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Practical utilization of recombinant AAV vector reference standards: focus on vector genomes titration by free ITR qPCR.

ABSTRACT: Clinical trials using recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors have demonstrated efficacy and a good safety profile. Although the field is advancing quickly, vector analytics and harmonization of dosage units are still a limitation for commercialization. AAV reference standard materials (RSMs) can help ensure product safety by controlling the consistency of assays used to characterize rAAV stocks. The most widely utilized unit of vector dosing is based on the encapsidated vector genome. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is now the most common method to titer vector genomes (vg); however, significant inter- and intralaboratory variations have been documented using this technique. Here, RSMs and rAAV stocks were titered on the basis of an inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) sequence-specific qPCR and we found an artificial increase in vg titers using a widely utilized approach. The PCR error was introduced by using single-cut linearized plasmid as the standard curve. This bias was eliminated using plasmid standards linearized just outside the ITR region on each end to facilitate the melting of the palindromic ITR sequences during PCR. This new "Free-ITR" qPCR delivers vg titers that are consistent with titers obtained with transgene-specific qPCR and could be used to normalize in-house product-specific AAV vector standards and controls to the rAAV RSMs. The free-ITR method, including well-characterized controls, will help to calibrate doses to compare preclinical and clinical data in the field.

SUBMITTER: D'Costa S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4813604 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Practical utilization of recombinant AAV vector reference standards: focus on vector genomes titration by free ITR qPCR.

D'Costa Susan S Blouin Veronique V Broucque Frederic F Penaud-Budloo Magalie M François Achille A Perez Irene C IC Le Bec Christine C Moullier Philippe P Snyder Richard O RO Ayuso Eduard E

Molecular therapy. Methods & clinical development 20160330

Clinical trials using recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors have demonstrated efficacy and a good safety profile. Although the field is advancing quickly, vector analytics and harmonization of dosage units are still a limitation for commercialization. AAV reference standard materials (RSMs) can help ensure product safety by controlling the consistency of assays used to characterize rAAV stocks. The most widely utilized unit of vector dosing is based on the encapsidated vector genome. ...[more]

PMID: 27069952

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Project description:Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) are currently the most prominently investigated vector platform for human gene therapy. The rAAV capsid serves as a potent and efficient vehicle for delivering genetic payloads into the host cell, while the vector genome determines the function and effectiveness of these biotherapies. However, current production schemes yield vectors that may consist of heterogeneous populations, compromising their potencies. The development of next-generation sequencing methods within the past few years have helped investigators profile the diversity and relative abundances of heterogenous species in vector preparations. Specifically, long-read sequencing methods, like single molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing, have been used to uncover truncations, chimeric genomes, and inverted terminal repeat (ITR) mutations in vectors. Unfortunately, these sequencing platforms may be inaccessible to investigators with limited resources, require large amounts of input material, or may require long wait times for sequencing and analyses. Recent advances with nanopore sequencing have helped to bridge the gap for quick and relatively inexpensive long-read sequencing needs. However, their limitations and sample biases are not well-defined for sequencing rAAV. In this study, we explored the capacity for nanopore sequencing to directly interrogate rAAV content to obtain full-length resolution of encapsidated genomes. We found that the nanopore platform can cover the entirety of rAAV genomes from ITR to ITR without the need for pre-fragmentation. However, the accuracy for base calling was low, resulting in a high degree of miscalled bases and false indels. These false indels led to read-length compression; thus, assessing heterogeneity based on read length is not advisable with current nanopore technologies. Nonetheless, nanopore sequencing was able to correctly identify truncation hotspots in single-strand and self-complementary vectors similar to SMRT sequencing. In summary, nanopore sequencing can serve as a rapid and low-cost alternative for proofing AAV vectors.

Dataset Information

Practical utilization of recombinant AAV vector reference standards: focus on vector genomes titration by free ITR qPCR.

Publications

Practical utilization of recombinant AAV vector reference standards: focus on vector genomes titration by free ITR qPCR.

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