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1 From the Molecular Medicine Program and the 2 Department of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
| Abstract |
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METHODS. Second-generation FIV vectors were made with a protocol for scaled-up production that requires 10 times less input DNA and allows simplified concentration. One vector encodes ß-galactosidase (vector CT26), and the other (bicistronic) encodes eGFP and neomycin phosphotransferase (vector GiNWF). Three pairs of eyes were injected with 1 x 108 transducing units (TU) of CT26 in the right eye and with a control (mock lacZ) vector in the left eye. Three others were injected with 1 x 108 TU GiNWF in the right eye only, with the left eye serving as an uninjected control. Intraocular pressure was recorded and transduction efficiency was determined.
RESULTS. The modified protocol produced high-titer FIV vectors, and coordinate expression of marker genes was observed with the bicistronic vector. In human eyes, the eGFP and lacZ vectors transduced 79% ± 15% and 82% ± 4% of TM cells, respectively, without cell loss compared with control eyes. Transduction and marker gene expression caused a transient decrease of outflow facility (30% ± 22%, P = 0.02), which resolved after 48 to 72 hours.
CONCLUSIONS. FIV vectors produce high-level expression of eGFP in the TM of the cultured human eye, with transduction efficiency similar to that obtained with ß-galactosidase vectors. Transduction and expression of these marker genes results in small and transient changes in outflow facility, suggesting suitability of this class of vectors for glaucoma gene therapy.
| Introduction |
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Strategies for gene therapy for glaucoma must consider the chronic nature of the disease and the generally nondividing nature of the target cells. Two general strategies have emerged. One focuses on the intraocular pressure problem, and the other on blocking its sequela, retinal ganglion cell death.3 4 The accessibility of the anterior chamber and the restricted anatomic target are favorable for gene therapy directed at the TM. Gene therapy with retroviral vectors has appeal, because these vectors undergo reverse transcription of their single-stranded RNA genomes, generating a linear double-stranded DNA intermediate that that is subsequently integrated into the host genome in a reaction catalyzed by the retroviral integrase. Therefore, these vectors result in permanent transgenes and have potential to address the chronicity of glaucoma pathophysiology. However, an important consideration is that TM cells do not normally divide. Unlike conventional retroviral vectors based on, for example, murine leukemia viruses (MLVs), lentiviral vectors, such as those derived from HIV and FIV, integrate into the genomes of both dividing and nondividing cells.5 6
FIV infects most feline species worldwide but is pathogenic only in the domestic cat.7 This nonprimate lentivirus has been considered as a substrate for vector development for reasons that include its complete lack of serologic cross-reactivity with HIV-1 (for example in diagnostic HIV-1 antibody tests).6 In addition, there is an extensive record showing no human infection or disease, despite widespread human exposure to FIV through its principal and very efficient natural mode of transmission (biting), and despite the viruss ability to use a human chemokine receptor for entry.6 8 9 Lentiviral vectors derived from FIV principally transduce TM after injection into the anterior chamber of the human eye.10 Transduction was efficient (>70% of TM cells, exceeding 95% in some eyes), without affecting the fine structure of the TM or causing significant cellular loss. Moreover, this FIV vector, which transduces lacZ, has been shown by paired comparisons with normalized vector stocks to be equivalent to a lacZ vector, based on the human lentiviral pathogen HIV-1.10 In contrast, an MLV lacZ vector failed to transduce the TM,10 a result that is consistent with the need for target cells to passage through mitosis for MLV to integrate into chromatin.11
These results suggest that FIV vectors should be further investigated for glaucoma gene therapy. However, the previously studied ß-galactosidase marker can be evaluated only after terminal tissue processing. The ability to monitor transgene expression in the living state is advantageous for establishing gene delivery approaches. To determine whether FIV vector-transduced enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) could be used to quantify transgene expression in the human TM, we compared new vectors encoding eGFP with vectors encoding lacZ. In each of the anterior segments, we simultaneously determined the effects of transgene transfer and expression on aqueous outflow. Because methods used for glaucoma gene therapy must be capable of genetically modifying the human TM without counterproductively impairing its regulation of aqueous outflow, these experiments are a necessary step in ascertaining the clinical potential of these vectors.
