Further biological characterization of small molecules UM171 and SR1: In vitro effects on three hematopoietic cell populations from human cord blood.

Small molecules UM171 and SR1 have already been taken into clinically-oriented protocols for the ex vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem (HSCs) and progenitor (HPCs) cells. In order to gain further insight into their biology, in the present study we have assessed their effects, both individually and in combination, on the in vitro long-term proliferation and expansion of HSCs and HPCs contained within three different cord blood-derived cell populations: MNCs (CD34+ cells = 0.8 %), LIN- cells (CD34+ cells = 41 %), and CD34+ cells (CD34+ cells >98 %). Our results show that when added to cultures in the absence of recombinant stimulatory cytokines, neither molecule had any effect. In contrast, when added in the presence of hematopoietic cytokines, UM171 and SR1 had significant stimulatory effects on cell proliferation and expansion in cultures of LIN- and CD34+ cells. No significant effects were observed in cultures of MNCs. The effects of both molecules were more pronounced in cultures with the highest proportion of CD34+ cells, and the greatest effects were observed when both molecules were added in combination. In the absence of small molecules, cell numbers reached a peak by days 25-30, and then declined; whereas in the presence of UM171 or/and SR1 cell numbers were sustained up to day 45 of culture. Our results indicate that besides CD34+ cells, LIN- cells could also be used as input cells in clinically-oriented expansion protocols, and that using both molecules simultaneously would be a better approach than using only one of them.

UM171 suppresses breast cancer progression by inducing KLF2.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women with significant death rate. Morbidity is associated with drug resistance and metastasis. Development of novel drugs is unmet need. The aim of this study is to show potent anti-neoplastic activity of the UM171 compound on breast cancer cells and its mechanism of action. METHODS: The inhibitory effect of UM171 on several breast cancer (BC) cell lines was examined using MTT and colony-forming assays. Cell cycle and apoptosis assays were utilized to determine the effect of UM171 on BC cell proliferation and survival. Wound healing scratch and transwell migration assays were used to examine the migration of BC cell lines in culture. Xenograft of mouse model with 4T1 cells was used to determine inhibitory effect of UM171 in vivo. Q-RT-PCR and western blotting were used to determine the expression level of genes effected by UM171. Lentivirus-mediated shRNAs were used to knockdown the expression of KLF2 in BC cells. RESULTS: UM171 was previously identified as a potent agonist of human hematopoietic stem cell renewal and inhibitor of leukemia. In this study, UM171 was shown to inhibit the growth of multiple breast cancer cell lines in culture. UM171-mediated growth inhibition was associated with the induction of apoptosis, G2/M cell cycle arrest, lower colony-forming capacity, and reduced motility. In a xenotransplantation model of mouse triple-negative breast cancer 4T1 cells injected into syngeneic BALB/c mice, UM171 strongly inhibited tumor growth at a level comparable to control paclitaxel. UM171 increased the expression of the three PIM genes (PIM1-3) in breast cancer cells. Moreover, UM171 strongly induced the expression of the tumor suppressor gene KLF2 and cell cycle inhibitor P21CIP1. Accordingly, knockdown of KLF2 using lentivirus-mediated shRNA significantly attenuated the growth suppressor activity of UM171. As PIM1-3 act as oncogenes and are involved in breast cancer progression, induction of these kinases likely impedes the inhibitory effect of KLF2 induction by UM171. Accordingly, combination of UM171 with a PAN-PIM inhibitor LGH447 significantly reduced tumor growth in culture. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that UM171 inhibited breast cancer progression in part through activation of KLF2 and P21. Combination of UM171 with a PAN-PIM inhibitor offer a novel therapy for aggressive forms of breast cancer.

Synergistic effect and molecular mechanism of nicotinamide and UM171 in ex vivo expansion of long-term hematopoietic stem cells.

