• Cyclophilin A promotes HIV-1 reverse transcription but its effect on transduction correlates best with its effect on nuclear entry of viral cDNA

      De Iaco, Alberto; Luban, Jeremy (2014-01-30)
      BACKGROUND: The human peptidyl-prolyl isomerase Cyclophilin A (CypA) binds HIV-1 capsid (CA) and influences early steps in the HIV-1 replication cycle. The mechanism by which CypA regulates HIV-1 transduction efficiency is unknown. Disruption of CypA binding to CA, either by genetic means or by the competitive inhibitor cyclosporine A (CsA), reduces the efficiency of HIV-1 transduction in some cells but not in others. Transduction of certain cell types increases significantly when CypA binding to particular HIV-1 CA mutants, i.e., A92E, is prevented. Previous studies have suggested that this cell type-specific effect is due to a dominant-acting, CypA-dependent restriction factor. RESULTS: Here we investigated the mechanism by which CypA regulates HIV-1 transduction efficiency using 27 different human cell lines, 32 HeLa subclones, and several previously characterized HIV-1 CA mutants. Disruption of CypA binding to wild-type CA, or to any of the mutant CAs, caused a decrease in HIV-1 reverse transcription in all the cell lines analyzed here. This block to reverse transcription, though, did not correlate with cell type-specific effects on transduction efficiency. The level of 2-LTR circles, a marker for nuclear transport of the viral cDNA that results from reverse transcription, correlated closely with effects on infectivity. No correlation was observed between the cell type-specific effects on infectivity and the steady-state CypA protein levels in these cells. Instead, as indicated by a fate-of-capsid assay, CsA released the HIV-1 CA core from an apparent state of hyperstabilization, in a cell type-specific manner. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate that, while CypA promotes reverse transcription under all conditions tested here, its effect on HIV-1 infectivity correlates more closely with effects on nuclear entry of the viral cDNA. The data also support the hypothesis that a cell-type specific CypA-dependent restriction factor blocks HIV-1 replication by delaying CA core uncoating and hindering nuclear entry.
    • Neonatal intraperitoneal or intravenous injections of recombinant adeno-associated virus type 8 transduce dorsal root ganglia and lower motor neurons

      Foust, Kevin D.; Poirier, Amy; Pacak, Christina A.; Mandel, Ronald J.; Flotte, Terence R. (2008-01-07)
      Targeting lower motor neurons (LMNs) for gene delivery could be useful for disorders such as spinal muscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. LMNs reside in the ventral gray matter of the spinal cord and send axonal projections to innervate skeletal muscle. Studies have used intramuscular injections of adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) to deliver viral vectors to LMNs via retrograde transport. However, treating large areas of the spinal cord in a human would require numerous intramuscular injections, thereby increasing viral titer and risk of immune response. New AAV serotypes, such as AAV8, have a dispersed transduction pattern after intravenous or intraperitoneal injection in neonatal mice, and may transduce LMNs by retrograde transport or through entry into the nervous system. To test LMN transduction after systemic injection, we administered recombinant AAV8 (rAAV8) carrying the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene by intravenous or intraperitoneal injection to neonatal mice on postnatal day 1. Tissues were harvested 5 and 14 days postinjection and analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and GFP immunohistochemistry to assess the presence of AAV genomes and GFP expression, respectively. Spinal cords were positive for AAV genomes at both time points. GFP immunohistochemistry revealed infrequent labeling of LMNs across all time points and injection routes. Somewhat surprisingly, there was extensive labeling of fibers in the dorsal horns and columns, indicating dorsal root ganglion transduction across all time points and injection routes. Our data suggest that systemic injection of rAAV8 is not an effective delivery route to target lower motor neurons, but could be useful for targeting sensory pathways in chronic pain.
    • Partial correction of the CFTR-dependent ABPA mouse model with recombinant adeno-associated virus gene transfer of truncated CFTR gene

      Mueller, Christian; Torrez, Daniel M.; Braag, Sofia; Martino, Ashley; Clarke, Tracy; Campbell-Thompson, Martha; Flotte, Terence R. (2008-01-21)
      Recently, we have developed a model of airway inflammation in a CFTR knockout mouse utilizing Aspergillus fumigatus crude protein extract (Af-cpe) to mimic allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) 1, an unusual IgE-mediated hypersensitivity syndrome seen in up to 15% of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and rarely elsewhere. We hypothesized that replacement of CFTR via targeted gene delivery to airway epithelium would correct aberrant epithelial cytokine signaling and ameliorate the ABPA phenotype in CFTR-deficient (CFTR 489X - /-, FABP-hCFTR + / +) mice. CFTR knockout mice underwent intra-tracheal (IT) delivery of recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 5 (rAAV5Delta-264CFTR) or rAAV5-GFP at 2.58 x 10(12) viral genomes/mouse. All mice were then sensitized with two serial injections (200 microg) of crude Af antigen via the intra-peritoneal (IP) route. Untreated mice were sensitized without virus exposure. Challenges were performed 2 weeks after final sensitization, using a 0.25% solution containing Aspergillus fumigatus crude protein extract delivered by inhalation on three consecutive days. The rAAV5Delta-264CFTR-treated mice had lower total serum IgE levels (172513 ng/ml +/- 1312) than rAAV5-GFP controls (26 892 ng/ml +/- 3715) (p = 0.037) and non-treated, sensitized controls (24 816 +/- 4219 ng/ml). Serum IgG1 levels also were lower in mice receiving the CFTR vector. Interestingly, splenocytes from rAAV5Delta-264CFTR-treated mice secreted less IL-13, INFg, TNFa, RANTES and GM-CSF after ConA stimulation. Gene therapy with rAAV5Delta-264CFTR attenuated the hyper-IgE response in this reproducible CF mouse model of ABPA, with systemic effects also evident in the cytokine response of stimulated splenocytes.