Correction of murine hemophilia A following nonmyeloablative transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells engineered to encode an enhanced human factor VIII variant using a safety-augmented retroviral vector

Blood. 2009 Jul 16;114(3):526-34. doi: 10.1182/blood-2009-01-199653. Epub 2009 May 21.

Abstract

Insertional mutagenesis by retroviral vectors is a major impediment to the clinical application of hematopoietic stem cell gene transfer for the treatment of hematologic disorders. We recently developed an insulated self-inactivating gammaretroviral vector, RMSinOFB, which uses a novel enhancer-blocking element that significantly decreases genotoxicity of retroviral integration. In this study, we used the RMSinOFB vector to evaluate the efficacy of a newly bioengineered factor VIII (fVIII) variant (efVIII)--containing a combination of A1 domain point mutations (L303E/F309S) and an extended partial B domain for improved secretion plus A2 domain mutations (R484A/R489A/P492A) for reduced immunogenicity--toward successful treatment of murine hemophilia A. In cell lines, efVIII was secreted at up to 6-fold higher levels than an L303E/F309S A1 domain-only fVIII variant (sfVIIIDeltaB). Most important, when compared with a conventional gammaretroviral vector expressing sfVIIIDeltaB, lower doses of RMSin-efVIII-OFB-transduced hematopoietic stem cells were needed to generate comparable curative fVIII levels in hemophilia A BALB/c mice after reduced-intensity total body irradiation or nonmyeloablative chemotherapy conditioning regimens. These data suggest that the safety-augmented RMSin-efVIII-OFB platform represents an encouraging step in the development of a clinically appropriate gene addition therapy for hemophilia A.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Factor VIII / administration & dosage*
  • Factor VIII / genetics
  • Factor VIII / metabolism
  • Genetic Therapy / methods*
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation*
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Hemophilia A / therapy*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mutation
  • Protein Engineering
  • Retroviridae / genetics
  • Transduction, Genetic
  • Transplantation Conditioning

Substances

  • F8 protein, human
  • Factor VIII