Introduction: Several approaches to expand human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have been reported, but the ability of these methods to expand long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) remains to be improved, which limits the application of HSCs-based therapies. Methods: CD34+ cells were purified from umbilical cord blood using MacsCD34 beads, and then cultured for 12 d in a serum-free medium. Flow cytometry was used to detect phenotype, cell cycle distribution, and apoptosis of the cultured cells. Colony-forming cell (CFC) assays can evaluate multi-lineage differentiation potential of HSCs. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was employed to detect the expression of genes related to self-renewal programs and antioxidant activity. DCFH-DA probes were used to evaluate intracellular production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Determination of the effect of different culture conditions on the balance of cytokine by cytometric bead array. Results: Here, we show a combination, Nicotinamide (NAM) combined with pyrimidoindole derivative UM171, can massively expand LT-HSCs ex vivo, and the expanded cells maintained the capability of self-renewal and multilineage differentiation. Additionally, our data indicated that UM171 promoted self-renewal of HSCs by inducing HSCs entry into the cell cycle and activating Notch and Wnt pathways, but the infinite occurrence of this process may lead to mitochondrial metabolism disorder and differentiation of HSCs. NAM kept HSCs in their primitive and dormant states by reducing intracellular ROS levels and upregulating the expression of stemness related genes, so we believed that NAM can act as a brake to control the above process. Conclusions: The discovery of the synergistic effect of NAM and UM171 for expanding LT-HSCs provides a new strategy in solving the clinical issue of limited numbers of HSCs.

Synergistic effect and molecular mechanism of PVA and UM171 in ex vivo expansion of primitive hematopoietic stem cells.

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a valuable source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) used for transplantation; the number of cells in a single UCB is too small to quickly establish bone marrow (BM) implantation, and ex vivo expansion of HSCs has the potential to overcome this limitation. The purpose of this study is to explore the culture conditions conducive to the maintenance and expansion of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) derived from human umbilical cord blood, compare the different effects of albumin (HSA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), optimize the culture system using UM171 and investigate the molecular mechanism of PVA and UM171 promoting the expansion of primitive hematopoietic stem cells. CD34+ cells were purified from UCB using MacsCD34 beads, and then cultured in serum-free medium supplemented with cytokines for 12 days, with PVA or UM171 added according to experimental requirements; the relative percentage of different HSCs subsets after culture were detected by flow cytometry; CFU Assay Setup for detecting the multilineage differentiation potential of HSCs; RT-PCR detection of gene expression levels; reactive oxygen detection assessment of intracellular ROS levels. (1) The conditions of 20 ng/mlSCF, 100 ng/mlTPO, and 5% oxygen concentration are conducive to the maintenance of LT-HSCs. (2) Compared with HSA, PVA significantly increased the proportion of HSPCs and LT-HSCs, as well as dramatically promoted the expression of antioxidant enzymes and reduced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). (3) After adding UM171 to PVA-based medium, the proportion of HSPCs and LT-HSCs further increased, and downstream genes of Notch and Wnt pathways were selectively activated. (1) PVA may inhibit ROS production by upregulating the expression of antioxidant enzymes, which is beneficial for maintaining stemness and inhibiting differentiation of HSCs. (2) The antioxidant properties of PVA can delay differentiation, while UM171 can promote self-renewal by regulating the stem cell pathway, and the combination of them is beneficial for the maintenance and expansion of HSCs in vitro.

The stem cell-supporting small molecule UM171 triggers Cul3-KBTBD4-mediated degradation of ELM2 domain-harboring proteins.

To chemically modulate the ubiquitin-proteasome system for the degradation of specific target proteins is currently emerging as an alternative therapeutic modality. Earlier, we discovered such properties of the stem cell-supporting small molecule UM171 and identified that members of the CoREST complex (RCOR1 and LSD1) are targeted for degradation. UM171 supports the in vitro propagation of hematopoietic stem cells by transiently perturbing the differentiation-promoting effects of CoREST. Here, we employed global proteomics to map the UM171-targeted proteome and identified the additional target proteins, namely RCOR3, RREB1, ZNF217, and MIER2. Further, we discovered that critical elements recognized by Cul3KBTBD4 ligase in the presence of UM171 are located within the EGL-27 and MTA1 homology 2 (ELM2) domain of the substrate proteins. Subsequent experiments identified conserved amino acid sites in the N-terminus of the ELM2 domain that are essential for UM171-mediated degradation. Overall, our findings provide a detailed account on the ELM2 degrome targeted by UM171 and identify critical sites required for UM171-mediated degradation of specific substrates. Given the target profile, our results are highly relevant in a clinical context and point towards new therapeutic applications for UM171.

