Gene Therapy for Hemophilia A: Production of Therapeutic Levels of Human Factor VIII in vivo in Mice

Continuous delivery of factor VIII (FVIII) protein in hemophiliacs by gene therapy will represent a major clinical advance over the current practice of infrequent administration of purified FVIII. Conceptually, retroviral vectors that can permanently insert the FVIII gene into the DNA of the host cell appear the most suitable vehicles for this specific purpose. However, most retroviral vector systems have shown a poor performance in the production of FVIII from primary cells in vitro and in vivo. Here we report the retroviral-mediated gene delivery of a B-domain-deleted human FVIII by using the MFG vector system. This vector permitted efficient transduction of the majority of the primary cells in culture without the use of a selectable marker. High levels of FVIII were produced by various transduced primary cells in vitro. Upon transplantation of primary fibroblasts into mice, therapeutic levels of FVIII in the circulation were obtained for >1 week. The capacity of primary cells to deliver the FVIII into the circulation was strongly dependent on the site of implantation. These results represent a major step forward in development of gene therapy for treating hemophilia A.