Enhanced Gene Delivery to Natural Killer Cells, Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Macrophages

Abstract

The present invention comprises a method of downregulating intracellular defenses by administering (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol. This allows for improved delivery of RNA based gene vectors to natural killer, stem and macrophage cells. The resulting cells can be used in adoptive cell transfer therapies. Also provided are methods of treating virally induced inflammation via administration of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol together with an anti viral therapeutic.

Claims

1. A method of enhancing gene delivery to cells comprising the co-administration of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol along with an RNA viral vector to a cell in a nutrient media.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the RNA viral vector is selected from retroviral and lentilviral vectors.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the vector is a retroviral vector

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the vector is a lentiviral vector.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the cells are selected from natural killer, stem cells and macrophages.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the cells are natural killer cells are NK92 cells.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol inhibits the intracellular defense mechanisms of the cells.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the expression of RIG-I and/or IRF3 is inhibited by administering an effective amount of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol is administered in an amount sufficient to achieve a concentration from about 0.04 ?M to about 10 ?M in the nutrient media.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the intracellular defense mechanism of a cell is inhibited.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the cells are selected from natural killer, stem cells and macrophages.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the expression of RIG-I and/or IRF3 is inhibited by administering an effective amount of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the effective amount of 5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol is a concentration from about 0.04 nm to about 10 nm in nutrient media.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the effective amount is from 0.4 to about 1.5 nm.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the effective amount is from about 0.5 ?m to about 6 ?m.

16. A method of improving the transduction of cells comprising the use of gene delivery vectors which inhibit the IFN?, response.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the cells are selected from natural killer, stem killer cells, stem cells and macrophages.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the natural killer cells are NK92 cells.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the IFN?, response is inhibited by administering an effective amount of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the effective amount of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol is a concentration from about 0.05 ?M to about 1.5 ?M.

21. The method of claim 1 further comprising the administration of the cells to a patient having a disease that is treatable with adoptive cell transfer.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein RIG-I and/or IRF3 is inhibited.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol is administered to achieve a target concentration of 0.2 nm and 6 nm.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the concentration of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol is 0.2 ?mM to 1.5 ?M

25. A method of treating a patient having a disease that is treatable with adoptive cell transfer comprising the administration of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol and a lentiviral vector to a patient.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the disease is selected from cancer, and diseases having a known genetic disorder.

27. The method of claim 25 where in the target plasma concentration of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol is 0.2 ?M and 6 ?M.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the target plasma concentration of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol is 0.2 ?M to 1.5 ?M

29. A method of enhancing gene transfer in natural killer cells via an RNA viral vector comprising co-administration of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol along with an RNA viral vector to a natural killer cell in a nutrient media.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the vector is selected from retroviral vectors and lentiviral vectors.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the vector is a retroviral vector.

32. The method of claim 30 wherein the vector is a lentiviral vector.

33. The method of claim 30 wherein the (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol is added to achieve a concentration of 0.4 ?M to about 10 ?M in the nutrient media.

