Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Vector”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 505 records · Page 28Linked to original sources

Locus control region of the human CD2 gene in a lentivirus vector confers position-independent transgene expression.

Vectors derived from murine leukemia virus (MLV) have been used in many human gene therapy clinical trials. However, insertion of the locus control regions (LCRs) derived from the beta-globin gene locus or the CD2 gene into MLV vectors frequently led to vector rearrangement. Since the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) sequence diverges significantly from the MLV sequence, we tested whether the LCR sequence is more stable in the context of an HIV vector. Clones derived from human fibrosarcoma line HT1080 cells transduced with an HIV vector containing the T-cell-specific CD2 LCR exhibit the same wide range of transgene expression as clones lacking the LCR. In contrast, Jurkat and primary T-cell clones derived from the transduction of the LCR-containing vector show, on average, a three- to fourfold increase in transgene expression relative to that of the control vector. This is consistent with previous observations that the CD2 LCR contains a T-cell-specific enhancer. In addition, the clones derived from the LCR-containing vector have a much lower clonal variation in transgene expression than those derived from the control vector. We also demonstrate that the level of transgene expression is proportional to the vector copy number. These results suggest that the human CD2 LCR sequence is compatible with HIV vector sequences and confers enhanced integration site-independent and copy number-dependent expression of the transgene. Thus, HIV vectors may represent the ideal vehicle to deliver genes controlled by various cis-acting elements such as LCRs.

CD2 Antigens↗

Reducing the native tropism of adenovirus vectors requires removal of both CAR and integrin interactions.

The development of tissue-selective virus-based vectors requires a better understanding of the role of receptors in gene transfer in vivo, both to rid the vectors of their native tropism and to introduce new specificity. CAR and alphav integrins have been identified as the primary cell surface components that interact with adenovirus type 5 (Ad5)-based vectors during in vitro transduction. We have constructed a set of four vectors, which individually retain the wild-type cell interactions, lack CAR binding, lack alphav integrin binding, or lack both CAR and alphav integrin binding. These vectors have been used to examine the roles of CAR and alphav integrin in determining the tropism of Ad vectors in a mouse model following intrajugular or intramuscular injection. CAR was found to play a significant role in liver transduction. The absence of CAR binding alone, however, had little effect on the low level of expression from Ad in other tissues. Binding of alphav integrins appeared to have more influence than did binding of CAR in promoting the expression in these tissues and was also found to be important in liver transduction by Ad vectors. An effect of the penton base modification was a reduction in the number of vector genomes that could be detected in several tissues. In the liver, where CAR binding is important, combining defects in CAR and alphav integrin binding was essential to effectively reduce the high level of expression from Ad vectors. While there may be differences in Ad vector tropism among species, our results indicate that both CAR and alphav integrins can impact vector distribution in vivo. Disruption of both CAR and alphav integrin interactions may be critical for effectively reducing native tropism and enhancing the efficacy of specific targeting ligands in redirecting Ad vectors to target tissues.

ATPases Associated with Diverse Cellular Activitie↗

A limited number of transducible hepatocytes restricts a wide-range linear vector dose response in recombinant adeno-associated virus-mediated liver transduction.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors are promising vehicles for achieving stable liver transduction in vivo. However, the mechanisms of liver transduction are not fully understood, and furthermore, the relationships between rAAV dose and levels of transgene expression, total number of hepatocytes transduced, and proportion of integrated vector genomes have not been well established. To begin to elucidate the liver transduction dose response with rAAV vectors, we injected mice with two different human factor IX or Escherichia coli lacZ-expressing AAV serotype 2-based vectors at doses ranging between 4.0 x 10(8) and 1.1 x 10(13) vector genomes (vg)/mouse, in three- to sixfold increments. A 2-log-range linear dose-response curve of transgene expression was obtained from 3.7 x 10(9) to 3.0 x 10(11) vg/mouse. Vector doses above 3.0 x 10(11) vg/mouse resulted in disproportionately smaller increases in both the number of transduced hepatocytes and levels of transgene expression, followed by saturation at doses above 1.8 x 10(12) vg/mouse. In contrast, a linear increase in the number of vector genomes per hepatocyte was observed up to 1.8 x 10(12) vg/mouse concomitantly with enhanced vector genome concatemerization, while the proportion of integrated vector genomes was independent of the vector dose. Thus, the mechanisms that restrict a wide-range linear dose response at high doses likely involve decreased functionality of vector genomes and restriction of transduction to fewer than 10% of total hepatocytes. Such information may be useful to determine appropriate vector doses for in vivo administration and provides further insights into the mechanisms of rAAV transduction in the liver.

