一种包装AAV2/5的重组单纯疱疹病毒的构建

为了得到一种可以包装AAV2/5和表达绿色荧光蛋白的重组单纯疱疹病毒,设计并构建了一个由AAV2rep基因和AAV5cap基因嵌合而成的rep2cap5基因,然后,利用一套携带HSV1基因组的粘粒系统(cos6、cos28、cos14、cos56、cos48),将rep2cap5基因插入cos6粘粒上HSV1基因组片段的UL2基因中,而将EGFP的表达单位插入cos56粘粒上HSV1基因组片段的UL44基因中,用这2个重组粘粒与其它3个粘粒(cos14、cos28、cos48)共转染BHK-21细胞获得了重组病毒HSV1-r2c5-EGFP并进行了空斑纯化。HSV1-r2c5-EGFP病毒能够在BHK-21细胞连续传代,并且可以观察到几乎所有的感染细胞都能产生绿色荧光。用PCR方法以及Southern杂交方法表明所获得的HSV1-r2c5-EGFP中携带有rep2cap5基因,用HSV1-r2c5-EGFP感染携带报告基因LacZ的AAV载体细胞株,获得了具有感染性的重组AAV2/5-LacZ。结果表明,所获得的重组单纯疱疹病毒HSV1-r2c5-EGFP可提供AAV2/5载体包装所需的全部辅助功能,是一种能简便、高效制备重组AAV2/5病毒的通用性辅助病毒。     

肌注腺伴随病毒基因治疗血友病B的安全性研究

研究了肌注腺伴随病毒（adeno-associated virus,AAV）介导凝血Ⅸ因子基因治疗血友病B的安全性,道德采用PCR、反转录PCR（RT－PCR）分别检测rHSV/AAV包装系统产生的重组腺伴随病毒AAV－mFⅨ,和病毒感染细胞后所得上清再次感染的BHK细胞中的HSV（herpes simplex virus,HSV)和野生型AAV。同时观察HSV引起的细胞毒作用。结果表明：纯化后的AA－mFⅨ中HSV≤1个病毒基因组（viral genome,v.g.)/10^8个病毒基因组AAV－mFⅨ,且不具备感染活性;没有野生型AAV。其次,采用PCR、RT－PCR1免疫组化等方法检测了AAV－mFⅨ在体内的分布和表达时间;通过抗AAV的抗体检测和病理切片等方法观察了AAV－mFⅨ在体内引起的免疫反应和病理变化。结果表明：AAV－mFⅨ仅分布在注射点肌肉组织内,表达可持续200天以上;抗体水平低,各主要脏器均未发生明显的病理变化。AAV介导的凝血因子Ⅸ系统是安全的。     

J亚群禽白血病病毒NX0101株的TCID50与p27抗原之间的相关性研究

为了研究J亚群禽白血病病毒在细胞上接种后的半数细胞培养物感染量(TCID₅₀)与p27抗原的酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）的S/P值之间的相关性,并探讨其意义。本试验将J亚群禽白血病病毒NX0101株接种鸡胚成纤维细胞（CEF细胞）,换维持液后连续10d取样,检测10d的TCID₅₀值与p27抗原的S/P值之间的相关性。同时,将该毒株在DF-1细胞系上传代至20代,取其中的第1代、第5代、第10代、第15代和第20代分别进行TCID₅₀滴度的测定和p27抗原检测。结果表明:在CEF细胞上接种的NX0101株J亚群禽白血病病毒连续10d的TCID₅₀值与p27抗原之间存在显著的相关性（r=0.85277;P<0.0001）呈正相关;在DF-1细胞系上传的不同代数之间也呈显著正相关（r=0.93000;P=0.0220）。由此可以推测J亚群禽白血病病毒的TCID₅₀与p27抗原呈显著正相关,因而可以用ELISA法测得的p27抗原的S/P值对病毒的TCID₅₀值进行估测。     

