Project description:We designed and demonstrated a synthetic strategy to derive mimetic Vγ9Vδ2 T cells endowed with NKRs from iPSCs. We used microarrays to compare mRNA expression profiles of such iPSC-derived mimetic Vγ9Vδ2 T cells with other peripheral blood lymphocytes.
Project description:We developed human CISH-knockout (CISH-/-) NK cells using an induced pluripotent stem cell-derived NK cell (iPSC-NK cell) platform. And compare transcriptomes of CISH-/- iPSC NK cells with wild type iPSC NK cells using RNA seq. RNA seq data suggested that genes involved in the JAK-STAT signaling pathway and lymphocyte activations were significantly activated in CISH-/- iPSC NK cells.
Project description:T and CAR T cells were generated from mock or CD19CAR+ Tn/mem-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (Tn/mem-iPS) by 3D-organoid culture system. We performed RNA deep sequencing analysis to better elucidate their phenotype and compare their gene expression profiles among groups of Tn/mem-iPSC derived T/ CAR T cells, PBMC derived T/CAR T cells, PBMC derived NK cells and T-iPSC cells, as well as CD4 and CD8 subsets of iPSC derived or PBMC derived CAR T cells.
Project description:Dozens of transplants generated from pluripotent stem cells are currently in clinical trials. The creation of patient-specific iPSCs makes personalized therapy possible due to their main advantage of immunotolerance. However, some reports have claimed recently that aberrant gene expression followed by proteome alterations and neoantigen formation can result in iPSCs recognition by autologous T-cells. Meanwhile, the possibility of NK-cell activation has not been previously considered. This study focused on the comparison of autologous and allogeneic immune response to iPSC-derived cells and isogeneic parental somatic cells used for reprogramming. Here we report that cells differentiated from iPSCs can be recognized by NK-cells rather than by autologous T-cells. We observed that iPS-fibro elicited a high level of NK-cell degranulation and cytotoxicity, while isogeneic parental skin fibroblasts used to obtain iPSCs barely triggered an NK-cell response. iPSC-derivatives with B2M knockout did not cause an additional increase in NK-cell activation, although they were devoid of HLA-I, the major inhibitory molecules for NK-cells. Transcriptome analysis revealed a significant imbalance of ligands for activating and inhibitory NK-cell receptors in iPS-fibro. Compared to parental fibroblasts, iPSC-derivatives had a reduced expression of HLA-I simultaneously with an increased gene expression of major activating ligands, such as MICA, NECTIN2, and PVR. The lack of inhibitory signals might be due to insufficient maturity of cells differentiated from iPSCs. In addition, we showed that pretreatment of iPS-fibro with proinflammatory cytokine IFNγ restored the ligand imbalance, thereby reducing the degranulation and cytotoxicity of NK-cells. In summary, we showed that iPSC-derived cells can be sensitive to the cytotoxic potential of autologous NK-cells regardless of HLA-I status. Thus, the balance of ligands for NK-cell receptors should be considered prior to iPSC-based cell therapies.
Project description:Cell-based immunotherapy can control bulky tumors, but effector cell persistence, tumor resistance, inconsistencies of the manufactured product, and treatment cost continue to pose challenges. To address these limitations, we developed a triple gene-edited induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) platform for broad patient-based adoptive cell therapy. iPSCs were engineered to express a high affinity, non-cleavable version of the Fc receptor CD16a to augment antibody-mediated activity and a membrane-bound IL-15/IL-15R fusion (IL-15RF) protein to promote survival and maturation. The third edit was knockout of the ecto-enzyme CD38 that hydrolyzes NAD+ and is the target of the therapeutic antibody daratumumab. Natural killer (NK) cells derived from these iPSCs displayed metabolic features and gene expression profiles similar to those of adaptive NK cells that arise in response to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. These engineered iPSC-derived NK cells, termed iADAPT, persisted in vivo in the absence of exogenous cytokine and could be combined with daratumumab for efficient killing of multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia cells both in vitro and in vivo. This strategy has broad off-the-shelf potential for the treatment of patients with advanced cancer.
Project description:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer. Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) is highly expressed in the liver tumor microenvironment and is known to inhibit immune cell activity. Here, we used human iPSCs to produce natural killer (NK) cells engineered to mediate improved anti-HCC activity. Specifically, we produced iPSC-NK cells with either knock out TGF-β receptor 2 (TGFBR2-KO) or expression of a dominant negative (DN) form of the TGF-β receptor 2 (TGFBR2-DN) combined with CARs that target either GPC3 or AFP. The TGFBR2-KO and TGFBR2-DN iPSC-NK cells are resistant to TGF-β inhibition and improved anti-HCC activity. However, expression of anti-HCC CARs on iPSC-NK cells did not lead to effective anti-HCC activity unless there was also inhibition of TGF-b activity. Our findings demonstrate that TGF-β signaling blockade is required for effective NK cell function against HCC and potentially other malignancies which express high levels of TGF-β.