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  • C12N2830/48—Vector systems having a special element relevant for transcription regulating transport or export of RNA, e.g. RRE, PRE, WPRE, CTE

Definitions

• the present invention refers to the medical field. Particularly, the present invention refers to mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) characterized in that they are transduced with an integrative expression vector in order to stably co-express the chemokine receptor type 4 CXCR4 and the interleukin IL-10.
• MSCs mesenchymal stem cells
• the present invention also refers to the use of said MSCs as a medicament, particularly in the treatment of inflammatory and/or autoimmune diseases.
• MSCs are multipotent adult stromal cells with immunomodulatory effects on activated lymphoid cells, including T cells, B cells, natural killer cells, and dendritic cells. MSCs display the ability to home on inflamed sites, where they can modulate inflammatory reactions and contribute to the repair of injured tissues.
• MSCs have demonstrated their efficacy both in regenerative medicine and also in inflammatory and autoimmune disease models.
• MSCs have demonstrated a safety profile and showed preliminary evidence of clinical benefit in different diseases such as steroid-resistant graft versus host disease (GVHD), severe systemic lupus erythematosus, complex perianal fistulas, knee osteoarthritis or chronic complete paraplegia, among others.
• GVHD steroid-resistant graft versus host disease
• severe systemic lupus erythematosus steroid-resistant graft versus host disease
• complex perianal fistulas steroid-refractory GVHD in children
• NCT01768702 chronic advanced ischemic heart failure
• the present invention is focused on improving the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs, particularly by improving the migration of MSCs towards inflamed sites and also by secreting immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory cytokines, thus potentiating the therapeutic efficacy of standard unmodified MSCs.
• the present invention is focused on improving the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs, particularly by enhancing the migration of MSCs towards inflamed sites and by enhancing the release of immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory cytokines as compared to standard unmodified MSCs.
• the inventors of the present invention have used MSCs which have been transduced with an integrative expression vector co-expressing the chemokine receptor type 4 CXCR4 and the interleukin IL-10.
• a lentiviral vector encoding for CXCR4 and IL- 10 was constructed in the context of the present invention. This expression vector was used for transducing MSCs thus co-expressing in a stable manner both CXCR4 and IL-10.
• Example 2.1 shows that MSCs transfected with a CXCR4-IL10 mRNA exert antiinflammatory properties in a mouse model of local inflammation. Nevertheless, these cells do not show enhanced anti-graft versus host disease (GvHD) properties compared to WT MSCs (Example 2.2).
• GvHD enhanced anti-graft versus host disease
• the in vitro experiments included in the present invention show that the stable co-expression of these molecules efficiently enhanced the migration of MSCs towards SDF-1 and improved the immunosuppressive properties of these cells.
• the preferential homing of MSCs ectopically expressing CXCR4 and IL 10 to inflamed pads was demonstrated in a mouse model in which a local pad inflammation was induced.
• these results demonstrate that the stable co-expression of specific homing and anti-inflammatory molecules, such as CXCR4 and IL 10, in human MSCs confers an enhanced anti-inflammatory potential in these cells compared to WT MSCs.
• the use of this new generation of MSCs transduced with an integrative expression vector co-expressing CXCR4 and IL 10 will have a significant impact in clinical cell therapy for the treatment of inflammatory and/or autoimmune diseases.
• MSCs transduced with an integrative expression vector co-expressing both CXCR4 and IL- 10 as a medicament, particularly in the treatment of inflammatory and/or autoimmune diseases.
• the first embodiment of the present invention refers to an expression cassette (hereinafter the expression cassette of the invention) comprising a DNA sequence which in turn comprises: a) a promoter, b) a sequence encoding the chemokine receptor type 4 CXCR4 and c) a sequence encoding interleukin IL-10.
• the expression cassette further comprises a regulatory element for increasing transgene expression.
• the regulatory element is the woodchuck hepatitis virus regulatory element (WPRE) RNA export signal sequence or a functional variant or fragment thereof.
• WPRE woodchuck hepatitis virus regulatory element
• the expression cassette further comprises, between the sequence encoding the chemokine receptor type 4 CXCR4 and the sequence encoding interleukin IL- 10, a sequence which encodes an autocatalytic peptide.
• the autocatalytic peptide is E2A.
• the promoter is a human phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) promoter sequence or a functional homolog or variant thereof.
• the expression cassette comprises in the order 5 ' to 3 a) a human phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) promoter sequence or a functional homolog or variant thereof, b) a sequence encoding the chemokine receptor type 4 CXCR4, c) a sequence encoding the autocatalytic peptide E2A, d) a sequence encoding interleukin IL- 10; and d) the woodchuck hepatitis virus post-transcriptional regulatory element (WPRE).