比较不同血清型AAV携带HBV基因组建立乙肝小鼠模型效果

近年来,用8型腺相关病毒携带1.3拷贝HBV(Hepatitis B virus)基因组建立的HBV持续感染小鼠模型受到越来越多的关注。本研究比较了除AAV8之外的其他4种血清型重组腺相关病毒(Recombinant adeno-associated virus,rAAV)建立乙肝小鼠模型效果。首先,将携带1.3拷贝ayw亚型HBV基因组的1型、2型、5型、8型、9型腺相关病毒分别以1×10~(11) vg/只(Viral genome,vg)的剂量尾静脉注射C57BL/6J小鼠;利用ELISA方法监测小鼠血清中HBeAg和HBsAg表达水平;用定量PCR方法检测小鼠血清和肝脏中HBV DNA拷贝数;用免疫组化方法检测小鼠肝脏中HBc Ag的表达;用HE染色检测小鼠肝脏病理变化。结果显示,在持续8周中,5组小鼠血清中都检测到HBeAg和HBsAg的表达,血清和肝脏中均检测到HBV DNA的存在。HBeAg、HBsAg、HBV DNA表达水平高低依次为AAV8AAV9AAV1AAV5AAV2。5组小鼠用免疫组化方法都检测到肝脏中HBcAg表达,HE染色病理检测均观察到不同程度的肝损伤。本研究扩大了能用于建立乙肝小鼠持续感染模型可选择的AAV载体种类,发现虽然AAV1、2、5、9的建模效果不如AAV8,但它们都可以介导建立持续感染的乙肝小鼠模型,建模效果依次为AAV8AAV9AAV1AAV5AAV2。其中AAV9介导的建模效果与AAV8载体最为接近,可以替代AAV8载体用于有效地建立HBV持续感染的小鼠模型。     

一种高效的重组腺伴随病毒载体生产系统

重组腺伴随病毒(recombinant adeno-associated virus, rAAV)载体是目前较理想的基因治疗载体之一,但难以大规模制备一直是影响其广泛应用的主要因素.曾组建了一种表达2型腺伴随病毒(adeno-associated virus type 2,AAV-2) Rep和Cap的重组1型单纯疱疹病毒HSV1-rc/DUL2,现在此基础上,证实了该重组病毒支持rAAV的复制与包装,包装出的rAAV具有感染性;构建了携带新霉素抗性基因、适合多种外源基因插入的通用型rAAV载体质粒pSNAV-2及表达绿色荧光蛋白(green fluorescent protein, GFP)的rAAV载体质粒pSNAV-2-GFP,建立了稳定携带GFP基因表达盒的rAAV载体细胞株;确定了HSV1-rc/DUL2感染载体细胞株时的最佳感染复数(multiplicity of infection, MOI)为0.1;采用“一种病毒感染一个载体细胞株”的策略,用“感染”的方式代替传统的“转染”方式,使每个细胞产生的rAAV比传统方式提高了2个数量级以上,并实现了rAAV的规模化制备,为rAAV用于基因治疗的临床试验打下了基础.     

