Development of potent class II transactivator gene delivery systems capable of inducing de novo MHC II expression in human cells, in vitro and ex vivo.
M L PalmaP DuangkhaeB DouradinhaIsabelle Freire Tabosa VianaP O RigatoR DhaliaR B MailliardS M Barratt-BoyesE J M NascimentoT M OshiroA J da Silva DuarteE T A MarquesPublished in: Gene therapy (2017)
Class II transactivator (CIITA) induces transcription of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II genes and can potentially be used to improve genetic immunotherapies by converting non-immune cells into cells capable of presenting antigens to CD4+ T cells. However, CIITA expression is tightly controlled and it remains unclear whether distinct non-immune cells differ in this transactivator regulation. Here we describe the development of gene delivery systems capable of promoting the efficient CIITA expression in non-immune cell lines and in primary human cells of an ex vivo skin explant model. Different human cell types undergoing CIITA overexpression presented high-level de novo expression of MHC II, validating the delivery systems as suitable tools for the CIITA evaluation as a molecular adjuvant for gene therapies.