6. Adeno-Associated Virus Capsid Motif That Influences Tissue Specific Vector Transduction In Vivo

ABSTRACT The development of targeted vectors, capable of tissue-specific transduction, remains one of the important aspects of vector modification for gene therapy applications. Recombinant adeno-associated virus type 2 (rAAV-2)-based vectors are nonpathogenic, have relatively low immunogenicity, and are capable of long-term transgene expression. AAV-2 vectors bind primarily to heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG), a receptor that is present in many tissues and cell types. Because of the widespread expression of HSPG on many tissues, targeted transduction in vivo appears to be limited with AAV-2 vectors. Thus, development of strategies to achieve transductional targeting will have a profound benefit in the future application of these vectors. We report here a novel conjugate-based targeting method to enhance tissue-specific transduction of AAV-2-based vectors. The present report utilized a high-affinity biotin-avidin interaction as a molecular bridge to cross-link purified targeting ligands, produced genetically as fusion proteins to core-streptavidin, in a prokaryotic expression system. Conjugation of the bispecific targeting protein to the vector was achieved by biotinylating purified rAAV-2 without abolishing the capsid structure, internalization, and subsequent transgene expression. The tropism-modified vectors, targeted via epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or fibroblast growth factor 1α receptor (FGFR1α), resulted in a significant increase in transduction efficiency of EGFR-positive SKOV3.ip1 cells and FGFR1α-positive M07e cells, respectively. Further optimization of this method of targeting should enhance the potential of AAV-2 vectors in ex vivo and in vivo gene therapy and may form the basis for developing targeting methods for other AAV serotype capsids.

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Adeno-associated virus vector transduction of vascular smooth muscle cells in vivo

Physiological Genomics ◽

10.1152/physiolgenomics.2000.2.3.117 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 117-127 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

MATTHIAS RICHTER ◽

AKIKO IWATA ◽

JOHN NYHUIS ◽

YOSHIO NITTA ◽

A. DUSTY MILLER ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Smooth Muscle ◽

Vascular Smooth Muscle ◽

Smooth Muscle Cells ◽

Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells ◽

Muscle Cells ◽

Viral Titer ◽

Adeno Associated Virus ◽

Vector Transduction

Richter, Matthias, Akiko Iwata, John Nyhuis, Yoshio Nitta, A. Dusty Miller, Christine L. Halbert, and Margaret D. Allen. Adeno-associated virus vector transduction of vascular smooth muscle cells in vivo. Physiol Genomics 2: 117–127, 2000.—Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors might offer solutions for restenosis and angiogenesis by transducing nondividing cells and providing long-term gene expression. We investigated the feasibility of vascular cell transduction by AAV vectors in an in vivo rabbit carotid artery model. Time course of gene expression, inflammatory reaction to the vector, and effects of varying viral titer, exposure time, and intraluminal pressures on gene expression were examined. Recombinant AAV vectors with an Rous sarcoma virus promoter and alkaline phosphatase reporter gene were injected intraluminally into transiently isolated carotid segments. Following transduction, gene expression increased significantly over 14 days and then remained stable to 28 days, the last time point examined. Medial vascular smooth muscle cells were the main cell type transduced even with an intact endothelial layer. Increasing the viral titer and intraluminal pressure both enhanced transduction efficiency to achieve a mean of 34 ± 7% of the subintimal layer of smooth muscle cells expressing gene product. A mild inflammatory reaction, composed of T cells with only rare macrophages, with minimal intimal thickening was demonstrated in 40% of transduced vessels; inflammatory cells were not detected in sham-operated control arteries. These findings demonstrate that AAV is a promising vector for intravascular applications in coronary and peripheral vascular diseases.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Proteomic Landscape of Tissue-Specific Cyclin E Functions in Vivo.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.726948535.793525411 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Philipp Kaldis ◽

Nathan Palmer

Keyword(s):

Cyclin E ◽

Tissue Specific

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In Vivo Expression of Reprogramming Factor OCT4 Ameliorates Myelination Deficits and Induces Striatal Neuroprotection in Huntington’s Disease

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes12050712 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 712

Author(s):

