Generation of HIV Resistant and Functional Macrophages From Hematopoietic Stem Cell Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Abstract 562

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have radically advanced the field of regenerative medicine by making possible the production of patient-specific pluripotent stem cells from adult individuals. By developing iPSCs to treat HIV, there is the potential for generating a continuous supply of therapeutic cells for transplantation into HIV infected patients. In this study, we have utilized human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to generate anti-HIV gene expressing iPSCs for HIV gene therapy. HSCs were de-differentiated into continuously growing iPSC lines with four reprogramming factors and a combination anti-HIV lentiviral vector containing a CCR5 shRNA and a human/rhesus chimeric TRIM5α gene. Upon directed differentiation of the anti-HIV iPSCs towards the hematopoietic lineage, a robust quantity (>35%) of colony forming CD133+ HSCs were obtained. These cells were further differentiated into functional end-stage macrophages which displayed a normal phenotypic profile. Upon viral challenge, the anti-HIV iPSC derived macrophages exhibited strong protection (>3 logs) from HIV-1 infection. Here we demonstrate the ability of iPSCs to develop into HIV-1 resistant immune cells and highlight the potential use of iPSCs for HIV gene and cellular therapies.