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Optimized two-step electroporation process to achieve efficient nonviral-mediated gene insertion into primary T cells.

ABSTRACT: The development of gene editing technologies over the past years has allowed the precise and efficient insertion of transgenes into the genome of various cell types. Knock-in approaches using homology-directed repair and designer nucleases often rely on viral vectors, which can considerably impact the manufacturing cost and timeline of gene-edited therapeutic products. An attractive alternative would be to use naked DNA as a repair template. However, such a strategy faces challenges such as cytotoxicity from double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) to primary cells. Here, we sought to study the kinetics of transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN)-mediated gene editing in primary T cells to improve nonviral gene knock-in. Harnessing this knowledge, we developed a rapid and efficient gene insertion strategy based on either short single-stranded oligonucleotides or large (2 Kb) linear naked dsDNA sequences. We demonstrated that a time-controlled two-step transfection protocol can substantially improve the efficiency of nonviral transgene integration in primary T cells. Using this approach, we achieved modification of up to ˜ 30% of T cells when inserting a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) at the T-cell receptor alpha constant region (TRAC) locus to generate 'off-the shelf' CAR-T cells.

SUBMITTER: Yang M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8727936 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundEffective gene-delivery systems for primary human T cell engineering are useful tools for both basic research and clinical immunotherapy applications. Pseudovirus-based systems and electro-transfection are the most popular strategies for genetic material transduction. Compared with viral-particle-mediated approaches, electro-transfection is theoretically safer, because it does not promote transgene integration into the host genome. Additionally, the simplicity and speed of the procedure increases the attractiveness of electroporation. Here, we developed and optimized an electro-transfection method for the production of engineered chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells.ResultsStimulation of T cells had the greatest effect on their transfection, with stimulation of cells for up to 3 days substantially improving transfection efficiency. Additionally, the strength of the external electric field, input cell number, and the initial amount of DNA significantly affected transfection performance. The voltage applied during electroporation affected plasmid permeation and was negatively correlated with the number of viable cells after electroporation. Moreover, higher plasmid concentration increased the proportion of positively transfected cells, but decreased cell viability, and for single-activated cells, higher cell density enhanced their viability. We evaluated the effects of two clinically relevant factors, serum supplementation in the culture medium and cryopreservation immediately after the isolation of peripheral blood lymphocytes. Our findings showed that our protocol performed well using xeno-free cultured, fresh T cells, with application resulting in a lower but acceptable transfection efficiency of cells cultured with fetal bovine serum or thawed cells. Furthermore, we described an optimized procedure to generate CAR-T cells within 6 days and that exhibited cytotoxicity toward targeted cells.ConclusionsOur investigation of DNA electro-transfection for the use in human primary T cell engineering established and validated an optimized method for the construction of functional CAR-T cells.

Project description:Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) is being advocated as a reference method to measure rare genomic targets. It has consistently been proven to be more sensitive and direct at discerning copy numbers of DNA than other quantitative methods. However, one of the largest obstacles to measuring microRNA (miRNA) using ddPCR is that reverse transcription efficiency depends upon the target, meaning small RNA nucleotide composition directly effects primer specificity in a manner that prevents traditional quantitation optimization strategies. Additionally, the use of reagents that are optimized for miRNA measurements using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) appear to either cause false positive or false negative detection of certain targets when used with traditional ddPCR quantification methods. False readings are often related to using inadequate enzymes, primers and probes. Given that two-step miRNA quantification using ddPCR relies solely on reverse transcription and uses proprietary reagents previously optimized only for qRT-PCR, these barriers are substantial. Therefore, here we outline essential controls, optimization techniques, and an efficacy model to improve the quality of ddPCR miRNA measurements. We have applied two-step principles used for miRNA qRT-PCR measurements and leveraged the use of synthetic miRNA targets to evaluate ddPCR following cDNA synthesis with four different commercial kits. We have identified inefficiencies and limitations as well as proposed ways to circumvent identified obstacles. Lastly, we show that we can apply these criteria to a model system to confidently quantify miRNA copy number. Our measurement technique is a novel way to quantify specific miRNA copy number in a single sample, without using standard curves for individual experiments. Our methodology can be used for validation and control measurements, as well as a diagnostic technique that allows scientists, technicians, clinicians, and regulators to base miRNA measures on a single unit of measurement rather than a ratio of values.

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Optimized two-step electroporation process to achieve efficient nonviral-mediated gene insertion into primary T cells.

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