Animals↗

Plasmid vectors encoding cholera toxin or the heat-labile enterotoxin from Escherichia coli are strong adjuvants for DNA vaccines.

Two plasmid vectors encoding the A and B subunits of cholera toxin (CT) and two additional vectors encoding the A and B subunits of the Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) were evaluated for their ability to serve as genetic adjuvants for particle-mediated DNA vaccines administered to the epidermis of laboratory animals. Both the CT and the LT vectors strongly augmented Th1 cytokine responses (gamma interferon [IFN-gamma]) to multiple viral antigens when codelivered with DNA vaccines. In addition, Th2 cytokine responses (interleukin 4 [IL-4]) were also augmented by both sets of vectors, with the effects of the LT vectors on IL-4 responses being more antigen dependent. The activities of both sets of vectors on antibody responses were antigen dependent and ranged from no effect to sharp reductions in the immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1)-to-IgG2a ratios. Overall, the LT vectors exhibited stronger adjuvant effects in terms of T-cell responses than did the CT vectors, and this was correlated with the induction of greater levels of cyclic AMP by the LT vectors following vector transfection into cultured cells. The adjuvant effects observed in vivo were due to the biological effects of the encoded proteins and not due to CpG motifs in the bacterial genes. Interestingly, the individual LT A and B subunit vectors exhibited partial adjuvant activity that was strongly influenced by the presence or absence of signal peptide coding sequences directing the encoded subunit to either intracellular or extracellular locations. Particle-mediated delivery of either the CT or LT adjuvant vectors in rodents and domestic pigs was well tolerated, suggesting that bacterial toxin-based genetic adjuvants may be a safe and effective strategy to enhance the potency of both prophylactic and therapeutic DNA vaccines for the induction of strong cellular immunity.

AIDS Vaccines↗

Efficiency of insertion versus replacement vector targeting varies at different chromosomal loci.

We have analyzed the targeting frequencies and recombination products generated with isogenic vectors at the fah and fgr loci in embryonic stem cells. A single vector which could be linearized at different sites to generate either a replacement or an insertion vector was constructed for each locus. A replacement event predominated when the vectors were linearized at the edge of the homologous sequences, while an insertion event predominated when the vectors were linearized within the homologous sequences. However, the ratio of the targeting frequencies exhibited by the different vector configurations differed for the two loci. When the fgr vector was linearized as an insertion vector, the ratio of targeted to random integrations was four- to eightfold greater than when the vector was linearized as a replacement vector. By contrast, the ratio of targeted to random integrations at the fah locus did not vary with the linearization site of the vector. The different relationships between the targeting frequency and the vector configuration at the fgr and fah loci may indicate a DNA sequence or chromatin structure preference for different targeting pathways.

Animals↗

Improved adenoviral vector for vascular gene therapy : beneficial effects on vascular function and inflammation.

First-generation, E1-deleted adenoviral vectors (E1-AV) can transduce the vascular endothelium with high efficiency, but their use is limited by the resulting acute endothelial injury and the long-term development of intimal hyperplasia. To reduce the impact of viral proteins on the gene-modified cells, a second-generation adenoviral vector with an additional pair of deletions in the E4 region was developed. To determine whether this E1/E4-AV vector would be useful for vascular gene transfer, we directly compared the efficiency of gene transfer to uninjured rabbit carotid arteries using either an E1/E4-AV or an E1-AV vector encoding beta-galactosidase. Both vectors efficiently transduced vascular endothelium; however, the E1/E4-AV vector gene-modified vessels showed higher beta-galactosidase expression 10 days after gene transfer. Importantly, the E1/E4-AV vector produced substantially less endothelial cell activation, less inflammation, and reduced neointimal hyperplasia compared with the E1-AV vector-treated vessels. The E1-AV vector-transduced vessels also demonstrated significantly impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation whereas the E1/E4-AV vector did not impact vasomotor function, even at doses of virus in 5-fold excess of the amount required for >90% transduction of the endothelium. We conclude that the E1/E4-AV vector is superior to the E1-AV vector for vascular gene therapy because of the prolonged transgene expression, reduced vascular inflammation, reduced intimal hyperplasia, and maintenance of normal vasomotor function.