34. The method of claim 25 wherein the disease is a cancer.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein the cancer is selected from: carcinomas, sarcomas, lymphomas, leukemias, and blastomas: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (all), acute myeloid leukemia, adrenocortical carcinoma, aids-related cancers, anal cancer, astrocytoma, basal-cell carcinoma, extrahepatic bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), bladder cancer, bone tumor (osteosarcoma/malignant fibrous histiocytoma), brainstem glioma, brain cancer, cerebral astrocytoma/malignant glioma, ependymoma, medulloblastoma, supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors, visual pathway and hypothalamic glioma, breast cancer, bronchial adenomas/carcinoids, burkitt's lymphoma, central nervous system lymphoma, cervical cancer, chondrosarcoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, chronic myeloproliferative disorders, colon cancer, cutaneous t-cell lymphoma, desmoplastic small round cell tumor, endometrial cancer, ependymoma, esophageal cancer, Ewing's sarcoma, intraocular melanoma, retinoblastoma, gallbladder cancer, gastric (stomach) cancer, gastrointestinal carcinoid tumor, gastrointestinal stromal tumor (gist), extracranial, extragonadal, or ovarian germ cell tumor, gestational trophoblastic tumor, glioma of the brain stem, childhood cerebral astrocytoma glioma, hairy cell leukemia, head and neck cancer, heart cancer, hepatocellular (liver) cancer, hodgkin lymphoma, intraocular melanoma, islet cell carcinoma (endocrine pancreas), kaposi sarcoma, kidney cancer (renal cell cancer), acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (also called acute lymphocytic leukemia), acute myeloid leukemia (also called acute myelogenous leukemia), chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia (also called chronic myeloid leukemia), hairy cell leukemia, lip and oral cavity cancer, liposarcoma, non small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer, macroglobulinemia, waldenstrom, male breast cancer, malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone/osteosarcoma, medulloblastoma, melanoma, intraocular (eye)melanoma, Merkel cell cancer, mesothelioma, metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary, mouth cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome, multiple myeloma/plasma cell neoplasm, mycosis fungoides, myelodysplastic syndromes, myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases, chronic myelogenous leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma (cancer of the bone-marrow), myeloproliferative disorders, myxoma, nasal cavity and paranasal sinus cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, neuroblastoma, non-small cell lung cancer, oligodendroglioma, oral cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, osteosarcoma/malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone, ovarian cancer, ovarian epithelial cancer (surface epithelial-stromal tumor), ovarian germ cell tumor, ovarian low malignant potential tumor, pancreatic cancer, pancreatic cancer, paranasal sinus and nasal cavity cancer, parathyroid cancer, penile cancer, pharyngeal cancer, pheochromocytoma, pineal astrocytoma, pineal germinoma, pineoblastoma and supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors, pituitary adenoma, plasma cell neoplasia/multiple myeloma, pleuropulmonary blastoma, primary central nervous system lymphoma, prostate cancer, rectal cancer, renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer), renal pelvis and ureter transitional cell cancer, retinoblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, salivary gland cancer, soft tissue sarcoma, uterine sarcoma, S?zary syndrome, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, merkel cell skin carcinoma, small cell lung cancer, small intestine cancer, soft tissue sarcoma, squamous cell carcinoma, squamous neck cancer with occult primary, stomach cancer, supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor, t-cell lymphoma (mycosis fungoides and s?zary syndrome), testicular cancer, throat cancer, thymoma and thymic carcinoma, thyroid cancer, transitional cell cancer of the renal pelvis and ureter, trophoblastic tumor, ureter and renal pelvis transitional cell cancer, urethral cancer, uterine cancer, uterine sarcoma, vaginal cancer, visual pathway and hypothalamic glioma, vulvar cancer, Waldenstr?m macroglobulinemia, Wilms tumor (kidney cancer).

36. The method of claim 35 wherein the cancer is selected from liver cancer, multiple myeloma or a sarcoma.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the cancer is liver cancer.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein the cancer is multiple myeloma.

39. The method of claim 36 wherein the cancer is a sarcoma.

40. The method of claim 34 wherein the vector is a retroviral vector.

41. The method of claim 34 wherein the vector is a lentiviral vector.

42. The method of claim 25 wherein the disease is caused by a genetic mutation.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein the disease is selected from: 21-hydroxylase deficiency, achondroplasia, acute intermittent porphyria, adenylosuccinate lyase deficiency, Adrenoleukodystrophy, Alagille syndrome, Alexander disease, Alstr?m syndrome, Amelogenesis imperfecta, biotinidase deficiency, CGD Chronic granulomatous disorder, Di George's syndrome, fanconi anemia, G6PD deficiency, lipoprotein lipase deficiency, Muscular dystrophy, Duchenne type, Siderius X-linked mental retardation syndrome caused by mutations in the PHF8 gene, X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (X-SCID), or X-linked sideroblastic anemia (XLSA).

