Gene delivery in the equine cornea: a novel therapeutic strategy.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- N.I.H.
- Extramural
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
This research explores the possibility of using a specific viral vector to inject genes into the cells of a horse’s cornea. The researchers found that their method was safe and successfully delivered the intended genes without damaging the cells they were targeting.
Research Objectives
The research had two primary objectives:
- To assess the effectiveness of a hybrid adeno-associated virus serotype 2/5 (AAV5) in delivering therapeutic genes into the corneal fibroblasts of the horse, they used the enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP) as a marker gene.
- To establish the safety of using the AAV5 vector for gene therapy in horse corneas.
Methodology
- The researchers harvested cultures from primary equine corneal fibroblasts (ECFs), which are cells derived from the healthy corneas of horses.
- These cultures were maintained at a temperature of 37°C in a humid atmosphere with 5% carbon dioxide.
- They applied the AAV5 vector, which was designed to express EGFP under the control of a hybrid cytomegalovirus and chicken β-actin promoter, topically to the ECFs.
- They quantified the expression of the EGFP gene that was delivered into the ECFs using fluorescent microscopy.
Evaluating Effectiveness and Safety
They also implemented measures to assess the effectiveness and safety of the AAV5 vector:
- The total number of cells and the efficiency of the virus vector in transducing, or introducing, genes into the ECFs were determined using fluorescent staining.
- The researchers made use of phase-contrast microscopy, trypan blue, and TUNEL assays as tools to evaluate the toxicity and safety of the AAV5 vector on the ECFs.
Results
- The topical application of AAV5 successfully transduced a significant number of ECFs, with a transduction efficiency of 13.1%.
- The AAV5 vector did not cause any notable change in cell phenotype or significant cell death, indicating that it is safe for use on the cells.
- The cells’ viability was maintained, further supporting the safety of using AAV5 for gene therapy.
Conclusion
The results of this study indicated that the AAV5 vector evaluated is both effective and safe for use in gene therapy on equine corneal fibroblasts in vitro. This opens opportunities for further research and development in using gene therapy for treating corneal disorders in horses.
Cite This Article
Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Cornea
- Dependovirus
- Genetic Therapy / methods
- Genetic Therapy / veterinary
- Genetic Vectors
- Green Fluorescent Proteins
- Horses
- Tissue Culture Techniques
Grant Funding
- R01 EY017294-03 / NEI NIH HHS
- R01 EY017294 / NEI NIH HHS
- R01-EY-017294 / NEI NIH HHS
- R01 EY017294-03S2 / NEI NIH HHS
- I01 BX000357 / BLRD VA
References
- Mohan RR, Schultz GS, Hong JW, Mohan RR, Wilson SE. Gene transfer into rabbit keratocytes using AAV and lipid-mediated plasmid DNA vectors with a lamellar flap for stromal access.. Exp Eye Res 2003 Mar;76(3):373-83.
- Mohan RR, Sharma A, Netto MV, Sinha S, Wilson SE. Gene therapy in the cornea.. Prog Retin Eye Res 2005 Sep;24(5):537-59.
- Verma IM, Weitzman MD. Gene therapy: twenty-first century medicine.. Annu Rev Biochem 2005;74:711-38.
- Monahan PE, Samulski RJ. Adeno-associated virus vectors for gene therapy: more pros than cons?. Mol Med Today 2000 Nov;6(11):433-40.
- Daya S, Berns KI. Gene therapy using adeno-associated virus vectors.. Clin Microbiol Rev 2008 Oct;21(4):583-93.
- Michau TM, Schwabenton B, Davidson MG, Gilger BC. Superficial, nonhealing corneal ulcers in horses: 23 cases (1989-2003).. Vet Ophthalmol 2003 Dec;6(4):291-7.
- Brooks DE. Equine Ophthalmology in Veterinary ophthalmology. 4. Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Pub; 2007.
- Haber M, Cao Z, Panjwani N, Bedenice D, Li WW, Provost PJ. Effects of growth factors (EGF, PDGF-BB and TGF-beta 1) on cultured equine epithelial cells and keratocytes: implications for wound healing.. Vet Ophthalmol 2003 Sep;6(3):211-7.
