Regulatory T Cells Do Not Affect Human Hematopoietic Stem Cell Engraftment and Prevent T Cell Alloreactivity Against CD34+ Cells: A Preclinical Study.

Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 4870-4870
Author(s):  
Dolores Mahmud ◽  
Sandeep Chunduri ◽  
Nadim Mahmud ◽  
Lennert Van Den Dries ◽  
John J. Maciejewski ◽  
...  

Abstract We have previously demonstrated that allogeneic blood T cells stimulate cord blood (CB) CD34+ cell differentiation into professional antigen presenting cells (APC) in-vitro and in-vivo (Abbasian J, Blood2006:108:203–208). In this study we immunomagnetically selected human CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) and showed that >80% of these cells were positive for FoxP3 intracellular expression. Then we tested whether Tregs may affect CB CD34+ cell clonogenic activity in-vitro an in-vivo, and if co-incubation of Tregs and CD34+ cells may modify the phenotype and function of Tregs. A colony-forming cells (CFU-C) assay performed with CD34+ cells mixed with allogeneic Tregs at 1:2 ratio resulted in comparable numbers of Granulocyte- Macrophage CFU (CFU-GM), burst-forming unit-erythroid (BFU-E) and CFU-Mix as compared to cultures with CD34+ cells alone (p=0.2, p=0.5 and p=0.5, respectively)(n=3 exps). Human CD34+ cells were co-transplanted with human CD4+CD25+ allogeneic Tregs into NOD/SCID mice at 1:1 and 1:2 ratio. After 6 weeks mice marrow was harvested and showed a 1.3±1.1% (n=3 mice) and 1.6±0.8% (n=4 mice) engraftment of huCD45+ cells, respectively, which was comparable to the engraftment observed in control animals transplanted with CD34+ cells alone (1.4±0.4). In addition, among the engrafted huCD45+ cells similar proportion of CD33+ myeloid cells, CD14+ monocytes and CD1c+ dendritic cells were observed in the three groups of animals. Mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) experiments showed that irradiated CD34+ cells stimulated brisk proliferative responses of CD4+CD25- cells (S:R=1:2), but did not induce any proliferation of Tregs (n=3 exps). After incubation with CD34+ cells in the presence of IL2, on average >80% CD4+CD25+ cells maintained the intracellular expression of FoxP3 and surface expression of CD62L and CD152 (n=3 exps). Then, Tregs autologous to CD34+ cells were isolated from the CB CD34- cell fraction while allogeneic Tregs were isolated from healthy individuals’ peripheral blood. When 2.5 x 104 autologous or allogeneic Tregs were added to an MLC with 2.5 x 104 irradiated CD34+ stimulator cells and allogeneic responders at 1:2 ratio, they suppressed T cell alloreactivity to CD34+ cells on average by 68±14% and 41±16%, respectively (n=3 exps). Our findings suggest that co-transplantation of CD34+ cells and autologous or allogeneic Tregs may allow normal stem cell engraftment while limiting T cell alloreactivity. These results will prompt the design of new strategies in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, particularly in an HLA incompatible setting.

Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (21) ◽  
pp. 1999-1999
Author(s):  
Annie L. Oh ◽  
Dolores Mahmud ◽  
Benedetta Nicolini ◽  
Nadim Mahmud ◽  
Elisa Bonetti ◽  
...  

