Lentiviral and MLV based retroviral vectors for ex vivo and in vivo gene transfer

Retroviral vectors have become an important tool for gene transfer in vitro and in vivo. Classical Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) based retroviral vectors have been used for over 20 years to transfer genes into dividing cells. Cell lines for production of retroviral vectors have become commonly available and modifications in retroviral vector design and use of envelope proteins have made the production of high titer, helper-free, infectious virus stocks relatively easy. More recently, lentiviral vectors, another class of retroviruses, have been modified for in vitro and in vivo gene transfer. The ability of lentiviral vectors to transduce non-dividing cells has made them especially attractive for in vivo gene transfer into differentiated, non-dividing tissues. Several improvements in helper plasmids and vectors have made lentivirus a safe vector system for ex vivo and in vivo gene transfer. This review will briefly summarize the background of these vector systems and provide some common protocols available for the preparation of MLV based retroviral vectors and HIV-1 based lentiviral vectors.     

靶向ADAM17基因RNA干扰慢病毒载体的构建及慢病毒包装

目的构建靶向ADAM17基因RNA干扰（RNAi）慢病毒载体及包装慢病毒。方法根据人ADAM17mRNA序列设计4个靶序列,合成4对寡核苷酸序列,同时合成1对阴性对照寡核苷酸序列;将以上5对寡核苷酸序列退火后连入pLVTHM质粒,经酶切和测序鉴定。将重组慢病毒质粒转染至A549细胞,以Real-time PCR检测A549细胞中ADAM17 mRNA表达。将干扰效果最佳的质粒载体和包装质粒共转染至293T细胞,包装产生病毒颗粒。以流式细胞术检测重组慢病毒的滴度。结果酶切和测序证实干扰靶序列已被准确克隆到pLVTHM质粒载体。pLVTHM-ADAM17-siRNA1-4均可显著抑制A549细胞ADAM17 mRNA的表达,其中pLVTHM-ADAM17-siRNA4的抑制效果最佳。LV-ADAM17-siRNA4重组慢病毒的滴度为2.16×108TU/ml。结论成功构建了靶向人ADAM17基因RNAi慢病毒载体及包装了重组慢病毒。     

A new versatile and compact lentiviral vector

During the past decade, lentiviral vectors based on the HIV-1 genome have been developed to become highly useful tools for efficient and stable delivery of transgenes to dividing and nondividing cells in a variety of experimental protocols. The vector system has been progressively and substantially improved, mainly to meet growing concerns over safety issues. However, the actual design and size of the lentiviral transfer vector often makes transgene cloning and DNA preparation a troublesome task. In this study, the pHR transfer vector used for lentivirus production in many laboratories was modified to contain a more versatile polylinker than the one present in the original pHR vector. In addition, the vector was significantly reduced in size from 12 to 7 kb, by replacing the original vector backbone with sequence from the multipurpose pUC18 vector. These modifications allowed for easier cloning and higher DNA yields without compromising the fundamental ability of this vector system to transduce cells in vitro and in vivo. Finally, the trimmed vector sequence was fully characterized by sequencing the vector in its entirety. In both cultured cells and directly into the rat striatum, transduction with this lentivirus, based on the modified pHsCXW vector, was as efficient and durable as with the pHR vector-based virus. In conclusion, the modified lentiviral transfer vector pHsCXW holds promise as a new valuable tool for the research community in the field of gene transfer.     

Fifty-one kilobase HSV-1 plasmid vector can be packaged using a helper virus-free system and supports expression in the rat brain

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) plasmid vectors have a number of attractive features for gene transfer into neurons. In particular, the large size of the HSV-1 genome suggests that HSV-1 vectors might be designed to accommodate large inserts. We now report the construction and characterization of a 51 kb HSV-1 plasmid vector. This vector was efficiently packaged into HSV-1 particles using a helper virus-free packaging system. The structure of the packaged vector DNA was verified by both Southern blot and PCR analyses. A vector stock was microinjected into the rat striatum, the rats were sacrificed at 4 days after gene transfer, and numerous X-gal positive striatal cells were observed. This 51 kb vector was constructed using general principles that may support the routine construction of large vectors. Potential applications of such HSV-1 vectors include characterizing large promoter fragments or genomic clones and co-expressing multiple genes.     