44. The method of claim 43 wherein the disease is x linked severe combined immunodeficiency disease.

45. The method of claim 42 wherein the vector is a retroviral vector.

46. The method of claim 42 wherein the vector is a lentiviral vector.

47. The method of claim 25 wherein the disease is a metabolic disorder.

48. The method of claim 45 wherein the vector is a retroviral vector.

49. The method of claim 45 wherein the vector is a lentiviral vector.

50. A method of treating inflammation induced by a viral invention comprising co-administration of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol and an anti viral therapeutic.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein the anti viral therapeutic is selected from at least one of the following: adamantane antivirals such as amandatind and rimantidine; antiviral boosters such as ritonavir and cobicistat; chemokine receptor antagonists such as maraviroc; integrase strand transfer inhibitors such as maraviroc, dolutegravir and elvitegravir; miscellaneous antivirals such as sofosbuvir, enfuvirtide, foscarnet and fomivirsen; neuraminidase inhibitors such as peramivir, oseltamivir and zanamivir; non nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) such as favirenz, nevirapine, delavirdine, etravirine andrilpivirine; NS5a inhibitors such as daclatasvir; nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) such as zidovudine, didanosine, stavudine, lamivudine, abacavir, emtricitabine and entecavir; protease inhibitors such as saquinavir, ritonavir,i ndinavir, nelfinavir, amprenavir, lopinavir, atazanavir, fosamprenavir, tipranavir and darunavir; and purine nucleosides such as ribavirin valacyclovir, famciclovir, acyclovir, ganciclovir, valganciclovir and cidofovir.

52. A method of increasing the efficacy of an in vivo virus based therapeutic comprising the co-administration of of (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol together with an RNA based viral therapy.

53. The method of claim 7 wherein the pathway is downstream from RIG-I and/or IRF3.

54. A cell produced by the method of claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0014] FIG. 1 contains two bar graphs showing the inhibition of innate immune signaling with iX enhances lentiviral transduction efficiency in NK cells. NK-92 cells and primary human NK cells isolated from healthy donor PBMCs were subjected to lentiviral transduction in the presence of 6 ?M BX795 or iX for 6 hours. GFP expression is acquired 72 hours later. +cell percentages are shown on graph.

[0015] FIG. 2A is a chart showing that iX has a dose-dependent effect with minimal toxicity to NK cells. Primary human NK cells and NK-92 cells are transduced with LeGO-G2 virus in the presence of varying doses of BX795 or iX for 6 hours. GFP expression is analyzed by flow cytometry 72 hours after transduction. GFP+ cell percentages are shown on graph. Data from three independent experiments, each run in triplicates.

[0016] FIG. 2B contains two bar graphs comparing apoptotic to dead Annexin ?V.sup.+/PI.sup.?cells.

[0017] FIG. 3 contains photos of a gel showing iX treatment during lentiviral transduction decreases RIG-I and IRF-3.

[0018] FIG. 4 contains two bar graphs showing that iX treatment interferes with anti-viral cytokines IFN? and TNF secretion.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a graph showing that iX treatment has a unique transcriptome signature compared to BX795.

[0020] FIGS. 6A-d show the purported signaling pathways affected by BXx795.

[0021] FIGS. 6E-H show the purported signaling pathways affected by iX.

[0022] FIG. 7 is a graph showing that administration of iX increases gene editing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] Cell therapy is rapidly becoming a viable means for treatment of mammalian diseases. Unfortunately, many therapeutic applications are limited by the low efficiency in which genes can be delivered to target cells. The use of iX together with the methods below achieves unexpected results. Prior to these experiments it was unknown that a small molecule could target RIG I and down regulate intracellular defense mechanisms. Using the present invention desired genes can be more readily introduced to target cells. It is believed that analogs, derivatives or mimetics of iX would also be effective.

Example 1

[0024] Materials and Methods:

[0025] Cell Lines:

[0026] 293FT cells were purchased from Invitrogen (Life Technologies, Grand Island, N.Y., USA) and maintained in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) (GIBCO, Life Technologies, Grand Island, N.Y., USA) supplemented with 10% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) (GIBCO), 0.1 mM non-essential amino acids (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo., USA), 6 mM L-glutamine (Sigma-Aldrich), 1 mM sodium pyruvate (Sigma-Aldrich) and 20 mM HEPES (Sigma-Aldrich). NK92 cells were maintained in CellGro SCGM (Cellgenix) medium supplemented with 20% FBS and 1000 U/ml rhIL-2 (Proleukin, Chiron Corporation).