LSD1 Inhibition Enhances the Immunogenicity of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells by Eliciting a dsRNA Stress Response.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are commonly known for their immune-suppressive abilities. However, our group provided evidence that it is possible to convert MSCs into potent antigen presenting cells (APCs) using either genetic engineering or pharmacological means. Given the capacity of UM171a to trigger APC-like function in MSCs, and the recent finding that this drug may modulate the epigenome by inhibiting the lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), we explored whether the direct pharmacological inhibition of LSD1 could instill APC-like functions in MSCs akin to UM171a. The treatment of MSCs with the LSD1 inhibitor tranylcypromine (TC) elicits a double-stranded (ds)RNA stress response along with its associated responsive elements, including pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), Type-I interferon (IFN), and IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs). The net outcome culminates in the enhanced expression of H2-Kb, and an increased stability of the cell surface peptide: MHCI complexes. As a result, TC-treated MSCs stimulate CD8 T-cell activation efficiently, and elicit potent anti-tumoral responses against the EG.7 T-cell lymphoma in the context of prophylactic vaccination. Altogether, our findings reveal a new pharmacological protocol whereby targeting LSD1 in MSCs elicits APC-like capabilities that could be easily exploited in the design of future MSC-based anti-cancer vaccines.

UM171 Expansion of Cord Blood Improves Donor Availability and HLA Matching For All Patients, Including Minorities.

Cord blood (CB) stem cell transplantation offers a greater tolerance to HLA mismatches compared to adult-derived stem cell transplants (i.e., bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells). Indeed, 4/6 or 5/8 HLA-matched CB transplantations are regularly performed for patients lacking a matched unrelated donor. Unfortunately, most banked CB units contain a stem cell dose that is too small to treat adult patients, resulting in only 4% to 5% of available CB units offering an adequate cell dose for prompt engraftment for adult patients. Ex vivo stem cell expansion appears to be an attractive strategy to circumvent this cell dose issue, while also enabling the selection of better HLA-matched CB units. In this study, we retrospectively performed HLA matching simulations to assess how the minimal cell content requirements associated with UM171 CB expansion may improve usability of existing CB unit inventories and donor availability for patients of different races and ethnicities. We analyzed a dataset of 58,971 adults for whom a donor search was initiated through the National Marrow Donor Program Be The Match registry against 142,942 CB units from major U.S. public CB banks listed on the Be The Match registry. Our results show that by enabling selection of smaller CB units, UM171-expanded CB transplantation increases donor availability from 72% to 84% for all patients compared to single unmanipulated CB transplantation. Furthermore, the low cell dose criteria for UM171-expanded CB also increases donor availability compared to double CB transplantation, while enabling better HLA matching between donor and recipient. UM171 expanded CB appears particularly beneficial for racial and ethnic minority patients as CB availability increases from 53% to 78% for African Americans, from 66% to 85% for Hispanics, and from 68% to 84% for Asians and Pacific Islanders, compared to single unmanipulated CB transplantation. In addition, UM171 expansion dramatically improves usability of CB units currently in inventories, as only 4.3% and 0.6% of banked CBs have sufficient cell doses for a 70 kg and 100 kg patient, respectively. UM171 raises this proportion to 53.8% and 20.2%, respectively, making CB banks potentially more cost effective. In conclusion, UM171 expansion allows the use of smaller CB units while also improving access to transplantation for racial and ethnic minorities.

