-specific promoter which can be used in the present invention is the beta-globin promoter which is expressed exclusively in erythroid cells. Examples of inducible promoters which can be used in the present invention include Tetracycline-regulated promoters. The promoters are advantageously human promoters, i.e., promoters from human cells or human viruses. Such promoters are well-known in the art and their sequences are available in sequence data base.
In some embodiments, the vector comprising the polynucleotide of interest, and eventually also the polynucleotide encoding the selection marker, further comprises the polynucleotide sequence of a conditional suicide gene such as Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) gene or a functional variant thereof. For example, the conditional suicide gene is a deleted version of HSV-TK starting at the second ATG. The conditional suicide gene is advantageously fused in frame with the selection marker gene. The protein of interest is advantageously a therapeutic protein, which means a protein that provides a therapeutic effect in the treatment and/or the prevention of inherited or acquired disease. The therapeutic protein may be a protein which corrects a genetic deficiency in hematopoietic stem cells and/or their progeny for the treatment of hematologic and non-hematologic genetic disorders or a protein which provide hematopoietic stem cells and/or their progeny with new properties or enhanced properties for the treatment of genetic or non-genetic diseases.
The polynucleotide encoding the protein of interest is advantageously under the control of a promoter which is specific for the target hematopoietic cell(s), such as the beta-globin promoter which is specific for erythroid cells.
For corrective stem cell gene therapy, the polynucleotide sequence according to the invention comprises a functional copy of a gene (i.e. encoding a functional protein) to correct a mutated gene causing the deficiency associated with the genetic disease. Therapeutic targets of corrective stem cell gene therapy are known in the art and include with no limitations: Primary immunodeficiencies such as Adenosine Deaminase deficiency (ADA gene), X-linked SCID syndrome (common gamma chain (gamma-c) gene), Chronic granulomatous diseases (CGD; p47-PHOX, p91-PHOX/p67-PHOX genes), X-linked agammaglobulinemia (BTK gene) and Wiskott-aldrich syndrome (WAS gene); Hemoglobinopathies such as Sickle-cell disease (beta-globin or HBB gene), Beta thalassemia (beta-globin or HBB gene) and Alpha thalassemia (alpha-globin (HBA1 or HBA2) gene); other single-gene disorders such as Lysosomal storage disorders like for example Hurler's disease (IDUA gene coding for lysosomal alpha-L-idurodinase), Gaucher's disease (GBA gene coding for beta-glucocerebrosidase), Farber's disease (Lysosomal acid ceramidase (ASAH gene) and Fabry's disease (alpha-galactosidase (GLA gene); Neurological storage diseases such as leukodystrophies, for example Adrenoleukodystrophy (ABCD1 gene coding for the adrenoleukodystrophy protein (ALDP) and Metachromatic leukodystrophy (ARSA gene coding for arylsulfatase A enzyme); Hemophilia A (F8 gene coding for coagulation factor VIII) and Hemophilia B (F9 gene coding for coagulation factor IX); Alpha-antitrypsin deficiency (SERPINA1 gene) and Stem cell defects such as Fanconi anemia (FA pathway genes, in particular FANCA, FANCC and FANCG).
In some embodiments, the therapeutic protein is beta-globin, preferably human beta-globin.
Treatment of non-genetic diseases includes for example, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, auto-immune diseases and infectious diseases. Therapeutic proteins for cancer therapy include tumor-associated antigens, cytokines and chemokines, chemotherapy resistance genes (MDR-1, DHFR, MGMT), tumor suppressor genes. A therapeutic protein for cardiovascular diseases is for example VEGF. Infectious diseases include in particular HIV infection. Treatment of infectious diseases like HIV includes providing hematopoietic progeny cells resistant to infection in particular lymphocytes (HIV) resistant to infection.
As known in the art, the positive selection marker is a protein which confers an advantage to cells expressing said protein such as for example an enzyme conferring resistance to toxic drugs such as antibiotics that are used as selection agent. The selection agent is used to kill unmodified cells (i.e. cells in which (i) the polynucleotide sequence of interest and/or genome-editing enzyme, and (ii) the positive selection marker or polynucleotide sequence encoding said marker have not been delivered). The invention encompasses the use of functional variants of said positive selection marker protein(s) or enzyme(s).
In some embodiments, said positive selection marker is an enzyme conferring resistance to an antibiotic that is a MDR1 substrate. According to the invention, a MDR1 substrate refers to an antibiotic for which MDR1 expression confers resistance to cells. Preferably, said positive selection marker is puromycin N-acetyl transferase (PAC) that confers resistance to puromycin or a derivative of puromycin used as selection agent. Puromycin is usually used at a concentration of 1-25 μg/ml, preferably about 5 μg/ml.
The selection marker is advantageously under the control of a constitutive ubiquitous promoter such as for example phosphoglycerate kinase promoter (PGK) or elongation factor-1 alpha (EF-1 alpha) promoter including the short form of said elongation factor promoter (EFS). In some preferred embodiments, the selection marker is under the control of EFS promoter, preferably human EFS promoter.
The multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) protein inhibitor may be an inhibitor of MDR1 gene expression or an inhibitor of MDR1 protein function. The P-gp inhibitor may act as a competitive blocker via occupying the drug binding sites, as a non-competitive antagonist or as an agent inhibiting the ATPase function.
Examples of MDR1 inhibitors include antisens nucleic acid molecules, interfering nucleic acid molecules such as siRNA, miRNA or shRNAs and ribozymes targeting the MDR1 gene, anti-MDR1 antibodies and other molecules or compounds which block or inhibit the activity of MDR1 protein, i.e., the drug efflux/transport function of MDR1 protein.
MDR1 inhibitors are known in the art and include first, second or third generation inhibitors. Non-limiting examples of such inhibitors include verapamil, dexverapamil, emopamil, gallopamil, Roll-2933, diltiazem, bepridil, nicardipine, nifedipine, felodipine, isradipine, trifluorperaine, clopenthixol, trifluopromazine, flupenthixol, chlorpromazine, prochlorperazine, indol alkaloids, reserpine, mifepristone, cyclosporin-A, valspodar (PSC 883), quinine, tariquidar, elacridar, zosuquidar, timcodar, curcumin, phenyl cinnamate, coumarin, apiole, bergamottin beta-amyrin cinnamate, caffeine, caffein 8-decylthio, caffein 8-benzyl, diethylpyrocarbonate, morin, narirutin, piperin, quercetin, slavironin, silybin, theobromin, vanillin, vanillin-N-nonlymine, zosuquidar, minocycline, reversan, amiodarone, azithromycin, captopril, clarithromycin, piperine, quercetin, quinidine, ritonavir and derivatives thereof.
