Toward epidermal stem cell-mediated ex vivo gene therapy of junctional epidermolysis bullosa

Junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB) is a group of severe, inherited skin diseases caused by mutations in the genes encoding laminin 5 or other components of the hemidesmosome. Since human epidermis is a self-renewing tissue, gene therapy of JEB requires the stable integration of the transgene into the genome of the epidermal stem cell. Human epidermal stem cells can indeed be cultivated and stably transduced with replication-defective retroviral vectors, allowing full phenotypic correction of the adhesion properties of JEB keratinocytes, Epidermal stem cells generate cohesive sheets of stratified epithelium suitable for the permanent coverage of massive skin defects, and genetically modified epidermal sheets maintain long-term expression of the transgene after transplantation on immunodeficient animals, Moreover, we have developed a clinical procedure that allows transplantation of cultured epidermal sheets on large body areas under local anesthesia and without cicatricial outcomes. Thus, (1) the possibility of cultivating lining epithelia, (2) the availability of noninvasive surgical procedures that allow the grafting of large skin areas, and (3) the demonstration of sustained transgene expression in vitro and in vivo by epidermal stem cells, prompt us to propose the implementation of a phase I/II clinical trial aimed at the ex viva gene therapy of selected JEB patients. The aim of the trial is to validate the ex vivo procedure in a clinical setting, to prove its overall safety, and to analyze critical issues such as long-term survival of the genetically modified implant, immune response against the transgene product, and persistence of transgene expression at therapeutic levels.