Generation of SIV-resistant T cells and macrophages from nonhuman primate induced pluripotent stem cells with edited CCR5 locus

Adoptive therapies with genetically modified somatic T cells rendered HIV resistance have shown promise for AIDS therapy. A renewable source of HIV-resistant human T cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) would further facilitate and broaden the applicability of these therapies. Here, we report successful targeting of the CCR5 locus in iPSCs generated from T cells (T-iPSCs) or fibroblasts (fib-iPSCs) from Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (MCM), using CRISPR-Cas9 technology. We found that CCR5 editing does not affect hematopoietic and T cell differentiation potentials of fib-iPSCs. However, T-iPSCs with edited CCR5 lost their capacity to differentiate into CD4+CD8+ T cells while maintaining myeloid differentiation potential. T cells and macrophages produced from CCR5-edited MCM iPSCs did not support replication of the CCR5-tropic simian immunodeficiency viruses SIVmac239 (T cell tropic) and SIVmac316 (macrophage-tropic). Overall, these studies provide a platform for further exploration of AIDS therapies based on gene-edited iPSCs in a nonhuman primate model.