Abemaciclib restricts HCMV replication by suppressing pUL97-mediated phosphorylation of SAMHD1.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a herpesvirus that causes life-threatening infections in newborns or immunosuppressed patients. For viral replication, HCMV establishes a network of cellular interactions, among others cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK). Furthermore, HCMV encodes pUL97, a viral kinase, which is a CDK-homologue. HCMV uses pUL97 in order to phosphorylate and thereby antagonize SAMHD1, an antiviral host cell factor. Since HCMV has several mechanisms to evade restriction by SAMHD1, we first analyzed the kinetics of SAMHD1-inactivation and found that phosphorylation of SAMHD1 by pUL97 occurs directly after infection of macrophages. We hence hypothesized that inhibition of this process qualifies as efficient antiviral target and FDA approved CDK-inhibitors (CDKIs) might be potent antivirals that prevent the inactivation of SAMHD1. Indeed, Abemaciclib, a 2nd generation CDKI exhibited superior IC50s against HCMV in infected macrophages and the antiviral activity largely relied on its ability to block pUL97-mediated SAMHD1-phosphorylation. Altogether, our study highlights the therapeutic potential of clinically-approved CDKIs as antivirals against HCMV, sheds light on their mode of action and establishes SAMHD1 as a valid and highly potent therapeutic target.

Preclinical Evaluation of CRISPR-Edited CAR-NK-92 Cells for Off-the-Shelf Treatment of AML and B-ALL.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL) are severe blood malignancies affecting both adults and children. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based immunotherapies have proven highly efficacious in the treatment of leukemia. However, the challenge of the immune escape of cancer cells remains. The development of more affordable and ready-to-use therapies is essential in view of the costly and time-consuming preparation of primary cell-based treatments. In order to promote the antitumor function against AML and B-ALL, we transduced NK-92 cells with CD276-CAR or CD19-CAR constructs. We also attempted to enhance cytotoxicity by a gene knockout of three different inhibitory checkpoints in NK cell function (CBLB, NKG2A, TIGIT) with CRISPR-Cas9 technology. The antileukemic activity of the generated cell lines was tested with calcein and luciferase-based cytotoxicity assays in various leukemia cell lines. Both CAR-NK-92 exhibited targeted cytotoxicity and a significant boost in antileukemic function in comparison to parental NK-92. CRISPR-Cas9 knock-outs did not improve B-ALL cytotoxicity. However, triple knock-out CD276-CAR-NK-92 cells, as well as CBLB or TIGIT knock-out NK-92 cells, showed significantly enhanced cytotoxicity against U-937 or U-937 CD19/tag AML cell lines. These results indicate that the CD19-CAR and CD276-CAR-NK-92 cell lines' cytotoxic performance is suitable for leukemia killing, making them promising off-the-shelf therapeutic candidates. The knock-out of CBLB and TIGIT in NK-92 and CD276-CAR-NK-92 should be further investigated for the treatment of AML.