Long-term immune reconstitution in RAG-1-deficient mice treated by retroviral gene therapy: a balance between efficiency and toxicity

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) caused by mutations in RAG1 or RAG2 genes is characterized by a complete block in T- and B-cell development. The only curative treatment is allogeneic hematopoletic stem cell transplantation, which gives a high survival rate (90%) when an HLA-genoidentical donor exists but unsatisfactory results when only partially compatible donors are available. We have thus been interested in the development of a potential alternative treatment by using retroviral gene transfer of a normal copy of RAG1 cDNA. We show here that this approach applied to RAG-1 deficient mice restores normal B- and T-cell function even in the presence of a reduced number of mature B cells. The reconstitution is stable over time, attesting to a selective advantage of transcluced progenitors. Notably, a high transgene copy number was detected in all lymphoid organs, and this was associated with a risk of lymphoproliferation as observed in one mouse. Altogether, these results demonstrate that correction of RAG-1 deficiency can be achieved by gene therapy in immunodeficient mice but that human application would require the use of self -inactivated vector to decrease the risk of lymphoproliferative diseases.