PGC-1α agonism induces fetal hemoglobin and exerts antisickling effects in sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease is a growing health burden afflicting millions around the world. Clinical observation and laboratory studies have shown that the severity of sickle cell disease is ameliorated in individuals who have elevated levels of fetal hemoglobin. Additional pharmacologic agents to induce sufficient fetal hemoglobin to diminish clinical severity is an unmet medical need. We recently found that up-regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) can induce fetal hemoglobin synthesis in human primary erythroblasts. Here, we report that a small molecule, SR-18292, increases PGC-1α leading to enhanced fetal hemoglobin expression in human erythroid cells, ß-globin yeast artificial chromosome mice, and sickle cell disease mice. In SR-18292-treated sickle mice, sickled red blood cells are significantly reduced, and disease complications are alleviated. SR-18292, or agents in its class, could be a promising additional therapeutic for sickle cell disease.

Exagamglogene Autotemcel for Severe Sickle Cell Disease.

BACKGROUND: Exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) is a nonviral cell therapy designed to reactivate fetal hemoglobin synthesis by means of ex vivo clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 gene editing of autologous CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) at the erythroid-specific enhancer region of BCL11A. METHODS: We conducted a phase 3, single-group, open-label study of exa-cel in patients 12 to 35 years of age with sickle cell disease who had had at least two severe vaso-occlusive crises in each of the 2 years before screening. CD34+ HSPCs were edited with the use of CRISPR-Cas9. Before the exa-cel infusion, patients underwent myeloablative conditioning with pharmacokinetically dose-adjusted busulfan. The primary end point was freedom from severe vaso-occlusive crises for at least 12 consecutive months. A key secondary end point was freedom from inpatient hospitalization for severe vaso-occlusive crises for at least 12 consecutive months. The safety of exa-cel was also assessed. RESULTS: A total of 44 patients received exa-cel, and the median follow-up was 19.3 months (range, 0.8 to 48.1). Neutrophils and platelets engrafted in each patient. Of the 30 patients who had sufficient follow-up to be evaluated, 29 (97%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 83 to 100) were free from vaso-occlusive crises for at least 12 consecutive months, and all 30 (100%; 95% CI, 88 to 100) were free from hospitalizations for vaso-occlusive crises for at least 12 consecutive months (P<0.001 for both comparisons against the null hypothesis of a 50% response). The safety profile of exa-cel was generally consistent with that of myeloablative busulfan conditioning and autologous HSPC transplantation. No cancers occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with exa-cel eliminated vaso-occlusive crises in 97% of patients with sickle cell disease for a period of 12 months or more. (CLIMB SCD-121; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03745287.).

Catechol-O-methyltransferase gene (COMT) is associated with neurocognitive functioning in patients with sickle cell disease.

PURPOSE: Neurocognitive impairment is a common and debilitating complication of sickle cell disease (SCD) resulting from a combination of biological and environmental factors. The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene modulates levels of dopamine availability in the prefrontal cortex. COMT has repeatedly been implicated in the perception of pain stimuli and frequency of pain crises in patients with SCD and is known to be associated with neurocognitive functioning in the general population. The current study aimed to examine the associations of genetic variants in COMT and neurocognitive functioning in patients with SCD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The Sickle Cell Clinical Research and Intervention Program (SCCRIP) longitudinal cohort was used as a discovery cohort (n = 166). The genotypes for 5 SNPs (rs6269, rs4633, rs4818, rs4680, and rs165599) in COMT were extracted from whole genome sequencing data and analyzed using a dominant model. A polygenic score for COMT (PGSCOMT) integrating these 5 SNPs was analyzed as a continuous variable. The Cooperative Study of Sickle Cell Disease (CSSCD, n = 156) and the Silent Cerebral Infarction Transfusion (SIT, n = 114) Trial were used as 2 independent replication cohorts. Due to previously reported sex differences, all analyses were conducted separately in males and females. The Benjamini and Hochberg approach was used to calculate false discovery rate adjusted p-value (q-value). RESULTS: In SCCRIP, 1 out of 5 SNPs (rs165599) was associated with IQ at q<0.05 in males but not females, and 2 other SNPs (rs4633 and rs4680) were marginally associated with sustained attention at p<0.05 in males only but did not maintain at q<0.05. PGSCOMT was negatively associated with IQ and sustained attention at p<0.05 in males only. Using 3 cohorts' data, 4 out of 5 SNPs (rs6269, rs4633, rs4680, rs165599) were associated with IQ (minimum q-value = 0.0036) at q<0.05 among male participants but not female participants. The PGSCOMT was negatively associated with IQ performance among males but not females across all cohorts. CONCLUSION: Select COMT SNPs are associated with neurocognitive abilities in males with SCD. By identifying genetic predictors of neurocognitive performance in SCD, it may be possible to risk-stratify patients from a young age to guide implementation of early interventions.