In a preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, said MDR1 inhibitor is selected from the group consisting of: cyclosporin-A, verapamil, reserpine, mifepristone and derivatives thereof. In a more preferred embodiment, said MDR1 inhibitor is cyclosporin-A.
In a preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, the positive selection marker is puromycin resistance and said MDR1 inhibitor is selected from the group consisting of: cyclosporin A, verapamil, reserpine and mifepristone. In a more preferred embodiment, step a) of the method of the invention is performed using a lentivirus vector comprising a polynucleotide of interest encoding a therapeutic protein and a polynucleotide encoding puromycin N-acetyl transferase (PAC) in expressible form. Non-limiting examples of such lentiviral vectors based on puromycin resistance are the lentiviral vectors named LTGCPU1 and LTGCPU7 shown in
According to the invention, said method is carried out in a period of time inferior to one week, preferably in four days or less. This period is compatible with the clinical protocols of HSC gene therapy with retroviral or lentiviral vector. The first step is generally carried out for 24-72 hours, preferably 48 hours, and the second step of contacting the cells with said selection marker and a MDR1 inhibitor is generally carried out for 24-48 hours, preferably 24 hours. The cells may be optionally cultured in appropriate culture medium, before step a) (prestimulation step), and/or after step b). The prestimulation step is generally carried out for 16-24 hours. The population of genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells obtained at the end of step b) is frozen for future use or transplanted into patients in need of HSC gene therapy.
Therefore, the method of the invention is useful in HSC gene therapy for treating genetic and non-genetic diseases as defined above.
The present invention also relates to a kit for selecting genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells comprising:
(i) a polynucleotide of interest and/or a genome editing enzyme, and a positive selection marker or a polynucleotide sequence encoding said positive selection marker in expressible form, as defined in the present invention; preferably the kit further comprises appropriate means for the co-delivery of the preceding polynucleotide(s), enzyme, marker into hematopoietic cells including stem cells, as defined in the present invention;
(ii) a selection agent for the marker in (i) as defined in the present invention, and
(iii) a MDR1 inhibitor, as defined in the present invention.
In some preferred embodiment of the kit of the invention, the positive selection marker is puromycin resistance (PAC enzyme), the selection agent is puromycin and the MDR1 inhibitor is selected from the group consisting of: cyclosporin-A, verapamil, reserpine and mifepristone.
Another object of the present invention is a composition comprising a population of genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells as selected or obtained by the method of the invention.
Preferably, the composition is a pharmaceutical composition comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a population of genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells comprising a polynucleotide sequence of interest as selected or obtained by the method of the invention, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
The genetically modified HSCs are derived from autologous hematopoietic cells (i.e., cells from the patient which are transplanted after modification) or allogenic hematopoietic cells from an HLA-compatible donor.
The pharmaceutical composition comprises an effective dose of HSCs for obtaining a therapeutic effect on genetic or non-genetic disease as defined above. Generally, a therapeutically effective amount of more than 2×106 genetically modified CD34+ hematopoietic cells per kg (cells/kg), usually from approximately 2×106 cells/kg to approximately 20×106 cells/kg can be administered to human adults. The pharmaceutically acceptable vehicles are those conventionally used for cell therapy. The composition is in a galenical form suitable for injection.
Another object of the invention is the pharmaceutical composition as defined above for use as a medicament.
Another object of the invention is the pharmaceutical composition as defined above for use in hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy for treating hematologic and non-hematologic genetic or non-genetic diseases. In a preferred embodiment, said diseases are selected from the group consisting of: genetic hematologic and non-hematologic disorders, cancers, autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases.
Therapeutic targets of corrective stem cell gene therapy are known in the art and include with no limitations: Primary immunodeficiencies such as Adenosine Deaminase deficiency (ADA gene), X-linked SCID syndrome (common gamma chain (gamma-c) gene), chronic granulomatous diseases (CGD; p47-PHOX, p91-PHOX/p67-PHOX genes), X-linked agammaglobulinemia (BTK gene) and Wiskott-aldrich syndrome (WAS gene);
Hemoglobinopathies such as Sickle-cell disease (beta-globin or HBB gene), Beta thalassemia (beta-globin or HBB gene) and Alpha thalassemia (alpha-globin (HBA1 or HBA2) gene); other single-gene disorders such as Lysosomal storage disorders, for example Hurler's disease (IDUA gene coding for lysosomal alpha-L-idurodinase), Gaucher's disease (GBA gene coding for beta-glucocerebrosidase), Farber's disease (Lysosomal acid ceramidase (ASAH gene) and Fabry's disease (alpha-galactosidase (GLA gene); Neurological storage diseases such as leukodystrophies, for example Adrenoleukodystrophy or ALD (ABCD1 gene coding for the adrenoleukodystrophy protein (ALDP) and Metachromatic leukodystrophy or MLD (ARSA gene coding for arylsulfatase A enzyme); Hemophilia A (F8 gene coding for coagulation factor VIII) and Hemophilia B (F9 gene coding for coagulation factor IX); Alpha-antitrypsin deficiency (SERPINA1 gene); Stem cell defects such as Fanconi anemia (FA pathway genes, in particular FANCA, FANCC and FANCG).
Other diseases include for example IPEX Syndrome, Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), X-linked Lymphoproliferative Disease (XLP), blood cancer (leukemia), lymphoma, bone marrow cancer, myeloma, protoporphyria, pathologies associated with Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency (LAD), HIV disease, Multiple sclerosis, Systemic scleroderma, Crohn's disease and Lupus erythematosus.
In some preferred embodiment, said disease is a genetic hematologic or non-hematologic disorder, preferably a hemoglobinopathy, more preferably Sickle-cell disease or beta thalassemia.