Adenoviridae↗

High-level erythroid-specific gene expression in primary human and murine hematopoietic cells with self-inactivating lentiviral vectors.

Use of oncoretroviral vectors in gene therapy for hemoglobinopathies has been impeded by low titer vectors, genetic instability, and poor expression. Fifteen self- inactivating (SIN) lentiviral vectors using 4 erythroid promoters in combination with 4 erythroid enhancers with or without the woodchuck hepatitis virus postregulatory element (WPRE) were generated using the enhanced green fluorescent protein as a reporter gene. Vectors with high erythroid-specific expression in cell lines were tested in primary human CD34(+) cells and in vivo in the murine bone marrow (BM) transplantation model. Vectors containing the ankyrin-1 promoter showed high-level expression and stable proviral transmission. Two vectors containing the ankyrin-1 promoter and 2 erythroid enhancers (HS-40 plus GATA-1 or HS-40 plus 5-aminolevulinate synthase intron 8 [I8] enhancers) and WPRE expressed at levels higher than the HS2/beta-promoter vector in bulk unilineage erythroid cultures and individual erythroid blast-forming units derived from human BM CD34(+) cells. Sca1(+)/lineage(-) Ly5.1 mouse hematopoietic cells, transduced with these 2 ankyrin-1 promoter vectors, were injected into lethally irradiated Ly5.2 recipients. Eleven weeks after transplantation, high-level expression was seen from both vectors in blood (63%-89% of red blood cells) and erythroid cells in BM (70%-86% engraftment), compared with negligible expression in myeloid and lymphoid lineages in blood, BM, spleen, and thymus (0%-4%). The I8/HS-40-containing vector encoding a hybrid human beta/gamma-globin gene led to 43% to 113% human gamma-globin expression/copy of the mouse alpha-globin gene. Thus, modular use of erythroid-specific enhancers/promoters and WPRE in SIN-lentiviral vectors led to identification of high-titer, stably transmitted vectors with high-level erythroid-specific expression for gene therapy of red cell diseases.

Animals↗

Efficient gene transfer into human trophoblast cells with adenovirus vector containing chimeric type 5 and 35 fiber protein.

Recombinant adenovirus (Ad) vectors based on Ad type 5 have been widely used for gene transfer experiments. Conventional Ad type 5 vectors have a narrow range of tropism and are limited by the size of the transgene that can be packaged. To overcome these limitations, we previously developed an Ad vector (Ad5/35 vector) containing a chimeric Ad type 5 and 35 fiber protein. In the current study, we evaluated the ability of the Ad5/35 vector to transfer genes into human trophoblast cell lines (JAR, JEG-3 and BeWo cells), which are used as in vitro models of human placenta. We compared the gene transfer efficiency of Ad5/35 to that of conventional Ad vector. We found that expression of CD46, which are receptors for Ad5/35 vector, are higher than that of coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor in all 3 trophoblast cell lines, as determined by flow cytometry. Next, we compared the transducing activity of Ad5 vector and Ad5/35 vector that each expressed luciferase as a reporter gene. Ad5/35 vector had greater gene transfer activity than the conventional Ad vector in all 3 trophoblast cell lines (1.82-fold in JAR cells, 5.37-fold in BeWo cells, 6.11-fold in JEG-3 cells). Thus, Ad vector that contains chimeric type 5 and 35 fiber protein can be a powerful tool for gene transfer experiments in human trophoblast cell lines.

Adenoviridae↗

[Characterization of adenovirus serotype 35 vectors using genetically modified animals and non-human primates].

