1
|
Lissandrello CA, Santos JA, Hsi P, Welch M, Mott VL, Kim ES, Chesin J, Haroutunian NJ, Stoddard AG, Czarnecki A, Coppeta JR, Freeman DK, Flusberg DA, Balestrini JL, Tandon V. High-throughput continuous-flow microfluidic electroporation of mRNA into primary human T cells for applications in cellular therapy manufacturing. Sci Rep 2020; 10:18045. [PMID: 33093518 PMCID: PMC7582186 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73755-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Implementation of gene editing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 in the manufacture of novel cell-based therapeutics has the potential to enable highly-targeted, stable, and persistent genome modifications without the use of viral vectors. Electroporation has emerged as a preferred method for delivering gene-editing machinery to target cells, but a major challenge remaining is that most commercial electroporation machines are built for research and process development rather than for large-scale, automated cellular therapy manufacturing. Here we present a microfluidic continuous-flow electrotransfection device designed for precise, consistent, and high-throughput genetic modification of target cells in cellular therapy manufacturing applications. We optimized our device for delivery of mRNA into primary human T cells and demonstrated up to 95% transfection efficiency with minimum impact on cell viability and expansion potential. We additionally demonstrated processing of samples comprising up to 500 million T cells at a rate of 20 million cells/min. We anticipate that our device will help to streamline the production of autologous therapies requiring on the order of 10[Formula: see text]-10[Formula: see text] cells, and that it is well-suited to scale for production of trillions of cells to support emerging allogeneic therapies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jose A Santos
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Peter Hsi
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Michaela Welch
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Vienna L Mott
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Ernest S Kim
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Jordan Chesin
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | | | - Aaron G Stoddard
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Andrew Czarnecki
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | | | - Daniel K Freeman
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | | | | | - Vishal Tandon
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Hsi P, Christianson RJ, Dubay RA, Lissandrello CA, Fiering J, Balestrini JL, Tandon V. Acoustophoretic rapid media exchange and continuous-flow electrotransfection of primary human T cells for applications in automated cellular therapy manufacturing. Lab Chip 2019; 19:2978-2992. [PMID: 31410419 DOI: 10.1039/c9lc00458k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Autologous cellular therapies based on modifying T cells to express chimeric antigen receptor genes have been highly successful in treating hematological cancers. Deployment of these therapies is limited by the complexity and costs associated with their manufacturing. Transitioning these processes from virus-based methods for gene delivery to a non-viral method, such as electroporation, has the potential to greatly reduce cost and manufacturing time while increasing safety and efficacy. Major challenges with electroporation are the negative impacts on cell health associated with exposure to high-magnitude electric fields, and that most commercial bulk electroporators are low-precision instruments designed for manually-operated, lower-throughput batch processing of cells. Negative effects on cell health can be mitigated by use of specialized electroporation medias, but this adds processing steps, and long-term exposure to these medias can reduce transfection efficiency and post-transfection viability. To enable automated, clinical-scale production of cellular therapies using electrotransfection in specialized medias, we developed a high-precision microfluidic platform that automatically and continuously transfers cells from culture media into electroporation media using acoustophoresis, and then immediately applies electric fields from integrated electrodes. This limits cell residence time in electroporation media to seconds, and enables high transfection efficiency with minimum impact on cell viability. We tested our system by transferring primary human T cells from a standard cell media to electroporation media, and then transfecting them with mRNA encoding an mCherry fluorescent protein. We achieved a media exchange efficiency of 86% and transfection efficiency of up to 60%, with less than a 5% reduction in viability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter Hsi
- Draper, 555 Technology Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
3
|
Rim NG, Yih A, Hsi P, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Wong JY. Micropatterned cell sheets as structural building blocks for biomimetic vascular patches. Biomaterials 2018; 181:126-139. [PMID: 30081303 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.07.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Revised: 07/21/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