慢病毒介导的HTRA1 基因稳定过表达人脑血管平滑肌细胞株的建立

目的:构建并包装针对HTRA1基因以及其1091TC突变基因(HTRA1-Mut)的过表达慢病毒载体,以及建立稳定表达HTRA1及HTRA1-Mut基因的人脑血管平滑肌细胞(HBVSMC)株。方法:采用RT-PCR方法扩增HTRA1及HTRA1-Mut基因片段并将其连接于GV287载体质粒,采用慢病毒包装三质粒系统(GV287/p Helper 1.0/p Helper 2.0)转染293T细胞,收集富含慢病毒颗粒的细胞上清液并标定病毒滴度,慢病毒感染经培养和鉴定的HBVSMC细胞株。结果:成功构建含HTRA1及HTRA1-Mut基因的慢病毒重组载体,PCR鉴定阳性的克隆进行测序和BLAST比对分析显示与源基因序列一致,并能够有效的感染并在293T细胞中表达。表达载体包装后测定病毒滴度为:2E+8 TU/mL。过表达慢病毒感染后HBVSMC有荧光表达,并且荧光率达80%以上,细胞生长良好传后细胞几乎无死亡现象。结论:成功构建了过表达HTRA1及HTRA1-Mut基因的慢病毒表达载体,得到了较高滴度的病毒悬液,建成了稳定表达HTRA1及HTRA1-Mut基因的HBVSMC细胞株,为进一步探讨HTRA1基因及突变后细胞的功能变化提供了良好的研究工具。     

Balanced-size and long-size cloning of full-length, cap-trapped cDNAs into vectors of the novel lambda-FLC family allows enhanced gene discovery rate and functional analysis.

We have developed a new class of cloning vectors: lambda-full-length cDNA (lambda-FLC) cloning vectors. These vectors can be bulk-excised for preparing full-length cDNA libraries in which a high proportion of the plasmids carry large inserts that can be transferred into other (for example, functional) vectors. Unlike other cloning vectors, lambda-FLC vectors accommodate a broad range of sizes of eukaryotic cDNA inserts because they contain "size balancers." Further, the main protocol we use for direct bulk excision of plasmids is mediated by a Cre-lox system and is apparently free of size bias. The average size of the inserts from excised plasmid cDNA libraries was 2.9 kb for standard and 6.9 kb for size-selected cDNA. The average insert size of the full-length cDNA libraries was correlated to the rate of new gene discovery, suggesting that effectively cloning rarely expressed mRNAs requires vectors that can accommodate large inserts from a variety of sources. Part of the vectors are also suitable for bulk transfer of inserts into various functional vectors.     

Production of lentiviral vectors by transient expression of minimal packaging genes from recombinant adenoviruses

BACKGROUND: The potential of lentiviral vectors for clinical gene therapy has not yet been evaluated. One of the reasons is the cytotoxicity of lentiviral packaging genes which makes the generation of stable producer cell lines difficult. Therefore, a novel packaging system for lentiviral vectors based on transient expression of packaging genes by recombinant adenoviruses was developed. METHODS: Adenoviral vectors expressing VSV-G, codon-optimized HIV-1 gag-pol, and codon-optimized SIV gag-pol under the control of a tetracycline-regulatable promoter (adenoviral lenti-pack vectors) were constructed and the production levels of this vector system were evaluated. RESULTS: The generated adenoviral lenti-pack vectors could be grown to high titers when transgene expression was suppressed and no evidence for instabilities was obtained. Cells stably transfected with a SIV-based vector construct were converted into lentiviral vector producer cells by infection with the adenoviral lenti-pack vectors. Lentiviral vector titers obtained were as high as vector titers obtained by transient cotransfection experiments. A protocol was developed that allowed preparation of lentiviral vector stocks with undetectable levels of contaminating adenoviral lenti-pack vectors. CONCLUSIONS: The adenoviral lenti-pack vectors described should provide a convenient alternative approach to inducible packaging cell lines for large-scale lentiviral vector production. Transient expression of cytotoxic lentiviral packaging genes by the adenoviral lenti-pack vectors circumvents loss of titers during prolonged culture of packaging cell lines. The design of the adenoviral lenti-pack vectors should reduce the risk of transfer of packaging genes to target cells and at the same time provide flexibility with respect to the lentiviral vector constructs that can be packaged.     

