A PCR-amplified transgene fragment flanked by a single copy of a truncated inverted terminal repeat for recombinant adeno-associated virus production prevents unnecessary plasmid DNA packaging.

The application of recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) for gene therapy faces certain challenges, including genome packaging of non-vector sequences. Inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) flanking the rAAV genome, comprising three inverted repeat regions (A, B, and C) and a non-inverted repeat region (D), contribute to non-vector genome packaging. We aimed to circumvent this issue by comparing the properties of rAAV containing DNA plasmids and PCR-amplified transgenes, including a single copy of the AD sequence (rAAV-pAD/L-AD, respectively), which is a truncated form of ITR, with those of wild-type ITR genome (single-stranded and self-complementary AAV; ssAAV and scAAV). The packaging efficiency of rAAV-pAD/L-AD was found to be comparable to that of scAAV, whereas the transduction efficiency of rAAV-pAD/L-AD was lower than that of ss/scAAV. Remarkably, rAAV-L-AD reduced the plasmid backbone packaging contamination compared to ss/scAAV. Furthermore, to confirm the functionality of this system, we generated a rAAV-L-AD harboring a short hairpin RNA targeting ATP5B (rAAV-L-AD-shATP5B) and found that it caused a significant decrease in ATP5B mRNA levels when transduced into HEK293EB cells, suggesting that it was functional. Thus, our system successfully packaged L-AD into capsids with minimal contamination of plasmid DNA, offering a novel functional packaging platform without causing plasmid backbone encapsidation.

Evaluation of parameters for efficient purification and long-term storage of herpes simplex virus-based vectors.

Replication competent oncolytic herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors have been used extensively to treat solid tumors with promising results. However, highly defective HSV vectors will be needed for applications that require sustained therapeutic gene expression in the absence of vector-related toxicity or inflammation. These vectors require complementing cell lines for their manufacture, creating significant challenges to achieve high yields of infectious virus particles. We recently described an improved upstream process for the production of a non-cytotoxic HSV vector for gene therapy applications. Here, we sought to optimize the downstream conditions for purification and long-term storage of the same vector, JΔNI5. We compared different methods to remove cellular impurities and concentrate the vector by monitoring both physical and biological titers, resulting in the establishment of optimal conditions for vector production. To optimize the long-term storage parameters for non-cytotoxic HSV vectors, we evaluated vector stability at low temperature and sensitivity to freeze-thaw cycles. We report that suboptimal purification and storage methods resulted in loss of vector viability. Our results describe effective and reproducible protocols for purification and storage of HSV vectors for pre-clinical studies.

Treatment of adult metachromatic leukodystrophy model mice using intrathecal administration of type 9 AAV vector encoding arylsulfatase A.

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a lysosomal storage disease caused by an arylsulfatase A (ARSA) deficiency and characterized by severe neurological symptoms resulting from demyelination within the central and peripheral nervous systems. We investigated the feasibility and efficacy of intrathecal administration of a type 9 adeno-associated viral vector encoding ARSA (AAV9/ARSA) for the treatment of 6-week-old MLD model mice, which are presymptomatic, and 1-year-old mice, which exhibit neurological abnormalities. Immunohistochemical analysis following AAV9/ARSA administration showed ARSA expression within the brain, with highest activities in the cerebellum and olfactory bulbs. In mice treated at 1 year, alcian blue staining and quantitative analysis revealed significant decreases in stored sulfatide. Behaviorally, mice treated at 1 year showed no improvement in their ability to traverse narrow balance beams as compared to untreated mice. By contrast, MLD mice treated at 6 weeks showed significant decreases in stored sulfatide throughout the entire brain and improved ability to traverse narrow balance beams. These findings suggest intrathecal administration of an AAV9/ARSA vector is a promising approach to treating genetic diseases of the central nervous system, including MLD, though it may be essential to begin therapy before the onset of neurological symptoms.

Optimized lentiviral vector design improves titer and transgene expression of vectors containing the chicken beta-globin locus HS4 insulator element.