Recombinant Adenovirus (Ad) vectors are considered to be a promising gene delivery vehicle of high utility because they are easy to construct, can be produced at high titers, and efficiently transduce various types of cells. Ad vectors commonly used in the world, including clinical trials, are composed of Ad serotype 5 (Ad5), which belongs to subgroup C. In recent years, however, it has become apparent that Ad5 vectors have some drawbacks, such as high seroprevalence of anti-Ad5 antibodies in adults and low transduction efficiencies of Ad5 vectors in cells lacking a primary receptor for Ad5, coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR). To overcome these limitations of Ad5 vectors, we have developed a novel type of Ad vector, which is composed of Ad serotype 35 (Ad35), belonging to subgroup B. Ad35 vectors recognize human CD46, not CAR, as a cellular receptor for infection. Human CD46 is expressed in almost all of human cells, leading to a broad tropism of Ad35 vectors to human cells, in contrast, expression of rodent CD46 is limited to the testis. Therefore, in vivo transduction properties of Ad35 vectors are not appropriately evaluated in normal mice. In order to evaluate the in vivo transduction properties of Ad35 vectors, Ad35 vectors were applied to human CD46-transgenic mice and nonhuman primates, which express CD46 in a similar pattern to humans. The data obtained using CD46-transgenic mice and nonhuman primates would provide valuable information towards clinical applications of Ad35 vectors.

Adenoviridae↗

Adenoviral vectors: a promising tool for gene therapy.

Gene therapy is a promising tool for treatment of the human diseases that cannot be cured by rational therapies, and its primary success depends on suitable vectors to deliver therapeutic genes. Adenoviruses (Ads) are among the most commonly used vectors for gene therapy, second only to retroviruses. During the last decade, remarkable progress has been made in the development of Ad vectors and in the understanding of the toxicity related to the Ad vector system. Ad vector has certain advantages such as high transduction efficiency for different quiescent and dividing cell types and high levels of short-term expression to provide therapeutic benefits. However, researchers are facing the challenges associated with tissue-specific targeting of vectors and the vector-mediated immunogenicity. This review mainly focuses on the studies that have employed methods to improve Ad vectors and reduce viral toxicity for different applications. These methods include minimization or elimination of viral genes, retargeting of vector to the tissue of interest, and generation of immunocompromised recombinant vectors that lead to safer use of Ad vector systems that improve persistence of transgene expression. Moreover, the therapeutic applications of Ad vectors for liver-targeted gene therapy, suicide gene therapy, delivery of small interfering RNA, and production of recombinant vaccine under regulated conditions used in clinical trials are discussed.

Adenoviridae↗

Wolbachia-induced mortality as a mechanism to modulate pathogen transmission by vector arthropods.

Insecticide resistance and absence of clinical cures or vaccines for many vector-borne diseases has stimulated interest in using genetically modified arthropod vectors for disease control. Current transgenic strategies focus on vector susceptibility to pathogen infection, which is an inefficient target for pathogen transmission interference. Manipulation of vector survival is theoretically more effective, resulting in larger reductions in the expected number of human infections. A hypothetical method to manipulate vector survival is to drive mortality-inducing Wolbachia into populations. For varying patterns and degrees of induced mortality, we outline the conditions under which virulent Wolbachia introductions into vector populations are expected to succeed and quantify the resultant reduction in pathogen transmission. The most critical component to the success of this strategy is the pattern of induced mortality. For operationally feasible introductions, induced mortality must be delayed until after vector reproduction begins. If this condition is not met, introduction thresholds become exceedingly high, ranging from approximately 40% to 90% of the total adult population. Delayed induced mortality patterns can reduce introduction thresholds to approximately 15-45% of the total adult population. Reduction in cytoplasmic incompatibility with male age has negligible effects on introduction success regardless of the induced mortality pattern. Under proper circumstances, symbiont-induced manipulation of vector survival can theoretically result in up to 100% reduction in pathogen transmission, depending on Wolbachia parameters, magnitude and pattern of induced mortality, and duration of pathogen incubation in the vector. Our results indicate that a broadening of the current paradigm for genetic manipulation of vectors to parameters other than arthropod vector competence is justified and will reveal new research possibilities for vector-borne disease control.

Animals↗

New recombinant serotypes of AAV vectors.

