Retroviral vector targeting human cells via c-Kit-stem cell factor interaction

Targeted gene transfer into hematopoietic stem cells by retroviral vectors would greatly facilitate the development of in vivo strategies for stem cell gene therapy. We engineered a recombinant retroviral vector that can target human cells expressing a c-Kit receptor via a ligand-receptor interaction. The ecotropic (Moloney murine leukemia virus) envelope protein was modified by insertion of a sequence encoding the N-terminal 161 amino acids of murine stem cell factor (mSCF), the ligand for murine c-Kit. The chimeric envelope protein was correctly processed and incorporated into viral particles as efficiently as the wild-type envelope protein. Virions pseudotyped with the chimeric envelope proteins bound to 293 cells expressing murine c-Kit (293KIT) preferentially; however, they could not transduce any c-Kit-positive cells under conventional conditions. They could transduce 293KIT cells in the presence of chloroquine, and HEL cells expressing human c-Kit on a fibronectin fragment (CH296)-coated dish. The fact that recombinant mSCF in the medium at the time of transduction greatly reduced the efficiency of both gene deliveries implies that the vector utilized the mSCF-c-Kit interaction for the initial step of transduction in either case. The vector may prove useful for targeting cells expressing c-Kit on their surface.