In addition to the preceding description, the invention also comprises other arrangements that will emerge from the description which follows, which refers to exemplary embodiments of the method which is the subject of the present invention and also the appended drawings.
The practice of the present invention will employ, unless otherwise indicated, conventional techniques, which are within the skill of the art. Such techniques are explained fully in the literature.
For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, there will now be described by way of example a specific mode contemplated by the Inventors with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
a. Adult bone marrow cells were transduced with LTGCPU1. 24 or 48 hours later, cells were left untreated (−) or treated (+) with puromycin (10 μg/mL) for a further 24 hours. The cells were then immediately plated on semi-solid medium or grown in liquid culture for the evaluation of erythroid (BFU-Es) and myeloid (CFU-GM) progenitor cell numbers and to determine the number of long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-IC). At the end of the culture period, colony-forming cells were counted and picked for qPCR analyses of the presence of the vector. The absolute numbers of transduced (grey) and non-transduced (black) progenitor cells are indicated.
b. Mobilized bone marrow cells were transduced with LTGCPU1. 24, 48 or 72 hours later (1), cells were selected on puromycin (10 μg/mL) for 24 or 48 hours (2). The mean VCN for non-selected (basal) and selected cells was determined for pooled cells and compared with the theoretical expected VCN in optimal selection conditions (Theo).
c.d. Mobilized bone marrow cells were transduced and selected 48 hours later with several concentrations (0-10 μg/mL) of puromycin during 24 hours. The percentages (c) and absolute numbers (d) of transduced (grey) and non-transduced (black) erythroid and myeloid progenitors are indicated.
a. NIH3T3 cells were mock-transduced (NT) or transduced with LTGCPU7, and LTGCPU7-transduced cells were selected with puromycin. Equivalent numbers of mock- and LTGCPU7-transduced/selected cells were treated with GCV at the indicated concentration. Living cells were counted three days later.
b. Five different cord blood CD34+ cell samples were transduced with LTGCPU7, left untreated (−) or treated (+) with 5 μg/mL puromycin for 24 hours and plated on semi-solid medium. The percentage of erythroid colonies carrying the vector is indicated.
a.b.c. Cord blood CD34+ cells were transduced with LTGCPU7, left untreated (−) or treated (+) with puromycin and plated on semi-solid medium or injected into NSG mice. The mean VCN in pooled erythroid cells (a) and the proportion of transduced and untransduced progenitor cells (b) were determined for erythroid colonies retrieved from methylcellulose. Mice received 30,000 cells (5 mice in the untreated group and 6 mice in the treated group) or 150,000 cells (6 mice in each group). The mean VCN values and their median were determined for human CD45± cells sorted from the bone marrow of individual mice three months after transplantation (c).
d. Five different cord blood CD34+ cell samples were transduced with LTGCPU7 and analyzed for the presence of CD243 (MDR1), CD34, and CD133 antigens on the day of transduction (day 1) and two (day 3) and three (day 4) days later. Results are the mean +/− SD.
a.b.c. Human cord blood CD34+ cells were transduced with LTGCPU7 and left untreated (-Pu) or treated with 5 μg/mL puromycin, in the absence (−) or presence of MDR inhibitors (verapamil (V, 20 μM), reserpine (R, 20 μM), mifepristone (M, 5 μM), or cyclosporin A (C, 2 μM)). Cells were plated on semi-solid medium or injected into NSG mice (65,000 cells per mouse in the treated groups and 225,000 cells per mouse in the non-selected group). Mean VCN was determined for pooled cells from in vitro culture (a) and from human CD45+ cells sorted from the bone marrow of individual mice three months after transplantation (b). The human chimerism in the bone marrow of individual mice was also assessed, by flow cytometry (c). The bars indicate the median value for mean
VCN and the level of human chimerism. Levels of chimerism <0.01% were below the limit of quantification. Mice with such low levels of chimerism (shown below the x-axis) were not included in the calculation of median VCN in b.
d.e.f. The experiment was repeated with puromycin and cyclosporin A (2 μM). Mean VCN was determined in human CD45+ cells (d) and in human erythroid progenitors retrieved from individual mice (e,f). The proportion of vector-bearing progenitors (e) and the VCN in individual colonies (f) from NSG mice are indicated. The black bars indicate the median and interquartile values.
Human cord blood CD34+ cells were transduced with LTGCPU7 and either left untreated (−) or treated with puromycin +cyclosporin A (PC). On day 4, six groups of mice received 10,000, 25,000 and 75,000 treated or untreated cells. Three months later, the proportion of hCD45+ cells in the bone marrow was evaluated by flow cytometry, to determine the frequency of SRCs (a) and the proportion of transduced SRCs, based on the proportion of their erythroid progeny carrying the vector (b). These data were used to calculate the relative numbers of transduced and non-transduced SRCs (c) and the reconstitution capacity of SRCs in NSG mice (d).
a.b.c.d. Human cord blood CD34+ cells were transduced with LTGCPU7 and treated with puromycin and cyclosporine A for 24 hours. Non-transduced (NT) and LTGCPU7-transduced cells were then treated with ganciclovir (GCV) for three days, counted (a) and plated on semi-solid medium for the evaluation of erythroid progenitor cell eradication (b). Selected cells were also injected into 16 NSG mice, half of which were treated with GCV four weeks later (50 mg/kg, 6 days per week, for 2 weeks). Human chimerism (c) and VCN in human CD45+ cells (d) were determined 2 months later.
e.f. Human CD34+ cells from a patient with sickle cell anemia were transduced with BB305 or LTGCPU7. LTGCPU7-transduced cells were left untreated (−), were selected with puromycin (P), or selected with puromcyin +cyclosporin A (PC). Transduced cells were plated on semi-solid medium.
The presence of the integrated vector was assessed in individual colonies (e) and the amount of transgenic hemoglobin (HbAT87Q/HbAT87Q+HbS) was then compared (f). The black bars indicate the median and interquartile values.
