Abstract
Gene transfer to muscle holds overt promise for the treatment of inherited myopathies, lysosomal storage disorders, and serum protein deficiencies. In addition, muscle could provide a reservoir for delivery of therapeutic molecules like blood clotting factors, erythropoietin, or insulin. To date, successful gene transfer to muscle has been limited by the inefficiency of the vector delivery systems and the transient nature of gene expression. In this paper, we show that a vector based on recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) can efficiently transduce adult mouse skeletal muscle. Transduced myofibers escape immune elimination and transgene expression is robust beyond 5 months. Importantly, input vector DNA appears to undergo conversion from single-stranded genomes to high-molecular-weight concatameric forms. These data suggest that rAAV might have a significant advantage over many other viral and nonviral gene delivery methods, and holds significant promise as a vector for gene transfer to mature muscle.
Overview summary
A recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector was shown to transduce mouse skeletal muscle effectively. Transgene expression (β-galactosidase) was evident early after injection and lasted for more than 5 months. Transduced cells were not eliminated by the immune system, but neutralizing antibodies appeared to block a second dose of vector. Analysis of vector DNA after injection showed a shift from low- to high-molecular-weight forms. rAAV vectors appear to have significant advantages over other currently available methods for gene delivery to muscle.
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