AAV1-CAG-iCre

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a non-pathogenic member of the Parvoviridae family, belonging to the genus Dependovirus, and requires a viral helper function such as adenovirus or herpesvirus for infection. Twelve different AAV serotypes and more than 100 genomic isolates have been reported. There has been a great deal of interest in its development as a gene delivery vector, and many studies have shown that each virus has unique cell transduction properties.

AAV packages a genome of approximately 4.7 kb in an icosahedral capsid (T = 1), assembled from 60 capsid VP monomers with a diameter of approximately 260 Å. The capsid consists of three VPs: VP1, VP2, and VP3. VP1 contains the entire VP2 sequence plus a unique N-terminal region of approximately 137 amino acids (VP1u), while the VP2 protein contains the entire VP3 sequence plus an N-terminal region of approximately 65 amino acids (VP1/2 common region). VP3 is the major capsid protein, accounting for approximately 50 of the 60 capsid monomers, while gel densitometry studies have determined that there are approximately 5 copies of each of VP1 and VP2 per capsid (thus a 1:1:10 ratio of VP1:VP2:VP3). The three-dimensional structures of several AAV serotypes, including AAV1, AAV2, AAV3b, AAV4, AAV5, AAV6, AAV7, AAV8, and AAV9, have been determined by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and image reconstruction and/or X-ray crystallography.