To successfully develop a functional tissue-engineered vascular patch, recapitulating the hierarchical structure of vessel is critical to mimic mechanical properties. Here, we use a cell sheet engineering strategy with micropatterning technique to control structural organization of bovine aortic vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) sheets. Actin filament staining and image analysis showed clear cellular alignment of VSMC sheets cultured on patterned substrates. Viability of harvested VSMC sheets was confirmed by Live/Dead® cell viability assay after 24 and 48 h of transfer. VSMC sheets stacked to generate bilayer VSMC patches exhibited strong inter-layer bonding as shown by lap shear test. Uniaxial tensile testing of monolayer VSMC sheets and bilayer VSMC patches displayed nonlinear, anisotropic stress-stretch response similar to the biomechanical characteristic of a native arterial wall. Collagen content and structure were characterized to determine the effects of patterning and stacking on extracellular matrix of VSMC sheets. Using finite-element modeling to simulate uniaxial tensile testing of bilayer VSMC patches, we found the stress-stretch response of bilayer patterned VSMC patches under uniaxial tension to be predicted using an anisotropic hyperelastic constitutive model. Thus, our cell sheet harvesting system combined with biomechanical modeling is a promising approach to generate building blocks for tissue-engineered vascular patches with structure and mechanical behavior mimicking native tissue.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nae Gyune Rim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Alice Yih
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Peter Hsi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Yunjie Wang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Yanhang Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Joyce Y Wong
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Chau NG, Hurwitz S, Mitchell CM, Aserlind A, Grunfeld N, Kaplan L, Hsi P, Bauer DE, Lathan CS, Rodriguez-Galindo C, Tishler RB, Haddad RI, Sallan SE, Bradner JE, French CA. Intensive treatment and survival outcomes in NUT midline carcinoma of the head and neck. Cancer 2016; 122:3632-3640. [PMID: 27509377 DOI: 10.1002/cncr.30242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2016] [Revised: 06/30/2016] [Accepted: 07/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND NUT midline carcinoma is a rare and aggressive genetically characterized subtype of squamous cell carcinoma frequently arising from the head and neck. The characteristics and optimal management of head and neck NUT midline carcinoma (HNNMC) are unclear. METHODS A retrospective review of all known cases of HNNMC in the International NUT Midline Carcinoma Registry as of December 31, 2014, was performed. Forty-eight consecutive patients were treated from 1993 to 2014, and clinicopathologic variables and outcomes for 40 patients were available for analyses; they composed the largest HNNMC cohort studied to date. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) according to patient characteristics and treatment were analyzed. RESULTS This study identified a 5-fold increase in the diagnosis of HNNMC from 2011 to 2014. The median age was 21.9 years (range, 0.1-81.7 years); the male and female proportions were 40% and 60%, respectively; and 86% had bromodomain containing 4-nuclear protein in testis (BRD4-NUT) fusion. The initial treatment was initial surgery with or without adjuvant chemoradiation or adjuvant radiation (56%), initial radiation with or without chemotherapy (15%), or initial chemotherapy with or without surgery or radiation (28%). The median PFS was 6.6 months (range, 4.7-8.4 months). The median OS was 9.7 months (range, 6.6-15.6 months). The 2-year PFS rate was 26% (95% confidence interval [CI], 13%-40%). The 2-year OS rate was 30% (95% CI, 16%-46%). Initial surgery with or without postoperative chemoradiation or radiation (P = .04) and complete resection with negative margins (P = .01) were significant predictors of improved OS even after adjustments for age, tumor size, and neck lymphadenopathy. Initial radiation or chemotherapy and the NUT translocation type were not associated with outcomes. CONCLUSIONS HNNMC portends a poor prognosis. Aggressive initial surgical resection with or without postoperative chemoradiation or radiation is associated with significantly enhanced survival. Chemotherapy or radiation alone is often inadequate. Cancer 2016;122:3632-40. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicole G Chau
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Shelley Hurwitz
- Center for Clinical Investigation, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Chelsey M Mitchell
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Alexandra Aserlind
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Noam Grunfeld
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Leah Kaplan
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Peter Hsi
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Daniel E Bauer
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.,Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.,Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Christopher S Lathan
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.,Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Roy B Tishler
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Robert I Haddad
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Stephen E Sallan
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.,Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - James E Bradner
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Christopher A French
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Durstenfeld B, Fuhr P, Haag WR, Hsi P, Ng J. Cargo container security. Occup Health Saf 2003; 72:28-31, 84, 88. [PMID: 12945506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Bob Durstenfeld
- RAE Systems Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., USA. www.raesystems.com
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|