Research Development Foundation

National Institute of Health and Medical Research

Institut Clayton De La Recherche

Patrick Salmon

Didier Trono

Francois-Loic Cosset

Virginie Sandrin

Bertrand Boson

Didier Negre

The present invention provides HIV-derived lentivectors which are safe, highly efficient, and very potent for expressing transgenes for human gene therapy, especially, in human hematopoietic progenitor cells as well as in all other blood cell derivatives. The lentiviral vectors comprise a self-inactivating configuration for biosafety and promoters such as the EF1&#x3b1; promoter as one example. Additional promoters are also described. The vectors can also comprise additional transcription enhancing elements such as the wood chuck hepatitis virus post-transcriptional regulatory element. These vectors therefore provide useful tools for genetic treatments such as inherited and acquired lympho-hematological disorders, gene-therapies for cancers especially the hematological cancers, as well as for the study of hematopoiesis via lentivector-mediated modification of human HSCs.

Methods and compositions relating to improved lentiviral vectors and their applications

The present invention provides HIV-derived lentivectors which are safe, highly efficient, and very potent for expressing transgenes for human gene therapy, especially, in human hematopoietic progenitor cells as well as in all other blood cell derivatives. The lentiviral vectors comprise a self-inactivating configuration for biosafety and promoters such as the EF1 &#x3b1; promoter as one example. Additional promoters are also described. The vectors can also comprise additional transcription enhancing elements such as the wood chuck hepatitis virus post-transcriptional regulatory element. These vectors therefore provide useful tools for genetic treatments such as inherited and acquired lympho-hematological disorders, gene-therapies for cancers especially the hematological cancers, as well as for the study of hematopoiesis via lentivector-mediated modification of human HSCs.

The present invention provides improved chimeric glycoproteins (GPs) and improved lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with those glycoproteins. Also provided are methods and compositions for making such glycoproteins and vectors, and improved methods of in vitro and in vivo transduction of cells with such vectors. Improved chimeric GPs encode the extracellular and transmembrane domains of GALV or RD114 GPs fused to the cytoplasmic tail of MLV-A GP. Vectors pseudotyped with these GAL V/TR and RD 114/TR GP chimeras have significantly higher titers than vectors coated with the parental GPs. Additionally, RD114/TR-pseudotyped vectors are efficiently concentrated and are resistant to inactivation induced by the complement of both human and macaque sera. RD114 GP-pseudotyped lentiviral vectors have particular utility for in vivo gene transfer applications.

Chimeric glycoproteins and pseudotyped lentiviral vectors

The present invention provides HIV-derived lentivectors which are safe, highly efficient, and very potent for expressing transgenes for human gene therapy, especially, in human hematopoietic progenitor cells as well as in all other blood cell derivatives. The lentiviral vectors comprise a self-inactivating configuration for biosaftey and promoters such as the EF1&#x3b1; promoter as one example. Additional promoters are also described. The vectors can also comprise additional transcription enhancing elements such as the wood chuck hepatitis virus post-transcriptional regulatory element. These vectors therefore provide useful tools for genetic treatments such as inherited and acquired lympho-hematological disorders, gene-therapies for cancers especially the hematological cancers, as well as for the study of hematopoiesis via lentivector-mediated modification of human HSCs.

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Arenthon, France

Patrick Salmon