Human cord blood CD34+ cells were transduced at two different MOI (3.7 and 6.2) with a purified lentiviral LTGCPU7 vector preparation. Cells were injected into NSG mice (75,000 cells per mouse, 7 mice per group). Three months after cell infusion, human CD45+ bone marrow cells were harvested and mean VCN was determined (a). Bone marrow cells were plated on semi-solid medium and VCN was determined in ≈50 individual colonies per animal (≈350 per MOD to calculate the mean VCN (b) and the proportion of vector-bearing cells (c) in the progeny of SRCs. The VCN distribution was compared with a Poisson distribution (d) and the odds ratio for the differences between the observed and expected numbers of cells bearing particularly numbers of vector copies were calculated (e). Before injection in NSG mice, cells were also plated on semi-solid medium and the VCN was assessed in 50 individual colonies per MOI and compared with the expected values based on a Poisson distribution (f). The bars shown in a, b and c represent the median values. Dots and bars in e indicate the odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals, respectively.
In the following description numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding. It will be apparent however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without limitation to these specific details. In other instances, well known methods and structures have not been described, so as not to unnecessarily obscure the description.
The HPV524 vector is similar to the previously described beta-globin lentiviral vector HPV569 (Cavazzana-Calvo, M. et al., Nature, 2010, 467, 318-322) except that it contains no chromatin insulators (cHS4). The PAC and human phosphoglycerate kinase promoter sequences were synthesized by Genscript (Piscataway, USA) and introduced between the beta-globin locus control region and the 3′ polypurine tract of HPV524 to make LTGCPU1. LTGCPU7 is derived from the more recent beta-globin lentiviral vector BB305 (Negre, O. et al. Current gene therapy, 2015, 15, 64-81) (
(Beckman Coulter). Where indicated, purification was performed with a Mustang Q anion exchange membrane cartridge (Pall Corporation), as previously described (Kutner et al., Nature protocols, 2009, 4, 495-505) and a 40K ZebaSpin desalting column (ThermoFisher Scientific), according to the manufacturer's instructions, with concentration by ultracentrifugation. Infectious titers were determined by qPCR, as previously described (Payen, E. et al., Methods in enzymology, 2012, 507, 109-124). When indicated, transduced NIH3T3 cells were selected on puromycin and treated with various concentrations of ganciclovir (Cymevan, Roche). Adult and cord blood CD34+ cells were cultured in SCGM (CellGenix) and X-VIVO 20 (Lonza) medium, respectively, and transduced as previously described (Negre, O. et al., Current gene therapy, 2015, 15, 64-81). Cells were selected 48 hours after transduction, on puromycin hydrochloride (5 μg/mL, Sigma-Aldrich). Where indicated, mifepristone, reserpine, cyclosporin A, verapamil hydrochloride, all from Sigma-Aldrich, were used at final concentrations of 5 μM, 20 μM, 2 μM, and 20 μM respectively, together with puromycin.
NOD.Cg-Prkdcscid Il2rgtmlWjl/SzJ (NOD-scid IL2rgammanull abbreviated to NSG) mice were obtained from Charles River Laboratories (Saint Germain sur l'Arbresle, France) and kept in individually ventilated cages supplied with sterile food and autoclaved water. Animal care and handling conformed to EU Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. Experimental protocols were approved by the ethics committee for animal experimentation of the CEA, under notification number 12-033. Three- to four-month-old female recipients (at least 6 mice per group) were sublethally irradiated with a dose of 2.8 Gy (1 Gy/min) to the whole body (TBI). Then, 104 to 105 transduced and selected human cells were injected intravenously into the mice on the day after irradiation. Where indicated, mice were treated, one month after cell infusion, with intraperitoneal ganciclovir (Cymevan, Roche), at a dose of 50 mg/kg/day (or saline) on six days per week, for two weeks. Bone marrow hematopoietic cells were harvested from the left and right femurs and tibias, three months after the transplantation of human cells. They were used for human progenitor assays, flow cytometric analysis and hCD45 cell sorting.
The study was approved by the ethics evaluation committee of Inserm, institutional review board (IRB00003888) of the French institute of medical research and health (IORG0003254 FWA00005831). Cord blood cells were obtained from Saint-Louis Hospital (Paris, France). Mobilized peripheral blood cells were collected from the residual cells in bags prepared for transplantation at Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital (Paris, France). Adult bone marrow cells were obtained from hip operations at the “Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal” (Créteil, France). The mononuclear cell fractions were isolated by gradient separation and human CD34+ cells were isolated with the CD34+ progenitor cell isolation kit (Miltenyi
Biotech) and the autoMACSPro instrument (Miltenyi Biotech), according to the manufacturer's instructions.
For progenitor assays performed immediately after in vitro transduction and selection, 500 to 1000 cells were plated in methylcellulose based-medium already supplemented with human cytokines (H4434, Stemcell Technologies). For progenitor assays performed with human cells isolated from immunodeficient mice after transplantation, the growth of mouse cells was prevented by plating 100,000 to 1,000,000 cells on methylcellulose-based medium (H4230, Stemcell Technologies) supplemented with human stem cell factor (50 ng/mL, Peprotech), human interleukin 3 (10 ng/mL,Peprotech) and human erythropoietin (3 U/mL). The colonies were counted and collected after incubation for 11-14 days, washed with PBS and stored. DNA was recovered and amplified with the TaqMan Sample-to-SNP kit (ThermoFisher Scientific), specific primers and probes (Table 1), with the 7300 ABI Prism Detection system (Applied Biosystems).
The results were compared with those obtained with genomic DNA from a human cell line containing a single copy of the integrated lentiviral vector per haploid genome. Vector copy numbers were determined by the comparative Ct method and set at integer values. Colony-forming cells with VCN values between 0.5 and 1.5 were considered to have a VCN of 1; those with VCN values between 1.5 and 2.5 were considered to have a VCN of 2, and so on. LTC-IC cells were analyzed as previously described (Payen, E. et al., Methods in enzymology, 2012, 507, 109-124). The percentage of vector-modified LTC-IC during the readout phase of the assay was determined, by subjecting no more than one clonogenic myeloid colony per well to qPCR-based scoring to ensure that only independent LTC-ICs were analyzed.