Ji-Hea Yu ◽

Bae-Geun Nam ◽

Min-Gi Kim ◽

Soonil Pyo ◽

Jung-Hwa Seo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Huntington's Disease ◽

Huntington’S Disease ◽

Cell Fate ◽

Gabaergic Neurons ◽

Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells ◽

Adeno Associated Virus ◽

In Vivo Expression ◽

Transcription Factor 4 ◽

Phosphate Buffered Saline

White matter atrophy has been shown to precede the massive loss of striatal GABAergic neurons in Huntington’s disease (HD). This study investigated the effects of in vivo expression of reprogramming factor octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) on neural stem cell (NSC) niche activation in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and induction of cell fate specific to the microenvironment of HD. R6/2 mice randomly received adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9)-OCT4, AAV9-Null, or phosphate-buffered saline into both lateral ventricles at 4 weeks of age. The AAV9-OCT4 group displayed significantly improved behavioral performance compared to the control groups. Following AAV9-OCT4 treatment, the number of newly generated NSCs and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) significantly increased in the SVZ, and the expression of OPC-related genes and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) significantly increased. Further, amelioration of myelination deficits in the corpus callosum was observed through electron microscopy and magnetic resonance imaging, and striatal DARPP32+ GABAergic neurons significantly increased in the AAV9-OCT4 group. These results suggest that in situ expression of the reprogramming factor OCT4 in the SVZ induces OPC proliferation, thereby attenuating myelination deficits. Particularly, GDNF released by OPCs seems to induce striatal neuroprotection in HD, which explains the behavioral improvement in R6/2 mice overexpressing OCT4.

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Caenorhabditis elegans Junctophilin has tissue-specific functions and regulates neurotransmission with extended-synaptotagmin

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/iyab063 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher A Piggott ◽

Zilu Wu ◽

Stephen Nurrish ◽

Suhong Xu ◽

Joshua M Kaplan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Calcium Channels ◽

Calcium Channel ◽

Tissue Specific ◽

Voltage Gated ◽

Membrane Contact Sites ◽

Contact Sites ◽

Pharyngeal Muscles ◽

Membrane Contact ◽

Null Mutants

Abstract The junctophilin family of proteins tether together plasma membrane (PM) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes, and couple PM- and ER-localized calcium channels. Understanding in vivo functions of junctophilins is of great interest for dissecting the physiological roles of ER-PM contact sites. Here, we show that the sole C. elegans junctophilin JPH-1 localizes to discrete membrane contact sites in neurons and muscles and has important tissue-specific functions. jph-1 null mutants display slow growth and development due to weaker contraction of pharyngeal muscles, leading to reduced feeding. In the body wall muscle, JPH-1 co-localizes with the PM-localized EGL-19 voltage-gated calcium channel and ER-localized UNC-68/RyR calcium channel, and is required for animal movement. In neurons, JPH-1 co-localizes with the membrane contact site protein Extended-SYnaptoTagmin 2 (ESYT-2) in soma, and is present near presynaptic release sites. Interestingly, jph-1 and esyt-2 null mutants display mutual suppression in their response to aldicarb, suggesting that JPH-1 and ESYT-2 have antagonistic roles in neuromuscular synaptic transmission. Additionally, we find an unexpected cell non-autonomous effect of jph-1 in axon regrowth after injury. Genetic double mutant analysis suggests that jph-1 functions in overlapping pathways with two PM-localized voltage-gated calcium channels, egl-19 and unc-2, and unc-68/RyR for animal health and development. Finally, we show that jph-1 regulates the colocalization of EGL-19 and UNC-68 and that unc-68/RyR is required for JPH-1 localization to ER-PM puncta. Our data demonstrate important roles for junctophilin in cellular physiology, and also provide insights into how junctophilin functions together with other calcium channels in vivo.