Hematopoietic cell gene therapy using retroviral vectors has achieved success in clinical trials. However, safety issues regarding vector insertional mutagenesis have emerged. In two different trials, vector insertion resulted in the transcriptional activation of proto-oncogenes. One strategy for potentially diminishing vector insertional mutagenesis is through the use of self-inactivating lentiviral vectors containing the 1.2-kb insulator element derived from the chicken beta-globin locus. However, use of this element can dramatically decrease both vector titer and transgene expression, thereby compromising its practical use. Here, we studied lentiviral vectors containing either the full-length 1.2-kb insulator or the smaller 0.25-kb core element in both orientations in the partially deleted long-terminal repeat. We show that use of the 0.25-kb core insulator rescued vector titer by alleviating a postentry block to reverse transcription associated with the 1.2-kb element. In addition, in an orientation-dependent manner, the 0.25-kb core element significantly increased transgene expression from an internal promoter due to improved transcriptional termination. This element also demonstrated barrier activity, reducing variability of expression due to position effects. As it is known that the 0.25-kb core insulator has enhancer-blocking activity, this particular insulated lentiviral vector design may be useful for clinical application.

Protocol Optimization for the Production of the Non-Cytotoxic JΔNI5 HSV Vector Deficient in Expression of Immediately Early Genes.

Non-toxic herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors can be generated by functional deletion of all immediate-early (IE) genes, providing a benign vehicle with potential for gene therapy. However, deletion of multiple IE genes raises manufacturing concerns and thus limits clinical application of these vectors. To address this issue, we previously developed a novel production cell line, called U2OS-ICP4/27, by lentiviral transduction of human osteosarcoma U2OS cells with two essential HSV IE genes, ICP4 and ICP27. To optimize the process of vector manufacturing on this platform, we evaluated several cell culture parameters of U2OS-ICP4/27 for high-titer and -quality production of non-toxic HSV vectors, revealing that the yields and functionality of these vectors can be significantly influenced by culturing conditions. We also found that several chemical compounds can enhance the replication of non-toxic HSV vectors and their release from producer cells into the supernatants. Notably, the vector produced by our optimized protocol displayed a greatly improved vector yield and quality and showed elevated transgene expression in cultures of primary dorsal root ganglion neurons. Taken together, our optimized production approach emerges as a relevant protocol for high-yield and high-quality preparation of non-toxic HSV-based gene therapy vectors.

Global diffuse distribution in the brain and efficient gene delivery to the dorsal root ganglia by intrathecal injection of adeno-associated viral vector serotype 1.

BACKGROUND: The success of gene therapy for inherited neurodegenerative diseases such as metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) depends on the development of efficient gene delivery throughout the brain guarded by the blood-brain barrier and achieves distribution of the deficient enzyme throughout the brain. Direct injection of viral vector into the brain parenchyma is too invasive and may not be sufficient to treat the entire brain. As an alternative approach, we examined the feasibility of intrathecal (IT) injection of adeno-associated viral vector serotype 1 (AAV1). METHODS: AAV1 vector expressing arylsulfatase A (ASA) and green fluorescence protein (GFP) was intrathecally injected into ASA knockout MLD model mice. Expression of GFP was assessed by fluorescence microscopy and immunohistochemical methods, whereas the concentration of ASA was determined by a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Broad distribution of GFP expression was seen throughout the brain after IT injection of AAV1 vector. In addition, a large number of nerve fibers in the dorsal spinal cord and many neural cell bodies in the dorsal root ganglia were efficiently transduced. Widespread distribution of ASA activity and a significant reduction of sulfatide content were confirmed in treated MLD model mice. CONCLUSIONS: IT injection of AAV1 vector is a useful and non-invasive method for widespread gene delivery to the brain and dorsal root ganglia.

Enzyme replacement in the CSF to treat metachromatic leukodystrophy in mouse model using single intracerebroventricular injection of self-complementary AAV1 vector.