大鼠瘦素基因重组腺相关病毒的构建及在原代神经元细胞中的过表达

目的构建携带大鼠瘦素(leptin)基因的重组腺相关病毒(adeno-associated virus,AAV),并鉴定其在原代鼠神经元细胞中介导的瘦素过表达,为肥胖症基因治疗研究奠定实验基础。方法提取大鼠脂肪组织总RNA,利用RT-PCR技术,获取目的基因瘦素cDNA,通过重组DNA技术,得到瘦素cDNA与pGEM-T载体的重组质粒,阳性重组子用PCR及测序分析鉴定。用Spe I和EcoR V双酶切将pGEM-Leptin中的瘦素基因片段切出,再克隆到AAV2表达质粒pTR-UF22中,构建瘦素重组AAV2载体pAAV2-CBA-leptin。以pDG作为辅助质粒用HEK293细胞包装AAV2-CBA-Leptin,并用一步重力流柱法纯化病毒,由荧光定量PCR测定病毒基因组DNA的拷贝数即为病毒滴度。然后将AAV2-CBA-Leptin及对照病毒AAV2-CBA-EGFP感染大鼠原代神经元细胞,分别用免疫染色和Western blotting鉴定外源基因在神经元的表达。结果测序证实瘦素基因与GenBank提供的原始序列完全一致。重组载体经酶切鉴定与预期结果完全一致,HEK293细胞包装病毒效果良好,得到滴度为1.5×1012vg/mL纯化的重组瘦素病毒AAV2-CBA-Leptin。Western blotting检测显示AAV2-CBA-Leptin能介导瘦素在大鼠神经元细胞中过表达,并随着病毒量的增加而增强。AAV2-CBA-EGFP感染鼠神经元细胞5d后95%左右的细胞有明显的绿色荧光,免疫染色和DAPI核酸染色显示荧光细胞均为神经元而神经胶质细胞无荧光。结论成功构建并包装了瘦素重组AAV2病毒并可介导瘦素在神经元细胞中高效、特异表达,从而为研究瘦素在中枢神经系统控制体重和糖尿病等方面的功能及基因治疗研究打下基础。     

甲型肝炎病毒H2快速复制株在人二倍体细胞中的增殖研究

研究甲型肝炎病毒H₂快速复制株在人二倍体细胞中的生长特性,并缩短甲肝病毒的培养周期。将甲型肝炎病毒H₂株感染人二倍体细胞（KMB17细胞株）,采用高病毒感染复数（MOI）将病毒培养时间从26d缩短至10d后收获病毒,并通过连续传代进行适应研究,建立H₂株快速复制毒种库,在不同培养时间检测病毒抗原、感染性滴度,绘制病毒生长曲线,进行传代稳定性验证和病毒形态学的观察。甲肝H₂株快速复制病毒株在KMB17细胞上培养10d后收获,连续传代从第5代至第9代,抗原含量均在512～2 048之间,感染性滴度均在8.33 lgCCID₅₀/mL±0.125lgCCID₅₀/mL,H₂株快速繁殖至5代病毒和9代病毒在电镜下观察到多为成熟的实心颗粒。在5批次的重复试验中,病毒培养至10d、16d、22d时,收获的病毒感染性滴度无显著差异（P>0.005）。筛选后的甲型肝炎病毒H₂株的快速复制株缩短了甲肝病毒的培养时间,且保持较...     

发热伴血小板减少综合征病毒在不同环境条件下的稳定性研究

为评估发热伴血小板减少综合征病毒(Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus, SFTSV)在环境中的稳定性，本研究比较分析了实验室制备的SFTSV在不同介质表面的稳定性以及温度、自然通风干燥和常用酒精消毒剂等因素对其生存能力的影响。不同时间点收获的病毒样本，通过接种于Vero细胞中传代培养、空斑试验和实时荧光定量RT-PCR等方法测定病毒的感染性、滴度和复制培养过程中的动态变化。结果显示，在室温(约25℃)自然通风干燥条件下，不同介质表面的SFTSV感染性快速下降，在硬币、塑料等介质表面的病毒感染性可维持24 h，但病毒感染性滴度24 h内显著下降分别约10^4.46倍和10^4.6倍，在无纺布和纸张表面的病毒感染性滴度在6 h内就下降分别约10^3.82倍和10^4.12倍。如果将SFTSV置于密闭湿润环境中，病毒感染性可维持长时间的稳定性，24 h病毒感染性滴度下降不明显，1周内下降约10^1.49倍，在3周时仍可通过细胞培养...     