An integrated therapeutic approach to sickle cell disease management beyond infancy.

Hydroxyurea, the first approved drug for sickle cell disease, decreases sickle hemoglobin polymerization by inducing fetal hemoglobin. Its effects in young children are excellent; responses in adults are variable and not curative. The goal of pharmacotherapy should not be disease "moderation" but reducing morbidity and mortality by diminishing both hemolytic anemia and vaso-occlusive events. This is best done by preventing sickle hemoglobin polymerization; if anti-polymerization treatment is insufficient, agents disrupting pathophysiologic pathways "downstream" of the sickle hemoglobin polymer should be added. We recommend that all patients should be started first on maximal doses of hydroxyurea. When the clinical and hematologic response to hydroxyurea is insufficient, as it is almost always in adults, we favor adding voxelotor, a hemoglobin-oxygen affinity-shifting agent that, likely in a pancellular distribution, decreases sickle hemoglobin polymerization. The P-selectin inhibitor crizanlizumab reduces sickle cell-endothelial interactions and can be used in patients with continued vaso-occlusive events. There is no physiologic reason that all three drugs could not be combined when the response to monotherapy or dual-drug therapy is poor. Drug therapy must be considered in the context of possibly "curative" cellular therapeutics and if needed, exchange transfusion programs.

miRNA Expression Associated with HbF in Saudi Sickle Cell Anemia.

Background and Objectives: Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is a hereditary monogenic disease due to a single ß-globin gene mutation that codes for the production of sickle hemoglobin. Its phenotype is modulated by fetal hemoglobin (HbF), a product of γ-globin genes. Exploring the molecules that regulate γ-globin genes at both transcriptional and translational levels, including microRNA (miRNA), might help identify alternative therapeutic targets. Materials and Methods: Using next-generation sequencing we identified pre-miRNAs and mature miRNA expression signatures associated with different HbF levels in patients homozygous for the sickle hemoglobin gene. The involvement of identified miRNAs in potential SCD-related pathways was investigated with the DIANA TOOL and miRWalk 2.0 database. Results: miR-184 were most highly upregulated in reticulocytes. miR-3609 and miR-483-5p were most highly downregulated in sickle cell anemia with high HbF. miR-370-3p that regulates LIN28A, and miR-451a which is effective in modulating α- and ß- globin levels were also significantly upregulated. miRNA targeted gene pathway interaction identified BCL7A, BCL2L1, LIN28A, KLF6, GATA6, solute carrier family genes and ZNF genes associated with erythropoiesis, cell cycle regulation, glycosphingolipid biosynthesis, cAMP, cGMP-PKG, mTOR, MAPK and PI3K-AKT signaling pathways and cancer pathways. Conclusions: miRNA signatures and their target genes identified novel miRNAs that could regulate fetal hemoglobin production and might be exploited therapeutically.

Targeting fetal hemoglobin expression to treat ß hemoglobinopathies.

INTRODUCTION: Sickle cell disease and ß thalassemia are the principal ß hemoglobinopathies. The complex pathophysiology of sickle cell disease is initiated by sickle hemoglobin polymerization. In ß thalassemia, insufficient ß-globin synthesis results in excessive free α globin, ineffective erythropoiesis, and severe anemia. Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) prevents sickle hemoglobin polymerization; in ß thalassemia HbF compensates for the deficit of normal hemoglobin. When HbF constitutes about a third of total cell hemoglobin, the complications of sickle cell disease are nearly totally prevented. Similarly, sufficient HbF in ß thalassemia diminishes or prevents ineffective erythropoiesis and hemolysis. AREAS COVERED: This article examines the pathophysiology of ß hemoglobinopathies, the physiology of HbF, intracellular distribution, and the regulation of HbF expression. Inducing high levels of HbF by targeting its regulatory pathways pharmacologically or with cell-based therapeutics provides major clinical benefit and perhaps a 'cure.' EXPERT OPINION: Erythrocytes must contain about 10 pg of HbF to 'cure' sickle cell disease. If HbF is the only hemoglobin present, much higher levels are needed to 'cure' ß thalassemia. These levels of HbF can be obtained by different iterations of gene therapy. Small molecule drugs that can achieve even modest pancellular HbF concentrations are a major unmet need.

