title: An improved bicistronic CD20/tCD34 vector for efficient purification and in vivo depletion of gene-modified T cells for adoptive immunotherapy.
abstract: T-cell-based adoptive immunotherapy is widely used to treat graft rejection and relapse after stem cell transplantation (SCT). However, this approach is hampered by a high risk of life-threatening graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD). Clinical trials have demonstrated the value of suicide genes to modify T cells for the effective control of GvHD. Herewith, we show that the combination of a codon-optimized B-cell antigen (CD20op) with a selection marker based on a cytoplasmic truncated version of the human stem cell antigen CD34 (tCD34) allows the generation of highly enriched gene-modified T cells. We demonstrate coordinate co-expression of both transgenes and high expression of CD20op resulting in an increased susceptibility to Rituximab (RTX)-induced cell death. In addition, T cells partially retained their alloreactive potential and their CD4/CD8 ratio after transduction and expansion. Long-lasting transgene expression was sustained in vivo after adoptive transfer into Rag-1(-/-) mice. Moreover, gene-modified T cells were quickly and efficiently depleted from peripheral blood (PB) and secondary lymphoid organs of transplanted animals after RTX treatment. These results warrant further steps toward a clinical application of CD20op as a suicide gene for adoptive immunotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Applied Virology and Gene Therapy Unit, Georg-Speyer-Haus, Institute for Biomedical Research, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vogler
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Newrzela
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Dorothee
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: von Laer
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Koehl
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D018951:Antigens, CD20 / Q000378:metabolism*; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D000069283:Rituximab; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D018951:Antigens, CD20; D018952:Antigens, CD34; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C064658:RAG-1 protein; D000069283:Rituximab
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