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Sangamo BioSciences, Inc.
announced today the publication in Nature of data demonstrating
efficient zinc finger nuclease (ZFN)-mediated, targeted gene insertion that
resulted in correction of the genetic defect in stem cells from an individual
with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID-X1). Importantly, the
study demonstrates that the treatment successfully targets a class of
hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that are responsible for the long term
repopulation of the bone marrow following transplant. The data support the
clinical translation of this approach for SCID-X1, other immunodeficiencies
and monogenic diseases.
"The ability to accomplish targeted integration of a therapeutic gene into
HSCs represents a major step forward in the quest for more precise and safe
gene therapies," stated Luigi Naldini, M.D., Ph.D., Director, San Raffaele
Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (TIGET) and a senior author on the paper.
"We used ZFNs to promote insertion of a corrective DNA sequence into the IL2RG
gene in HSCs derived from either cord blood or bone marrow. This strategy
enables correction of the inherited functional defect of the gene while at the
same time restoring its expression under physiological control. This work
should open a path to the development of safer and potentially curative
treatments for SCID-X1 and, conceivably, other genetic disorders."
The study, entitled "Targeted genome editing in human repopulating
haematopoietic stem cells," was conducted at TIGET by a team of scientists led
by Dr. Naldini in collaboration with Sangamo scientists, and was published as
an Advance Online Publication in Nature
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature13420.html.
Researchers capitalized on the fact that ZFN-mediated genome editing requires
only a transient expression of the ZFNs to effect a permanent change in the
genome. They used messenger RNA and electroporation to deliver the ZFNs and a
non-integrating vector, an Integrase Defective Lentiviral Vector (IDLV), to
provide a corrective therapeutic DNA sequence, a so-called "donor template,"
to human stem cells. This delivery approach, in combination with modified
culture conditions for the cells, increased the efficiency of gene transfer
and targeted integration particularly in more primitive longer-lasting stem
cells, to levels that can be used therapeutically to potentially treat a range
of monogenic diseases.
The study, which included testing the proposed gene correction strategy in
vitro in HSCs derived from the bone marrow of a symptomatic four-month-old
SCID-X1 patient, demonstrated the functional reconstitution of the IL2RG gene
in the lymphoid progeny of corrected HSCs in vivo.
"Sangamo's ZFN gene-editing platform provides precise permanent targeted
integration of therapeutic genes in contrast to conventional integrating
vector approaches which insert genes randomly," stated Philip Gregory, D.
Phil., Sangamo's senior vice president, research and chief scientific officer,
and a co-author of the study. "This work demonstrates efficient targeted gene
insertion in long-term repopulating HSCs which support multilineage
differentiation in to all cells of the blood. These data support the
application of ZFN-mediated gene modification across a range of monogenic
diseases."
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