| Methods |
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env6
8
10
; pMD-G, which expresses vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein G (VSV-G) under control of the human cytomegalovirus immediate early promoter (CMVp); and two FIV transfer vectors: GiNWF, which encodes eGFP, and CT26, which encodes ß-galactosidase (lacZ; Fig. 1
). pGiNWF contains, from 5' to 3', a hybrid U3-substituted promoter derived from pCT5,6
8
the FIV R repeat, U5 element, leader sequence, the first 311-bp of the gag gene, the Rev response element (RRE, nucleotides [nt] 85378952 of the FIV 34TF10 genome), a sequence (FIV nt 49045191) containing the FIV central polypurine tract (cPPT), and the central termination sequence (CTS), the CMVp, eGFP, an internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) neoR, the woodchuck hepatitis virus posttranscriptional regulatory element (WPRE),12
and the 3' long terminal repeat (LTR). The cPPT-CTS combination is also referred to as the central DNA flap, because the strand initiations and terminations that occur at these loci result in a triple-stranded DNA flap structure at the completion of FIV reverse transcription.13
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Finally, the central DNA flap was inserted in several steps as follows. A 279-nt amplicon containing the FIV cPPT-CTS was synthesized by PCR, by using a sense primer tailed with a BstBI site (5'-ATATTTCGAATCAAATCAAACTAATAAAGTATGTATTGTGAAACAACCTCCTTGGATAATGCC-3') and an antisense primer tailed with an Xba site (5'-ATATACCTCTTTTAGGTCTAGACTCTCATGTGTCTCCTAGG-3'). The sense primer fuses the cPPT with the 3' end of the FIV RRE and deletes an unneeded splice acceptor. This BstB1-Xba amplicon was inserted into the corresponding sites of pGiNW, generating pGiNWcPPT-CTS. The latter maneuver removed the internal CMV promoter from pGinW and inserted the cPPT-CTS. To restore this promoter, the BamHI-XhoI fragment of pGiNW was inserted into the XhoI-BamHI backbone of pCR2.1 (Invitrogen, San Diego, CA). An XbaI linker (GCTCTAGAGC) was inserted into the Klenow-treated AflII site of this intermediate plasmid, and the 614-nt XbaI-XbaI fragment was then inserted into the Xba site of pGiNWcPPT-CTS, generating pGiNWF.
CT26 contains, from 5' to 3', the hybrid promoter, R repeat, U5, leader, 311 bp of gag, RRE, central DNA flap, human CMV immediate early promoter lacZ, and 3' LTR. To construct pCT26, the cPPT-CTS was PCR amplified from FIV 34 Tf10 with sense primer 5'-aaaaCCTTCAAGAGGctgcagaaacaacctccttggataatgcc-3' and antisense primer 5-atataCCTTCAAGAGGtctagactctccttatgtgtctcctagg-3'. The amplicon was blunted into the EcoNI site of pCT25, inserting the cPPT downstream of the RRE.
Large-Scale Vector Production and Concentration
A protocol was modified from that previously described10
to enable scaled-up production of lentiviral vectors by calcium phosphatemediated transfection of 293T cells. Ten-chamber Cell Factories (CF210; Nunc, Naperville, IL) were used for vector production, with ultracentrifugation in a large-volume (1.3-L) rotor. Briefly, 293T cells were maintained at a high frequency of passage before 2.52 x 108 cells were seeded into one 10-chamber cell factory with a surface area of 6320 cm2 and containing a total volume of 1 L medium (DMEM with 10% fetal calf serum [FCS] and antibiotics). After overnight incubation at 37°C in 5% CO2, a calcium phosphate transfection mix containing 84 µg pMD-G, 252 µg pCF1
env, 252 µg transfer vector, 60 mL of 0.01 M Tris (pH 8.0), 6.72 mL of 2.5 M CaCl2, and 67.2 mL 2x Hepes buffered saline (HBS; pH 7.0) was allowed to precipitate for 3 minutes. Precipitation was stopped by adding DMEM+10% FCS to a total volume of 1 L. This amount of DNA (0.093 µg/cm2) is equivalent to 7 µg DNA in a 75-cm2 flask. The old medium was removed from the CF10s and the medium containing the transfection mix was added and allowed to settle on the cells for 18 hours before replacement with fresh medium. Vector supernatants were harvested 48 hours after this medium change, filtered through 0.22-µm filters, and ultracentrifuged in large-volume (250-mL) buckets (model 54477; Sorvall, Newtown, CT) in a fixed angle rotor (model A 621; Sorvall) at 19,000 rpm (49,000g) for 2 hours. Supernatants were decanted, and vector pellets were resuspended by pipetting in 10 mL PBS per bucket. Vector suspensions were then concentrated with a second round of ultracentrifugation at 49,000g in a swinging bucket rotor (Surespin; Sorvall), and pellets were reconstituted in 2 mL PBS and centrifuged for 5 minutes at 3000g to remove undispersible material.