Fetal hemoglobin modulates neurocognitive performance in sickle cell anemia✰,✰✰.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) is a modifier of the clinical and hematologic phenotype of sickle cell anemia (SCA). Three quantitative trait loci (QTL) modulate HbF expression. The neurocognitive effects of variants in these QTL have yet to be explored. We evaluated the relation between 11 SNPs in the three HbF QTL: BCL11A, MYB, the HBB gene cluster, and full-scale intelligence (IQ) in SCA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The prospective longitudinal cohort study, Sickle Cell Clinical Research and Intervention Program, was used as a discovery cohort (n = 166). The genotypes for 11 SNPs were extracted through whole genome sequencing and were analyzed using an additive model. A polygenic score for HbF (PGSHbF) integrating the numbers of low HbF alleles from 11 SNPs was analyzed as a continuous variable. The Cooperative Study of Sickle Cell Disease (n = 156) and the Silent Cerebral Infarction Transfusion (n = 114) Trial were used as two independent replication cohorts. Benjamini and Hochberg approach was used to calculate false discovery rate adjusted p-value (pFDR). RESULTS: HbF was positively associated with IQ (minimum raw p = 0·0018) at pFDR<0·05. HbF mediated the relationship between two BCL11A SNPs, rs1427407 and rs7606173, HBS1L-MYB: rs9494142, and PGSHbF with IQ (minimum raw p = 0·0035) at pFDR<0·05. CONCLUSION: As the major modulator of the severity of SCA, HbF also influences neurocognition, which is done through mediation of its QTL. These findings have implications for early identification of neurocognitive risk and targeted intervention.

Acute chest syndrome of sickle cell disease: genetics, risk factors, prognosis, and management.

INTRODUCTION: Sickle cell disease, one of the world's most prevalent Mendelian disorders, is a chronic hemolytic anemia punctuated by acute vasoocclusive events. Both hemolysis and vasoocclusion lead to irreversible organ damage and failure. Among the many sub-phenotypes of sickle cell disease is the acute chest syndrome (ACS) characterized by combinations of chest pain, cough, dyspnea, fever, abnormal lung examination, leukocytosis, hypoxia, and new radiographic opacities. ACS is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. AREA COVERED: We briefly review the diagnosis, epidemiology, etiology, and current treatments for ACS and focus on understanding and estimating the risks for developing this complication, how prognosis and outcomes might be improved, and the genetic elements that might impact the risk of ACS. EXPERT OPINION: The clinical heterogeneity of ACS has hindered our understanding of risk stratification. Lacking controlled clinical trials, most treatment is based on expert opinion. Fetal hemoglobin levels and coexistent α-thalassemia affect the incidence of ACS; other genetic associations are tenuous. Transfusions, whose use not innocuous, should be targeted to the severity and likelihood of ACS progression. Stable, non-hypoxic patients with favorable hematologic and radiographic findings usually do not need transfusion; severe progressive ACS is best managed with exchange transfusion.

Pharmacologic induction of PGC-1α stimulates fetal haemoglobin gene expression.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder that affects millions around the world. Enhancement of fetal γ-globin levels and fetal haemoglobin (HbF) production in SCD patients leads to diminished severity of many clinical features of the disease. We recently identified the transcriptional co-activator PGC-1α as a new protein involved in the regulation of the globin genes. Here, we report that upregulation of PGC-1α by infection with a lentivirus expressing PGC-1α or by the small-molecule PGC-1α agonist ZLN005 in human primary erythroid progenitor CD34+ cells induces both fetal γ-globin mRNA and protein expression as well as the percentage of HbF-positive cell (F cells) without significantly affecting cell proliferation and differentiation. We further found that the combination of ZLN005 and hydroxyurea (hydroxycarbamide) exhibited an additive effect on the expression of γ-globin and the generation of F cells from cultured CD34+ cells. In addition, ZLN005 induced robust expression of the murine embryonic ßh1-globin gene and to a lesser extent, human γ-globin gene expression in sickle mice. These findings suggest that activation of PGC-1α by ZLN005 might provide a new path for modulating HbF levels with potential therapeutic benefit in ß-hemoglobinopathies.

CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing for Sickle Cell Disease and ß-Thalassemia.

Transfusion-dependent ß-thalassemia (TDT) and sickle cell disease (SCD) are severe monogenic diseases with severe and potentially life-threatening manifestations. BCL11A is a transcription factor that represses γ-globin expression and fetal hemoglobin in erythroid cells. We performed electroporation of CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells obtained from healthy donors, with CRISPR-Cas9 targeting the BCL11A erythroid-specific enhancer. Approximately 80% of the alleles at this locus were modified, with no evidence of off-target editing. After undergoing myeloablation, two patients - one with TDT and the other with SCD - received autologous CD34+ cells edited with CRISPR-Cas9 targeting the same BCL11A enhancer. More than a year later, both patients had high levels of allelic editing in bone marrow and blood, increases in fetal hemoglobin that were distributed pancellularly, transfusion independence, and (in the patient with SCD) elimination of vaso-occlusive episodes. (Funded by CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals; ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT03655678 for CLIMB THAL-111 and NCT03745287 for CLIMB SCD-121.).