A highly efficient non-viral process for engineering theranostic mesenchymal stem cells for gene directed enzyme prodrug cancer therapy

Abstract

Background & Aim Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are emerging as promising vehicles for Gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT). The inherent tumor-trophic migratory properties of MSC enable these vehicles to deliver effective, targeted therapy to tumors and metastatic diseases. A critical step in modifying MSC is the delivery of genes with high efficiency and low cytotoxicity. Due to the poor efficiency of transfection approaches, viral methods are used extensively to transduce MSC in preclinical and clinical studies. This study aims to develop a scalable non viral gene delivery method to efficiently modify MSC. Methods, Results & Conclusion Methods TrafEn (Trafficking Enhancer), to enhance transfection using off-the-shelf, cost-effective polymers. TrafEn was rationally developed to facilitate efficient trafficking of the genetic material inside cells. Polyplex transfection was enhanced by including a simultaneous treatment with DOPE/CHEMS lipid suspension and a microtubule stabilizer, a histone deacetylase-6 inhibitor. Result We demonstrate, for the first time, the efficient transfection (>90%) of human adipose tissue derived MSCs (AT-MSCs) using an off-the shelf and cost-effective cationic polymer, polyethylenimine, in the presence of fusogenic lipids and histone deacetylase 6 inhibitor (HDAC6i) (Figure 1). Importantly, the cell phenotypes of MSCs remained unchanged after modification, a key requisite for clinical application of MSCs. AT-MSCs modified with a fused transgene, yeast cytosine deaminase::uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (CDy::UPRT), exhibited strong cytotoxic effects towards glioma, breast and gastric cancer cells in vitro. The efficiency of killing of gastric MKN1 and MKN28 cell lines were greater than 80% even with 7 days post-transfected AT-MSCs, indicative that the expression period of the therapeutic gene was sustainable. Conclusion This study describes a useful tool for polymer based ex vivo MSC modification which is highly scalable and cost-effective. The proposed workflow bypasses the restriction in viral vector supply and expedites MSC modification, without compromising the quality and anti-cancer efficacy of the theranostic MSCs.