表达增强型绿色荧光蛋白标记的hBax 和hHGF 双基因的慢病毒 载体构建

目的:构建绿色荧光蛋白标记的hBax和hHGF双基因共表达的重组慢病毒并鉴定。方法:通过重叠PCR技术构建attB1-K-hBAX/T2A/eGFP/P2A/hHGF-attB2基因片段,利用gateway technology构建慢病毒载体质粒pLV.EX2d.null-EF1A>hBAX/T2A/eGFP/P2A/hHGF和阴性对照质粒pLV.EX2d.null-EF1A>eGFP并测序,上述两种质粒分别与辅助质粒共转染293FT细胞包装病毒,荧光显微镜检测病毒滴度。结果:经鉴定慢病毒载体质粒构建正确,荧光显微镜检测hBax和hHGF共表达慢病毒滴度为7.8×107TU/mL,仅表达绿色荧光蛋白的阴性病毒滴度为9×107TU/mL。结论:表达增强型绿色荧光蛋白标记的hBax和hHGF双基因的慢病毒构建成功并获得高滴度的病毒感染液。     

Generation of a Genome Scale Lentiviral Vector Library for EF1α Promoter-Driven Expression of Human ORFs and Identification of Human Genes Affecting Viral Titer

The bottleneck in elucidating gene function through high-throughput gain-of-function genome screening is the limited availability of comprehensive libraries for gene overexpression. Lentiviral vectors are the most versatile and widely used vehicles for gene expression in mammalian cells. Lentiviral supernatant libraries for genome screening are commonly generated in the HEK293T cell line, yet very little is known about the effect of introduced sequences on the produced viral titer, which we have shown to be gene dependent. We have generated an arrayed lentiviral vector library for the expression of 17,030 human proteins by using the GATEWAY® cloning system to transfer ORFs from the Mammalian Gene Collection into an EF1alpha promoter-dependent lentiviral expression vector. This promoter was chosen instead of the more potent and widely used CMV promoter, because it is less prone to silencing and provides more stable long term expression. The arrayed lentiviral clones were used to generate viral supernatant by packaging in the HEK293T cell line. The efficiency of transfection and virus production was estimated by measuring the fluorescence of IRES driven GFP, co-expressed with the ORFs. More than 90% of cloned ORFs produced sufficient virus for downstream screening applications. We identified genes which consistently produced very high or very low viral titer. Supernatants from select clones that were either high or low virus producers were tested on a range of cell lines. Some of the low virus producers, including two previously uncharacterized proteins were cytotoxic to HEK293T cells. The library we have constructed presents a powerful resource for high-throughput gain-of-function screening of the human genome and drug-target discovery. Identification of human genes that affect lentivirus production may lead to improved technology for gene expression using lentiviral vectors.     

Lentivirus vector purification using anion exchange HPLC leads to improved gene transfer

Recombinant lentiviral vectors stably transduce both dividing and nondividing cells. Virus pseudotyping with vesicular stomatitis virus envelope G (VSV-G) protein broadens the host range of lentiviral vector and enables vector concentration by ultra-centrifugation. However, as a result of virus vector concentration, contaminating protein debris derived from vector-producing cell culture media is toxic to target cells and reduces the transduction efficiency. Here we report a new and rapid technique for purifying lentivirus vector using the strong anion exchange column that significantly improves gene transfer rates. We purified VSV-G pseudotyped self-inactivating lentivirus vector and obtained two protein elution peaks (Peak 1 and Peak 2) corresponding to transducing activity. Peak 1 viral particles were 4-8 times more effective in transducing target cells than Peak 2 or non-purified (pre-HPLC) viral particles. We used purified lentivirus vector expressing the human Fanconi anemia group A (FANCA) gene to transduce murine hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. We observed a consistent 2- to 3-fold increase in gene transfer rates using Peak 1 purified virus compared with non-purified virus. We conclude that the purification method using the HPLC system provides the highly purified virus vector that reduces cell toxicity and significantly improves gene transfer in primary cells.     