Mock vector, which was used as a control for pseudotransduction,15 was prepared by transient transfection into 293T cells of the same amounts of pCT26 and pMD-G as for preparation of the CT26 vector, while omitting the packaging plasmid. Transfection efficiency for both the CT26 and the CT26 mock vector were greater than 80%, as evaluated by 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-ß-D-galactosidase (X-Gal) staining of the 293T producer cells. Mock vector supernatants underwent the same centrifugation and other processing steps as normal vectors. Vectors were titered by serial dilution onto CrFK cells plated in six-well dishes followed by either flow cytometry for eGFP (GiNWF) or by quantitating X-Galstained colony formation (CT26).
Human Organ-Perfusion Culture and Vector Application
The Minnesota Lions Eye Bank (Minneapolis, MN) provided pairs of human eyes. Eyes were used in accordance with Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board guidelines and according to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. All were from donors (median age, 76.5 years, n = 6) without known eye disease and were placed in perfusion culture within 24 hours of death, as previously described.16
17
After bisection at the equator, the retina, iris, and lens were removed, and the anterior segments were sealed into a custom-built culture vessel and perfused with DMEM and antibiotics at a normal rate (2.5 µL/min) with a microinfusion pump. The cultures were maintained at 37°C in 5% CO2 in an incubator. Intraocular pressure was measured every 60 seconds for 5 days and recorded as averages per hour. One anterior segment of each pair (n = 3) was injected with a bolus of 1 x 108 transduction units (TU) CT26 vector in a volume of 500 µL DMEM, and the fellow eyes received an equivalent volume of CT26 mock vector. Similarly, 1 x 108 TU of GiNWF vector in 500 µL DMEM was injected into one anterior segment of a pair (n = 3), whereas the control fellow eye received the same volume of medium without vector.
Assessment of Transduction
Transduction efficiency was determined as the mean percentage of transduced cells in four quadrants. Eyes in the eGFP group were divided into four quadrants, and 2-mm wedges were removed, rinsed in PBS, and placed into phenol redfree Dulbeccos modified Eagles medium with 0.1% Hoechst 33342 (H-3570; Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR) for in vivo staining of nuclei. Expression of eGFP in freshly dissected, unfixed anterior segments was visualized by a frontal view toward the TM and a sagittal view of wedges mounted on their sides, by a microscope with a fluorescent light source (Eclipse E400; Nikon, Melville, NY) and by confocal microscopy (LSM 510; Carl Zeiss, Thornwood, NY). To measure transduction efficiency with GiNWF, eGFP-positive TM cell bodies and stained nuclei were manually counted at 400x magnification in microscopic fields comprising an area of 0.24 mm2 in each of the four quadrants. Transduction efficiency is expressed as the mean percentage of eGFP-expressing cells versus stained nuclei ± SD. Medium-injected fellow eyes served as the control. Three-µm-thick, plastic-embedded sections (JB4; Polysciences, Warrington, PA) of two quadrants were used to compare cell loss and assess the morphology.