• PGK human phosphoglycerate kinase
• the expression cassette comprises non-native codon optimized sequences of the human genes CXCR4 (SEQ ID NO: 1) and IL10 (SEQ ID NO: 3).
• the sequence coding the autocatalytic peptide E2A is SEQ ID NO: 2 ho which is used to ease the co-expression of both molecules (CXCR4 and lLlO).
• the second embodiment of the present invention refers to a recombinant gene delivery vector (hereinafter the recombinant gene delivery vector of the invention) comprising the above defined expression cassette.
• the recombinant gene delivery vector is a lentiviral vector.
• the vector of the invention is an integrative vector which is permanently incorporated into the host chromosomes.
• the third embodiment of the present invention refers to a cell (hereinafter the cell of the invention) comprising the expression cassette or the recombinant gene delivery vector of the invention.
• the cells are MSCs derived from bone marrow, placenta, umbilical cord, amniotic membrane, menstrual blood, peripheral blood, salivary gland, skin and foreskin, synovial fluid, amniotic fluid, endometrium, adipose tissue, cord blood and / or dental tissue.
• the fourth embodiment of the present invention refers to a pharmaceutical composition
• a pharmaceutical composition comprising the recombinant gene delivery vector or the cell of the invention and, optionally, pharmaceutically acceptable excipients or carriers.
• the fifth embodiment of the present invention refers to the gene delivery vector or the cells of the invention for use as a medicament.
• the present invention refers to the gene delivery vector or the cells of the invention for use in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and/or autoimmune diseases, for instance Graft- versus-host disease (GvHD), sepsis or rheumatoid arthritis.
• this embodiment refers to a method for treating inflammatory diseases and/or autoimmune diseases, for instance Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), sepsis or rheumatoid arthritis, which comprises the administration to the patient of a therapeutically effective dose or amount of the gene delivery vector or the cells of the invention, or a pharmaceutical composition comprising thereof.
• “consisting of’ it is meant “including, and limited to”, whatever follows the phrase “consisting of’. Thus, the phrase “consisting of’ indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, and that no other elements may be present.
• “Pharmaceutically acceptable excipient or carrier” refers to an excipient that may optionally be included in the pharmaceutical composition of the invention and that causes no significant adverse toxicological effects to the patient.
• terapéuticaally effective dose or amount refers to the situation when the cells or the pharmaceutical composition are administered as described above and brings about a positive therapeutic response in a subject having an inflammatory or autoimmune disease.
• the exact amount required will vary from subject to subject, depending on the species, age, and general condition of the subject, the severity of the condition being treated, mode of administration, and the like.
• An appropriate “effective” amount in any individual case may be determined by one of ordinary skill in the art using routine experimentation, based upon the information provided herein.
• Figure 1 Evidence of in vivo efficacy of MSCs transfected with the bicistronic CXCR4-IL10 mRNA in a mouse model of local inflammation. Enhanced antiinflammatory effect of MSCs transfected with the CXCR4-IL10 mRNA is observed as compared to WT-MSCs.
• FIG. 3 (A) Design of the DNA bicistronic lentiviral vector used to co-express CXCR4 and IL-10. (B) Levels of CXCR4, (C) IL-10 secretion and (D) vector copy number per cell (VCN/Cell) in CXCR4/IL10-MSCs compared to WT-MSCs. N.D. Not detectable
• Figure 4 In vitro characterization of MSCs transduced with the DNA PGK- CXCR4-IL10 lentiviral vector.
• Figure 5. Enhanced migration capacity of MSCs transduced with the DNA PGK- CXCR4-IL10 lentiviral vector compared to WT-MSCs.
• Figure 6 Enhanced in vitro immunosuppression capacity of MSCs transduced with the DNA PG-CXCR4-IL10 lentiviral vector.
• Figure 7 Enhanced in vivo efficacy of MSCs transduced with the DNA PGK- CXCR4-IL10 lentiviral vector in a mouse model of local inflammation.
• Figure 8. Enhanced anti-GvHD of MSCs transduced with the DNA PGK-CXCR4- IL10 LV compared to WT-MSCs: Analysis of the GvHD clinical signs.
• Figure 9 Enhanced anti-GvHD of MSCs transduced with the DNA PGK-CXCR4- IL10 LV compared to WT-MSCs: A) Flow cytometry analysis of human CD45 + cells in peripheral blood of recipient mice showing a reduced expansion of xenogenic donor leukocyte in the GVHD humanized mouse model. B) Flow cytometry analysis of human CD45 + cells in spleen in a GVHD humanized mouse model confirming the reduced infiltration of xenogenic donor leukocyte in this immune organ.