The antibodies used for cytometry were directed against murine CD45 (eBioscience, clone 30-F11), human CD45 (Miltenyi, clone 5B1), human CD33 (BD Bioscience, clone WM53), human CD15 (Miltenyi, clone VIMC6), human CD20 (BD Bioscience, clone 2H7), human CD3 (Miltenyi, clone BW264/56), human CD133 (Miltenyi, clone AC133), human CD34 (BD Bioscience, clone 581) and human CD243 (eBioscience, clone UIC2). Non-viable cells were excluded by Sytox Blue nucleic acid staining (ThermoFisher Scientific) or with 7AAD (eBioscience). Data were acquired with MACSQUANT instrument (Miltenyi) and analyzed with FlowJo software (Tree Star, Inc). The percentages of human cells in NSG bone marrow were calculated as follows: the number of human CD45 cells was divided by the number of human plus mouse CD45 cells, and the result was multiplied by 100. For limiting dilution assays and the assessment of human stem cell frequency, mice were arbitrarily considered to be positive for human SRCs if the level of human chimerism (human CD45% divided by total CD45%) was >1%, with the presence of both myeloid and lymphoid cells. Mice that had not undergone the transplantation procedure were used as a negative control. Background levels of human cell detection in these negative control mice were ≈0.01%. Isotype control antibodies were used to set the negative gates for the in vitro identification of human cell subsets.
Human cells from NSG mouse bone marrow were enriched to facilitate vector copy number (VCN) determination in these cells and to confirm the absence of human cells in immunodeficient mice, as follows: single-cell suspensions of bone marrow cells (20 to 70 million cells) were labeled by incubation with 0.2 μL whole-blood CD45 microbeads (Miltenyi Biotech) in 50 μL PBS supplemented with bovine serum albumin (0.5%) and EDTA (2 mM) for 15 minutes, washed, resuspended in 1 mL and sorted with an autoMACSPro instrument (Miltenyi Biotech) and the possel_s program. Sorted cells were then resuspended in PBS for the evaluation of cell enrichment by FACS and DNA extraction with the Nucleospin Blood kit (Macherey Nagel). Relative enrichment varied between 1- and 20-fold, depending on the initial proportion of human cells. In mice with levels of hCD45+ cells below background levels (0.01%), no enrichment was observed, confirming the absence of human cells. Real-time PCR was performed on sorted cells, with a 2X quantitative PCR (qPCR) mastermix containing ROX (Eurogentec) and specific primers and probes (Table 1).Vector copy numbers were determined from the results obtained with genomic DNA from a human cell line containing one copy of the integrated lentiviral vector per haploid genome.
Cells from erythroid bursts were lysed by adding 100 μL H2O and centrifuging at 20,000×g. The nuclei were retained for qPCR and the assessment of vector modification, whereas hemoglobin from individual erythroid colony supernatants was separated by ion exchange HPLC on a PolyCAT A column (PolyLC Inc.). Elution was achieved with a linear gradient of buffer A (40 mM Tris, 3 mM KCN; pH adjusted to 6.5 with acetic acid) and buffer B (40 mM Tris, 3 mM KCN, 200 mM NaCl; pH adjusted to 6.5 with acetic acid) of different ionic strengths at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min at 40° C. The detection wavelength was 418 nm. HPLC analyses were performed with a Prominence chromatograph (Shimadzu) and LC Solution software.
Distribution of vector copy number per cell and percentage of transduced cells in non-selective conditions: If cells from a specific lineage are transducible at a known mean rate (μ), if they are equally transducible, and if integration events occur independently of each other, the number of vector copies per cell (X) is a discrete random variable the scattering of which obeys a Poisson distribution. The probability mass function of X is given by f(i;μ)=Pr(X=i;μ)=(e−μ)(μi)/i! where i is the discrete number of vectors integrated per cell and μ is the observed mean VCN. The probability of a cell being transduced Pr(X≥1;μ)=1-Pr(X=0lμ)=1-e−μ. Thus, if the mean VCN/cell (μ) in a specific cell population is known, and if the distribution of vector copy number per cell follows a Poisson distribution, the expected percentage of transduced cells in non-selective conditions is (1-e−μ)*100.
Expected mean VCN after the selection of transduced cells in optimal conditions: In conditions of optimal selection, all non-transduced cells are eradicated and all vector-bearing cells survive. If (1) vector distribution before cell selection follows a Poisson distribution and (2) selection occurs in optimal conditions, the expected VCN after selection is:
When μ5, expVCNsel≈μ.
If the distribution of the vector before selection does not obey Poisson statistics, the expected VCN after selection in optimal selective conditions cannot be predicted in this way.
Expected distribution after the selection of transduced cells in optimal conditions: This distribution is calculated based on the observed distribution before selection. For each discrete number of integrated vectors per cell, Pr(X=i)A=Pr(X=i)B/(1-Pr(X=0)B) where the A and B indices relate to values measured after and before selection, respectively.