Abstract Our previous studies have shown the ability of human CD34+ cells to stimulate T cell alloproliferative responses in-vitro. Here, we investigated anti-CD34 T cell alloreactivity in-vivo by co-transplanting human CD34+ cells and allogeneic T cells of an incompatible individual into NSG mice. Human CD34+ cells (2x105/animal) were transplanted with allogeneic T cells at different ratios ranging from 1:50 to 1:0.5, or without T cells as a control. No xenogeneic GVHD was detected at 1:1 CD34:T cell ratio. Engraftment of human CD45+ (huCD45+) cells in mice marrow and spleen was analyzed by flow cytometry. Marrow engraftment of huCD45+ cells at 4 or 8 weeks was significantly decreased in mice transplanted with T cells compared to control mice that did not receive T cells. More importantly, transplantation of T cells at CD34:T cell ratios from 1:50 to 1:0.5 resulted in stem cell rejection since >98% huCD45+ cells detected were CD3+. In mice with stem cell rejection, human T cells had a normal CD4:CD8 ratio and CD4+ cells were mostly CD45RA+. The kinetics of human cell engraftment in the bone marrow and spleen was then analyzed in mice transplanted with CD34+ and allogeneic T cells at 1:1 ratio and sacrificed at 1, 2, or 4 weeks. At 2 weeks post transplant, the bone marrow showed CD34-derived myeloid cells, whereas the spleen showed only allo-T cells. At 4 weeks, all myeloid cells had been rejected and only T cells were detected both in the bone marrow and spleen. Based on our previous in-vitro studies showing that T cell alloreactivity against CD34+ cells is mainly due to B7:CD28 costimulatory activation, we injected the mice with CTLA4-Ig (Abatacept, Bristol Myers Squibb, New York, NY) from d-1 to d+28 post transplantation of CD34+ and allogeneic T cells. Treatment of mice with CTLA4-Ig prevented rejection and allowed CD34+ cells to fully engraft the marrow of NSG mice at 4 weeks with an overall 13± 7% engraftment of huCD45+ marrow cells (n=5) which included: 53±9% CD33+ cells, 22±3% CD14+ monocytes, 7±2% CD1c myeloid dendritic cells, and 4±1% CD34+ cells, while CD19+ B cells were only 3±1% and CD3+ T cells were 0.5±1%. We hypothesize that CTLA4-Ig may induce the apoptotic deletion of alloreactive T cells early in the post transplant period although we could not detect T cells in the spleen as early as 7 or 10 days after transplant. Here we demonstrate that costimulatory blockade with CTLA4-Ig at the time of transplant of human CD34+ cells and incompatible allogeneic T cells can prevent T cell mediated rejection. We also show that the NSG model can be utilized to test immunotherapy strategies aimed at engrafting human stem cells across HLA barriers in-vivo. These results will prompt the design of future clinical trials of CD34+ cell transplantation for patients with severe non-malignant disorders, such as sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, immunodeficiencies or aplastic anemia. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 63-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes L. Zakrzewski ◽  
Adam A. Kochman ◽  
Sidney X. Lu ◽  
Theis H. Terwey ◽  
Theo D. Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is associated with a varying period of immunoincompetence that particularly affects he T cell lineage resulting in significant morbidity and mortality from opportunistic infections. Recent studies have shown that murine T cells and their precursors can be generated from hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in vitro using a OP9-DL1 coculture system consisting of OP9 bone marrow stromal cells expressing the Notch 1 ligand Delta-like 1 and growth factors (interleukin 7 and fms-like tyrosine kinase-3 ligand). In this study we determined the effects of adoptively transferred in vitro generated T cell precursors on T cell reconstitution after allogeneic HSCT. We selected HSC (Lin- Sca-1hi c-kithi) from bone marrow (BM) of C57BL/6 mice and cultured these cells on a monolayer of OP9-DL1 cells in the presence of growth factors. These HSC expanded 2,000–5,000-fold within 3–4 weeks and consisted of >95% CD4-CD8-double negative (DN) T cell precursors after 16–28 days of culture. We infused these cells (8x106) with T cell depleted (TCD) BM (5x106) or purified HSC into allogeneic recipients using minor antigen mismatched and MHC class I/II mismatched transplant models. Control mice received TCD BM or purified HSC only. Progeny of OP9-DL1 derived T cell precursors were found in thymus and spleen increasing thymic cellularity and significantly improving thymic and splenic donor T cell chimerism. This effect was even more pronounced when purified HSC instead of whole BM were used as allograft. T cell receptor repertoire and proliferative response to foreign antigen (determined by third party MLR) of in vivo differentiated OP9-DL1 derived mature T cells were intact. Administration of in vitro generated T cell precursors did not induce graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) but mediated significant graft-versus-tumor (GVT) activity (determined by in vivo bioluminescence imaging) resulting in a subsequent significant survival benefit. This advantage was associated with better cytokine responses (IL-2, INF-g, TNF-a) in T cells originating from OP9-DL1 derived T cell precursors compared to BM donor derived T cells. We conclude that the adoptive transfer of OP9-DL1 derived T cell precursors significantly enhances post-transplant T cell reconstitution and GVT activity in the absence GVHD.


Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (22) ◽  
pp. 4474-4474
Author(s):  
Benedetta Nicolini ◽  
Dolores Mahmud ◽  
Nadim Mahmud ◽  
Giuseppina Nucifora ◽  
Damiano Rondelli

Abstract Abstract 4474 We have previously demonstrated that human CD34+ cells include subsets of antigen presenting cells capable of stimulating anti-stem cell T cell alloreactivity in-vitro. In this study we transplanted human CD34+ cells and allogeneic T cells in a NOD/SCID γnull (NOG) mouse model and evaluated the occurrence of stem cell rejection as well as xenogeneic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) following the infusion of different doses of T cells. After sublethal irradiation NOG mice were cotransplanted with 2×105 CD34+ cells and HLA mismatched CD4+CD25- T cells at 1:0 (control), 1:2 or 1:10 CD34+ cell: T cell ratio (n=5-10 mice per group). Hematopoietic stem cell and T cell engraftment was assessed in the bone marrow and in the spleen 6 weeks following transplantation or earlier in case the animals died. Control mice transplanted with CD34+ cells alone showed a high level of stem cell engraftment (huCD45+ cells: 60±10%) in the bone marrow, encompassing CD19+ B cells (64±4%), CD34+ cells (18±1%), CD33+ myeloid cells (7±1%), CD14+ monocytes (3±1%), and no T cells within huCD45+ cells. In contrast, mice that were transplanted with CD34+ cells and 4×105 (1:2 ratio) or 2×106 (1:10 ratio) T cells had only 9±2% and 3±1% huCD45+ cells, respectively, in the bone marrow (p=0.01). Moreover, marrow samples of mice cotransplanted with CD34+ cells and T cells at 1:2 or 1:10 ratio included >98% huCD3+ T cells and no CD34+ cells. Spleen engraftment of huCD45+ cells was lower (25±8%) in control mice (1:0 ratio) as compared to 66±10% and 36±11% in 1:2 and 1:10 groups, respectively (p=0.05). As observed in the marrow, also the spleen of animals receiving CD34+ and T cells included >98% CD3+ T cells. Among the T cells, both in the marrow and in the spleen of mice in the 1:2 and 1:10 ratio groups, 60-70% were CD4+CD8- cells, 22-25% CD8+CD4- cells, 1-3% CD56+ cells, and 2-5% CD4+CD25+ cells. In mice receiving 4 ×105 T cells (1:2 ratio), on average 12±6% of the T cells in the bone marrow and spleen were CD4+CD8+. Only mice receiving 2×106 T cells (1:10 ratio) showed GVHD. This was demonstrated by fur changes, reduced survival (p=0.02) and weight loss (p=0.0001) compared to control mice or mice receiving a lower dose of T cells (1:2 ratio). The marrow engraftment of CD3+ cells with disappearance of CD34+ cells in mice receiving low doses of allogeneic T cells, in the absence of evident xenogeneic GVHD, suggests that NOG mouse model represents a useful tool to study human stem cell rejection. This model will be also utilized to investigate new strategies of immunosuppressive cell therapy applied to stem cell transplantation in an HLA mismatched setting. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 3743-3743 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Coghill ◽  
Michelle L. West ◽  
Donald N. Cook ◽  
Jonathan S. Serody