UM171A-induced ROS promote antigen cross-presentation of immunogenic peptides by bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been extensively used in the clinic due to their exquisite tissue repair capacity. However, they also hold promise in the field of cellular vaccination as they can behave as conditional antigen presenting cells in response to interferon (IFN)-gamma treatment under a specific treatment regimen. This suggests that the immune function of MSCs can be pharmacologically modulated. Given the capacity of the agonist pyrimido-indole derivative UM171a to trigger the expression of various antigen presentation-related genes in human hematopoietic progenitor cells, we explored the potential use of UM171a as a means to pharmacologically instill and/or promote antigen presentation by MSCs. METHODS: Besides completing a series of flow-cytometry-based phenotypic analyses, several functional antigen presentation assays were conducted using the SIINFEKL-specific T-cell clone B3Z. Anti-oxidants and electron transport chain inhibitors were also used to decipher UM171a's mode of action in MSCs. Finally, the potency of UM171a-treated MSCs was evaluated in the context of therapeutic vaccination using immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice with pre-established syngeneic EG.7T-cell lymphoma. RESULTS: Treatment of MSCs with UM171a triggered potent increase in H2-Kb cell surface levels along with the acquisition of antigen cross-presentation abilities. Mechanistically, such effects occurred in response to UM171a-mediated production of mitochondrial-derived reactive oxygen species as their neutralization using anti-oxidants or Antimycin-A mitigated MSCs' ability to cross-present antigens. Processing and presentation of the immunogenic ovalbumin-derived SIINFEKL peptide was caused by de novo expression of the Psmb8 gene in response to UM171a-triggered oxidative stress. When evaluated for their anti-tumoral properties in the context of therapeutic vaccination, UM171a-treated MSC administration to immunocompetent mice with pre-established T-cell lymphoma controlled tumor growth resulting in 40% survival without the need of additional supportive therapy and/or standard-of-care. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, our findings reveal a new immune-related function for UM171a and clearly allude to a direct link between UM171a-mediated ROS induction and antigen cross-presentation by MSCs. The fact that UM171a treatment modulates MSCs to become antigen-presenting cells without the use of IFN-gamma opens-up a new line of investigation to search for additional agents capable of converting immune-suppressive MSCs to a cellular tool easily adaptable to vaccination.

UM171-Expanded Cord Blood Transplants Support Robust T Cell Reconstitution with Low Rates of Severe Infections.

Rapid T cell reconstitution following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is essential for protection against infections and has been associated with lower incidence of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), relapse, and transplant-related mortality (TRM). While cord blood (CB) transplants are associated with lower rates of cGVHD and relapse, their low stem cell content results in slower immune reconstitution and higher risk of graft failure, severe infections, and TRM. Recently, results of a phase I/II trial revealed that single UM171-expanded CB transplant allowed the use of smaller CB units without compromising engraftment (www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02668315). We assessed T cell reconstitution in patients who underwent transplantation with UM171-expanded CB grafts and retrospectively compared it to that of patients receiving unmanipulated CB transplants. While median T cell dose infused was at least 2 to 3 times lower than that of unmanipulated CB, numbers and phenotype of T cells at 3, 6, and 12 months post-transplant were similar between the 2 cohorts. T cell receptor sequencing analyses revealed that UM171 patients had greater T cell diversity and higher numbers of clonotypes at 12 months post-transplant. This was associated with higher counts of naive T cells and recent thymic emigrants, suggesting active thymopoiesis and correlating with the demonstration that UM171 expands common lymphoid progenitors in vitro. UM171 patients also showed rapid virus-specific T cell reactivity and significantly reduced incidence of severe infections. These results suggest that UM171 patients benefit from rapid T cell reconstitution, which likely contributes to the absence of moderate/severe cGVHD, infection-related mortality, and late TRM observed in this cohort.

Effects of Eupalinilide E and UM171, alone and in combination on cytokine stimulated ex-vivo expansion of human cord blood hematopoietic stem cells.

Eupalinilide E was assessed for ex-vivo expansion activity on hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from human cord blood (CB) CD34+ cells in serum-free, SCF, TPO and FL stimulated 7 day cultures. Eupalinilide E ex-vivo enhanced phenotyped (p) HSCs and glycolysis of CD34+ cells isolated 7 days after culture as measured by extracellular acidification rate, but did not alone show enhanced NSG engrafting capability of HSCs as determined by chimerism and numbers of SCID Repopulating cells, a quantitative measure of functional human HSCs. This is another example of pHSCs not necessarily recapitulating functional activity of these cells. Lack of effect on engrafting HSCs may be due to a number of possibilities, including down regulation of CXCR4 or of the homing capacity of these treated cells. However, Eupalinilide did act in an additive to synergistic fashion with UM171 to enhance ex vivo expansion of both pHSCs, and functionally engrafting HSCs. While reasons for the disconnect between pHSC and function of HSCs with Eupalinilide E alone cultured CB CD34+ cells is yet to be determined, the data suggest possible future use of Eupalinilide and UM171 together to enhance ex vivo production of CB HSCs for clinical hematopoietic cell transplantation.