- Nasisse MP, Nelms S. Equine ulcerative keratitis.. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract 1992 Dec;8(3):537-55.
- Monahan PE, Samulski RJ. AAV vectors: is clinical success on the horizon?. Gene Ther 2000 Jan;7(1):24-30.
- Lebherz C, Maguire A, Tang W, Bennett J, Wilson JM. Novel AAV serotypes for improved ocular gene transfer.. J Gene Med 2008 Apr;10(4):375-82.
- Royo NC, Vandenberghe LH, Ma JY, Hauspurg A, Yu L, Maronski M, Johnston J, Dichter MA, Wilson JM, Watson DJ. Specific AAV serotypes stably transduce primary hippocampal and cortical cultures with high efficiency and low toxicity.. Brain Res 2008 Jan 23;1190:15-22.
- Saika S, Yamanaka O, Sumioka T, Miyamoto T, Miyazaki K, Okada Y, Kitano A, Shirai K, Tanaka S, Ikeda K. Fibrotic disorders in the eye: targets of gene therapy.. Prog Retin Eye Res 2008 Mar;27(2):177-96.
- Alexander JJ, Hauswirth WW. Adeno-associated viral vectors and the retina.. Adv Exp Med Biol 2008;613:121-8.
- Surace EM, Auricchio A. Versatility of AAV vectors for retinal gene transfer.. Vision Res 2008 Feb;48(3):353-9.
- Bainbridge JW, Smith AJ, Barker SS, Robbie S, Henderson R, Balaggan K, Viswanathan A, Holder GE, Stockman A, Tyler N, Petersen-Jones S, Bhattacharya SS, Thrasher AJ, Fitzke FW, Carter BJ, Rubin GS, Moore AT, Ali RR. Effect of gene therapy on visual function in Leber's congenital amaurosis.. N Engl J Med 2008 May 22;358(21):2231-9.
- Maguire AM, Simonelli F, Pierce EA, Pugh EN Jr, Mingozzi F, Bennicelli J, Banfi S, Marshall KA, Testa F, Surace EM, Rossi S, Lyubarsky A, Arruda VR, Konkle B, Stone E, Sun J, Jacobs J, Dell'Osso L, Hertle R, Ma JX, Redmond TM, Zhu X, Hauck B, Zelenaia O, Shindler KS, Maguire MG, Wright JF, Volpe NJ, McDonnell JW, Auricchio A, High KA, Bennett J. Safety and efficacy of gene transfer for Leber's congenital amaurosis.. N Engl J Med 2008 May 22;358(21):2240-8.
- Auricchio A, Rolling F. Adeno-associated viral vectors for retinal gene transfer and treatment of retinal diseases.. Curr Gene Ther 2005 Jun;5(3):339-48.
- Surace EM, Domenici L, Cortese K, Cotugno G, Di Vicino U, Venturi C, Cellerino A, Marigo V, Tacchetti C, Ballabio A, Auricchio A. Amelioration of both functional and morphological abnormalities in the retina of a mouse model of ocular albinism following AAV-mediated gene transfer.. Mol Ther 2005 Oct;12(4):652-8.
- Chadderton N, Millington-Ward S, Palfi A, O'Reilly M, Tuohy G, Humphries MM, Li T, Humphries P, Kenna PF, Farrar GJ. Improved retinal function in a mouse model of dominant retinitis pigmentosa following AAV-delivered gene therapy.. Mol Ther 2009 Apr;17(4):593-9.
- Van Vliet KM, Blouin V, Brument N, Agbandje-McKenna M, Snyder RO. The role of the adeno-associated virus capsid in gene transfer.. Methods Mol Biol 2008;437:51-91.
- Ghosh A, Yue Y, Duan D. Viral serotype and the transgene sequence influence overlapping adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector-mediated gene transfer in skeletal muscle.. J Gene Med 2006 Mar;8(3):298-305.