Abstract Abstract 3743 CC-Chemokine receptor 8 (CCR8) is a chemokine receptor expressed on the surfaces of activated effector T cells (Teffs) and resting regulatory T cells (Tregs). CCR8 has previously been shown to play a role in the trafficking of memory T cells into cutaneous and possibly pulmonary sites, and to contribute to the ability of Tregs to properly interact with antigen presenting cells within secondary lymphoid tissue. Since the lungs and in particular the skin are frequent sites of tissue injury in those developing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), we set out to study the contribution of CCR8 to GVHD pathogenesis using a haploidentical murine HSCT model. Given the emerging utilization of therapeutic donor Treg infusions as a means for preventing GVHD, we also explored the role that CCR8 plays in the protective immunosuppressive function of Tregs in the HSCT setting. Methods: For our studies we used a haplotype-matched murine transplant model. C57BL/6 mice (B6; H-2b) functioned as donors, and B6 × DBA2 (B6D2; H-2bxd) mice served as recipients. For Teff studies, B6D2 mice were lethally irradiated to 950 rads on transplant day -1, and then administered 3×106 T cell depleted (TCD) B6 bone marrow (BM) cells +/− 4×106 CD25− Teffs isolated from the spleens of wild-type (WT) or CCR8−/− B6 mice on day 0. For studies involving regulatory T cells, B6D2 animals were lethally irradiated on day -1 and administered WT B6 TCD BM cells +/− 1–1.25×106 CD4+CD25+ Tregs isolated from WT or CCR8−/− B6 mice on day 0. 4×106 WT B6 Teffs were then administered on transplant day +2. For some transplants, WT B6 and CCR8−/− animals transgenic for enhanced green-fluorescent protein (eGFP+) were used as Teff and/or Treg donors in order to study T cell trafficking following HSCT. Both stereo-fluorescence microscopy and anti-eGFP ELISA approaches were utilized for these in vivo trafficking experiments. The in vitro suppressive potential of WT and CCR8−/− Tregs was evaluated by examining their ability to inhibit Teff proliferation in a one way mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). Results: CCR8 was not required for the induction of lethal GVHD, with recipients of CCR8−/− Teffs demonstrating a 100% mortality rate by transplant day +32. However, CCR8 was important for Treg function. In vivo, CCR8−/− Tregs were significantly less effective at preventing GVHD lethality than WT Tregs (see figure; P=0.013 for day +70 survival proportion comparison using Fisher's exact test). When we evaluated donor Treg trafficking on transplant days 6–7 using eGFP+ cells, no significant differences were noted between those animals receiving WT versus CCR8−/− Tregs. By transplant days 9–10, however, a generally higher eGFP signal was observed by stereo-fluorescence microscopy within the lymph nodes of those animals receiving WT eGFP+ Tregs compared to those given CCR8−/− eGFP+ Tregs. In addition, significantly more eGFP was detected by ELISA in the spleens and colons of WT eGFP+ Treg recipients (P=0.0015 and 0.021 respectively for mean total eGFP comparison between WT and CCR8−/− Treg groups by student's t test), and a strong trend for greater WT Treg accumulation was noted within host livers and lungs (P=0.059 and 0.066 respectively). Finally, CCR8−/− Tregs were relatively impaired in their ability to suppress T cell proliferation in vitro compared to WT cells, particularly at higher dilutions. Conclusions: CCR8 is not required for donor Teffs to induce lethal GVHD in our HSCT model. However, CCR8 expression does appear to be important for the function of Tregsin vitro and in vivo, particularly at limiting Treg dilutions. CCR8 is not required for the accumulation of donor Tregs within any one recipient site. Rather, CCR8 appears to globally potentiate the accumulation of donor Tregs within most recipient tissues, with the extent of this effect increasing over time. Future experiments will focus on elucidating a mechanism for this finding. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A3.2-A4
Author(s):  
J Grün ◽  
I Piseddu ◽  
C Perleberg ◽  
N Röhrle ◽  
S Endres ◽  
...  