AAV based vectors can achieve stable gene transfer with minimal vector related toxicities. AAV serotype 2 (AAV2) is the first AAV that was vectored for gene transfer applications. However, the restricted tissue tropism of AAV and its low transduction efficiency have limited its further development as vector. Recent studies using vectors derived from alternative AAV serotypes such as AAV1, 4, 5 and 6 have shown improved potency and broadened tropism of the AAV vector by packaging the same vector genome with different AAV capsids. In an attempt to search for potent AAV vectors with enhanced performance profiles, molecular techniques were employed for the detection and isolation of endogenous AAVs from a variety of human and non-human primate (NHP) tissues. A family of novel primate AAVs consisting of 110 non-redundant species of proviral sequences was discovered and turned to be prevalent in 18-19% of the tissues evaluated. Phylogenetic and functional analyses revealed that primate AAVs are segregated into clades based on phylogenetic relatedness. The members within a clade share functional and serological properties. Initial evaluation in mouse models of vectors based on these novel AAVs for tissue tropism and gene transfer potency led to the identification of some vector with improved gene transfer to different target tissues. Gene therapy treatment of several mouse and canine models with novel AAV vectors achieved long term phenotypic corrections. Vectors based on new primate AAVs could become the next generation of efficient gene transfer vehicles for various gene therapy applications.

Animals↗

Lentiviral vectors for efficient delivery of CD80 and granulocyte-macrophage- colony-stimulating factor in human acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia cells to induce antileukemic immune responses.

Cell vaccines engineered to express immunomodulators have shown feasibility in eliminating leukemia in murine models. Vectors for efficient gene delivery to primary human leukemia cells are required to translate this approach to clinical trials. In this study, second-generation lentiviral vectors derived from human immunodeficiency virus 1 were evaluated, with the cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter driving expression of granulocyte-macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and CD80 in separate vectors or in a bicistronic vector. The vectors were pseudotyped with vesicular stomatitis virus G glycoprotein and concentrated to high titers (10(8)-10(9) infective particles/mL). Human acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and chronic myeloid leukemia cell lines transduced with the monocistronic pHR-CD80 vector or the bicistronic pHR-GM/CD vector became 75% to 95% CD80 positive (CD80(+)). More important, transduction of primary human ALL and AML blasts with high-titer lentiviral vectors was consistently successful (40%-95% CD80(+)). The average amount of GM-CSF secretion by the leukemia cell lines transduced with the pHR-GM-CSF monocistronic vector was 2182.9 pg/10(6) cells per 24 hours. Secretion was markedly lower with the bicistronic pHR-GM/CD vector (average, 225.7 pg/10(6) cells per 24 hours). Lower amounts of CMV-driven messenger RNA were detected with the bicistronic vector, which may account for its poor expression of GM-CSF. Primary ALL cells transduced to express CD80 stimulated T-cell proliferation in an autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction. This stimulation was specifically blocked with monoclonal antibodies reactive against CD80 or by recombinant cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4-immunoglobulin fusion protein. These results show the feasibility of efficiently transducing primary leukemia cells with lentiviral vectors to express immunomodulators to elicit antileukemic immune responses. (Blood. 2000;96:1317-1326)

Acute Disease↗

The role of the E1B 55 kDa gene product in oncolytic adenoviral vectors expressing herpes simplex virus-tk: assessment of antitumor efficacy and toxicity.

In this study, we evaluated three herpes simplex virus-1 thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) carrying replication-competent adenoviral vectors with and without the Ad5 E1B 55 kDa gene to assess whether this gene product has an influence on their antitumor efficacy, replication kinetics, and potential hepatotoxicity. Furthermore, we assessed the efficacy of these vectors in combination with ganciclovir (GCV). When compared with wild-type adenovirus, the recombinant vectors, in particular the E1B 55 kDa-deleted vector Ad.TK(RC)(II), generated a more efficiently cytopathic effect in proliferating cells, independently of their p53 phenotype. In a s.c. A549 lung cancer xenograft model, the cytoreductive effect of Ad.TK(RC)(II) was enhanced when followed by GCV treatment. In contrast, the efficacy of both E1B 55 kDa-positive vectors could not be further improved by GCV. In an i.p. MDAH 2774 ovarian cancer xenograft tumor model, the survival of animals treated with a prototypical replication-deficient adenovirus expressing HSV-tk (Ad.TK) was improved compared to controls when followed by GCV. In contrast, the cytoreductive efficacy of the replication-competent vectors was diminished when combined with the virostatic GCV. However, the antitumor effect of all replication-competent vectors was superior to combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin. In both tumor models, the oncolytic effect of the E1B 55 kDa-positive vectors was greater than that of Ad.TK(RC)(II). In an attempt to assess the toxicity of these vectors in a nonpermissive host, the viruses were administered systemically to immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice. Greater hepatotoxicity was seen with i.v. administration of the replication-competent viruses than with Ad.TK and in immunocompetent hosts, suggesting involvement of the immune system in the induction of tissue damage. The E1B 55 kDa gene had no significant influence on the liver toxicity of the vectors in this system. At therapeutic doses, intratumoral or i.p. injection of all vectors was well tolerated. Importantly, these replication-competent HSV-tk-expressing vectors were highly susceptible to GCV, representing an effective fail-safe mechanism to abolish viral replication in a clinical setting. Controllable intratumoral viral replication holds promise as a new treatment modality for cancer.