- Limberis MP, Vandenberghe LH, Zhang L, Pickles RJ, Wilson JM. Transduction efficiencies of novel AAV vectors in mouse airway epithelium in vivo and human ciliated airway epithelium in vitro.. Mol Ther 2009 Feb;17(2):294-301.
- Polyak S, Mah C, Porvasnik S, Herlihy JD, Campbell-Thompson M, Byrne BJ, Valentine JF. Gene delivery to intestinal epithelial cells in vitro and in vivo with recombinant adeno-associated virus types 1, 2 and 5.. Dig Dis Sci 2008 May;53(5):1261-70.
- Buss DG, Giuliano EA, Sharma A, Mohan RR. Isolation and cultivation of equine corneal keratocytes, fibroblasts and myofibroblasts.. Vet Ophthalmol 2010 Jan;13(1):37-42.
- Louboutin JP, Wang L, Wilson JM. Gene transfer into skeletal muscle using novel AAV serotypes.. J Gene Med 2005 Apr;7(4):442-51.
- Gao G, Lu Y, Calcedo R, Grant RL, Bell P, Wang L, Figueredo J, Lock M, Wilson JM. Biology of AAV serotype vectors in liver-directed gene transfer to nonhuman primates.. Mol Ther 2006 Jan;13(1):77-87.
- Netto MV, Mohan RR, Sinha S, Sharma A, Gupta PC, Wilson SE. Effect of prophylactic and therapeutic mitomycin C on corneal apoptosis, cellular proliferation, haze, and long-term keratocyte density in rabbits.. J Refract Surg 2006 Jun;22(6):562-74.
- Mohan R. abstract. columbia, mo: Mason eye institute.
- Maltseva O, Folger P, Zekaria D, Petridou S, Masur SK. Fibroblast growth factor reversal of the corneal myofibroblast phenotype.. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2001 Oct;42(11):2490-5.
- Morrison DF, Foss DL, Murtaugh MP. Interleukin-10 gene therapy-mediated amelioration of bacterial pneumonia.. Infect Immun 2000 Aug;68(8):4752-8.
- Sharma A, Ghosh A, Siddappa C. Ocular Surface: Gene Therapy. Encyclopedia of the Eye 2009 In Press.
Citations
This article has been cited 9 times.- Mohan RR, Martin LM, Sinha NR. Novel insights into gene therapy in the cornea.. Exp Eye Res 2021 Jan;202:108361.
- Wang L, Xiao R, Andres-Mateos E, Vandenberghe LH. Single stranded adeno-associated virus achieves efficient gene transfer to anterior segment in the mouse eye.. PLoS One 2017;12(8):e0182473.
- Marlo TL, Giuliano EA, Tripathi R, Sharma A, Mohan RR. Altering equine corneal fibroblast differentiation through Smad gene transfer.. Vet Ophthalmol 2018 Mar;21(2):132-139.
- Ljubimov AV, Saghizadeh M. Progress in corneal wound healing.. Prog Retin Eye Res 2015 Nov;49:17-45.
- Mohan RR, Rodier JT, Sharma A. Corneal gene therapy: basic science and translational perspective.. Ocul Surf 2013 Jul;11(3):150-64.
- Mohan RR, Tovey JC, Sharma A, Schultz GS, Cowden JW, Tandon A. Targeted decorin gene therapy delivered with adeno-associated virus effectively retards corneal neovascularization in vivo.. PLoS One 2011;6(10):e26432.
- Mohan RR, Tandon A, Sharma A, Cowden JW, Tovey JC. Significant inhibition of corneal scarring in vivo with tissue-selective, targeted AAV5 decorin gene therapy.. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2011 Jul 1;52(7):4833-41.
- Mohan RR, Sharma A, Cebulko TC, Tandon A. Vector delivery technique affects gene transfer in the cornea in vivo.. Mol Vis 2010 Nov 27;16:2494-501.
- Buss DG, Sharma A, Giuliano EA, Mohan RR. Efficacy and safety of mitomycin C as an agent to treat corneal scarring in horses using an in vitro model.. Vet Ophthalmol 2010 Jul;13(4):211-8.