[0027] Production of Lentiviral Vectors

[0028] For production of VSV-G pseudotyped lentiviral vectors, 14?10.sup.6 293 FT cells were plated into a poly-D-lysine coated 150 mm dish (BD Biosciences, San Jose, Calif., USA). Next day cells were transfected with 30 ?g of LeGO-G2 plasmid (courtesy of Prof. Boris Fehse, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany), 15 ?g of pMDLg/pRRE (Addgene, Cambridge, Mass., USA), 10 ?g of pRSV-REV (Addgene) and 5 ?g of phCMV-VSV-G (Addgene) using calcium phosphate transfection kit (Sigma-Aldrich) in the presence of 25 ?M Chloroquine (Sigma-Aldrich). 10 hours after transfection, the medium was changed and thereafter virus containing supernatant was collected every 24 hours for 2-3 days and stored in ?80? C. until further use. A small aliquot from each production was used to determine viral titers by transduction of 293FT cells with serially diluted amounts of virus supernatant.

[0029] Primary Natural Killer Cell Isolation and Culture

[0030] Buffy coats were obtained from healthy donors via the blood bank at the Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge. The experimental protocol was approved by the local research ethics committee.

[0031] The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated by gradient centrifugation, using Lymphoprep (Nyegaard, Oslo, Norway) and washed twice with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (GIBCO, Grand Island, N.Y., USA). Cell count and viability were assessed by Turk and Trypan Blue dye exclusion. NK cells were obtained by using NK cell isolation kit (Miltenyi Biotec, Cologne, Germany) and the AutoMACS machine (Miltenyi Biotec) according to manufacturer's instructions. After isolation, NK cells were put into culture at a concentration of 1?10.sup.6 cells/ml in CellGro SCGM (Cellgenix) supplemented with 10% Human AB Serum (Lonza, Basel, Switzerland) and 1000 U/ml rhIL-2 (Proleukin, Chiron Corporation). For initial testing of cytokine stimulations prior to transduction (FIG. 1), IL-12 (Peprotech, Rocky Hill, N.J., USA), IL-15 (Peprotech) and IL-21 (Peprotech) were used at a concentration of 20 ng/ml. For the rest of the experiments, only 1000 U/ml rhIL-2 and 20 ng/ml IL-21 were used.

[0032] Lentiviral Transduction of Natural Killer Cells

[0033] For each lentiviral transduction, 0.25?10.sup.6 NK cells per well were seeded in a 24-well plate (BD Biosciences) and mixed with an appropriate amount of virus supernatant in the presence of 8 ?g/ml of protamine sulfate (Sigma-Aldrich) or polybrene (Sigma-Aldrich) in a final volume of no more than 1 ml. The cytokines were replenished and plates were centrifuged at 1000?g for 1 hour at room temperature. After centrifugation, without removing viral supernatants, the plates were incubated at 37? C., 5% CO.sub.2 for 4-6 hours. At the end of the incubation, a second centrifugation at 1000?g for 1 hour at room temperature was carried out, after which the supernatants were removed from the wells and 1 ml of fresh NK cell growth medium (CellGro SCGM supplemented with 10% Human AB Serum) per well was added. The cells were maintained in this medium with daily addition cytokines (IL-2: 1000 U/ml, and IL-21: 20 ng/ml. Combinations of cytokines were used as indicated in FIG. 1. Only IL-2 and IL-21 were used in the rest of the experiments) for at least 3 days before acquisition of eGFP expression was carried out. In indicated experiments, the following inhibitors were present during the transduction: BX795 (Invivogen) and (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol (iX) (Tocris).

[0034] Lentiviral Transduction of NK92 Cell Line

[0035] For the transduction of cell lines, 2?10.sup.5 cells per well were seeded into 24-well plates. Treatment with 6 ?M BX795 and (5Z)-7-Oxozeaenol (iX) was initiated simultaneously with the transduction process. Appropriate amount of viral supernatants were added into the wells along with protamine sulfate (NK92, cells) and the total volume was adjusted to 500 ?l. The plates were centrifuged at 1000?g for 1 hour followed by incubation at 37? C., 5% CO.sub.2 for 4-6 hours, after which the virus containing supernatant was removed and fresh growth media was added. The cells were grown for at least 3 days before acquisition of eGFP expression was carried out.

