Toward eliminating HLA class i expression to generate universal cells from allogeneic donors

Hiroki Torikai, Andreas Reik, Frank Soldner, Edus H. Warren, Carrie Yuen, Yuanyue Zhou, Denise L. Crossland, Helen Huls, Nicholas Littman, Ziying Zhang, Scott S. Tykodi, Partow Kebriaei, Dean A. Lee, Jeffrey C. Miller, Edward J. Rebar, Michael C. Holmes, Rudolf Jaenisch, Richard E. Champlin, Philip D. Gregory, Laurence J.N. Cooper

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

228 Scopus citations

Abstract

Long-term engraftment of allogeneic cells necessitates eluding immune-mediated rejection, which is currently achieved by matching for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) expression, immunosuppression, and/or delivery of donor-derived cells to sanctuary sites. Genetic engineering provides an alternative approach to avoid clearance of cells that are recognized as "non-self" by the recipient. To this end, we developed designer zinc finger nucleases and employed a "hit-and-run" approach to genetic editing for selective elimination of HLA expression. Electro-transfer of mRNA species coding for these engineered nucleases completely disrupted expression of HLA-A on human T cells, including CD19-specific T cells. The HLA-Aneg T-cell pools can be enriched and evade lysis by HLA-restricted cytotoxic T-cell clones. Recognition by natural killer cells of cells that had lost HLA expression was circumvented by enforced expression of nonclassical HLA molecules. Furthermore, we demonstrate that zinc finger nucleases can eliminate HLA-A expression from embryonic stem cells, which broadens the applicability of this strategy beyond infusing HLA-disparate immune cells. These findings establish that clinically appealing cell types derived from donors with disparate HLA expression can be genetically edited to evade an immune response and provide a foundation whereby cells from a single donor can be administered to multiple recipients.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1341-1349
Number of pages9
JournalBlood
Volume122
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Immunology
  • Hematology
  • Cell Biology

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