Towards a commercial process for the manufacture of genetically modified T cells for therapy.

The recent successes of adoptive T-cell immunotherapy for the treatment of hematologic malignancies have highlighted the need for manufacturing processes that are robust and scalable for product commercialization. Here we review some of the more outstanding issues surrounding commercial scale manufacturing of personalized-adoptive T-cell medicinal products. These include closed system operations, improving process robustness and simplifying work flows, reducing labor intensity by implementing process automation, scalability and cost, as well as appropriate testing and tracking of products, all while maintaining strict adherence to Current Good Manufacturing Practices and regulatory guidelines. A decentralized manufacturing model is proposed, where in the future patients' cells could be processed at the point-of-care in the hospital.

Novel lentiviral vectors for human gene therapy.

This review summarises an emerging viral vector system for use in human gene therapy - lentiviral vectors. Lentiviral vectors have several advantages over existing viral vectors. They can stably express transgenes in non-dividing cells in vivo without provoking a significant immune response. They can be produced to a high titre and can be pseudotyped with heterologous envelope proteins to confer broad tropism. Although not without safety concerns, the properties of lentiviral vectors makes them an attractive choice for human gene therapy.

A conditionally replicating HIV-1 vector interferes with wild-type HIV-1 replication and spread.

Defective-interfering viruses are known to modulate virus pathogenicity. We describe conditionally replicating HIV-1 (crHIV) vectors that interfere with wild-type HIV-1 (wt-HIV) replication and spread. crHIV vectors are defective-interfering HIV genomes that do not encode viral proteins and replicate only in the presence of wt-HIV helper virus. In cells that contain both wt-HIV and crHIV genomes, the latter are shown to have a selective advantage for packaging into progeny virions because they contain ribozymes that cleave wt-HIV RNA but not crHIV RNA. A crHIV vector containing a triple anti-U5 ribozyme significantly interferes with wt-HIV replication and spread. crHIV vectors are also shown to undergo the full viral replicative cycle after complementation with wt-HIV helper-virus. The application of defective interfering crHIV vectors may result in competition with wt-HIVs and decrease pathogenic viral loads in vivo.

Gene therapy for human immunodeficiency virus infection: genetic antiviral strategies and targets for intervention.

Gene therapeutic strategies for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection have received increased attention due to lack of chemotherapeutic drugs or vaccines that show long-term efficacy in vivo. An emerging group, referred to here as "genetic antivirals," is reviewed. Genetic antivirals are defined as DNA or RNA elements that are transferred into cells and affect their intracellular targets either directly, or after expression as RNA or proteins. They include antisense oligonucleotides, ribozymes, RNA decoys, transdominant mutants, toxins, and immunogens. They offer the possibility to target simultaneously multiple sites in the HIV genome, thereby minimizing the production of resistant viruses. We review the molecular mechanisms of genetic antivirals, their HIV molecular targets, and discuss issues concerning their application as anti-HIV agents.

Locus-Control-Region-Coupled Beta (S)(Antilles)- and Alpha(2)-Hemoglobin Genes Select for High Alpha(2)-Hemoglobin Expression in Adult Transgenic Mice.

Two transgenic lines of mice were produced which contained the beta(S)(Antilles)- and alpha(2)-hemoglobin genes tandemly coupled to the 'micro' locus control region (&mgr;LCR). The &mgr;LCRbeta(S)(Antilles)alpha(2)-hemoglobin transgenic mice expressed high levels of alpha(2)-hemoglobin while beta(S)(Antilles)-hemoglobin expression was virtually undetectable. Abundant alpha(2)-hemoglobin protein was observed in the blood of transgenic mice, while beta(S)(Antilles)-hemoglobin chains could not be detected. Transgenic red blood cells had substantially decreased sensitivity to osmotic lysis. Attempts to produce homozygotes containing the transgene were unsuccessful. The phenotype of these mice closely resembles that of beta-thalassemic mice. The &mgr;LCRbeta(S)(Antilles)alpha(2) transgenic mice demonstrate that if the &mgr;LCR is coupled to the beta(S)(Antilles)- and alpha(2)-hemoglobin genes in tandem, only the distal alpha(2)-hemoglobin gene is selected for expression to significant levels in adult mice. These results support a reciprocally competitive model for LCR-hemoglobin developmental switching. Copyright 1994 S. Karger AG, Basel

Intracellular susceptibility to ribozymes in a tethered substrate-ribozyme provirus model is not predicted by secondary structures of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNAs in vitro.