[0036] Gene Editing

[0037] The recent emergence of the clustered, regularly interspaced, palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system for gene editing has the potential to overcome these limitations. The CRISPR technology utilizes a fixed nuclease, often the CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) from Streptococcus pyogenes, in combination with a short guide RNA (gRNA) to target the nuclease to a specific DNA sequence. We confirmed that gRNA recognition and thus editing efficacy could be increased with introduction of iX inhibitor. Human primary macrophages, CD34+ HSCs and NK92 cell line were transfected with Cas9-2A-GFP and gRNA encoding plasmids using respective Amaxa kits and cell-specific program using Nucleofector II device (VAPA-1003 for CD34+HSCs, VAPA-1008 for Macrophages cells, and VVPA-1005 for NK92 cells) according to manufacturer's instructions except in half of the groups, we have added 1 uM iX into the manufacturer's transfection reagent.

[0038] The following commercially available guide RNAs from Origene Technologies were tested against Beta 2 Microglobulin: GATGTCTCGCTCCGTGGCCT (Seq. ID No. 1); CTCGCGCTACTCTCTCTTTC (Seq. ID No. 2); GACTCACGCTGGATAGCCTC (Seq. ID No. 3); CCAGAAAGAGAGAGTAGCGC (Seq. ID No. 4) CACAGCTAAGGCCACGGAGC (Seq. ID No. 5); GGCCGAGATGTCTCGCTCCG (Seq. ID No. 6); TTGCGGGAGCGCATGCCTTT (Seq. ID No. 7); CCACCTCTTGATGGGGCTAG (Seq. ID No. 8); ATACCTTGGGTTGATCCACT (Seq. ID No. 9); CGTGAGTAAACCTGAATCTT (Seq. ID No. 10); AAGTCAACTTCAATGTCGGA (Seq. ID No. 11); CATAGATCGAGACATGTAAG (Seq. ID No. 12); GCTACTCTCTCTTTCTGGCC (Seq. ID No. 13); ACCCAAACCAAGCCTTTCTA (Seq. ID No. 14); and TATAAGTGGAGGCGTCGCGC (Seq. ID No. 15). 48 hours post-transfection, cells were stained with anti-B2M antibody (clone:2M2, Biolegend) to compare loss of (32 m expression. Cells were then analysed using flowcytometry as described below.

[0039] Flow Cytometry

[0040] All antibody stainings for flow cytometry were done according to the following protocol: For surface stainings, the cells were washed once with PBS and incubated with appropriate amounts of antibody at 4? C. for 30 min. The labeled cells were then washed with PBS and fixed in 1% PFA prior to data acquisition. Data acquisition was done on a FACSCalibur (BD Biosciences), CyFlow ML (Partec GmbH, Munster, Germany) and LSRII-Fortessa (BD Biosciences) with standard filters. Data were analysed with the FlowJo software (TreeStar Inc.). The antibodies used for NK cells were, CD56 (NCAM16.2), CD56 (B159), CD3 (SK7), CD3 (SP34-2) from BD Biosciences.

Results and Discussion

[0041] Inhibition of Intracellular Innate Immune Sensor Pathways Enhances Lentiviral Gene Delivery Efficiency in NK Cells

[0042] We have shown that innate immune sensor mediated detection of viral vector components activate an anti-viral response in NK cells, negatively effecting the efficiency of lentiviral transduction. We successfully used small molecule inhibitors of innate immune signaling during lentiviral transduction to deactivate or reduce the anti-viral response.

[0043] As we have previously reported (Sutlu et al., 2012), the use of BX795 dramatically increases transduction efficiency in NK cells. BX795 is an inhibitor of TBK1/IKK? complex that acts as a common mediator in the signaling pathways of RIG-I, MDA-5 and TLR3 (Clark, et al. 2009). Therefore, it might be possible to state that the lentiviral RNA is recognized by one or more of these receptors and an anti-viral response is triggered, which can be inhibited by the use of BX795.

[0044] Here we show that the use of the TAK1 inhibitor iX enhances lentiviral gene delivery to NK cells to a further extent compared to BX795. When used at a 6 ?M concentration during lentiviral transduction, iX provides a statistically significant improvement in gene delivery to both primary human NK cells and the human NK cell line NK-92 (FIG. 1).