Production of lentiviral vectors by large-scale transient transfection of suspension cultures and affinity chromatography purification

The use of lentiviral vectors as gene delivery vehicles has become increasingly popular in recent years. The growing interest in these vectors has created a strong demand for large volumes of vector stocks, which entails the need for scaleable vector manufacturing procedures. In this work, we present a simple and robust process for the production of lentiviral vectors using scaleable production and purification methodologies. Lentivirus particles were produced by transient transfection of serum-free suspension-growing 293 EBNA-1 cells with four plasmids encoding the vector components using linear polyethylenimine (PEI) as transfection reagent. This process was successfully scaled-up from shake flasks to a 3-L bioreactor from which 10(10) IVP were recovered. In addition, an affinity chromatography protocol designed for purification of bioactive oncoretroviral vectors has been adapted in this work for the purification of VSV-G pseudotyped lentiviral vectors. Using heparin affinity chromatography, lentiviral particles were concentrated and purified directly from the clarified supernatants. During this step, a recovery of 53% of infective lentiviral particles was achieved while removing 94% of the impurities contained in the supernatant.     

Conjugation of lentivirus to paramagnetic particles via nonviral proteins allows efficient concentration and infection of primary acute myeloid leukemia cells

Nonviral producer cell proteins incorporated into retroviral vector surfaces profoundly influence infectivity and in vivo half-life. We report the purification and concentration of lentiviral vectors using these surface proteins as an efficient gene transduction strategy. Biotinylation of these proteins and streptavidin paramagnetic particle concentration enhances titer 400- to 2,500-fold (to 10(9) CFU/ml for vesicular stomatitis virus G protein and 5 x 10(8) for amphotropic murine leukemia virus envelope). This method also uses newly introduced membrane proteins (B7.1 and DeltaLNGFR) directed to lentiviral surfaces, allowing up to 17,000-fold concentrations. Particle conjugation of lentivirus allows facile manipulation in vitro, resulting in the transduction of 48 to 94% of human acute myeloid leukemia blasts.     

Production of lentiviral vectors in suspension cells using low proportion of supercoiled circular plasmid DNA

The supercoiled circular (SC) topology form of plasmid DNA has been regarded to be advantageous over open circular or linearized analogue in transfection and expression efficiency, and therefore are largely demanded in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing. However, production of high-purity SC plasmid DNA would result in high manufacturing cost. The effect of SC proportion in plasmid DNA on the quality of packaged lentiviral vectors has never been reported. In this study, we established an efficient system for production of high-titer lentiviral vectors using suspension HEK293SF cells in serum-free media, and the lentiviral titer was not associated with the proportion of SC plasmid DNA. Plasmids DNA with different proportion of SC, open-circular, and linearized forms were prepared using the thermal denaturation method, and were transfected to adherent HEK293T or suspension HEK293SF cells for packaging of lentiviral vectors. The titer of lentiviral vectors from HEK293T cells, but not from HEK293SF cells, was significantly impaired when the proportion of SC plasmid DNA decreased from 60–80% to 30–40%. Further decrease of SC plasmid proportion to 3% led to a dramatic reduction of lentiviral titer no matter the packaging cell line was. However, lentiviral vectors from HEK293SF cells still showed a high titer even when the proportion of SC plasmid DNA was 3%. This study demonstrated that extremely high proportion of SC plasmid DNA was not required for packaging of high-titer lentiviral vector in HEK293SF cells, at least under our manufacturing process.     

Herpes simplex virus amplicon: effect of size on replication of constructed defective genomes containing eucaryotic DNA sequences.