• Figure 10 Enhanced anti-GvHD of MSCs transduced with the DNA PGK- CXCR4-IL10 LV compared to WT-MSCs: Analysis of the infiltration of donor lymphocytes expressing IFN-g or IL10: A) Reduced content of INFg-secreting human T cells responsible for GVHD disease in the spleen of NSG mice that had been infused with CXCR4-IL10-MSCs. B) Increased content of ILlO-secreting human T cells in the spleen of NSG mice with GVHD treated with CXCR4-IL10-MSCs. Figure 11.
• Enhanced anti-GvHD of MSCs transduced with the DNA PGK- CXCR4-IL10 LV compared to WT-MSCs Quantification of human factors in recipient mice by qPCR.
• FIG. 12 Evolution of weight and GVHD clinical score in NSG mice transplanted with human mononuclear cells and infused with WT or CXCR4/LL10-MSCs.
• A Evolution of the weight shown as a percentage over time, assuming that the weight of day 0 corresponds to 100%.
• B Clinical score of the disease determined over time in the different transplanted groups. The overall GVHD score was evaluated in terms of weight loss, posture, activity, hair texture, skin integrity, and presence of diarrhea. * p ⁇ 0.05, ** p ⁇ 0.01, *** p ⁇ 0.001
• FIG. 13 Flow cytometric analysis of circulating human cells in peripheral blood three weeks after transplantation in NSG mice transplanted with human mononuclear cells and infused with WT or CXCR4/LL10-MSCs.
• A Percentage of circulating human CD45 + cells.
• B Percentage of circulating human CD3 + T cells.
• C Characterization of CD3 + T cells as human CD4 + ’ CD8 + or CD4 + CD8 + T cells. Each bar represents the mean ⁇ SEM. * p ⁇ 0.05, ** p ⁇ 0.01, *** p ⁇ 0.001.
• FIG. 14 Phenotypic characterization of circulating human CD4 + and CD8 + T cells (naive, effector and memory T cel) in NSG mice transplanted with human mononuclear cells and infused with WT or CXCR4/LL10-MSCs.
• A Effector T / naive T cell ratio in the CD4 + T cells.
• B Effector T / naive T cell ratio in the CD8 + T cells.
• Each bar represents the mean ⁇ SEM. * p ⁇ 0.05, ** p ⁇ 0.01.
• Figure 16 Analysis of exhaustion markers in circulating human CD3 + T cells in peripheral blood three weeks after of NSG mice with human mononuclear cells and infused with WT or CXCR4/LL10-MSCs. Inhibition profile of CD3 + CD45 + human T cells
• FIG. 17 Human cytokines and growth factor levels involved in GVHD in the serum of NSG transplanted mice three weeks after transplantation with human mononuclear cells and infused with WT or CXCR4/LL10-MSCs. Each bar represents the mean ⁇ SEM. * p ⁇ 0.05, ** p ⁇ 0.01, *** p ⁇ 0.001
• Figure 18 Analysis by flow cytometry of human hematopoietic cells in the spleen three weeks after transplantation of NSG mice with human mononuclear cells and infused with WT or CXCR4/LL10-MSCs. Percentage of circulating human CD45 + cells distributed as CD3 + , CD19 + , CD56 + , CD14 + and CD15 + cells. Each bar represents the mean ⁇ SEM. * p ⁇ 0.05, ** p ⁇ 0.01, *** p ⁇ 0.001
• FIG. 19 Phenotypic characterization of T cell subpopulations in the spleen.
• A Distribution of human CD4 + , CD8+ or double positive T cells within the population of CD3 + CD45 + cells.
• B Distribution of naive, effector and memory subpopulations in the CD4 + T cell population.
• C Distribution of naive, effector and memory subpopulations in the CD8 + T cell population. Each bar represents the mean ⁇ SEM
• FIG. 20 Analysis by flow cytometry of activation profile in human T cells in spleen three weeks after NSG mice transplantation with human mononuclear cells and infused with WT or CXCR4/LL10-MSCs.
• A Activation profile of CD3 + CD45+ labeled T cells.
• B Activation profile of the CD4 + T cell subpopulation.
• C Activation profile of the CD8 + T cell subpopulation.