We have assessed the sensitivity of different sites in HIV-1 genomic RNA to ribozymes. Ribozymes targeted to sequences in U5, Pol, Env, RRE, or R were positioned into nef of an infectious HIV-1 provirus. When these proviral DNAs were introduced into HeLa CD4+ cells, recombinant viruses that contain ribozymes tethered to genomic RNA or viral mRNAs were produced. The growth kinetics of ribozyme-containing viruses in CD4+ lymphocytes (MT4 cells) were distinctly delayed when compared to control viruses. On the basis of the ability of a particular ribozyme to inhibit virus replication, we inferred intracellular ribozyme-sensitive sites. We found that although ribozyme sensitivity in vitro could be correlated with predicted secondary structures of target RNAs, such in vivo correlations could not be made when using the HIV provirus model. We conclude that both Zuker algorithm computer modeling of substrate RNA secondary structures and in vitro cleavage efficiencies cannot be reliably used to determine HIV-1 ribozyme sensitive sites in vivo.

Effects of integration and replication on transcription of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat.

The activity of a promoter is influenced by chromosomal and cell cycle/replication context. We analyzed the influences of integration and replication on transcription of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 long terminal repeat (LTR). We found that one requirement for Tat trans-activated expression differed for integrated versus unintegrated HIV-1 LTR. Specifically, the second coding exon of Tat, previously regarded as functionally dispensable, plays a role in the optimal activation of integrated LTRs. We also found that the transcription profile produced from the HIV-1 LTR is influenced by replication. Autonomously replicating vectors that contain the HIV-1 LTR produced patterns of transcription different from counterpart vectors that do not replicate. Both replicating and nonreplicating HIV-1 LTRs remained responsive to Tat.

Functional characterization of a U5 ribozyme: intracellular suppression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 expression.

We have designed a ribozyme that cleaves human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA in U5 (at nucleotide +115). This ribozyme was tested in vitro and was found to give efficient and specific digestion of RNA containing the HIV-1 U5 sequence. When the U5 ribozyme was placed into the HIV-1 genome, virus replication was suppressed in tissue culture. Introduction of this ribozyme into cells by using an amphotropic retrovirus vector significantly reduced expression of U5-containing RNA in cells chronically infected with HIV-1. Naive T cells were cocultivated with packaging cells that produce defective amphotropic retroviruses containing the U5 ribozyme. These lymphocytes were found to be partially protected from HIV-1 infection.

Entry of neurotropic arboviruses into the central nervous system: an in vitro study using mouse brain endothelium.

Arbovirus infection of cerebral microvascular endothelial cells was investigated in an in vitro mouse brain endothelial (MBE) cell model. Alphaviruses replicated to a greater extent than did flaviviruses, indicating that viremia may be important in neuroinvasion. Also, some viruses (e.g., Semliki Forest virus) replicated to high titers while others (e.g., Murray Valley encephalitis virus) did not. Viruses that replicated to high titers showed luminal polarity of virus release, indicating that infection of the endothelium may be important in both maintenance of viremia and neuroinvasion; viruses that did not so replicate showed abluminal polarity of release, indicating that virus is actively transported across the endothelial monolayer, another mechanism for neuroinvasion. Infection of MBE cells with highly and less-neuroinvasive strains achieved similar results, indicating that the endothelium does not discriminate between neuroinvasive strains. However, the cerebral microvascular endothelium may be important in discriminating between viruses that invade the brain parenchyma and those that do not: neuron-tropic Ross River virus T48 replicated to higher titers than did ependymal-tropic Ross River virus NB5092. Thus, viruses probably use multiple cellular mechanisms to invade the central nervous system across the cerebral microvascular endothelium.

Culture of mouse brain capillary endothelial cell lines that express factor VIII, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, and form junctional complexes in vitro.

The isolation and culture of cell lines from mouse brain capillary endothelium (MBE) is described. Cells migrating from collagenase-treated capillary fragments proliferated rapidly in the 1st wk of culture forming large epithelioid cobblestonelike colonies. The cells showed only marginal proliferation after 2 to 3 wk in culture, until peripheral cells migrated away from the colony which exhibited a marked degree of proliferation. These cells were trypsinized and subcultured to confluence. The cells can be maintained for well over 40 passages and seem to retain their endothelial morphology. The endothelial origin of these cells was demonstrated by positive immunoperoxidase reactivity with Factor VIII-related antigen, specific binding of Bandeiraea simplicifolia lectin and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity. Electron microscopic examination of the MBE cells showed junctional complexes including intermediate junctions, but no tight junctions. The overall ultrastructure indicates that a degree of dedifferentiation has occurred, the cells ultrastructurally resembling immature endothelium. An earlier investigation of cultured mouse brain endothelial cells reported a cell line that had lost many functional and structural characteristics. Our study demonstrates, as the previous one, that a certain degree of dedifferentiation needs to occur if MBE cells are to be maintained for long-term culture. However, the degree of dedifferentiation seems to be variable, depending in part on the culture conditions employed.