Over the last two decades, several attempts to generate packaging cells for lentiviral vectors (LV) have been made. Despite different technologies, no packaging clone is currently employed in clinical trials. We developed a new strategy for LV stable production based on the HEK-293T progenitor cells; the sequential insertion of the viral genes by integrating vectors; the constitutive expression of the viral components; and the RD114-TR envelope pseudotyping. We generated the intermediate clone PK-7 expressing constitutively gag/pol and rev genes and, by adding tat and rd114-tr genes, the stable packaging cell line RD2-MolPack, which can produce LV carrying any transfer vector (TV). Finally, we obtained the RD2-MolPack-Chim3 producer clone by transducing RD2-MolPack cells with the TV expressing the anti-HIV transgene Chim3. Remarkably, RD114-TR pseudovirions have much higher potency when produced by stable compared with transient technology. Most importantly, comparable transduction efficiency in hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) is obtained with 2-logs less physical particles respect to VSV-G pseudovirions produced by transient transfection. Altogether, RD2-MolPack technology should be considered a valid option for large-scale production of LV to be used in gene therapy protocols employing HSC, resulting in the possibility of downsizing the manufacturing scale by about 10-fold in respect to transient technology.
Background:The human Val66Met polymorphism in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a key factor in neuroplasticity, synaptic function, and cognition, has been implicated in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. BDNF is encoded by multiple transcripts with distinct regulation and localization, but the impact of the Val66Met polymorphism on BDNF regulation remains unclear.Methods:In BDNF Val66Met knock-in mice, which recapitulate the phenotypic hallmarks of individuals carrying the BDNFMet allele, we measured expression levels, epigenetic changes at promoters, and dendritic trafficking of distinct BDNF transcripts using quantitative PCR, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), and in situ hybridization.Results:BDNF-4 and BDNF-6 transcripts were reduced in BDNFMet/Met mice, compared with BDNFVal/Val mice. ChIP for acetyl-histone H3, a marker of active gene transcription, and trimethyl-histone-H3-Lys27 (H3K27me3), a marker of gene repression, showed higher H3K27me3 binding to exon 5, 6, and 8 promoters in BDNFMet/Met. The H3K27 methyltransferase enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is involved in epigenetic regulation of BDNF expression, because in neuroblastoma cells BDNF expression was increased both by short interference RNA for EZH2 and incubation with 3-deazaneplanocin A, an inhibitor of EZH2. In situ hybridization for BDNF-2, BDNF-4, and BDNF-6 after pilocarpine treatment showed that BDNF-6 transcript was virtually absent from distal dendrites of the CA1 and CA3 regions in BDNFMet/Met mice, while no changes were found for BDNF-2 and BDNF-4.Conclusions:Impaired BDNF expression and dendritic targeting in BDNFMet/Met mice may contribute to reduced regulated secretion of BDNF at synapses, and may be a specific correlate of pathology in individuals carrying the Met allele.
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