Replies to post #156 on Sangamo Biosciences Inc (SGMO)

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7:30AM Sangamo BioSci announces publication in Nature Medicine demonstrating use of ZFN technology to engineer safer and more effective cancer treatments (SGMO) 4.90 : The studies were performed in the laboratory of Chiara Bonini, Head of the Experimental Hematology Unit, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, in collaboration with Luigi Naldini, Head of TIGET, San Raffaele Hospital, and Sangamo scientists. The importance of the work has been recognized with the Van Bekkum Award. Cancer immunotherapy uses the immune system, specifically CD8+ T-cells, that have been 'redirected' to seek out and destroy tumors. These redirected T-cells are genetically engineered to express new cell surface receptors that specifically recognize tumor cells. However, CD8+ T-cells have a natural specificity for different targets and the resulting competition between the natural and the tumor-targeting gene products limits the potency of this cell therapy. It can also make the cells 'self-reactive,' leading to graft versus host disease. In this study, ZFNs were used to specifically disrupt the native T-cell receptor (TCR) genes in these tumor-directed CD8+ T-cells resulting in an enhanced immunotherapeutic product with potent anti-cancer activity coupled with the elimination of GvHD in a mouse model. The data are described in a Nature Medicine paper entitled 'Editing T-cell Specificity Towards Leukemia by Zinc Finger Nucleases and Lentiviral Gene Transfer'.