[0045] Taken together, these results support the hypothesis that during transduction, intracellular anti-viral defense mechanisms are activated and contribute significantly to the resistance of NK cells to lentiviral genetic modification. The inhibition of this response using small molecule inhibitors significantly enhances the gene delivery efficiency.

[0046] We have shown that iX increases gene editing efficacy in hematopoietic stem cells, macrophages and NK cells. Testing iX at 1 ?M level for a short period of time has increased (32M editing significantly in all three cell types. The results are summarized in FIG. 7 (n=4).

[0047] iX Shows a Dose Dependent Effect with Minimal Toxicity to NK Cells

[0048] Testing different concentrations of iX has shown that the inhibitor, as was shown previously for BX795, has a dose-dependent effect on increasing genetic modification efficiency in NK cells (FIG. 2A). For iX, although a significant effect is seen already at 0.5 ?M concentration, this effect increases even more up to 1.5 ?M after which it seems to stabilize. Compared to BX795, iX performs better at lower doses and enhances lentiviral gene delivery efficiency to a significantly higher extent.

[0049] Remarkably, the use of iX at the optimum concentration presents no immediate toxic effects on NK cells as determined by Annexin-V/PI staining after BX795 treatment (FIG. 2b). At the optimum dose of 1.5 ?M, iX shows no significant toxicity on NK cells when compared to DMSO controls. At 1.5 ?M, BX795 similarly shows no toxicity while at the optimum dose of 6 ?M, a quite small but statistically significant increase is observed in apoptotic and dead cells in culture. Conversely, no signs of immediate toxicity to the NK cells were observed for iX even at the 6 ?M concentration.

[0050] Taken together, these results indicate that iX is not only more efficient than BX795 in enhancing lentiviral gene delivery efficiency but also significantly less toxic to the cells.

[0051] iX Treatment During Lentiviral Gene Delivery Downregulates RIG-I and IRF3

[0052] In order to better characterize the effects of the inhibitors on innate immune signaling during lentiviral transduction, we have analyzed the expression of the viral RNA sensor molecule RIG-I and the transcription factor IRF3 that acts downstream of RIG-I. While the changes expression of these genes were not detectable at the protein level after the 6 hour transduction period, a significant decrease in both RIG-I and IRF3 expression attributable to the use of BX795 and iX was observed at 24 hours (FIG. 3).

[0053] Moreover, we have observed that the extent of downregulation in RIG-I and IRF3 was significantly more when iX was used, compared to the use of BX795. This might be a possible explanation to why iX performs better than BX795 in enhancing lentiviral gene delivery.

[0054] iX Treatment During Lentiviral Gene Delivery Suppresses IFN? and TNF Responses.

[0055] In order to further characterize mechanisms behind superior lentiviral gene delivery triggered by iX, we tested cytokine mediated responses upon exposure to lentiviral particles in the presence of BX795 and iX. NK92 cells treated with iX during lentiviral gene delivery, significantly decreased the secretion of anti-viral cytokine, IFN?, already at six hours while BX795 could only significantly trigger similar effect 24 hours after the exposure to the lentiviral particles. (FIG. 4). Moreover, similar trend was observed in the same setup for an other antiviral cytokine TNF. (FIG. 4). Overall, using iX during lentiviral gene delivery is superior than BX795 and this could be due to inactivation of RIG-I pathway and downstream signaling molecule IRF-3 which leads to decreased secretion of danger signals, anti-viral cytokines. (FIG. 4).

[0056] iX and BX795 have Differential Gene Expression Profile.

[0057] Gene expression profiling by RNAseq for identification of pathways triggered by lentivirus entry in the absence and presence of small molecule inhibitors are assessed. NK-92 cells are transduced as previously described. At the end of the 6 hour transduction protocol, RNA from the cells is extracted and sequenced on a HiSeq 2500 instrument. After quality control, the reads are mapped to the human genome using the STAR aligner and gene abundance is estimated with HT-Seq. Differential expression is analyzed using DeSeq software. Briefly, pretreatment of iX and BX795 resulted in different mRNA profiles. (FIG. 5). Moreover, in line with previous in vitro experiments, treatment of iX during lentiviral gene delivery affected pathways associated with anti-viral responses such as TNF, IFN and pattern recognition pathways (FIGS. 6E-H) whereas BX795 failed to fully suppress similar anti-viral responses at mRNA level (FIGS. 6A-D).

