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4547 Understanding the molecular mechanism of natural killer cell deficiency to improve natural killer cell in vitro differentiation for therapeutics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2020

Megan Schmit
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Ryan Baxley
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Emily Mace
Affiliation:
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Jordan Orange
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Jeffery Miller
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Anja-Katrin Bielinsky
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
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Abstract

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OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Natural killer (NK) cells are a potential cancer therapeutic but expanding NK cells efficiently in vitro is difficult. Natural killer cell deficiency (NKD), a primary immune deficiency affecting only NK cells, is caused by defects in several DNA replication proteins. By studying NKD we will achieve better NK cell in vitro differentiation. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: One patient with NKD has a compound heterozygous mutation in the essential DNA replication protein MCM10. We hypothesize that in individuals with NKD, dramatic telomere erosion from abnormal DNA replication leads to premature senescence and the loss of NK cells. To test our hypothesis, we will knockout one allele of MCM10 or over express MCM10 in NK cells isolated from blood. We will then monitor telomere length, expansion and cytotoxic activity of these NK cells. To understand the role of MCM10 in early stages of NK cell development we will deplete MCM10 in induced pluripotent stem cells and differentiate these cells into NK cells. During this differentiation we will monitor progression through NK cell developmental stages as well as telomere length and senescence markers. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Telomeres insulate chromosomes and induce permanent growth arrest (senescence) when they are critically short. We have demonstrated that depletion of a DNA replication protein causes telomere erosion and increases senescence markers. NK cells have shorter telomeres and lower telomerase expression than other immune cells. We predict, this relatively poor telomere maintenance sensitizes NK cells to telomere loss upon depletion of replication proteins. During in vitro differentiation, we expect NK cell precursors to undergo premature senescence secondary to telomere shortening. Furthermore, we expect supplementation of DNA replication proteins will enhance NK cell expansion and maturation. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: NKD patients have provided the scientific community with clues as to what proteins NK cells rely on for their development. This project aims not only to understand why these proteins are critical, but to harness that information for cellular anti-cancer therapeutics.

Type
Basic Science/Methodology
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Association for Clinical and Translational Science 2020