A comparison of AAV-vector production methods for gene therapy and preclinical assessment

Authors

Marcus Davidsson, Department of Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA. marcus.davidsson@med.lu.se.
Matilde Negrini, Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Swantje Hauser, Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Alexander Svanbergsson, Neural Plasticity and Repair, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Marcus Lockowandt, CNS Gene Therapy, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Giuseppe Tomasello, Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Fredric P. Manfredsson, Department of Neurobiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA.Follow
Andreas Heuer, Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. andreas.heuer@med.lu.se.

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Adeno Associated Virus (AAV)-mediated gene expression in the brain is widely applied in the preclinical setting to investigate the therapeutic potential of specific molecular targets, characterize various cellular functions, and model central nervous system (CNS) diseases. In therapeutic applications in the clinical setting, gene therapy offers several advantages over traditional pharmacological based therapies, including the ability to directly manipulate disease mechanisms, selectively target disease-afflicted regions, and achieve long-term therapeutic protein expression in the absence of repeated administration of pharmacological agents. Next to the gold-standard iodixanol-based AAV vector production, we recently published a protocol for AAV production based on chloroform-precipitation, which allows for fast in-house production of small quantities of AAV vector without the need for specialized equipment. To validate our recent protocol, we present here a direct side-by-side comparison between vectors produced with either method in a series of in vitro and in vivo assays with a focus on transgene expression, cell loss, and neuroinflammatory responses in the brain. We do not find differences in transduction efficiency nor in any other parameter in our in vivo and in vitro panel of assessment. These results suggest that our novel protocol enables most standardly equipped laboratories to produce small batches of high quality and high titer AAV vectors for their experimental needs.

Medical Subject Headings

Cell Culture Techniques (methods); Chloroform (chemistry); Dependovirus (genetics, growth & development, isolation & purification); Gene Expression; Gene Transfer Techniques; Genetic Therapy (methods); Genetic Vectors; Transgenes; Triiodobenzoic Acids (chemistry)

Publication Date

12-9-2020

Publication Title

Scientific reports

E-ISSN

2045-2322

Volume

10

Issue

1

First Page

21532

PubMed ID

33299011

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1038/s41598-020-78521-w

Recommended Citation

Davidsson, Marcus; Negrini, Matilde; Hauser, Swantje; Svanbergsson, Alexander; Lockowandt, Marcus; Tomasello, Giuseppe; Manfredsson, Fredric P.; and Heuer, Andreas, "A comparison of AAV-vector production methods for gene therapy and preclinical assessment" (2020). Translational Neuroscience. 1402.
https://scholar.barrowneuro.org/neurobiology/1402