Adenovirus E1B Proteins↗

Comparative analyses of transgene delivery and expression in tumors inoculated with a replication-conditional or -defective viral vector.

Viral vectors for cancer can be classified into those that do not replicate (replication-defective vectors) and those that selectively replicate in neoplastic cells (replication-conditional or oncolytic vectors). Both of these can deliver anticancer cDNAs for therapeutic purposes. Opposite hypotheses can be made regarding the advantages of each vector type with regard to anatomic transgene expression. For the former vector, because cDNA delivery occurs in neoplastic cells that have the ability to migrate into the tumor mass, relatively extensive anatomic and temporal expression of anticancer functions may occur. For the latter vector, active viral replication may permit anatomically and temporally extensive delivery of the foreign cDNA into the tumor mass. Herein, we performed a simple comparative analysis to test which of these hypotheses is valid. Direct inoculation of s.c. tumors with a replication-conditional or a replication-defective viral vector, each of which expressed lacZ cDNA, was performed. Tumors were excised and analyzed for anatomic delivery of beta-galactosidase and for neoplastic viral titers. We find that lacZ cDNA expression is observed in approximately 40% of the tumor area 3, 7, and 14 days after injection with the replication-conditional vector, whereas approximately 10% of the tumor area expresses the transgene 3 days after injection with the replication-defective vector, with a rapid decline in expression thereafter. Titers of the replication-conditional virus remain stable within injected tumors for the 14 days of the assay (approximately 1:1,000 of the initial injection dose), whereas titers of the replication-defective vector decrease rapidly after injection (to a value of 1:100,000 of the initial injection dose). Taken in conjunction, these studies show that transgene delivery and expression in tumors last longer and are found throughout an anatomically more extensive area after injection with replication-conditional gene therapy vectors than after injection with replication-defective gene therapy vectors.

Animals↗

[Transfection efficiency of adenoviral vector AD5/F35 to malignant hematopoietic cells of different origins].

This study was aimed to investigate the transfection efficiency of adenoviral vector AD5/F35 to hematopoietic malignant cells lines of various origins and AD5/F35 cytotoxicity. The hematologic malignant cell lines of various origins were transfected by AD5/F35-EGFP at different multiple of infection (MOI) and AD5-EGFP was used as control; the proportion of fluorescence positive cells was detected by flow cytometry; the killing effect of virus on infective target cells was assayed by MTT and observed by fluorescence microscopy. The results showed that the transfection efficiency of AD5/F35 vector to cell line of myeloid origin was > 99% at MOI = 30, the transfective efficiency of AD5 vector was 26.4% at MOI = 1,000; the transfection efficiency of AD5/F35 vector and AD5 vector to cell line of B cell origin were 11.7% and 5.7%, respectively, at MOI = 1,000. AD5/F35 and AD5 vectors could not effectively transfect cells of T cell origin, no fluorescence positive cells were detected at MOI = 1,000; no significant killing effect of AD5/F35 vector on infective target cells was observed at MOI = 1,000. It is concluded that AD5/F35 vector infection has definite selectivity to hematologic malignant cells of various origin, the infection ability of AD5/F35 vector to cells of myeloid origin is stronger than that to cells of B cell origin, the cytotoxicity of AD5/F35 vector to infective target cells is small. The AD5/F35 vector is preferable to AD5 vector in respect of infection ability and offers good prospects of application in gene therapy for myeloid leukemia cells as target cells.