UM171 promotes expansion of autologous peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cells from poorly mobilizing lymphoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is an effective therapeutic strategy for lymphoma patients. However, some patients have to give up receiving transplantation because of failing to obtain sufficient CD34+ cells yields. Therefore, we ex vivo expanded HSCs of lymphoma patients using UM171 to solve the problem of HSCs deficiency. METHODS: Mobilized peripheral blood-derived CD34+ cells from lymphoma patients were cultured for 10 days with or without UM171. The fold of cell expansion and the immunophenotype of expanded cells were assessed by flow cytometry. RNA-seq experiment was performed to identify the mechanism by which UM171 promoted HSCs expansion. RESULTS: UM171 treatment increased the proportion of CD34+ (68.97 ± 6.91%), CD34+ CD38- cells (44.10 ± 9.20%) and CD34+CD38-CD45RA-CD90+ LT-HSCs (3.05 ± 2.08%) compared to vehicle treatment (36.08 ± 11.14%, 18.30 ± 9.49% and 0.56 ± 0.45%, respectively). UM171 treatment led to an 85.08-fold increase in LT-HSC numbers relative to initial cells. Importantly, UM171 promoted expansion of LT-HSCs achieved 138.57-fold in patients with poor mobilization. RNA-seq data showed that UM171 upregulated expression of HSC-, mast cell-specific genes and non-canonical Wnt signaling related genes, and inhibited genes expression of erythroid, megakaryocyte and inflammatory mediated chemokine. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that UM171 can efficiently promote ex vivo expansion of HSCs from lymphoma patients, especially for poorly mobilizing patients. In terms of mechanism, UM171 upregulate HSC-specific genes expression and suppress erythroid and megakaryocytic differentiation, as well as activate non-classical Wnt signaling.

Sphingolipid Modulation Activates Proteostasis Programs to Govern Human Hematopoietic Stem Cell Self-Renewal.

Cellular stress responses serve as crucial decision points balancing persistence or culling of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for lifelong blood production. Although strong stressors cull HSCs, the linkage between stress programs and self-renewal properties that underlie human HSC maintenance remains unknown, particularly at quiescence exit when HSCs must also dynamically shift metabolic state. Here, we demonstrate distinct wiring of the sphingolipidome across the human hematopoietic hierarchy and find that genetic or pharmacologic modulation of the sphingolipid enzyme DEGS1 regulates lineage differentiation. Inhibition of DEGS1 in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells during the transition from quiescence to cellular activation with N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide activates coordinated stress pathways that coalesce on endoplasmic reticulum stress and autophagy programs to maintain immunophenotypic and functional HSCs. Thus, our work identifies a linkage between sphingolipid metabolism, proteostatic quality control systems, and HSC self-renewal and provides therapeutic targets for improving HSC-based cellular therapeutics.

Integrin-α3 Is a Functional Marker of Ex Vivo Expanded Human Long-Term Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

Transplantation of expanded hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and gene therapy based on HSC engineering have emerged as promising approaches for the treatment of hematological diseases. Nevertheless, the immunophenotype of cultured HSCs remains poorly defined. Here, we identify Integrin-α3 (ITGA3) as a marker of cultured human HSCs. Exploiting the pyrimidoindole derivative UM171 to expand cord blood (CB) cells, we show that ITGA3 expression is sufficient to separate the primitive EPCR+CD90+CD133+CD34+CD45RA- HSC population into two functionally distinct fractions presenting mostly short-term (ITGA3-) and both short-term and long-term (ITGA3+) repopulating potential. ITGA3+ cells exhibit robust multilineage differentiation potential, serial reconstitution ability in immunocompromised mice, and an HSC-specific transcriptomic signature. Moreover, ITGA3 expression is functionally required for the long-term engraftment of CB cells. Altogether, our results indicate that ITGA3 is a reliable marker of cultured human long-term repopulating HSCs (LT-HSCs) and represents an important tool to improve the accuracy of prospective HSC identification in culture.

Synthesis and evaluation of pyrimidoindole analogs in umbilical cord blood ex vivo expansion.