• Each bar represents the mean ⁇ SEM. * p ⁇ 0.05, ** p ⁇ 0.01
• Figure 21 Analysis by flow cytometry of exhaution profile in human T cells in spleen three weeks after transplantation of NSG mice with human mononuclear cells and infused with WT or CXCR4/LL10-MSCs.
• A Inhibition profile of CD3 + CD45 + T cells.
• B Inhibition profile of the CD4 + T cell subpopulation.
• C Activation profile of the CD8 + T cell subpopulation.
• Each bar represents the mean ⁇ SEM. * p ⁇ 0.05.
• FIG. 22 Phenotypic characterization of human CD19 + B cell subpopulations in spleen (naive B cells CD24’ CD38- CD27’; transitional B cells CD24 low/+ CD38 + CD27’ ; memory B cells and plasma cells CD24 low/+ CD38 + CD27 + ).
• Each bar represents the mean ⁇ SEM. * p ⁇ 0.05.
• Figure 23 Flow cytometry analysis of the human B cell polarization towards regulatory B cells in the spleen of NSG mice three weeks after transplantation with human mononuclear cells and infused with WT or CXCR4/LL10-MSCs.
• A Representative flow cytometric analysis of each group and graphical representation of IL10 + transitional B cell percentage.
• B Representative flow cytometric analysis of each group and graphical representation of the IL10 + memory B cell percentage. Each bar represents the mean ⁇ SEM. * p ⁇ 0.05.
• FIG. 24 Histopathological analysis in the lungs of NSG mice transplanted with human mononuclear cells and infused with WT or CXCR4/LL10-MSCs.
• A Representative images of H / E staining (left), human anti-CD3 immunohistochemical staining (center), and human anti-CD8 immunohistochemical staining (right).
• B Quantification of infiltating CD3 + T cells in the lungs.
• C Quantification of infiltating CD8 + T cells in the lungs. Each bar represents the mean ⁇ SEM. * p ⁇ 0.05, ** p ⁇ 0.01, *** p ⁇ 0.001, **** p ⁇ 0.0001.
• FIG. 26 Experimental design on DSS-induced colitis. Different concentrations of dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) were used with ranges from 2.5% to 3% in drinking water during 7 days ad libitum. A single dose of WT or CXCR4/IL10-MSCs (3x 10 6 cells/mouse) was intraperitoneally infused at day 5. For long-term evaluation, a rechallenge with 7-day cycle of DSS in drinking water was performed 12 weeks later.
• DSS dextran sulphate sodium
• FIG. 27 DSS-induced colitic status of mice following intraperitoneal administration WT-MSCs or CXCR4/LL10-MSCs.
• Disease activity index (DAI) A
• fold-change in body weight (B) B
• survival C
• Data are presented by mean and standard error of the disease activity index and of the foldchange in body weights, with respect to Day 0 expressed by percentage over time. Survival are presented by percentage.
• Figure 28 DSS-induced colitic status of mice after the third month of administration of WT-MSCs or CXCR4/LL10-MSCs.
• Disease activity index (DAI) A
• fold-change in body weight (B) B
• survival C
• Data are presented by mean and standard error of the disease activity index and of the fold-change in body weights, with respect to Day 0 expressed by percentage over time. Survival are presented by percentage.
• Ad-MSCs Adipose-derived MSCs
• Adipose tissue samples were obtained by surgical resection from healthy donors after informed consent.
• Adipose tissue was disaggregated and digested with collagenase A (Serva, Germany) at a final concentration of 2 mg/ml for 4 hours at 37°C.
• Digested samples were filtered through 100 pm nylon filters (BD Bioscience, USA) and centrifuged for 10 minutes.
• the cell pellet was re-suspended in a-MEM (Gibco, USA) supplemented with 5% platelet lysate (Cook medical, USA), 1% penicillin/ streptomycin (Gibco) and Ing/ml human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF, Peprotech, USA).
• Ad-MSCs were seeded at a concentration of 10,000 cells/cm2 in culture flasks (Corning, USA) and cultured at 37°C.
• cell medium was changed every 2-4 days and adherent cells were serially passaged using 0.25% trypsin/EDTA (Sigma-Aldrich, USA) upon reaching near confluence (70%-90%).
• Ad-MSCs were used at passages from 4 to 8.
• CXCR4/IL10-MSCs were immunophenotypically characterized by flow cytometry (Fortessa, BD Bioscience, USA) as described by the Mesenchymal cell kit (Immunostep, Spain).
• the monoclonal anti-human antibodies included in these studies were the following: CD29, CD44, CD73, CD90, CD105, CD166, CD45, CD19, HLA- DR, CD14 and CD34. Data were analysed with FlowJo version X (FlowJo LLC, USA).