BackgroundUnmethylated CpG-DNA is a potent ligand for the endosomal Toll-like-receptor-9, important for the immune activation to pathogen-associated molecules.1 CpG and other TLR-ligands show effective immunotherapeutic capacities in cancer treatment by inducing an antitumorigenic immunity.2 They are able to reduce tumor progression by reduction of intratumoral secretion of the immunoregulating chemokine CCL223 and subsequent recruitment of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (Treg), which express CCR4 the only so far known receptor for CCL22.4 Our recent work has shown that CCL22 secretion by dendritic cells (DC) in the lymph node, mediates tolerance by inducing DC-Treg contacts.5 Indeed, in the absence of CCL22, immune responses to vaccination were stronger and resulted in tumor rejection.6 Therefore, we are aiming to investigate the effects of TLR-ligands on systemic CCL22 levels, elucidating all involved mechanisms to identify new targets for cancer immunotherapy.Materials and MethodsT, B and CD11c+ DCs of wildtype (wt) and RAG1-/- mice were isolated from splenocytes by magnetic-activated cell sorting for in vitro assays. Different co-cultures were incubated with CpG and GM-CSF, known as an CCL22 inducer.5 For in vivo experiments, wt mice were treated with CpG, R484 or poly(I:C) alone and in combination with GM-CSF. CCL22-levels in a number of organs were analyzed.ResultsAnalyzing the different immune cell compartments in vitro, we found that DCs in whole splenocytes secrete CCL22 during culture while DC cultured alone showed no CCL22 secretion. When treated with CpG, CCL22-levels were reduced in splenocytes, while it was induced in DC culture alone. The same results were seen when RAG splenocytes, that lack functional B and T cells, were cultured with CpG. CpG treated B cells were able to suppress CCL22 secretion by DC unlike T cells alone. Co-cultures of T and B cells treated with CpG, however, induced the strongest CCL22 suppression in DC. In vivo, we could show that all TLR ligands tested reduced CCL22 in a number of organs significantly. Furthermore, CpG showed the strongest suppression of CCL22 even in the presence of the CCL22 inducer GM-CSF.5ConclusionsWe could show that B cells with T cells mediate CCL22 suppression by TLR ligands. The fact that CpG was able to reduce CCL22 levels even in the presence of the inducer GM-CSF demonstrates the potent CCL22 suppressive capacity of TLR ligands.ReferencesO’Neill LA, et al. The history of toll-like receptors – redefining innate immunity. Nat Rev Immunol 2013;13(6):453–60.Rothenfusser S, et al. Recent advances in immunostimulatory CpG oligonucleotides. Curr Opin Mol Ther 2003;5(2):98–106.Wang S, et al. Intratumoral injection of a CpG oligonucleotide reverts resistance to PD-1 blockade by expanding multifunctional CD8+ T cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016;113(46): E7240–E7249.Rapp M, et al. CCL22 controls immunity by promoting regulatory T cell communication with dendritic cells in lymph nodes. J Exp Med 2019;216(5):1170–1181.Piseddu I, et al. Constitutive expression of CCL22 is mediated by T cell-derived GM-CSF. J Immunol 2020;205(8):2056–2065.Anz D, et al. Suppression of intratumoral CCL22 by type i interferon inhibits migration of regulatory T cells and blocks cancer progression. Cancer Res 2015;75(21):4483–93.Disclosure InformationJ. Grün: None. I. Piseddu: None. C. Perleberg: None. N. Röhrle: None. S. Endres: None. D. Anz: None.


1994 ◽  
Vol 179 (2) ◽  
pp. 493-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Bacchetta ◽  
M Bigler ◽  
J L Touraine ◽  
R Parkman ◽  
P A Tovo ◽  
...  

Transplantation of HLA mismatched hematopoietic stem cells in patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) can result in a selective engraftment of T cells of donor origin with complete immunologic reconstitution and in vivo tolerance. The latter may occur in the absence of clonal deletion of donor T lymphocytes able to recognize the host HLA antigens. The activity of these host-reactive T cells is suppressed in vivo, since no graft-vs. -host disease is observed in these human chimeras. Here it is shown that the CD4+ host-reactive T cell clones isolated from a SCID patient transplanted with fetal liver stem cells produce unusually high quantities of interleukin 10 (IL-10) and very low amounts of IL-2 after antigen-specific stimulation in vitro. The specific proliferative responses of the host-reactive T cell clones were considerably enhanced in the presence of neutralizing concentrations of an anti-IL-10 monoclonal antibody, suggesting that high levels of endogenous IL-10 suppress the activity of these cells. These in vitro data correlate with observations made in vivo. Semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis carried out on freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of the patient indicated that the levels of IL-10 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression were strongly enhanced, whereas IL-2 mRNA expression was much lower than that in PBMC of healthy donors. In vivo IL-10 mRNA expression was not only high in the T cells, but also in the non-T cell fraction, indicating that host cells also contributed to the high levels of IL-10 in vivo. Patient-derived monocytes were found to be major IL-10 producers. Although no circulating IL-10 could be detected, freshly isolated monocytes of the patient showed a reduced expression of class II HLA antigens. However, their capacity to stimulate T cells of normal donors in primary mixed lymphocyte cultures was within the normal range. Interestingly, similar high in vivo IL-10 mRNA expressions in the T and non-T cell compartment were also observed in three SCID patients transplanted with fetal liver stem cells and in four SCID patients transplanted with T cell-depleted haploidentical bone marrow stem cells. Taken together, these data indicate that high endogenous IL-10 production is a general phenomenon in SCID patients in whom allogenic stem cell transplantation results in immunologic reconstitution and induction of tolerance. Both donor T cells and host accessory cells contribute to these high levels of IL-10, which would suppress the activity of host-reactive T cell in vivo.