Adenoviruses, Human↗

Multiple vectors effectively achieve gene transfer in a murine cardiac transplantation model. Immunosuppression with TGF-beta 1 or vIL-10.

The application of gene transfer techniques to organ transplantation offers the potential for modulation of immunity directly within an allograft without systemic side effects. Expression vectors and promoter elements are important determinants of gene transfer and expression. In this study, various vectors (naked plasmid DNA, retroviral vector, herpes simplex viral vector, and adenoviral vector) with various promoters (RSV-LTR, SV40, MuLV-LTR, HCMVie1) were directly compared to demonstrate the successful gene transfer and expression of beta-galactosidase in murine myoblasts in vitro and within murine heterotopic, nonvascularized cardiac isografts or allografts in vivo. Expression of transferred genes was not toxic to cells and strength of expression varied according to the type of vector. Plasmid DNA was expressed in myocytes, retroviral vector was expressed in the graft infiltrating cells, and herpes simplex and adenoviral vectors were expressed in both myocytes and graft-infiltrating cells. Preliminary studies evaluated the ability of these vectors to deliver immunologically important signals. Allografts injected with pSVTGF-beta 1, a plasmid-encoding transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) under the control of the SV40 promoter, showed significant prolongation of graft survival of 26.3 +/- 2.5 days compared with 12.6 +/- 1.1 days for untreated allografts, and 12.5 +/- 1.5 days for the allografts injected with control plasmid (P < 0.05). Allografts injected with MFG-vIL-10, a retroviral vector encoding viral interleukin-10 under the control of the MuLV-LTR, showed prolongation of graft survival of 36.7 +/- 1.3 days versus 12.6 +/- 1.1 days for the untreated allograft, and 13.5 +/- 2.0 days for the allografts injected with control retroviral vector (P < 0.001). Both vectors were transcriptionally active in vivo and did not appear to have toxic effects. Gene therapy for transplantation can induce transient expression of immunologically relevant molecules within allografts that impede immune activation while avoiding the systemic toxicity of conventional immunosuppression.

Animals↗

Stabilization of transgene expression by incorporation of E3 region genes into an adenoviral factor IX vector and by transient anti-CD4 treatment of the host.

Complex interactions between replication deficient adenoviral vectors (Ad5) and the immune system of the host influence the stability of transgenes in vivo. Vector-infected cells are attacked by diverse cellular immune mechanisms which limit transgene persistence. On the other hand, the products of several E3 region genes of wild-type adenovirus can suppress host immune reactions by interference with the expression of MHC class I molecules and by other mechanisms. We have developed an adenoviral vector for human factor IX (Ad5E3+FIX) which carries the E3 region of wild-type adenovirus, and an E3-deleted vector of otherwise similar structure (ad5 delta E3FIX). Intravenous injection of Ad5E3+FIX in C57BI/6 mice resulted in expression levels up to 6000 ng/ml of recombinant human factor IX in the mouse plasma and in enhanced transgene stability as compared with the vector Ad5 delta E3FIX. Whereas expression from E3-deleted vectors was essentially turned off 8 weeks after the gene transfer, the vector Ad5E3+FIX3+FIX supported transgene expression with therapeutic levels of human factor IX in the mouse plasma for > 4 months. The enhanced stability of the vector Ad5E3+FIX appears to be a consequence of efficient E3 region-mediated suppression of the host's antivector immune response. As an additional approach to improving transgene stability the influence of transient CD4+ T cell depletion of the host was investigated. CD4+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes contribute to the clearance of adenovirus-infected cells and play a pivotal role in the activation of CD8+ cytotoxic T cells and as helper T cells in the formation of human adenovirus neutralizing antibodies (HANA). Transient anti-CD4 treatment of the host limited to the time of vector injection resulted in a significant prolongation of transgene expression from the factor IX vector Ad5E3+FIX and a luciferase vector Ad5Luc. The combination of transient anti-CD4 treatment of the host and integration of a complete E3 region in an adenoviral vector resulted in markedly improved transgene stability after gene transfer to the liver (therapeutic factor IX levels for > 6 months).

Adenoviridae↗