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The Radiation-Induced Regenerative Response of Adult Tissue-Specific Stem Cells: Models and Signaling Pathways

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13040855 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 855

Author(s):

Paola Serrano Martinez ◽

Lorena Giuranno ◽

Marc Vooijs ◽

Robert P. Coppes

Keyword(s):

Signaling Pathways ◽

Progenitor Cells ◽

Tissue Regeneration ◽

Normal Tissue ◽

Cellular Response ◽

Adult Tissue ◽

Tissue Specific ◽

Radiation Induced

Radiotherapy is involved in the treatment of many cancers, but damage induced to the surrounding normal tissue is often inevitable. Evidence suggests that the maintenance of homeostasis and regeneration of the normal tissue is driven by specific adult tissue stem/progenitor cells. These tasks involve the input from several signaling pathways. Irradiation also targets these stem/progenitor cells, triggering a cellular response aimed at achieving tissue regeneration. Here we discuss the currently used in vitro and in vivo models and the involved specific tissue stem/progenitor cell signaling pathways to study the response to irradiation. The combination of the use of complex in vitro models that offer high in vivo resemblance and lineage tracing models, which address organ complexity constitute potential tools for the study of the stem/progenitor cellular response post-irradiation. The Notch, Wnt, Hippo, Hedgehog, and autophagy signaling pathways have been found as crucial for driving stem/progenitor radiation-induced tissue regeneration. We review how these signaling pathways drive the response of solid tissue-specific stem/progenitor cells to radiotherapy and the used models to address this.

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N6-methyladenosine demethylase FTO impairs hepatic ischemia–reperfusion injury via inhibiting Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fragmentation

Cell Death and Disease ◽

10.1038/s41419-021-03622-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Ying Dong Du ◽

Wen Yuan Guo ◽

Cong Hui Han ◽

Ying Wang ◽

Xiao Song Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reperfusion Injury ◽

Ischemia Reperfusion Injury ◽

Ischemia Reperfusion ◽

Mitochondrial Fragmentation ◽

Hepatic Ischemia ◽

Adeno Associated Virus ◽

Downstream Target ◽

Hepatic Ischemia Reperfusion

AbstractDespite N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is functionally important in various biological processes, its role and the underlying regulatory mechanism in the liver remain largely unexplored. In the present study, we showed that fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO, an m6A demethylase) was involved in mitochondrial function during hepatic ischemia–reperfusion injury (HIRI). We found that the expression of m6A demethylase FTO was decreased during HIRI. In contrast, the level of m6A methylated RNA was enhanced. Adeno-associated virus-mediated liver-specific overexpression of FTO (AAV8-TBG-FTO) ameliorated the HIRI, repressed the elevated level of m6A methylated RNA, and alleviated liver oxidative stress and mitochondrial fragmentation in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) was a downstream target of FTO in the progression of HIRI. FTO contributed to the hepatic protective effect via demethylating the mRNA of Drp1 and impairing the Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fragmentation. Collectively, our findings demonstrated the functional importance of FTO-dependent hepatic m6A methylation during HIRI and provided valuable insights into the therapeutic mechanisms of FTO.

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Mirtron-mediated RNA knockdown/replacement therapy for the treatment of dominant retinitis pigmentosa

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-25204-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Harry O. Orlans ◽

Michelle E. McClements ◽

Alun R. Barnard ◽

Cristina Martinez-Fernandez de la Camara ◽

Robert E. MacLaren

Keyword(s):

Retinitis Pigmentosa ◽

Autosomal Dominant ◽

Gene Mutations ◽

Adeno Associated Virus ◽

Treatment Development ◽

Common Cause ◽

Toxic Protein ◽

Rna Knockdown

AbstractRhodopsin (RHO) gene mutations are a common cause of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP). The need to suppress toxic protein expression together with mutational heterogeneity pose challenges for treatment development. Mirtrons are atypical RNA interference effectors that are spliced from transcripts as short introns. Here, we develop a novel mirtron-based knockdown/replacement gene therapy for the mutation-independent treatment of RHO-related ADRP, and demonstrate efficacy in a relevant mammalian model. Splicing and potency of rhodopsin-targeting candidate mirtrons are initially determined, and a mirtron-resistant codon-modified version of the rhodopsin coding sequence is validated in vitro. These elements are then combined within a single adeno-associated virus (AAV) and delivered subretinally in a RhoP23H knock-in mouse model of ADRP. This results in significant mouse-to-human rhodopsin RNA replacement and is associated with a slowing of retinal degeneration. This provides proof of principle that synthetic mirtrons delivered by AAV are capable of reducing disease severity in vivo.

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