Previous studies (R. R. Spaete and N. Frenkel, Cell 30:295-304, 1982) have documented the potential use of defective virus vectors (amplicons) derived from herpes simplex virus for the efficient introduction of foreign DNA sequences into eucaryotic cells. Specifically, cotransfection of cells with helper virus DNA and cloned amplicons (8 to 10 kilobases [kb]) containing bacterial plasmid DNA sequences linked to a set of herpes simplex virus cis-acting propagation signals (a replication origin and a cleavage-packaging signal) resulted in the generation of virus stocks containing packaged defective genomes that consisted of uniform head-to-tail reiterations of the chimeric seed amplicon sequences. The chimeric defective genomes could be stably propagated in virus stocks and could thus be used to efficiently infect cells. We now report on additional studies designed to propagate relatively large sets of eucaryotic DNA sequences within chimeric packaged defective genomes. These studies have utilized a 12-kb chicken DNA sequence encoding the chicken ovalbumin gene and cloned by Lai et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77:244-248, 1980) in the plasmid pOV12. Virus stocks derived from cells cotransfected with helper virus DNA and chimeric amplicons (overall size of 19.8 kb, of which 12 kb corresponded to the chicken DNA) contained defective genomes composed of reiterations of the 19.8-kb seed amplicon sequences. However, in addition to the authentically sized repeat units, defective genomes in the derivative virus stocks contained smaller repeat units representing deleted versions of the seed 19.8-kb amplicons. The recombinational events leading to the formation of deleted repeats did not appear to occur at unique sites, as shown by comparative analyses of multiple, independently generated virus series propagated from separate transfections. In contast, seed amplicons ranging in size from 11 to 15 kb and containing subsets of the 12-kb chicken DNA sequences replicated efficiently and could be stably propagated in virus stocks. The results of these studies suggest the existence of size restrictions (up to 15 kb) on the efficient replication of seed herpes simplex virus amplicons.     

一种新型慢病毒载体制备体系的初步建立

为了建立新型、高产量的慢病毒载体制备体系,将构建好的主框架质粒pVECRNA、包装质粒pGAGPOL及包膜质粒pVSVG通过脂质体共转染至BHK21细胞.再用含有T7RNA聚合酶基因的重组痘苗病毒vTF-3感染细胞,培养4天后,收集培养上清.提取培养上清的RNA,进行RT-PCR反应,将培养上清进行免疫印迹鉴定,将培养上清感染正常的293T细胞、HepG2细胞、Vero细胞,荧光显微镜下观察细胞GFP的表达情况,采取3×3×3析因分析方法,优化系统产量,Real-timePCR方法测定细胞培养上清中病毒载体的拷贝数,利用流式细胞术检测病毒载体滴度.RT-PCR及p24免疫印迹结果均提示在细胞上清中存在慢病毒载体;通过荧光显微镜观察到感染组293T细胞、HepG2细胞、Vero细胞均表达绿色荧光蛋白GFP,说明此系统制备出的慢病毒载体具有感染性;系统经优化后,培养上清中慢病毒载体拷贝数达到1.1×1012/ml,培养上清原始滴度达到1.3×108tu/ml,高出目前常用制备体系产量1个数量级.上述结果表明,新型慢病毒载体制备体系已初步建立,为今后该系统的大规模应用提供客观的科学依据.     

Gene therapy for malignant glioma using Sindbis vectors expressing a fusogenic membrane glycoprotein