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a lysosomal storage disease caused by a functional deficiency in human arylsulfatase A (hASA). We recently reported that ependymal cells and the choroid plexus are selectively transduced by intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of adeno-associated virus serotype 1 (AAV1) vector and serve as a biological reservoir for the secretion of lysosomal enzymes into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In the present study, we examined the feasibility of this AAV-mediated gene therapy to treat MLD model mice. Preliminary experiments showed that the hASA level in the CSF after ICV injection of self-complementary (sc) AAV1 was much higher than in mice injected with single-stranded AAV1 or scAAV9. However, when 18-week-old MLD mice were treated with ICV injection of scAAV1, the concentration of hASA in the CSF gradually decreased and was not detectable at 12 weeks after injection, probably due to the development of anti-hASA antibodies. As a result, the sulfatide levels in brain tissues of treated MLD mice were only slightly reduced compared with those of untreated MLD mice. These results suggest that this approach is potentially promising for treating MLD, but that controlling the immune response appears to be crucial for long-term expression of therapeutic proteins in the CSF.

The chicken hypersensitivity site 4 core insulator blocks promoter interference in lentiviral vectors.

Lentiviral vectors, including double internal promoters, can be used to express two transgenes in a single vector construct; however, transcriptional activities from double internal promoters are often inhibited by promoter interference. To determine whether the chicken hypersensitivity site 4 insulator (cHS4) could block promoter interference, lentiviral vectors including an MSCV-U3 promoter (Mp) and an EF1α promoter (Ep) were generated, and transgene expression was evaluated among transduced cells. In the Ep-Mp configuration, transcriptional activity from Mp was much lower, while Mp-Ep had similar transcription levels from both promoters. The cHS4 core insulator increased expression levels from Mp in HeLa cells, hematopoietic cell lines, and mouse peripheral blood cells following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation transduced with the Mp-Ep configured vector. This blocking function was mainly mediated by barrier activity regions in the insulator but not by CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) binding sites. Cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) methylation did not contribute to this barrier activity. In summary, combining the cHS4 insulator in double promoter vectors can improve transgene expression levels in various cell lines and mouse hematopoietic repopulating cells. These findings are useful for developing hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy.

Global gene transfer into the CNS across the BBB after neonatal systemic delivery of single-stranded AAV vectors.

Central nervous system (CNS) disorders are important targets for gene therapy; however, delivery of therapeutic proteins and/or genes to the brain remains a major challenge due to the difficulty of efficiently delivering viral vectors across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In the present work, we tested the ability of several single-stranded adeno-associated viral (ssAAV) serotypes to deliver transgenes to the brain and spinal cord in neonatal mice. We injected ssAAV vectors encoding GFP (serotype-1, -8, -9 and -10: 1.5×10(11) vector genomes each) into the jugular vein of neonatal mice and assessed GFP expression immunohistochemically. Strong GFP signals were detected in both the brain and spinal cord after injection of any of these serotypes. ssAAV serotype-9 mediated gene transfer was the most efficient. GFP expression was detected throughout the brain, including the cortex, cerebellum, olfactory bulb and brainstem and was sustained for at least 18months. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the GFP signals were detected in GFAP positive astrocytes, NeuN positive neurons, and Calbindin positive purkinje cells. Our data suggest that systemic neonatal injection of ssAAV is an effective strategy for delivering transgenes to target neuronal systems that are not accessible to viral vectors in adult animals. These vectors should prove highly useful for efficient and long-term overexpression or downregulation of genes in CNS and spinal cord and could be a useful means of treating genetic neurological diseases.

Mutations in p53 cDNA sequence introduced by retroviral vector.

The high mutation rates of retroviruses are a potential problem with retroviral vectors. We studied the mutation rates and spectra of p53 sequences transduced with a retroviral vector in a cancer gene therapy model. When p53-deficient H358 non-small cell lung cancer cells were treated with a retroviral vector carrying normal p53 cDNA, most of transduced cells were killed by apoptosis. However, a small number of clones escaped p53-mediated apoptosis. We examined the p53 cDNA structure in these resistant clones. PCR-based analysis showed that 88/102 clones had detectable mutations in p53, including gross rearrangements, deletions/insertions, and base substitutions. To study the mutation rate of the p53 sequence in all transduced clones, the retroviral vector containing the non-functional p53 gene and the Neo-resistant marker gene was introduced into H358 cells. Only one of 95 isolated clones showed a base substitution. These results indicate that the mutation rate of p53 is not particularly high, but there is a significant risk that cancer cells will resist p53 gene therapy as a result of retroviral replication errors.