Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
A Textbook of Clinical Pharmacology and ... - clinicalevidence
A Textbook of Clinical Pharmacology and ... - clinicalevidence
- No tags were found...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
HUMAN STEM CELL THERAPY 95<br />
duration <strong>and</strong> benefit. Adenoviral vectors are more efficient<br />
than liposomes but themselves cause serious inflammatory<br />
reactions.<br />
A dramatic example of the potential benefit <strong>and</strong> danger of<br />
gene therapy has been seen in the treatment of severe combined<br />
immunodeficiency (SCID) secondary to adenosine<br />
deaminase deficiency by reinfusing genetically corrected<br />
autologous T cells into affected children. Whilst the gene therapy<br />
was effective in the immunological reconstitution of the<br />
patients, allowing a normal life including socializing with<br />
other children rather than living in an isolation ‘bubble’, T-cell<br />
leukaemia has developed in some patients. This probably<br />
reflects problems with the retrovirus vector.<br />
A success in gene therapy has occurred with recipients of<br />
allogenic bone marrow transplants with recurrent malignancies.<br />
T cells from the original bone marrow donor can mediate<br />
regression of the malignancy, but can then potentially damage<br />
normal host tissues. A suicide gene was introduced into the<br />
donor T cells, rendering them susceptible to ganciclovir<br />
before they were infused into the patients, so that they could<br />
be eliminated after the tumours had regressed <strong>and</strong> so avoid<br />
future damage to normal tissues.<br />
From the above, it will be appreciated that a major problem<br />
in gene therapy is introducing the gene into human cells. In<br />
some applications, ‘gene-gun’ injection of ‘naked’ (i.e. not<br />
incorporated in a vector) plasmid DNA may be sufficient.<br />
Minute metal (e.g. gold) particles coated with DNA are ‘shot’<br />
into tissues using gas pressure (Figure 16.2). Some DNA is recognized<br />
as foreign by a minority of cells, <strong>and</strong> this may be sufficient<br />
to induce an immune response. This method underpins<br />
DNA vaccines. The other major problem is that for most diseases<br />
it is not enough simply to replace a defective protein, it<br />
is also necessary to control the expression of the inserted gene.<br />
It is for reasons such as these that gene therapy has been<br />
slower in finding clinical applications than had been hoped,<br />
but the long-term prospects remain bright.<br />
Despite the inherent problems of gene therapy <strong>and</strong> societal<br />
concerns as to how information from the genotyping of individuals<br />
will be used, the development of gene therapy has<br />
dramatic potential – not only for the replacement of defective<br />
genes in disabling diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Duchenne<br />
muscular dystrophy <strong>and</strong> Friedreich’s ataxia, but also for the<br />
treatment of malignant disease, <strong>and</strong> for prevention of cardiovascular<br />
disease <strong>and</strong> other diseases for which there is a genetic<br />
predisposition or critical protein target.<br />
Another gene-modulating therapy that is currently<br />
being evaluated is the role of anti-sense oligonucleotides.<br />
These are nucleotides (approximately 20mers in length)<br />
whose sequence is complementary to part of the mRNA of the<br />
gene of interest. When the anti-sense enters cells it binds to the<br />
complementary sequence, forming a short piece of doublestr<strong>and</strong>ed<br />
DNA that is then degraded by RNase enzymes,<br />
thus inhibiting gene expression. Examples of such agents in<br />
development or near approval include fomiversen, which<br />
binds to cytomegalovirus (CMV) RNA (used intraocularly for<br />
CMV infection) <strong>and</strong> anti-Bcl-2, used to enhance apoptosis in<br />
lymphoma cells.<br />
Gold particle<br />
coated with<br />
DNA<br />
DNA<br />
Nucleus<br />
Antigen<br />
presenting<br />
cell<br />
Transcribed<br />
to mRNA<br />
MHC<br />
HUMAN STEM CELL THERAPY<br />
Translated<br />
to protein<br />
Processed into<br />
antigen peptides<br />
MHC: antigen<br />
presentation<br />
Antigens<br />
presented to<br />
the immune<br />
system invoke<br />
humoral <strong>and</strong><br />
cellular<br />
response<br />
Figure 16.2: Particle-mediated epidermal delivery (PMED) of DNA<br />
into an antigen presenting cell (APC). The DNA elutes from the<br />
gold particle <strong>and</strong> enters the nucleus where it is transcribed into<br />
mRNA. The mRNA is then translated using the cellular synthetic<br />
pathways to produce the encoded protein of interest. This<br />
intracellular foreign protein is then processed by proteasomes<br />
into small antigenic peptides that are presented on the cell<br />
surface by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC).<br />
The discovery of stem cells’ ability to replace damaged cells<br />
has led to much interest in cell-based therapies. Stem cells<br />
retain the potential to differentiate, for example into cardiac<br />
muscle cells or pancreatic insulin-producing cells, under<br />
particular physiological conditions.<br />
In the UK, stem cell therapy is already established in the<br />
treatment of certain leukaemias <strong>and</strong> has also been used successfully<br />
in skin grafting, certain immune system <strong>and</strong> corneal<br />
disorders. Autologous <strong>and</strong> allogenic haemopoietic stem cells<br />
collected from bone marrow or via leukophoresis from<br />
peripheral blood following granulocyte colony-stimulating<br />
factor (G-CSF) stimulation (see Chapter 49) have been used<br />
for some years in the management of certain leukaemias.<br />
Allogenic stem cell transplantation is associated with graftversus-host<br />
disease, hence concomitant immunosuppressant<br />
treatment with prophylactic anti-infective treatment including<br />
anti-T-cell antibodies is required. Graft-versus-host<br />
disease <strong>and</strong> opportunistic infections remain the principal<br />
complications.<br />
Non-myeloblastic allogenic stem cell transplantation is<br />
being increasingly used, particularly in the elderly. This has<br />
an additional benefit from a graft-versus-tumour effect as<br />
immunosuppression is less severe.<br />
Although there has been much publicity over the potential<br />
of stem cell regenerative <strong>and</strong> reparative effects in chronic<br />
central nervous system disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease,<br />
Alzheimer’s disease, motor neurone disease <strong>and</strong> multiple<br />
sclerosis, to date there is no convincing evidence of benefit<br />
for these conditions. There is ongoing ethical debate over<br />
the use of embryonic stem cells, which have more therapeutic