Human CD45+ cells were harvested from the bone marrow of mice three months after the infusion of transduced human CD34+ cells. The numbers of insertion site recovery was increased by preparing genomic DNA from these cells and all their progeny (obtained by culture in methylcellulose). The number of in vivo insertion sites was calculated as the sum of unique insertion sites retrieved from these two DNA preparations. Before transplantation, aliquots of cells were subjected to culture on methylcellulose, to select committed hematopoietic progenitor cells, from which genomic DNA was prepared. The number of in vitro insertion sites was determined with these cells. DNA was extracted with the Nucleospin Blood kit (Macherey Nagel). All primers were purchassed from Eurogentec (Table 1). Linear amplification-mediated (LAM) PCR was performed essentially as previously described (Schmidt, M. et al., Nature methods, 2007, 4, 1051-1057). Each DNA sample (500 ng) was linearly amplified for 50 cycles with the 5′-biotinylated primer LTR1b and Q5 high-fidelity DNA polymerase (New England Biolabs). Linear PCR products were captured on M-280 streptavidin-coupled Dynabeads (ThermoFisher Scientific), and complementary DNA strands were synthesized with the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I (NEB) and hexanucleotides. The resulting double-stranded DNAs were separately digested with MluCI, Msel or HinP1I, ligated to complementary linker cassettes (LK3, LK4 and LKS, respectively) with the Fast Link DNA ligase (Epicentre), and denatured with sodium hydroxide. De novo synthesized (non-biotinylated) single-stranded DNA fragments were purified with a magnetic stand and pooled by sample. Exponential PCR was performed on pooled samples with primers LTRIIIB and LCII, and the Q polymerase, for 35 cycles. PCR products were purifed with NucleoMag NGS beads (Macherey Nagel), in a 1.1:1 ratio, and quantified using the Qubit fluorometric assay (ThermoFisher Scientific). Next-generation sequencing (NGS) libraries were generated by PCR amplification on 40 ng of PCR products with the LCII-SEQ and LTRIV-SEQ primers, for 12 cycles with Q5 polymerase, and were purified with nucleoMag NGS beads used in a 0.8:1 ratio. It was possible to sequence all amplicons in one run, because each library was prepared with a specific LTRIV-SEQ primer, these primers differing by 6 to 12 nucleotides introduced between the Illumina adapter sequence and the nucleotide sequence complementary to the vector LTR. PCR products were analyzed with the 2100 Bioanalyzer high-sensitivity DNA chip (Agilent), quantified with the Qubit assay, mixed in equimolar concentrations with genomic libraries to compensate for low diversity, and sequenced on a NextSeq 500 instrument (Illumina) by the NGS core facility of I2BC (I2BC, CNRS, Gif-sur-Yvette, France). Once the run was completed, the reads were demultiplexed with bc12fastq2 version 2.15.0 and cutadapt verstion 1.9.1, and FASTQ format files were generated for downstream analysis. Demultiplexed reads were analyzed on a local Galaxy platform, with the Galaxy open-source application (Afgan, E. et al., Nucleic acids research, 2016) and tools obtained from the Galaxy tool shed (Blankenberg, D. et al., Genome biology, 2014, 15, 403). The linker cassette sequence was removed with Trim Galore! (http://www.bioinformatics.babraham.ac.uk/projects/trim.galore/) and reads were processed with tools from the FASTX-toolkit (http://hannonlab.cshl.edu/fastx toolkit/). Low-quality base calls (Phred score<20) were trimmed at the 3′ end, and reads of overall poor quality were discarded (Phred score<25 for at least 10% of their bases). Reads containing the internal vector sequence were identified with the Burrows-Wheeler Aligner (BWA) (Li, H. & Durbin, Bioinformatics, 2009, 25, 1754-1760) and discarded. Actual vector-genome-junction reads were identified by mapping the lentiviral vector LTR with BWA, imposing an overall minimal sequence homology of 89% on the last 42 nucleotides of the LTR and a perfect match on the last three bases. Selected reads were trimmed for the LTR sequence, and reads of >29 bp were aligned with the Hg19/GRCh37 human genome with BWA. The resulting BAM alignment files were filtered with SAMtools to retain only reads mapped with the highest mapping probability (mapping quality score of 37) (Li, H. et al., Bioinformatics, 2009, 25, 2078-2079). The integration site position for each read was retrieved formatted in BED format (Quinlan, A. R. & Hall, Bioinformatics, 2010, 26, 841-842) and integration sites were considered to be identical if their relative alignments began within 3 bp of each other. Collision filtering was performed to assign insertion sites to their correct group of samples, based on a minimal read abundance >90%. A matched random control (MRC) dataset was generated by the random extraction of 3000 start sites of DNA sequences mapped onto the Hg19/GRCh37 human genome, with distances to the closest cutting site for MiuCI, MseI, or HinP1I of 20 to 500 bp. The degree of enrichment in integration events around genomic features was compared between the MRC dataset and the insertion sites retrieved from LTGCPU7-transduced cells. Using the BEDTools suite (Quinlan, A. R. & Hall, Bioinformatics, 2010, 26, 841-842) the distance to the closest transcription start sites (TSS) of refseq genes and oncogenes, the intersection with exons and introns, and the densities of transcripts, DNAse I hypersensitive sites (HS) and CpG islands were determined. The genomic coordinates of CpG islands, refseq genes, RNA-seq and DNAse I HS sites were obtained from the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) annotation database (http://hgdownload.cse.ucsc.edu/goldenPath/hg19/database) (Speir, M. L. et al., Nucleic acids, 2016, 44, D717-725). The list of oncogenes was retrieved from the allonco data set (http://www.bushmanlab.org/links/genelists) generated by Doctor Rick Bushman (University of Pennsylvania). The DNAse I HS sites of CD34+ cells were obtained from data generated through the ENCODE project (Consortium, E. P., Nature, 2012, 489, 57-74) (Prof Stamatoyannopoulos, University of Washington) and archived under UCSC accession number wgEncode EH001885. The expression profile was generated from RNA-seq data generated by the BLUEPRINT Consortium for cord blood hematopoietic stem cells. It has been archived by the European Genome-phenome archive under the reference EGAX00001157677. A full list of the investigators contributing to data generation is available from www.blueprint-epigenome.eu. Funding for the project was provided by the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no 282510—BLUEPRINT.
For comparisons between two or more groups, Student's t test, Mann-Whitney U tests (if the data were shown to be non-normal in Shapiro-Wilk tests), and one-way ANOVA (possibly based on ranks) were used and degrees of significance were calculated with SigmaPlot 10.0 software. Best-fit curve rising to a maximum were constructed with SigmaPlot. The significance of differences between proportions of cells bearing various numbers of lentiviral vector copies in experimental groups and expectations was assessed by creating 2×2 contingency tables assuming equivalent numbers of cells in the two groups. Non-random associations between variables were assessed by Fisher's exact test. Odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were calculated with GraphPad prism 6.The frequency of LTC-ICs and SRCs and the significance of differences between groups were determined with L-Calc software (StemCell Technologies).