天山雪莲SiSAD基因与拟南芥AtFAB2基因转化 烟草的抗寒性分析

通过转基因烟草(Nicotiana tabacum)验证天山雪莲(Saussurea involucrata) Δ9硬脂酰-ACP脱饱和酶基因SiSAD与拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)中同源基因AtFAB2的抗寒性功能。利用农杆菌介导法将植物表达载体P_SiSAD:AtFAB2和P_SiSAD:SiSAD导入烟草, 然后将2种转基因和野生型烟草分别置于20°C、10°C、5°C、0°C及-2°C下处理2小时, 检测其相对电导率、丙二醛(MDA)含量、叶绿素荧光参数(F_v/F_m)及脂肪酸含量。将-2°C处理2小时后的植株置于25°C培养1周进行生长恢复实验。结果表明, 生长恢复实验中转SiSAD基因烟草的恢复效果显著优于转AtFAB2基因和野生型烟草。在0°C和-2°C处理2小时后, 转SiSAD、AtFAB2基因型和野生型烟草的相对电导率和丙二醛含量呈现显著递增趋势; 转SiSAD、AtFAB2基因型烟草的F_v/F_m显著高于野生型烟草, 其中, 转SiSAD基因烟草的F_v/F_m显著高于转AtFAB2基因烟草。转AtFAB2基因型和野生型烟草的油酸(C18:1)含量随着温度的降低逐渐升高后降低并在0°C时达到最高值; 而转SiSAD基因型烟草C18:1含量持续升高, 并在-2°C时达到最高值, 其含量分别是转AtFAB2基因型和野生型烟草的1.58倍和1.7倍。以上结果表明, 天山雪莲Δ9硬脂酰-ACP脱饱和酶基因SiSAD与拟南芥中同源基因AtFAB2均可以显著增强非低温驯化烟草的抗寒性, 但是SiSAD基因效果显著优于AtFAB2。     

利用多基因缺失型杆状病毒在昆虫细胞中生产腺相关病毒

腺相关病毒(adeno-associated virus, AAV)是基因治疗领域最常使用的病毒载体之一,产量低、成本高是该产业面临的关键瓶颈问题。本研究旨在基于多基因缺失型杆状病毒,建立双病毒感染昆虫细胞以生产AAV的技术体系。首先,进行AAV生产用多基因缺失型重组杆状病毒的构建和扩增,并检测杆状病毒滴度及其感染细胞的效果;然后,使用双杆状病毒共感染昆虫细胞,并优化感染条件;最后,基于优化条件进行AAV生产,并检测评估产量、质量等相关指标。结果表明,AAV生产用多基因缺失型杆状病毒滴度较野生型无差异,感染后细胞存活率下降明显减缓。使用双病毒路线进行AAV优化生产,Bac4.0-1的基因组滴度为1.63×10¹¹ VG/mL,Bac5.0-2的基因组滴度为1.02×10¹¹ VG/mL,较野生型产量分别提升了240%和110%。电镜下,3组均具有正常的AAV病毒形态,且转导活性相近。本研究建立了基于多基因缺失型杆状病毒感染昆虫细胞的AAV生产体系,显著提高了AAV产量,具有一定的应用价值。     

siRNA干扰对鲤疱疹病毒Ⅱ型ORF57基因表达的影响

研究通过在异育银鲫脊髓细胞系(Spinal cord tissue cell lines of Carassius auratus gibelio, CSC)中对鲤疱疹病毒Ⅱ型(Cyprinid herpesvirus 2, CyHV-2) ORF57进行RNA干扰, 以探究其对CyHV-2病毒复制的影响。首先, 以FAM标记的异育银鲫β-actin的siRNA进行CSC细胞转染条件的优化, 再将针对CyHV-2 ORF57基因设计的3条siRNA, 转染CSC细胞, 并进行病毒感染, 评估siRNA对病毒复制和致细胞病变的影响。转染条件优化结果显示, 在siRNA浓度为80 nmol/L, 转染液维持24h后更换维持液, β-actin基因表达量最低且观察到的荧光点数量最多。而ORF57-siRNAs干扰结果显示, ORF57-siRNA-2组表现出了较强的抑制效果, 在接毒48h时, ORF57-siRNA-2处理组的ORF57基因表达量降到相对于Mock组的33.55% (P<0.01), 并且各ORF57-siRNA组都表现出了延缓CyHV-2致细胞病变的时间和强度, 抑制时间可达120h。TCID₅₀结果显示, 不同组的ORF57-siRNAs均能降低病毒滴度, 其中ORF57-siRNA-2将病毒原液TCID₅₀ 108.487/mL下降至106.776/mL。研究结果表明, 干扰ORF57的表达可大大降低CyHV-2的致细胞病变力和复制率, ORF57在CyHV-2复制与致细胞病变中起重要作用。本研究为CyHV-2基于siRNA技术的抗病毒治疗和弱毒株的改造提供了借鉴。     

