AAV is a small, non-enveloped DNA virus belonging to the family Parvoviridae, first isolated in 1965 as a contaminant in simian adenovirus (Ad) preparations. These viruses were found to be unable to efficiently infect cells without a co-infection with a helper virus (usually Ad or any type of herpes virus), so they were named "adeno-associated" viruses and classified in the genus Dependovirus. AAVs were long considered defective viruses due to their interdependencies, but subsequent studies of AAVs overturned this theory and showed that they prefer to initiate latent infections in host cells that can switch to productive infections under stress. Although AAVs have a high seroprevalence in humans (estimates range from 50% to 96% of the human population to be seropositive for the second serotype of AAV (AAV2), depending on age and ethnicity), they have not been associated with any disease in humans or any other species. Different AAVs have been detected not only in primate isolates, but also in bird, goat, cattle, and horse populations.
AAVs are easy to manipulate because their particles can remain biologically stable under extreme pH and temperature conditions. They share a single-stranded DNA genome of approximately 4.7 kb that is packaged in an icosahedral non-enveloped capsid of 20-25 nm in diameter. The AAV genome consists primarily of two viral genes: rep (replication) and cap (capsid), flanked by inverted terminal repeats (ITRs). Since the ITRs have a palindromic nucleotide sequence, they form a characteristic T-shaped hairpin structure that provides essential structural elements for viral genome replication and packaging. ITRs also play a regulatory role in viral gene expression and host genome integration. The open reading frame (ORF) of rep encodes several nonstructural proteins that are required for gene regulation, replication, transcription, and encapsidation, while the ORF of cap encodes three structural proteins: virion protein 1 (VP1), VP2, and VP3, which are present in a molar ratio of 1:1:10 in AAV particles. The different tissue tropisms of different AAV serotypes result from differences in processing of this cap ORF, leading to different immune and transduction profiles.
AAV-PHP.eB depends on endothelial cells to highly transduce the central nervous system (CNS) and is widely used for intravenous gene therapy. Here, researchers tested the transduction profile of AAV-PHP.eB and developed intravenous NeuroD1 gene therapy to treat ischemic stroke in mice. The study found that the AAV-PHP.eB-GFP control virus crossed the BBB and effectively infected brain cells in the normal brain. However, after stroke, AAV-PHP.eB-GFP control virus was highly restricted in the blood vessels. Surprisingly, after switching to the therapeutic vector AAV-PHP.eB-NeuroD1-GFP, the viral vector successfully crossed the blood vessels and infected brain cells. Using Tie2-cre transgenic mice, researchers demonstrated that NeuroD1 regulates endothelial gene expression to regulate AAV-PHP.eB transduction. NeuroD1 follows the changes in endothelial cell signaling pathways, effectively protects the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, reduces neuroinflammation, inhibits neuronal apoptosis, and rescues motor dysfunction after ischemic stroke. In addition, overexpression of NeuroD1 in brain cells further promotes neuroregeneration.
To develop non-invasive gene therapy for ischemic stroke, the researchers used two commonly used BBB-penetrating AAV vectors (AAV-PHP.eB and AAV9) to deliver the desired gene. The ubiquitous promoter EF-1α was used to drive the expression of the reporter gene GFP in adult C57/B6 mouse brain cells (AAV-PHP.eB-EF1α-GFP or AAV9-EF1α-GFP), the virus was injected intracranially into the striatum, and GFP expression was examined by immunostaining 7 days after virus injection (dpi). The results showed that most of the GFP-transduced cells were NeuN+ neurons in the striatum (Figure 1), indicating that in the normal adult mouse brain, the EF-1α promoter mainly drives the expression of GFP in neuronal cells when injected directly into the brain.
Figure 1. AAV-PHP.eB and AAV9 mainly target neurons in normal adult mice via intracranial injection. (He X, et al., 2023)
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Great product!
We have been using the AAV9-EF1α-GFP vector in our neuronal studies and the expression levels have been outstanding. The product arrived well-packaged with clear instructions, making the entire process smooth and efficient.
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