• Ad-MSCs The osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation ability of Ad-MSCs was determined using the NH-OsteoDiff and NH-AdipoDiff Media (Miltenyi Biotec, Germany), respectively, according to manufacturer’s protocols. Alcaline phosphatase deposits were seen after the staining with Fast BCIP/NCP (Sigma- Aldrich) while lipid droplets were seen with optic microscopy (Nikon, Germany).
• the fragment containing the lentiviral backbone and the PGK promoter was obtained by simultaneous digestion of pCCL.PGK.FANCA.Wpre* plasmid (9087 bp) with Agel and SacII restriction enzymes (New England Biolabs, USA), whose restriction sites were blanking FANCA transgene at 5’ and 3 ’-end, respectively.
• Digested lentiviral backbone without transgene was purified from agarose gel with NucleoSpin Gel and PCR Clean-up kit (Macherey-Nagel, Germany).
• Fragments containing codon-optimized sequences of human CXCR4 and IL 10 were obtained by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) taking pUC57 plasmids used for mRNA synthesis as a template. PCR of each plasmid was performed using two specific primers which included Agel and SacII restriction sites at 5 ’-end and the first or last 20 bp of the CXCR4 or IL 10 transgenes. Amplification was carried out following Herculase II Fusion Enzyme’s protocol (Agilent, USA) depending on target size, without using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and stablishing 58°C for annealing temperature. PCR products were simultaneous digested with Agel and SacII and also purified by column using NucleoSpin Gel and PCR Clean-up kit.
• PCR polymerase chain reaction
• Digested lentiviral backbone and fragments of interest were ligated with the T4 DNA Ligase (New England Biolabs) maintaining targetvector ratio at 5:1. Ligated products were transformed into Stable3 bacteria to obtain pCCL.PKG-CXCR4- IL10.Wpre*plasmid.
• All self-inactivating HIV- 1 -derived vectors used in this work were produced by a second-generation packaging system in HEK293T cells, obtaining VSV-G-pseudotyped viruses.
• a total amount of 12x106 cells were plated the day before in 150mm diameter plates.
• Transfections were performed on cells at 70-80% confluence in 150mm diameter plates following the CaCL DNA precipitation methods previously described. Briefly, one hour before transfection culture medium was replaced by fresh DMEM-Glutamax containing 10% HyClone (GE Healthcare, USA) and 1% penicillin/streptomycin. Equimolecular mixtures of three plasmids containing the transgenes, the viral genome and the packaging constructs were prepared freshly.
• HEK293T cells of each plate were transfected with 22,5pg of the gene transfer plasmid, 12 pg of the pMD2.VSVg envelope plasmid (PlasmidFactory, Germany) carrying the heterologous VSVg envelope and 27,5 pg of the pCMVdR8.74 packaging plasmid (PlasmidFactory) carrying the gag-pol-rev viral genes.
• These plasmid mixtures were prepared in a final volume of 3,8ml of ultra-pure H2O and 450pl of 2.5M CaC12 were carefully added.
• transduction enhancers were added during the transduction process with the aim of increasing the transduction efficacy.
• CXCR4 on the cell surface of Ad-MSCs was determined by flow cytometry after labelling with a PE-conjugated anti-human CXCR4 antibody for 30 min at 4°C (Biolegend, USA).
• IL10 levels secreted by Ad-MSCs were measured in the supernatant of cultured cells using the human IL10 Quantikine ELISA Kit (R&D System, USA).
• Total protein extracts were isolated from Ad-MSCs using the RIPA buffer (ThermoFisher Scientific, USA) containing a protease inhibitor mixture (Merck Millipore, Germany). Twenty micrograms of each of the cell lysates were resolved in 4- 12% polyacrylamide gels (Bio-Rad, USA) and transferred to PVDF membranes (BioRad). Membranes were blocked with 5% v/v nonfat dry milk in 0.1% Tween-20 PBS. Samples were immunoblotted by incubation with rabbit monoclonal anti-human CXCR4 antibody (Abeam, UK) diluted in blocking solution. Mouse anti-human Vinculin (Abeam) was used as a loading control. Blots were visualized with Clarity Western ECL substrate (Bio-Rad) using a ChemiDoc MP System and ImageLab sofware (Bio-Rad).