Example 2: In Vivo Administration

[0058] Although not recommended due to iX's inherent suppressive effect on intracellular RNA recognition pathways and the increased susceptibility for uncontrollable viral infection that would result, iX can be used for in vivo gene delivery with serum concentrations varying between 0.2 and 6 mM. Ix can be administered via injection, oral, nasal or mucosal delivery using technologies known in the art. Potential therapeutic applications of iX include cancer, liver gene therapy, single gene disorders, storage disorders as well as tumor retargeting genes.

[0059] Cancers treatable by the present invention include carcinomas, sarcomas, lymphomas, leukemias, and blastomas: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (all), acute myeloid leukemia, adrenocortical carcinoma, aids-related cancers, anal cancer, astrocytoma, basal-cell carcinoma, extrahepatic bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), bladder cancer, bone tumor (osteosarcoma/malignant fibrous histiocytoma), brainstem glioma, brain cancer, cerebral astrocytoma/malignant glioma, ependymoma, medulloblastoma, supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors, visual pathway and hypothalamic glioma, breast cancer, bronchial adenomas/carcinoids, burkitt's lymphoma, central nervous system lymphoma, cervical cancer, chondrosarcoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, chronic myeloproliferative disorders, colon cancer, cutaneous t-cell lymphoma, desmoplastic small round cell tumor, endometrial cancer, ependymoma, esophageal cancer, Ewing's sarcoma, intraocular melanoma, retinoblastoma, gallbladder cancer, gastric (stomach) cancer, gastrointestinal carcinoid tumor, gastrointestinal stromal tumor (gist), extracranial, extragonadal, or ovarian germ cell tumor, gestational trophoblastic tumor, glioma of the brain stem, childhood cerebral astrocytoma glioma, hairy cell leukemia, head and neck cancer, heart cancer, hepatocellular (liver) cancer, hodgkin lymphoma, intraocular melanoma, islet cell carcinoma (endocrine pancreas), kaposi sarcoma, kidney cancer (renal cell cancer), acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (also called acute lymphocytic leukemia), acute myeloid leukemia (also called acute myelogenous leukemia), chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia (also called chronic myeloid leukemia), hairy cell leukemia, lip and oral cavity cancer, liposarcoma, non small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer, macroglobulinemia, waldenstrom, male breast cancer, malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone/osteosarcoma, medulloblastoma, melanoma, intraocular (eye)melanoma, Merkel cell cancer, mesothelioma, metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary, mouth cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome, multiple myeloma/plasma cell neoplasm, mycosis fungoides, myelodysplastic syndromes, myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases, chronic myelogenous leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma (cancer of the bone-marrow), myeloproliferative disorders, myxoma, nasal cavity and paranasal sinus cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, neuroblastoma, non-small cell lung cancer, oligodendroglioma, oral cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, osteosarcoma/malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone, ovarian cancer, ovarian epithelial cancer (surface epithelial-stromal tumor), ovarian germ cell tumor, ovarian low malignant potential tumor, pancreatic cancer, pancreatic cancer, paranasal sinus and nasal cavity cancer, parathyroid cancer, penile cancer, pharyngeal cancer, pheochromocytoma, pineal astrocytoma, pineal germinoma, pineoblastoma and supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors, pituitary adenoma, plasma cell neoplasia/multiple myeloma, pleuropulmonary blastoma, primary central nervous system lymphoma, prostate cancer, rectal cancer, renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer), renal pelvis and ureter transitional cell cancer, retinoblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, salivary gland cancer, soft tissue sarcoma, uterine sarcoma, S?zary syndrome, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, merkel cell skin carcinoma, small cell lung cancer, small intestine cancer, soft tissue sarcoma, squamous cell carcinoma, squamous neck cancer with occult primary, stomach cancer, supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor, t-cell lymphoma (mycosis fungoides and s?zary syndrome), testicular cancer, throat cancer, thymoma and thymic carcinoma, thyroid cancer, transitional cell cancer of the renal pelvis and ureter, trophoblastic tumor, ureter and renal pelvis transitional cell cancer, urethral cancer, uterine cancer, uterine sarcoma, vaginal cancer, visual pathway and hypothalamic glioma, vulvar cancer, Waldenstr?m macroglobulinemia, Wilms tumor (kidney cancer).