Localization and extent of expression of eGFP were confirmed with specific antibody labeling. Briefly, 6-µm paraffin-embedded sections from two quadrants of each eye were deparaffinized (22-143975; Citrisolv; Fisherbrand, Fair Lawn, NJ) and rehydrated with decreasing concentrations of ethanol, and antigens were retrieved for 5 minutes in a steam chamber with piperazine-N-N'-bis(2-ethanesulfonic acid) (PIPES) buffer. Sections were incubated for 60 minutes with a primary rabbit anti-eGFP antibody (1:200 dilution, NB 600-303; Novus Biologicals, Littleton, CO) and for 30 minutes with a fluorescent phalloidin-labeled secondary goat anti-rabbit antibody (1:200 dilution, A-11088, Alexa 488; Molecular Probes). Nuclei were stained with a 1:1000 dilution of 4',6'-diamino-2-phenylindole (DAPI; D-1306; Molecular Probes).
For assessment of ß-galactosidase expression in CT26 and CT26.mock vector-injected eyes, anterior segments were fixed for 15 minutes in 4% paraformaldehyde, rinsed in PBS, and incubated overnight in X-Gal staining solution.10 ß-galactosidasepositive cells and total TM cells were counted in random sections of each quadrant. Sections from two quadrants of each eye were embedded in plastic (JB4) for analysis of TM fine structure and morphology. Total number of cells in control eyes and transduced eyes were compared with Students paired t-test.
| Results |
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Expression of eGFP and ß-Galactosidase in Human TM
GiNWF vector injection into cultured anterior segments produced efficient TM transduction, as determined by visualization of expression of eGFP (Fig. 2)
. Transduction was limited to the TM, with the exception of occasional eGFP-positive cells elsewhere within the outflow pathway (corneal endothelium in proximity to the TM, Schlemms canal, collector channels). Cell counts performed with nuclear counterstaining revealed that a mean of 82% ± 4% of TM cells were eGFP positive and no cell loss was apparent (P = 0.94 for comparison with control eyes, n = 3). Staining of tissue sections with anti-eGFP antibodies confirmed the extent and location of expression of eGFP (data not shown). Plastic-embedded sections showed preserved TM morphology and cellularity. Transduction of two unpaired eyes with a version of GiNWF without the central DNA flap or WPRE (pGiN) showed less efficient transduction (data not shown).
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| Discussion |
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The results validate the protocol for large-scale production of lentiviral vectors. Transient transfection of 10 times less DNA in 293T cells within high surface area slides (Cell Factory; Nunc) and high volume, fixed-angle ultracentrifugation resulted in high titer vectors that were effective in the eye. Standard protocols use 5 to 10 times as much transfection DNA, which is expensive and time consuming to produce, and generally concentrate vectors in smaller volumes.5 6 10
Aqueous humor outflow is a complex process. The unique architecture of the TM, the phagocytic biology of the cells, their arrangement within a collagenous lattice, and the extracellular matrix they elaborate are all believed to play important roles. A final regulatory step may occur at the interface of the TM with Schlemms canal, where bulk flow occurs through large outpouchings (giant vacuoles) in the endothelium.19 A potential concern for gene therapy is that gene transfer methods might disrupt the physiology of this structure. Despite a high level of transgene expression, FIV vectormediated gene transfer caused only transient, slight (mean of 30%) declines in outflow facility, with stable return to normal baseline levels from 48 to 72 hours after transduction until the end of the experiment at 5 days. These results compare favorably with those obtained by Borrás et al.19 in this model after injection of adenoviral vectors. After injection of 1 x 108 TU of adenoviral vectors, outflow facility declined 13% compared with control eyes within the first 4 hours, and was reduced by 54% after 12 hours. Subsequently, baseline outflow facility was reached at 36 hours and continued to increase to approximately 20% higher than baseline until the end of the experiment at 48 hours.20 As in our previous experiments,10 we observed preferential transduction of TM. Targeted transduction prevents unwanted effects of transgene expression on neighboring structures. This is of particular importance in ocular gene therapy, in which anatomic structures in close proximity serve highly specialized functions.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Submitted for publication April 29, 2002; revised June 20, 2002; accepted July 17, 2002.
Commercial relationships policy: N.
The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C.
1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Corresponding author: Eric Poeschla, Molecular Medicine Program, Guggenheim 1811A, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905; emp{at}mayo.edu.
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