• Example 1.7 Cell migration assay Migration assays were carried out in transwells with an 8 gm pore polycarbonate membrane insert (Costar, Cambridge, MA). 5x103 Ad-MSCs were placed in the upper insert chamber of the transwell assembly. The lower chamber contained murine or human SDF-1 (Peprotech, USA) at a final concentration of 100 ng/ml. Twenty -four hours after incubation, the upper part of the membrane was scrapped gently by a cotton swab to remove non-migrating cells and washed with PBS. The membrane was fixed with 3.7-4% formalin overnight at 4°C and stained with haematoxylin for 4 hours at RT. The number of migrating cells was determined by the scoring of four random fields per well under the Nikon Eclipse E400 microscope (10X) (Nikon, UK) and pictures were obtained with a Leica DFC420 camera (Leica, UK).
• MNCs Peripheral blood mononuclear cells
• Ficoll-Paque PLUS GE Healthcare Bioscience, Sweden
• CFSE carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester
• PHA phytohemagglutinin
• Example 1.9 Quantification of secreted cytokines and factors
• WT-MSCs and CXCR4/IL10-MSCs were seeded in 6-well plates at a concentration of 1x105 cells/well.
• supernatants were collected and secreted PGE2 and TGFpi were quantified by ELISA (R&D System, USA).
• Secreted IL-6, fFNy and TNFa were quantified by flow cytometry using LEGENDplexTM Human Th Cytokine Panel (Biolegend, USA) following manufacturer’s protocol.
• RNA from WT-MSCs and CXCR4/IL10-MSCs was isolated using RNAeasy® Plus Mini Kit and reverse transcribed with RETROscript (ThermoFisher Scientific, Waltham, USA).
• cDNA was subjected to quantitative Real-Time PCR (qPCR) using FastStart Universal SYBR Green Master master mix (Roche, Indianapolis, USA) and specific primers for human interleukins and different factors.
• qPCRs were run on a 7,500 fast real-time PCR system (ThermoFisher Scientific). Results were normalized to human GAPDH expression and expression of control samples according to the 2' AACt method.
• FVB/NJ mice were housed in the animal facility (Registration No. ES280790000183) at CIEMAT (Madrid, Spain). Mice were routinely screened for pathogens in accordance with FELASA procedures and received water and food ad libitum. All experimental procedures were carried out according to Spanish and European regulations (Spanish RD 53/2013 and Law 6/2013, European Directive 2010/63/UE). Procedures were approved by the CIEMAT Animal Experimentation Ethical Committee according to approved biosafety and bioethics guidelines. FVB/NJ mice were sedated and administered a single injection of 40 pg of E. coli LPS in 30 pl of PBS into the right pad.
• mice were irradiated with 2Gy and the following day they were transplanted with 5xl0 6 human MNCs. Three days later, one million of WT-MSCs or CXCR4/IL10-MSCs were infused intravenously. Animals were weighed daily and monitored for possible symptoms of GVHD such as weight loss, hunched back, ruffling of hair and diarrhea. The severity of GVHD was graded from 0 (absence of GVHD) to 8 (severe GVHD). Animals were sacrificed humanely when they exhibited the euthanasia GVHD criteria (>20 % weight loss or a score > 6.5). Example 1.13. Statistical analysis
• Example 1.14 Histopathological analysis in a GVHD mouse model
• tissue samples were surgically removed and fixed with formalin overnight. After fixation, the tissue samples were processed in a standard way, embedding them in paraffin for the generation of a block. To assess tissue morphology, 3-5pm sections of the paraffin blocks were made with a microtome and hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed using standard techniques. The interpretation of the tissues following previously established GVHD grading systems.
• Example 1.15 Immunohistochemical analysis in a GVHD mouse model
• the slides with the samples were deparaffinized and rehydrated following standard protocols. Lung and liver samples were labeled with human CD3 and CD8. Antigen unmasking of CD3 -labeled samples was carried out using a sodium citrate buffer (1.8mM citric acid monohydrate and 8.2mM trisodium citrate dihydrate; pH 6) using a pressure cooker (Dako, Agilent Technologies). For the unmasking of the samples stained with CD8, a Tris-EDTA buffer (Target Retrieval Solution pH 9; Dako) and the same pressure cooker were used. Endogenous peroxidase was inhibited with 0.2% hydrogen peroxide dissolved in methanol for 10 minutes.
• Nonspecific epitopes were blocked with 10% horse serum dissolved in PBS for 30 minutes at 37 ° C.
• the primary antibodies were incubated overnight at 4 ° C diluted in the blocking solution.
• the secondary antibodies, conjugated with biotin were incubated for one hour at room temperature diluted in the blocking solution.