The LTGCPU1 vector expressing the puromycin N-acetyl-transferase (PAC) gene under the human PGK promoter is derived from a β-globin LV that has been tested in an approved human trial for the gene therapy of the beta-hemoglobinopathies (Cavazzana Calvo et al., Nature, 2010; 467, 318-322;
To construct a dual PAC and HSV1-TK β-globin lentiviral vector (LTGCPU7), a deleted version of the conditional human herpesvirus 1 (HHV-1) thymidine kinase (deltaTK) suicide gene was fused to the PAC open reading frame (
NIH3T3 cells were transduced with LTGCPU7 vector, and were readily selectable with puromycin. Selected cells were sensitive to ganciclovir (
CB CD34+ cells were transduced with LTGCPU7, treated with puromycin, studied in vitro and also injected into NSG mice. The mean VCN (
The more primitive cells correspond to the CD34+CD133+ subset (Takahashi, M. et al., Leukemia, 2014, 28, 1308-1315). The percentage of MDR1+ cells was higher for the more primitive CD34+CD133+ subset than for CD34+CD133− cells (60-90% versus 15-40% on day 3), and MDR1 and CD133 fluorescence intensities were correlated (
LTGCPU7 transduced CB CD34+ cells were treated with puromycin, in the presence or absence of MDR1 inhibitors. Mean VCN was determined in pooled cells from methylcellulose and in human cells recovered from mouse bone marrow. Selection levels were lower than expected in erythroid progenitors (Mean VCN≈0.5) and higher in the presence of MDR1 inhibitors (
It was investigated whether the lower percentage of human CD45+ cells resulted purely from the elimination of untransduced SRCs, or whether it was also the result of particular toxicity to transduced SRCs, by evaluating the absolute numbers of these cells after selection (day 4), in a limiting dilution assay. Cord blood CD34+ cells were transduced, selected, and injected into NSG mice. The frequency of SRCs was 4.4 times higher for control than for treated cells (
CB CD34+ cells were transduced with LTGCPU7, they were treated with ganciclovir for 72 hours, and plated on methylcellulose. The toxicity of ganciclovir was limited in non-transduced cells (
CD34+ cells from an individual with sickle cell disease were transduced with BB305 and LTGCPU7. Transduction levels occurred in 35% and 10% of the erythroid progenitor cells respectively (
In the above experiments, vectors were produced and immediately concentrated by two rounds of ultracentrifugation. LTGCPU7 vector titers were between 5×107 and 2×108 transducing units per milliliter (TU/mL). All transduction protocols were carried out with 2 million CD34+ cells per mL and a 10% vector preparation (volume/volume) giving a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 2.5 to 10. It was shown that vector purification could substantially enhance transduction of CD34+ human progenitor cells. CB CD34+ cells were transduced with a purified LTGCPU7 vector batch at MOIs of 3.7 and 6.2, and transduced cells were infused into NSG mice. The mean VCNs measured in hCD45+ cells from individual mice (
In the absence of selection, the distribution of vector integration into individual cells was compared with the expected values calculated from the mean VCN in the populations concerned, based on a Poisson distribution of single events. In erythroid progenitors derived from transduced CD34+ cells, the distribution of vector integration events did not differ significantly from expectations (
Cells in which the vector integrates into genomic features associated with high levels of gene expression may be favored during in vitro selection, with further enrichment occurring in vivo through insertional oncogenesis. This possibility was investigated by determining whether vector integration sites post-selection and post-transplantation presented any evidence of such enrichment close to genes, particularly those associated with cell growth, or chromatin features associated with high levels of gene expression. In this case human cells harvested from the bone marrow of NSG mice receiving selected and non-selected transduced cells were analyzed. The mean VCN in hCD45+ cells from mouse bone marrow was 4.6±3.0 in selected cells and 2.5±1.4 in non-selected cells. Before transplantation, aliquots of cells were cultured on methylcellulose. The mean VCN was 1.68±0.01 for selected cells and 0.87±0.01 for non-selected cells. As expected for lentiviral vectors, the proportions and distributions of insertion sites associated with genes, distances to the closest (onco)gene, distances to the closest TSS, gene density, transcript abundance, DNAseI HS density, and CpG island density were significantly different from those obtained for a matched random control data set. No significant difference between non-selected and selected in vivo samples was observed for any of the feature investigated including the distance of insertion sites to oncogenes. The potential distribution distortions specifically due to in vitro drug selection or in vivo expansion was evaluated, through the following comparisons: i) non-selected versus selected samples in vitro, to evaluate the effect of drug selection; ii) non-selected in vitro versus non-selected in vivo samples, to evaluate the role of cell expansion; iii) in vitro selected versus in vivo selected samples, to determine whether any insertion biases observed were additive. Both drug selection and in vivo expansion slightly but significantly distorted insertion site distributions towards regions with a high TSS density, regions with a higher proportion of CpG islands and regions with a high density of DNAse hypersensitive sites. Nevertheless, drug-mediated selection had not biased the distribution of insertion sites beyond the possible bias due to in vivo expansion and the distribution biases were not cumulative.
The properties of a relevant beta-globin lentiviral vector capable of transducing a high proportion of hematopoietic cells with a limited number of insertion hits are described herein. The EFS promoter was used to control PAC/deltaTK expression because it is short, potent enough to express clinically relevant genes (Carbonaro, D. A. et al., Mol. Ther., 2014, 22, 607-622), and is associated with a low transformation potential (Zychlinski, D. et al., Mol. Ther., 2008, 16, 718-725). The LTGCPU7 lentiviral vector was produced almost as efficiently as the parental BB305 vector (<2-fold lower), and the vector expressed both operational PAC and functional TK genes in hematopoietic human progenitor cells. In the culture conditions of this study, which are identical to those used in the clinical setting (Payen, E. et al., Methods in enzymology, 2012, 507, 109-124), MDR1 levels were correlated with the characteristic phenotype of stem cells and increased over time, peaking at the time of selection. In the presence of MDR1 inhibitors (Varma M. V. et al., Pharmacological research, 2003, 48, 347-359), it is shown here that the MDR1 substrate puromycin (Theile D. et al., Analytical biochemistry, 2010, 399, 246-250) is effective to select vector-bearing CB and adult SRCs. Cyclosporin A has been shown to relieve lentiviral restriction blocks independently, but at a higher concentration than used here (Petrillo, C. et al., Mol. Ther., 2015, 23, 352-362). Furthermore, none of the inhibitors tested here was capable of altering the transduction rate at the concentrations indicated, in the absence of puromycin.
