HB1.F3.CD + flucytosine

HB1.F3.CD + flucytosine is an investigational combination gene and cell therapy developed by City of Hope Medical Center for the treatment of recurrent high-grade gliomas. The therapy utilizes an allogeneic, immortalized human neural stem cell line (HB1.F3.CD) that has been retrovirally transduced to stably express the *Escherichia coli* cytosine deaminase (CD) enzyme. These neural stem cells are inherently tumor-tropic, allowing them to migrate toward and infiltrate glioma sites throughout the brain. Following the intracerebral administration of the modified stem cells (typically during tumor resection or biopsy), patients receive oral 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC), a prodrug. The CD enzyme localized at the tumor site converts the 5-FC into 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), a potent chemotherapeutic agent. This localized conversion allows for high concentrations of 5-FU within the tumor microenvironment while minimizing systemic exposure and associated toxicity. The parental HB1.F3 cell line was originally immortalized using a retrovirus encoding the v-myc gene.

Other names

E. coli CD-expressing genetically modified neural stem cells5-fluorocytosine and genetically-modified neural stem cellsNSC-mediated enzyme/prodrug gene therapy