Bioreactor production of recombinant herpes simplex virus vectors

Serotypical application of herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors to gene therapy (type 1) and prophylactic vaccines (types 1 and 2) has garnered substantial clinical interest recently. HSV vectors and amplicons have also been employed as helper virus constructs for manufacture of the dependovirus adeno-associated virus (AAV). Large quantities of infectious HSV stocks are requisite for these therapeutic applications, requiring a scalable vector manufacturing and processing platform comprised of unit operations which accommodate the fragility of HSV. In this study, production of a replication deficient rHSV-1 vector bearing the rep and cap genes of AAV-2 (denoted rHSV-rep2/cap2) was investigated. Adaptation of rHSV production from T225 flasks to a packed bed, fed-batch bioreactor permitted an 1100-fold increment in total vector production without a decrease in specific vector yield (pfu/cell). The fed-batch bioreactor system afforded a rHSV-rep2/cap2 vector recovery of 2.8 x 10(12) pfu. The recovered vector was concentrated by tangential flow filtration (TFF), permitting vector stocks to be formulated at greater than 1.5 x 10(9) pfu/mL.     

AAV载体介导的蓬佩病模型小鼠体内基因治疗研究*

Objective: Pompe disease is a lysosomal glycogen storage disease caused by acid α-glucosidase (GAA) deficiency, which is characterized by glycogen accumulation in the heart, skeletal muscle, and central nervous system (CNS). AAV vector-mediated gene therapy is expected to be a breakthrough in the treatment of Pompe disease. In this study, AAV9 vector was used to mediate GAA gene transfer in Pompe disease model mice, and the changes of GAA protease activity, glycogen accumulation in tissues and pathological changes in mice after transgenic intervention were evaluated. Methods: Codon optimized GAA gene (coGAA) was carried by AAV9 vector, and the AAV vector was packaged by baculovirus production process. Adult Pompe model mice were given a single intravenous injection at the dose of 1.1×10¹³, 3.0×10¹³, 1.2×10¹⁴ vg/kg, and aged Pompe model mice were given a single intravenous injection at the dose of 3.0×10¹³ vg/kg. After reaching the end point of the experiment, the mice were euthanized, GAA protease activity was determined by fluorescence spectrophotometry, glycogen accumulation was observed by PAS staining, and pathological changes were detected by HE staining. Results: Five weeks after administration, GAA protein was widely expressed in all tissues of adult model mice, with higher expression levels in heart and liver, and lower expression levels in brain and spinal cord. After rAAV9-coGAA treatment, glycogen content in myocardium, skeletal muscle and brain decreased, and vacuolar degeneration in myocardium and skeletal muscle decreased significantly. After treatment, the tissue enzyme activity of the aged animals was significantly increased compared with that of the model mice. The vacuolar degeneration and inflammatory cell infiltration of the myocardium were decreased, but the pathological improvement of skeletal muscle was limited. Conclusion: A single intravenous injection of rAAV9-coGAA can enhance GAA enzyme activity, reduce glycogen accumulation and improve pathology in Pompe model mice. The therapeutic effect was dose-dependent, and the injection also had certain therapeutic effect on aged animals. This study laid a theoretical foundation for the clinical application of AAV9 mediated gene therapy via intravenous route in Pompe disease.     