• a biotin-avidin- peroxidase system VECTASTAIN elite ABC HRP kit, Vector Laboratories
• DAB Kit diaminobenzidine as the peroxidase substrate
• the samples were counterstained with hematoxylin, dehydrated using standard procedures, and mounted using a mounting adhesive (CV Mount, Leica Biosystems). Images were taken with an optical microscope (Olympus BX41) and a digital camera (Olympus DP21). The analysis of the percentage of marking in each of the samples was carried out with the ImageJ program.
• Example 1.16 Induction and evaluation of dextran sulphate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis
• DSS dextran sulphate sodium
• Colitis score or disease activity index was defined as follows: (1) Body weight loss (0: no loss; 1 : l%-5%; 2: 5%-10%; 3: 10%-20%, 4: >20% loss of weight and 5: no survival); (2) stool consistency (0: normal stools; 1 : loose stools; 2: watery diarrhoea; 3: watery diarrhoea with blood and 4: no survival) and (3) the general physical activity (0: normal; 1-2: moderate activity; 3: null activity and 4: no survival).
• the fold-change in body weight was calculated by the difference in body weight at a defined time-point with respect to the initial body weight at day 0 just before the beginning of DSS treatment expresses as percentage.
• Colitis score was also evaluated by colon histological analysis. Colons were surgically removed and fixed with formalin overnight. At 48 h, 1-cm colon tissues were cut and embedded in paraffin and stained with haematoxylin/eosin. The sections were examined for infiltrating mononuclear cells and analysis of the intestinal epithelial and submucosa structures using an optical microscope.
• Example 2.1 MSCs transfected with the bicistronic CXCR4-IL10 mRNA exhibit significant local anti-inflammatory effects
• Example 2.2 Absence of in vivo efficacy of MSCs transfected with the bicistronic CXCR4-IL10 mRNA in a graft versus host disease mouse model
• mice were administered saline (GVHD group), WT-MSCs or mRNA-transfected MSCs ( l / I O 6 ) via the tail vein.
• GVHD group saline
• WT-MSCs WT-MSCs
• mRNA-transfected MSCs l / I O 6
• mice were administered saline (GVHD group), WT-MSCs or mRNA-transfected MSCs ( l / I O 6 ) via the tail vein.
• Transplanted recipients were observed daily for symptoms of GVHD such as weight loss, hunched back, ruffling of hair and diarrhea.
• the severity of GVHD was graded from 0 (absence of GVHD) to 8 (severe GVHD).
• Animals were sacrificed humanely when they exhibited the euthanasia GVHD criteria (>20 % weight loss or a score > 6.5).
• Figure 2 shows the analysis of the in vivo efficacy of MSCs transfected with the bicistronic CXCR4-IL10 mRNA in a mouse model of GVHD.
• WT-MSCs and CXCR4-IL10 mRNA MSCs we did not observe any difference between the WT-MSCs and CXCR4-IL10 mRNA MSCs to inhibit GVHD.
• Example 2.3 Generation of MSCs transduced with a bicistronic DNA CRCR4- IL10 lentiviral vector for improving the efficacy of WT MSCs to inhibit graft versus host disease
• CXCR4/IL10-MSCs modified Ad-MSCs
• Higher concentrations of IL10 were secreted by CXCR4/IL10- MSCs compared to unmodified MSCs (WT-MSCs).
• the vector copy number was analyzed in these CXCR4/IL10-MSCs by qPCR ( Figure 3B).
• Example 2.4 In vitro characterization of CXCR4/LL10-MSCs compared to WT- MSC
• MSCs modified with the bicistronic PGK-CXCR4-IL10 lentiviral vector were characterized following the criteria established by the ISCT (International Society of Cellular Therapy) for mesenchymal cells.
• Example 2.5 In vitro functionality of CXCR4/LL10-MSCs compared to WT-MSC
• the second in vitro functional characterization study consisted of an immunosuppression assay in which the ability of the CXCR4/IL10-MSCs to inhibit the proliferation of activated mononuclear cells (MNCs) was evaluated compared to WT- MSCs (Figure 6A).
• WT-MSCs showed a high capacity to inhibit the proliferation of activated MNCs.
• this inhibition was significantly higher when MSCs were transduced with the PGK-CXCR4-IL10 lentiviral vector ( Figure 6B).
• Example 2.6 Enhanced in vivo efficacy of CXCR4/LL10-MSCs to inhibit local inflammation compared to WT-MSC
• the LPS was injected on the right pad of each mouse.
• the different types of Ad-MSCs WT-MSCs and CXCR4/IL10-MSCs
• Inflammation was measured macroscopically with a digital caliper, using the left pad as a control in each mouse ( Figure 7A).
