RESUMO
Transplantation of B cells engineered ex vivo to secrete broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) has shown efficacy in disease models. However, clinical translation of this approach would require specialized medical centers, technically demanding protocols and major histocompatibility complex compatibility of donor cells and recipients. Here we report in vivo B cell engineering using two adeno-associated viral vectors, with one coding for Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 (saCas9) and the other for 3BNC117, an anti-HIV bNAb. After intravenously injecting the vectors into mice, we observe successful editing of B cells leading to memory retention and bNAb secretion at neutralizing titers of up to 6.8 µg ml-1. We observed minimal clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 off-target cleavage as detected by unbiased CHANGE-sequencing analysis, whereas on-target cleavage in undesired tissues is reduced by expressing saCas9 from a B cell-specific promoter. In vivo B cell engineering to express therapeutic antibodies is a safe, potent and scalable method, which may be applicable not only to infectious diseases but also in the treatment of noncommunicable conditions, such as cancer and autoimmune disease.
Assuntos
Infecções por HIV , HIV-1 , Animais , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/genética , Linfócitos B , Anticorpos Amplamente Neutralizantes , Anticorpos Anti-HIV/genética , Infecções por HIV/terapia , Camundongos , Staphylococcus aureusRESUMO
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20304-y.
RESUMO
HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) can suppress viremia and protect against HIV infection. However, their elicitation is made difficult by low frequencies of appropriate precursor B cell receptors and the complex maturation pathways required to generate bnAbs from these precursors. Antibody genes can be engineered into B cells for expression as both a functional antigen receptor on cell surfaces and as secreted antibody. Here, we show that HIV bnAb-engineered primary mouse B cells can be adoptively transferred and vaccinated in immunocompetent mice resulting in the expansion of durable bnAb memory and long-lived plasma cells. Somatic hypermutation after immunization indicates that engineered cells have the capacity to respond to an evolving pathogen. These results encourage further exploration of engineered B cell vaccines as a strategy for durable elicitation of HIV bnAbs to protect against infection and as a contributor to a functional HIV cure.