The scarcity of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) significantly hindered their clinical potentials. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) has become the leading source of HSCs for both research and clinical applications. But the low content of HSCs in a single UCB unit limited its use only to pediatric patients. Various cytokines and small molecules have demonstrated strong abilities in promoting HSC ex vivo expansion, of which UM171 is the newest and by far the most potent HSC ex vivo expansion agent. In this study, we synthesized 37 pyrimidoindole analogs and identified 6 compounds to be potent in promoting HSC ex vivo expansion. In particular, analog 11 was found to be the most effective in stimulating ex vivo expansion of UCB CD34+ cells and CD34+CD38- cells. Initial data indicated that compound 11 promoted the absolute number of long term HSCs and inhibited their differentiation. UCB HSCs expanded with 11 retained adequate multi-lineage differentiation capacity. In addition, compound 11 is not cytotoxic at its test concentrations, suggesting that it merits further investigation for potential clinical applications.

VSELs Maintain their Pluripotency and Competence to Differentiate after Enhanced Ex Vivo Expansion.

The very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) are known as a subset of adult pluripotent stem cells able to differentiate to all three germ layers. However, their small number and quiescence restrict the possibility of their use in cell therapy. In the present study, we first delineate different subpopulation of VSELs from human cord blood CD34+ cells to define their purity. We next determine genes expression levels in the whole transcriptome of VSELs expressing the pluripotent marker NANOG and control cells under the steady state condition. We found that more than a thousand of genes are downregulated in VSELs, as well as many membrane receptors, cells signaling molecules and CDKs mRNAs. In addition, we observed discordance in some pluripotent genes expression levels with embryonic stem cells (ESCs), which could explain VSELs quiescence. We then evaluate VSELs capacity to expand and differentiate in vitro in specific and appropriate media. After 12 days culture in specific medium containing a pyrimidoindole derivative (UM171), VSELs were significantly expanded for the first time without feeder cells and importantly preserve their capacities to differentiate into hematopoietic and endothelial cells. Interestingly, this stimulation of VSELs self-renewal restores the expression of some downregulated genes known as key regulators of cell proliferation and differentiation. The properties of such pluripotent expanded cells make them a potential candidate in regenerative medicine.

Brief Report: A Differential Transcriptomic Profile of Ex Vivo Expanded Adult Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells Empowers Them for Engraftment Better than Their Surface Phenotype.

Transplantation of small cord blood (CB) units, or of autologous ex vivo-genetically modified adult hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), face the common challenge of suboptimal HSC doses for infusion and impaired engraftment of the transplanted cells. Ex vivo expansion of HSCs, using either cell-based coculture approaches or especially small molecules have been successfully tested mainly in CB and in prolonged cultures. Here, we explored whether innovative combinations of small molecules can sufficiently, after short culture, expand adult HSCs while retaining their functionality in vivo. We found that 5-day cultured cells, in the presence of the small molecule combinations tested, achieved higher engraftment levels in NSG mice than both their uncultured and their cytokine only-cultured counterparts. Surprisingly, the engraftment levels were neither concordant to the numbers of phenotypically similar HSCs expanded under different small molecule combinations, nor explained by their distinct companion cells present. Transcriptomic comparative analysis of sorted, phenotypically similar, ex vivo generated HSCs transplanted in equal numbers, suggested that HSCs generated under expansion conditions that maintain low expression of the Rap1/Ras/PI3K-AKT pathway exhibit a superior functional profile in vivo. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:1852-1858.

Efficient Ex Vivo Engineering and Expansion of Highly Purified Human Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cell Populations for Gene Therapy.

Ex vivo gene therapy based on CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) has shown promising results in clinical trials, but genetic engineering to high levels and in large scale remains challenging. We devised a sorting strategy that captures more than 90% of HSC activity in less than 10% of mobilized peripheral blood (mPB) CD34+ cells, and modeled a transplantation protocol based on highly purified, genetically engineered HSCs co-infused with uncultured progenitor cells. Prostaglandin E2 stimulation allowed near-complete transduction of HSCs with lentiviral vectors during a culture time of less than 38 hr, mitigating the negative impact of standard culture on progenitor cell function. Exploiting the pyrimidoindole derivative UM171, we show that transduced mPB CD34+CD38- cells with repopulating potential could be expanded ex vivo. Implementing these findings in clinical gene therapy protocols will improve the efficacy, safety, and sustainability of gene therapy and generate new opportunities in the field of gene editing.