BACKGROUND: Malignant glioma has a dismal prognosis. It was previously shown that glioma cells are efficiently killed when they express a gene coding for a hyperfusogenic mutant of the gibbon ape leukemia virus envelope glycoprotein (GALV.fus). However, production of viral vectors expressing GALV.fus has proven problematic because the transgene is toxic to vector-producing cells of human origin. We reasoned that Sindbis-virus-based vectors might be ideal for GALV.fus gene transfer because high-titer stocks can easily be generated in hamster cells and Sindbis virus efficiently infects human tumor cells through the high-affinity 67 kDa laminin receptor. In addition, Sindbis virus nonstructural proteins are potent inducers of apoptosis, and Sindbis vector RNAs expressing fusogenic viral proteins have been shown to spread from cell-to-cell in membrane-formed infectious particles. METHODS: Sindbis virus replicon-containing particles were generated by co-transfecting vector and helper RNAs into baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) cells. Packaged beta-galactosidase and GALV.fus expressing Sindbis vectors were used to infect glioma cell lines, which were then compared for syncytial cytopathic effect, cell killing, and release of infectious virus-like particles containing the vector genome. Finally, the efficacy of GALV.fus and beta-galactosidase Sindbis vectors was compared in an orthotopic intracerebral U87 glioma xenograft model in nude mice. RESULTS: High-titer stocks (>10(9) infectious units (iu)/ml) of the GALV.fus and beta-galactosidase vectors were obtained. Glioma cells infected with the GALV.fus vector formed large syncytia which died rapidly by apoptosis and released infectious membrane-formed particles that could transfer vector genomes to uninfected cells. The GALV.fus vector had significantly greater antitumor therapeutic potency than the beta-galactosidase vector in the U87 glioma xenograft model. CONCLUSIONS: Sindbis vectors expressing GALV.fus can be packaged into infectious viral particles to high titer, they exhibit potent bystander cytopathic potential and are active against U87 glioma xenografts. Sindbis-virus-based replicons appear to be efficient vector systems for delivery and expression of fusogenic membrane glycoproteins.     

Effects of culture parameters on the production of retroviral vectors by a human packaging cell line

The use of retroviral vectors for human gene therapy requires the production of large quantities of high titer vector stocks. Maintaining high titers during the prolonged culture of packaging cells will require that critical parameters be controlled. The aim of this study was to determine which culture parameters critically affect the production/decay of retroviral vectors produced by the human packaging cell line FLYRD18/LNC-hB7. The stability of retroviral vectors released by this cell line was found to be temperature dependent (half-life of 6.9, 11.0, and 64.3 h when incubated at 37, 32, and 0 degrees C, respectively). Titers increased up to 10-fold when the packaging cells were cultured at 32 degrees C, compared to 37 degrees C, despite a decrease in cell yield (cell-specific titers were 20-fold higher). Virus titers were also over 10-fold higher when the packaging cells were cultured in a reduced serum concentration (1%) compared to 5%. Retrovirus production at a range of pH levels revealed a significant decrease in virus titer at pH levels below 6.8 and above 7.2, optimum titers being achieved in cultures at pH 7.2. Dissolved oxygen levels in the range 20-80% did not significantly affect titers under the conditions tested. Finally, a packed bed system containing the packaging cells immobilized on porous microcarriers was shown to sustain the production of active retroviral vectors for over 1 month, in relatively large volumes.     

shRNA沉默CBS基因的慢病毒载体构建及稳定转染PC12细胞系的建立

目的:硫化氢是一种重要的气体信号分子,作为一种神经调质在神经系统中起重要作用。胱硫醚-β-合成酶(CBS)是脑内硫化氢合成的主要酶。构建针对大鼠CBS基因的shRNA干扰载体,稳定转染PC12细胞,观察该载体对PC12细胞CBS基因的沉默效应。方法:构建三条针对大鼠CBS基因的shRNA,经前期实验筛序一条最有效靶点与载体GV248(h U6-MCS-Ubiquitin-EGFP-IRES-puromycin)连接,经转化及PCR阳性克隆筛选及测序鉴定。将LV-CBS-ShRNA慢病毒载体连同包装载体经脂质体2 000共转染到293T细胞,慢病毒包装后用荧光法进行滴度测定。将包装好的慢病毒转染到PC12细胞,用嘌呤霉素进行筛选,得到稳定转染LV-CBS ShRNA的PC12细胞。实时荧光定量PCR检测CBSmRNA的表达,Western-blot检测CBS蛋白的表达。结果:PCR扩增和测序结果证明,成功构建大鼠LV-CBS ShRNA慢病毒载体,经包装产生的慢病毒滴度为1×109TU/m L。与转染阴性对照慢病毒(LV-NC-ShRNA)的细胞比较,LV-CBS ShRNA慢病毒转染可使PC12的CBSmRNA和CBS蛋白表达分别下降51.2%和48%。成功构建CBS基因ShRNA干扰的PC12细胞株,为后续研究CBS在神经系统中的作用奠定基础。