GFP Adeno-Associated Virus ( AAV-PRSTSDP )

The most common approach to receptor-directed targeting of AAV is to insert genes into the cap gene of AAV2, which display small peptide ligands. Suitable peptides that bind to cellular receptors can be identified by screening combinatorial peptide libraries displayed on phage, which can subsequently be introduced into the viral capsid. Alternatively, AAV peptide libraries displaying random peptides within the viral capsid can be used for this purpose. Screening of random AAV peptide libraries has several advantages over inserting phage display-selected ligands, as the selection of appropriate peptides takes into account the structural constraints of the viral capsid, so that only capsid variants that are compatible with viral attachment and post-entry processing into target cells will be displayed. Such AAV peptide libraries have been used to target a variety of cell types in vitro. Recently, this challenging approach has been translated to in vivo applications, generating capsid variants with improved tropism for mouse lung, heart, or mammary tissue. AAV-PRSTSDP utilizes a capsid derived from adeno-associated virus (AAV2) serotype 2, a well-characterized vector in gene therapy due to its relatively low immunogenicity and high transduction efficiency in a variety of cell types. A key feature of this engineered virus is the insertion of the peptide sequence PRSTSDP at amino acid position I588 of the capsid protein. The primary target of GFP AAV-PRSTSDP is lung tissue, with the potential to further target endothelial cells in the lung environment. This specificity is highly beneficial for research and therapeutic applications focused on the respiratory system, including lung diseases, lung gene therapy, and studies of endothelial cell biology.