With selection, a minimal decrease in the number of transduced cells was observed following treatment, whereas most of the non-transduced cells were effectively removed. The slightly smaller number of transduced SRCs (≈25%) may be due to MDR1 inhibition or the residual toxicity of cyclosporin A. However, although this calcineurin inhibitor has been shown to be cytotoxic to some primary cells, these concentrations were much higher than that used here (Jennings, P. et al., American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 2007, 293, F831-838; Wolf, A. et al. The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, 1997, 280, 1328-1334). Furthermore, the hematopoietic reconstitution potential of Mdr1−/− HSCs in mice is not affected (Uchida, N. et al., Experimental hematology, 2002, 30, 862-869). The proportion of human cells after transplantation in NSG mice was correlated with the number of cells injected into the mouse and independent of treatment conditions, indicating that there was no effect on SRC fitness. Alternatively, the integration of the vector into regions of heterochromatin may have driven the production of a limited amount of the resistance protein in a minority of transduced cells, leading to the observed cell loss. The observation in the present study that the proportion of cells with a low VCN is slightly lower than expected after cell selection and the preferential distribution of insertion sites upstream from the TSS in gene-dense regions is consistent with this notion. If this should prove to be the case, then this procedure would also select the cells with the highest probability of expressing their transgenes. The pre-transplantation selection of transduced mouse cells by a fluorescence-based method has been shown to prevent subsequent gene silencing (Kalberer, C. P. et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2000, 97, 5411-5415). This effect would have the advantage of destroying cells harboring vectors but not expressing the therapeutic gene, thereby increasing treatment efficacy. Importantly, drug-mediated selection had not biased the distribution of insertion sites beyond the possible bias due to in vivo expansion and the distribution biases were not cumulative.
The ultracentrifugation of non-purified LVs increases the concentration of toxic compounds and decreases the efficiency of target-cell transduction (Yamada, K. et al., BioTechniques, 2003, 34, 1074-1078, 1080). Therefore, the vector was purified by ion exchange chromatography. This made it possible to transduce hematopoietic cells very efficiently, without the plateau in transduction rate rapidly reached when fetal and adult hematopoietic cells are transduced with crude extracts (Griffin, D. O. & Goff, S. P, Journal of virology, 2015, 89, 8096-8100; Griffin, D. O. & Goff, S. P. Retrovirology, 2016, 13, 14). In this setting, the LTGCPU7 vector preparation yielded a transduction efficacy close to the approximately 50% required here to preclude a high frequency of cells having a high VCN and to prevent the waste of cells. Lentiviral transduction rate and the distribution of the vector in late progenitors were consistent with the expected values calculated from the mean copy number in the bulk population of CD34+ cells based on Poisson statistics, as suggested in a previous study (Charrier, S. et al., Gene therapy, 2011, 18, 479-487). The significant departure from an ideal Poisson distribution observed in the progeny of SRCs, however, suggests that transduction efficiency is not equal in cells at the most immature stages, resulting in a large number of vector copies in the subpopulation, most susceptible to transduction, and a smaller number in the most resistant subpopulations. These observations indicate that the initial transduction rate for individual cells or colonies should be monitored carefully, to prevent the generation of subsets of cells with a high VCN. It is shown here that adjusting the initial transduction rate to ≈50% and the mean
VCN to ≈1 limits the frequency of SRC progenies with ≥5 lentiviral vector copies to about 1%. Conversely, the effort to transduce a higher proportion of HSCs without selection by increased LV delivery with elevation in the average vector copy number also enhances the risk of oncogenesis from multiple integrants per cell. The decrease in total cell number due to selection may make it necessary to increase the number of cells destined for transplant, either through improved CD34+ cell harvesting or effective ex vivo HSC expansion strategies.
A suicide gene was included to decrease the risks related to the potential genotoxicity of integrative vectors and to make it possible to ablate cells with modified genes if a serious adverse event occurred. The use of the HHV-1 TK suicide gene was investigated, as this strategy has been used in many clinical studies (Greco, R. et al., Frontiers in pharmacology, 2015, 6, 95). DeltaTK was incorporated into the vector, as its smaller size was advantageous. Transduced cells were sensitive to ganciclovir treatment with a 1 μM solution decreasing the number of hematopoietic progenitors by two orders of magnitude. This level of sensitivity is similar to that seen in transduced cell lines or primary
T cells expressing deltaTK (Salomon, B. et al., Molecular and cellular biology, 1995, 15, 5322-5328) or fusion proteins including TK or its hypersensitive mutant form, TKSR39 (Chen, X. et al., Cancer immunology, immunotherapy: CII, 2009, 58, 977-987; Junker, K. et al., Gene therapy, 2003, 10, 1189-1197). Transduced SRCs were almost completely eradicated, a result that compares favorably with those of other in vivo studies (Gschweng, E. H. et al., Cancer research, 2014, 74, 5173-5183). Nevertheless a few transduced human cells could be detected in one mouse. The presence of these cells may reflect insufficient drug sensitivity, epigenetic silencing of the transgene, or mutations of the TK gene. Epigenetic silencing may not be an issue as, if it occurs in the vicinity of an oncogene, it would also abolish the risk of an adverse event due to transcriptional activation or splicing modulation. Nevertheless, most of the transduced cells were destroyed. Thus, although non obligatory, the presence of delta TK provides a higher level of safety than the use of a vector without a suicide gene. The protocol ensures efficient selection and high recovery rate of transduced hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells after only 24 hours of exposure to selective agents already approved by medical agencies. The drug-selection method is affordable, rapid, easily scalable, and does not bias the distribution of lentiviral insertion sites beyond the integration preferences observed after transduction of HSCs and reconstitution of hematopoiesis. High transduction rates can be obtained with a low/medium vector copy number per cell and the vector provides a means of eradicating cells containing the modified gene in vivo if a serious adverse event occurs. The vector titer is close to that of a vector currently used in clinical trials and the beta-globin expression level is similar. These results taken together indicate that this procedure is suitable for human clinical applications while affording the additional safety of conditional suicide. This strategy is very promising for hematopoietic gene and cell therapy, in particular in subjects with beta0/beta0-thalassemia and severe Sickle Cell Disease.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17305598.9 | May 2017 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2018/063395 | 5/22/2018 | WO | 00 |