盐增强培养对弗氏链霉菌产新霉素的影响

目的: 弗氏链霉菌(Streptomyces fradiae)作为氨基糖苷类抗生素新霉素的主要生产菌株,其新霉素B具有抗菌活性强、抗癌、抗HIV等作用,提高新霉素B的效价具有重要意义。方法: 在满足微生物正常生长所需盐离子的条件下,通过盐增强培养的方式向培养基中添加不同种类、浓度无机盐来改变细胞壁附近的理化特性、渗透压以及培养基中的碳氮比。结果: 不同无机盐对新霉素B效价影响程度由高到低为(NH₄)₂SO₄、NaCl、KCl、K₂SO₄;当添加60 mmol/L(NH₄)₂SO₄时新霉素B的效价达到最高为15 864 U/mL,而NaCl在80 mmol/L浓度时产量最高为7 429.7 U/mL,相比未添加无机盐分别提高3.8倍和0.82倍。在含有80 mmol/L的NaCl的发酵培养基中添加不同浓度的(NH₄)₂SO₄并定时取样检测其中氨基氮、还原糖、pH、TG、菌浓以及新霉素B效价的变化,发现60 mmol/L(NH₄)₂SO₄浓度下氨基氮、还原糖、TG的消耗速率加快,菌体比生长速率μ最大为0.097/h,新霉素B的合成加快且产量提高为17 399 U/mL,同时菌丝呈现出聚集变短的形态且产孢提前。结论: 盐增强培养方式既可以作为一种形态学工程手段,通过改变弗氏链霉菌的微观形态来促进次级代谢产物新霉素B产量的提高,同时也可以作为培养基优化策略来提高新霉素B的产量,这为进一步提高弗氏链霉菌中次级代谢产物产量的研究奠定了基础。     

Modification at the C9 position of the marine natural product isoaaptamine and the impact on HIV-1, mycobacterial, and tumor cell activity

As part of an investigation to generate optimized drug leads from marine natural pharmacophores for the treatment of neoplastic and infectious diseases, a series of novel isoaaptamine analogs were prepared by coupling acyl halides to the C9 position of isoaaptamine (2) isolated from the Aaptos sponge. This library of new semisynthetic products was evaluated for biological activity against HIV-1, Mtb, AIDS-OI, tropical parasitic diseases, and cancer. Compound 4 showed potent activity against HIV-1 (EC₅₀ 0.47 μg/mL), compound 19 proved to possess remarkable activity against Mycobacterium intracellulare with an IC₅₀ and MIC value of 0.15 and 0.31 μg/mL, while compounds 4 and 17 possessed anti-leishmanial activity with IC₅₀ values of 0.1 and 0.4 μg/mL, respectively. Compounds 16 and 17 showed antimalarial activity with EC₅₀ values of 230 and 240 ng/mL, respectively, and compound 14 exhibited an EC₅₀ of 0.05 μM against the Leukemia cell line K-562.     

Effect of a nuclepolyhedrovirus of Autographa californica expressing the enhancin gene of Trichoplusia ni granulovirus on T. ni larvae

A recombinant Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) strain showing higher virulence against Trichoplusia ni larvae than the wild-type virus was developed. The 'enhancin' (VEF) gene of T. ni granulovirus (TnGV) and the AcMNPV polyhedrin gene were cloned into the baculovirus transfer vector pAcUW31. This plasmid and AcMNPV BacPAK6 DNA were co-transfected into the BTI-Tn5B1-4 cell line. A recombinant AcMNPV strain (BacVEFPol) was purified, amplified, and bioassayed against T. ni first instar larvae. Its estimated LC₅₀ (0.184 OB/mm²) was 2.18 times lower than the LC₅₀ estimated for the wild-type AcMNPV (0.402 OB/mm²). Likewise, an LT₅₀ of 67.7 h was estimated for the recombinant AcMNPV strain while the LT₅₀ of wild-type AcMNPV was estimated at 81.9 h. This indicates a 17.4% reduction of the time required to kill the larvae. The higher virulence of the recombinant strain, evidenced by its LC₅₀ and LT₅₀ values being lower than those of the wild-type strain, indicates that the VEF protein is expressed properly and may be occluded in the OBs.     