• Example 2.7 Improved efficacy of MSCs transduced with the DNA bicistronic lentiviral vector to inhibit graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) compared to WT MSCs
• mice were irradiated with 2Gy and the following day they were transplanted with 5xl0 6 human MNCs. Three days later, one million of WT-MSCs or CXCR4/IL10-MSCs were infused intravenously. Animals were weighed daily and monitored for possible key signs of GVHD (Figure 8B). As Figure 8B shows, GVHD score was significant better in the group of NSG mice that received CXCR4/IL10-MSCs, comparing not only with GVHD groups but also WT- MSCs group.
• GvHD graft-versus-host disease
• mice that only received human MNCs began to show signs of the disease (weight loss, hunched back). Therefore, at this time recipient mice from all the three groups were sacrificed to analyze the percentage of human CD45 + cells in the peripheral blood (PB) and in the spleen (SP). It was found that the percentage of infiltrating human CD45 + cells was significantly reduced in mice that received WT-MSCs. Nevertheless, the reduction observed both in PB and spleen was significantly higher in mice that were infused with CXCR4/IL10- MSCs ( Figure 9A-B).
• Human CD45 + CD3 + cells responsible for GVHD disease were analyzed by flow cytometry in the GVHD humanized mouse model.
• NSG mice treated with CXCR4/IL10-MSCs, but not with WT-MSCs showed a statistically reduced percentage of pro-inflammatory T cells (CD3 + IFNg + ) compared to the GvHD control group ( Figure 10A).
• a statistically significant increase in the percentage of antiinflammatory T cells (CD3 + IL10 + ) was also observed ( Figure 10B) in the group that received CXCR4/IL10-MSCs, but not with WT-MSCs, compared to the GvHD control group.
• Example 2.8 In vivo efficacy of CXCR4/IL10-MSCs tested in a humanized model of graft versus host disease (GvHD)
• mice treated with CXCR4/IL10-MSCs showed the lowest proportion of human leukocytes, most of which were human CD3 + T cells in all instances ( Figure 13B), and with no differences among CD4 + , CD8 + or double positive T cells (Figure 13C)
• Circulating human cytokines and factors involved in the GvHD development were analyzed in the serum of these mice.
• the groups treated with any type of Ad-MSCs presented a statistically significant decrease in the levels of circulating pro-inflammatory human cytokines such as ZFNy, IL17A, ILla, IL8, IL12 or TNFa with respect to the GvHD control group.
• these two groups that received Ad-MSCs experienced an increase in circulating human anti-inflammatory factors, such as IL 10, TGFP or IL6.
• changes in cytokine secretion from a pro-inflammatory to a more anti-inflammatory profile were statistically more marked in mice that received CXCR4/IL10-MSCs relative to those that received WT-MSCs ( Figure 17).
• CD3 + T cells CD19 + B cells
• CD56 + NK cells CD14 + monocytes
• CD15 + granulocytes About 70% of the human CD45 + cells observed in the spleen at three weeks post-transplantation in the GvHD group were human CD3 + T cells (64.98 ⁇ 4.14%), while this percentage decreased in the group that received WT-MSCs (59.22 ⁇ 4.56%), and more markedly in the group that received CXCR4/IL10-MSCs (48.67 ⁇ 3.58%).
• the groups that had received any type of Ad- MSCs showed a significant increase in the percentage of CD25 + T cells with respect to the GvHD group, being higher in mice treated with CXCR4/IL10-MSCs compared to the group that received WT-MSCs. These cells specifically were CD25 + CD4 + T cells ( Figure 20B), indicating an immunoregulatory phenotype of these CD4 + T cells in spleen.
• Example 2.9 Enhanced efficacy of CXCR4/LL10-MSCs stably expressing CXCR4 and IL10 in an experimental model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) induced by Dextran sulphate (DSS)
• IBD inflammatory bowel disease
• DSS Dextran sulphate
• the disease activity index (DAI) in colitic mice treated with a single dose of CXCR4/IL10- MSCs was significantly lower either compared to mice not treated with MSCs or with mice treated with WT-MSCs ( Figure 27A). Also, significant differences were observed when the body weight loss (Figure 27B) and the survival rate (Figure 2FC) of CXCR4/IL10-MSCs treated mice were compared to the WT-MSC and the non-MSC treated groups during the first 7-day DSS cycle.
• CXCR4/IL10-MSCs have increased immunomodulatory properties compared to WT-MSCs in a DSS-induced model of colitis, indicating that these genetically-modified MSCs may represent a more potent MSC-based cell therapy product for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases, compared to WT MSCs.

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