The doubling potential of T lymphocytes allows clinical-grade production of a bank of genetically modified monoclonal T-cell populations.
Cytotherapy 2018;
20:436-452. [PMID:
29396255 DOI:
10.1016/j.jcyt.2017.12.002]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2017] [Revised: 11/29/2017] [Accepted: 12/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AIMS
To produce an anti-leukemic effect after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation we have long considered the theoretical possibility of using banks of HLA-DP specific T-cell clones transduced with a suicide gene. For that application as for any others, a clonal strategy is constrained by the population doubling (PD) potential of T cells, which has been rarely explored or exploited.
METHODS
We used clinical-grade conditions and two donors who were homozygous and identical for all HLA-alleles except HLA-DP. After mixed lymphocyte culture and transduction, we obtained 14 HLA-DP-specific T-cell clones transduced with the HSV-TK suicide gene. Clones were then selected on the basis of their specificity and functional characteristics and evaluated for their doubling potential.
RESULTS
After these steps of selection the clone NAT-DP4(TK), specific for HLA-DPB1*04:01/04:02, which produced high levels of interferon-γ (IFNγ), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), was fully sequenced. It has two copies of the HSV-TK suicide transgene whose localizations were determined. Four billion NAT-DP4(TK) cells were frozen after 50 PDs. Thawed NAT-DP4(TK) cells retain the potential to undergo 50 additional PDs, a potential very far beyond that required to produce a biological effect. This PD potential was confirmed on 6/16 additional different T-cell clones. This type of well-defined clone can also support a second genetic modification with CAR constructs.
CONCLUSION
The possibility of choosing rare donors and exploiting the natural proliferative potential of T lymphocytes may dramatically reduce the clinical and immunologic complexity of adoptive transfer protocols that rely on the use of third-party T-cell populations.
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