[0060] The present invention is also useful in treating genetic disorders such as: 21-hydroxylase deficiency, achondroplasia, acute intermittent porphyria, adenylosuccinate lyase deficiency, Adrenoleukodystrophy, Alagille syndrome, Alexander disease, Alstr?m syndrome, Amelogenesis imperfecta, biotinidase deficiency, CGD Chronic granulomatous disorder, Di George's syndrome, fanconi anemia, G6PD deficiency, lipoprotein lipase deficiency, Muscular dystrophy, Duchenne type, Siderius X-linked mental retardation syndrome caused by mutations in the PHF8 gene, X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (X-SCID), X-linked sideroblastic anemia (XLSA).

[0061] Metabolic disoders treatable with the present invention include: Niemann-Pick disease, Tay-Sachs disease, Gaucher disease, Fabry disease.

Example 3: Adoptive Cell Transfer

[0062] In a most preferred use, iX is used to treat cells prior to adoptive cell transfer to a patient. Using the protocols described above iX can be used at any time during ex vivo manipulation. Preferred concentration of iX in culture ranges are from about 0.4 mM to about 10 mM. Most preferred is 0.5 mM to 6 mM These cells can thereby be immediately infused or frozen for a later infusion time point using protocols well known in the art. iX administration can be done both in vivo and ex vivo as a single dose or repetitively using the dose window where serum concentration of the inhibitor can be between 0.4-6 uM, preferentially the lower dose. Such adoptive cell transfer can be used to treat the conditions described under Example 2 above.

Example 4 Treatment of Viral Inflammation

[0063] The present invention can also be used to treat patients suffering from inflammation caused by a viral infection such as myositis, myocarditis, viral arthritis, viral encephalitis and meningitis. In such diseases iX can be co-administered with anti viral therapy to reduce or stop the recognition of the virus by the immune system thereby reducing, preventing or eliminating inflammation. This could only be used with antiviral therapies that do not rely on or fully utilize immune responses. Such antivirals include: adamantane antivirals such as amandatind and rimantidine; antiviral boosters such as ritonavir and cobicistat; chemokine receptor antagonists such as maraviroc; integrase strand transfer inhibitors such as maraviroc, dolutegravir and elvitegravir; miscellaneous antivirals such as sofosbuvir, enfuvirtide, foscarnet and fomivirsen; neuraminidase inhibitors such as peramivir, oseltamivir and zanamivir; non nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) such as favirenz, nevirapine, delavirdine, etravirine andrilpivirine; NS5a inhibitors such as daclatasvir; nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) such as zidovudine, didanosine, stavudine, lamivudine, abacavir, emtricitabine and entecavir; protease inhibitors such as saquinavir, ritonavir,i ndinavir, nelfinavir, amprenavir, lopinavir, atazanavir, fosamprenavir, tipranavir and darunavir; and purine nucleosides such as ribavirin valacyclovir, famciclovir, acyclovir, ganciclovir, valganciclovir and cidofovir. Dosing instructions for these drugs alone and in combination are well known in the art.

Example 5: Increasing In Vivo Efficacy of RNA Viral Therapies

[0064] The present invention is also useful when administered in vivo to increase in vivo efficacy of RNA virus based oncolytic virus therapies such as vesicular stomatitis virus, poliovirus, reovirus, senecavirus, ECHO viruses such as Rigvir for indications such as bladder carcinoma, brain tumors, gynecological tumors, Hepatocellular carcinoma, melanoma, multiple myeloma, prostate carcinoma, soft tissue sarcoma and Solid tumors. The iX would help inhibit intracellular antiviral defense mechanisms thus increase the efficacy of distribution of the oncolytic virus within the tumor. Target serum levels for in vivo administration of iX are between 0.2 and 6 mM.

[0065] Thus, while there have been described what are presently believed to be the preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will realize that other and further embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to include all such further modifications and changes as come within the true scope of the claims set forth herein.

REFERENCES

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