Improving AAV vector yield in insect cells by modulating the temperature after infection

Vectors based on adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are sought for therapeutic gene delivery because of their ability to transduce a variety of tissues with no significant immunological response. Production using the baculovirus expression vector (BEV)/insect cell system has the potential to meet the needs for pre-clinical and clinical trials. In this co-infection system, three baculoviruses are used to produce the AAV vector. A strategy aimed at increasing encapsidation/maturation of the viral vector involved varying the temperature over the course of the process. Cultures were subjected to temperature changes at various times pre- and post-infection (up to 24 h post-infection). It was found that raising the culture temperature to 30 degrees C at the time of infection nearly tripled the infectious titer. In fact, increasing the temperature to 30 degrees C at any time in the process investigated resulted in an increase in titer. Also, raising the culture to 33 degrees C or lowering the temperature to 24 degrees or 21 degrees C resulted in lower titers. The rise in infectious titer was also confirmed by an increase in DNase resistant particles (DRPs). Varying the temperature, however, did not affect the total amount of capsids significantly. Therefore increasing the culture temperature resulted in better encapsidation as determined by the ratio of capsids to DRPs to infectious particles. It is believed that an increase in early proteins and possibly a quicker cascade of baculovirus infection events resulted in this increased packaging efficiency.     

Real-time polymerase chain reaction as a rapid and efficient alternative to estimation of picornavirus titers by tissue culture infectious dose 50% or plaque forming units

Quantification of viral infectious units is traditionally measured by methods based on forming plaques in semisolid media (PFU) or endpoint dilution of a virus-containing solution (TCID₅₀), methods that are laborious, time-consuming and take on average 3–7 days to carry out. Quantitative real-time PCR is an established method to quantify nucleic acids at high accuracy and reproducibility, routinely used for virus detection and identification. In the present study, a procedure was developed using a two-step real-time PCR and the SYBR Green detection method to study whether there are correlations between TCID₅₀/ml, PFU/ml and Ct values generated by real-time PCR enabling rapid and efficient calculation of titer equivalents when working with viruses in the research laboratory. In addition, an external standard with known concentrations was included using in vitro transcribed viral RNA, thus allowing the calculation of the amount of RNA copies needed for various applications (i.e. per plaque or TCID₅₀).The results show that there is a correlation between the three quantification methods covering a wide range of concentration of viruses. Furthermore, a general regression line between TCID₅₀ and Ct values was obtained for all viruses included in the study, which enabled recording titer equivalents using real-time PCR. Finally, by including an external standard, the amount of RNA genomes generating one TCID₅₀ or PFU for each enterovirus serotype included was determined.     

Development and characterization of a cell line for large-scale, serum-free production of recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors

BACKGROUND: One of the major limitations to the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for gene therapy has been the difficulty in producing enough vector to supply a clinical trial. More than 20 000 roller bottles may be required to generate AAV by the traditional transient transfection process to treat 50 patients. A scalable AAV producer cell line grown in serum-free media will meet the needs for the manufacture of AAV gene therapeutics. METHODS: A packaging cell line was generated by introducing the AAV rep and cap genes into A549 cells. From this packaging cell line, a number of producer cell lines were generated by infecting the packaging cell with the appropriate AAV vector. Producer cell lines were then adapted to serum-free suspension conditions for growth in bioreactors. RESULTS: We report here the development of six AAV producer cell lines that generate > 10(4) particles/cell. The rAAV vector preparations from these cell lines have physical and functional characteristics similar to rAAV vectors prepared by transient transfection. To enable large-scale production, producer cell lines were adapted to serum-free suspension and we demonstrate production of AAV at the 15 L scale. In addition, vector preparations from these cell lines were shown to be free of wild-type AAV. CONCLUSIONS: AAV producer cell lines can be readily scaled to meet the needs of clinical trials. One 500 L bioreactor of these producer cells can produce the equivalent of 2500 high capacity roller bottles or 25 000 T-175 tissue culture flasks.