2018 ◽  
Vol 215 (9) ◽  
pp. 2265-2278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen M. Lau ◽  
Ioanna Tiniakou ◽  
Oriana A. Perez ◽  
Margaret E. Kirkling ◽  
George S. Yap ◽  
...  

An IRF8-dependent subset of conventional dendritic cells (cDCs), termed cDC1, effectively cross-primes CD8+ T cells and facilitates tumor-specific T cell responses. Etv6 is an ETS family transcription factor that controls hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) function and thrombopoiesis. We report that like HSPCs, cDCs express Etv6, but not its antagonist, ETS1, whereas interferon-producing plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) express both factors. Deletion of Etv6 in the bone marrow impaired the generation of cDC1-like cells in vitro and abolished the expression of signature marker CD8α on cDC1 in vivo. Moreover, Etv6-deficient primary cDC1 showed a partial reduction of cDC-specific and cDC1-specific gene expression and chromatin signatures and an aberrant up-regulation of pDC-specific signatures. Accordingly, DC-specific Etv6 deletion impaired CD8+ T cell cross-priming and the generation of tumor antigen–specific CD8+ T cells. Thus, Etv6 optimizes the resolution of cDC1 and pDC expression programs and the functional fitness of cDC1, thereby facilitating T cell cross-priming and tumor-specific responses.


Blood ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 95 (9) ◽  
pp. 2813-2820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Gallacher ◽  
Barbara Murdoch ◽  
Dongmei M. Wu ◽  
Francis N. Karanu ◽  
Mike Keeney ◽  
...  

Recent evidence indicates that human hematopoietic stem cell properties can be found among cells lacking CD34 and lineage commitment markers (CD34−Lin−). A major barrier in the further characterization of human CD34− stem cells is the inability to detect this population using in vitro assays because these cells only demonstrate hematopoietic activity in vivo. Using cell surface markers AC133 and CD7, subfractions were isolated within CD34−CD38−Lin− and CD34+CD38−Lin− cells derived from human cord blood. Although the majority of CD34−CD38−Lin− cells lack AC133 and express CD7, an extremely rare population of AC133+CD7− cells was identified at a frequency of 0.2%. Surprisingly, these AC133+CD7− cells were highly enriched for progenitor activity at a frequency equivalent to purified fractions of CD34+ stem cells, and they were the only subset among the CD34−CD38−Lin− population capable of giving rise to CD34+ cells in defined liquid cultures. Human cells were detected in the bone marrow of non-obese/severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mice 8 weeks after transplantation of ex vivo–cultured AC133+CD7− cells isolated from the CD34−CD38−Lin− population, whereas 400-fold greater numbers of the AC133−CD7− subset had no engraftment ability. These studies provide novel insights into the hierarchical relationship of the human stem cell compartment by identifying a rare population of primitive human CD34− cells that are detectable after transplantation in vivo, enriched for in vitro clonogenic capacity, and capable of differentiation into CD34+ cells.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 3209-3209
Author(s):  
Sonali Chaudhury ◽  
Johannes Zakarzewski ◽  
Jae-Hung Shieh ◽  
Marcel van der Brink ◽  
Malcolm A.S. Moore

Abstract Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is associated with significant post-transplant immunoincompetence which affects in particular the T cell lineage and results in an increased susceptibility to infections. Novel strategies to enhance immune recovery after HSCT could prevent malignant relapse and immune deficiency and improve the overall outcome of this therapy. We have established a serum free culture system using murine bone marrow stroma expressing the Notch ligand Delta-like 1 (DL1) to obtain high numbers of human pre-T cells from CD34+ cells. Human cord blood CD34+ cells were plated on OP9 DL1 stroma transduced with adenovirus expressing thrombopoietin (ad-TPO) at an MOI of 30. Media used was QBSF-60 (Serum free media prepared by Quantity Biologicals) supplemented with Flt-3 ligand and IL-7 (10ng/ml). At 4–5 weeks we obtained a 10 5–10 7 fold expansions of cultured cells of which about 70–80% were CD5, CD7 positive pre T cells (Fig 1). We then developed an optimal system to study human lymphohematopoiesis using mouse models (NOD/SCID/IL2rϒnull and NOD/SCIDβ2null) and established an adequate pre T cell number (4 × 10 6) and radiation dose (300 Rads). We injected CD34 and pre-T cells (CD45 +, CD4−, CD5+, CD7+) derived from OP9 DL1 cultures into these mice and achieved ~50%engraftment of NK in the bone marrow and spleen of the mice at 2 weeks following transplant. The thymus from the same mice showed evidence of about 12–15% CD7+ pre T cells. We are currently studying the function of the generated NK and T cells both in vivo and in vitro studies. Figure Figure


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 3249-3249
Author(s):  
Barbara Cassani ◽  
Grazia Andolfi ◽  
Massimiliano Mirolo ◽  
Luca Biasco ◽  
Alessandra Recchia ◽  
...  

Abstract Gene transfer into hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSC) by gammaretroviral vectors is an effective treatment for patients affected by severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) due to adenosine deaminase (ADA)-deficiency. Recent studied have indicated that gammaretroviral vectors integrate in a non-random fashion in their host genome, but there is still limited information on the distribution of retroviral insertion sites (RIS) in human long-term reconstituting HSC following therapeutic gene transfer. We performed a genome-wide analysis of RIS in transduced bone marrow-derived CD34+ cells before transplantation (in vitro) and in hematopoietic cell subsets (ex vivo) from five ADA-SCID patients treated with gene therapy combined to low-dose busulfan. Vector-genome junctions were cloned by inverse or linker-mediated PCR, sequenced, mapped onto the human genome, and compared to a library of randomly cloned human genome fragments or to the expected distribution for the NCBI annotation. Both in vitro (n=212) and ex vivo (n=496) RIS showed a non-random distribution, with strong preference for a 5-kb window around transcription start sites (23.6% and 28.8%, respectively) and for gene-dense regions. Integrations occurring inside the transcribed portion of a RefSeq genes were more represented in vitro than ex vivo (50.9 vs 41.3%), while RIS <30kb upstream from the start site were more frequent in the ex vivo sample (25.6% vs 19.4%). Among recurrently hit loci (n=50), LMO2 was the most represented, with one integration cloned from pre-infusion CD34+ cells and five from post-gene therapy samples (2 in granulocytes, 3 in T cells). Clone-specific Q-PCR showed no in vivo expansion of LMO2-carrying clones while LMO2 gene overexpression at the bulk level was excluded by RT-PCR. Gene expression profiling revealed a preference for integration into genes transcriptionally active in CD34+ cells at the time of transduction as well as genes expressed in T cells. Functional clustering analysis of genes hit by retroviral vectors in pre- and post-transplant cells showed no in vivo skewing towards genes controlling self-renewal or survival of HSC (i.e. cell cycle, transcription, signal transduction). Clonal analysis of long-term repopulating cells (>=6 months) revealed a high number of distinct RIS (range 42–121) in the T-cell compartment, in agreement with the complexity of the T-cell repertoire, while fewer RIS were retrieved from granulocytes. The presence of shared integrants among multiple lineages confirmed that the gene transfer protocol was adequate to allow stable engraftment of multipotent HSC. Taken together, our data show that transplantation of ADA-transduced HSC does not result in skewing or expansion of malignant clones in vivo, despite the occurrence of insertions near potentially oncogenic genomic sites. These results, combined to the relatively long-term follow-up of patients, indicate that retroviral-mediated gene transfer for ADA-SCID has a favorable safety profile.


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