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Neutralisation of adeno-associated virus transduction by human vitreous humour

Gene Therapy volume 28, pages 242–255 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Neutralising antibodies (NAbs), caused by past adeno-associated virus (AAV) infection, represent a critical challenge for AAV-mediated gene therapy, with even low NAb titres capable of inhibiting gene transfer, however in protein-rich environments such as the vitreous it is expected that other constituents could also interact with the transduction process. Inhibition of AAV2/2, AAV2/5, AAV2/6 and AAV2/8 transduction by human vitreous humour (VH) obtained from 80 post-mortem eye cups was investigated in this report, with clinically relevant vitreous dilutions as low as 1:2. Unexpectedly, the highest prevalence of inhibition of transduction was observed against AAV2/6, with 66% of tested samples displaying neutralisation at a 1:2 VH dilution. Only two samples showed inhibition of AAV2/8, indicating this serotype is an attractive vector for use in non-vitrectomised eyes of unscreened individuals. Levels of anti-AAV NAbs observed in the VH were much lower than previously observed in serum of a similar Australian population. Among ten tested eye cup pairs, we observed only small variation in anti-AAV NAbs levels between the left and right eye cups. Interaction with 1:2 diluted VH had an augmentation effect on AAV2/8 transduction (p = 0.004), a phenomenon which was not due to albumin or transferrin and which, if developed, might benefit the use of AAV2/8 in clinical settings.

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Fig. 1: Percentage of samples that display anti-AAV neutralising activity at 1:2–1:10,000 VH dilutions.
Fig. 2: Vitreous humour neutralisation titres.
Fig. 3: Vitreous humour neutralisation prevalence of AAV serotypes among men and women.
Fig. 4: Vitreous humour neutralising activity between men (n = 40–42) and women (n = 36–38) at 1:2 and 1:10 dilutions.
Fig. 5: Co-prevalence of vitreous humour neutralisation for AAV2/2, AAV2/5, AAV2/6 and AAV2/8 at 1:2 and 1:10 dilution.
Fig. 6: Effect of vitreous humour, albumin and transferrin on AAV vector transduction.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the donors, the donors’ families and the team from Queensland Eye Bank for their generosity and involvement in donating, collecting and providing samples for research. We also thank Layton Vision Foundation for the technical support, lab space and equipment to perform and analyse presented experiments. Brett Stringer is supported by a Fellowship from the Layton Vision Foundation. Sławomir Andrzejewski was supported by a Scholarship  from the Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LVF Ophthalmology Research Centre, Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, QLD, 4102, Australia

    Sławomir Andrzejewski, Brett W. Stringer & Christopher J. Layton

  2. Faculty of Medicine, Greenslopes Clinical School, The University of Queensland, Greenslopes, QLD, 4120, Australia

    Sławomir Andrzejewski, Brett W. Stringer & Christopher J. Layton

  3. School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, 4102, Australia

    Peter M. Moyle

  4. School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQ University, North Rockhampton, QLD, 4702, Australia

    Jason C. Steel

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Andrzejewski, S., Moyle, P.M., Stringer, B.W. et al. Neutralisation of adeno-associated virus transduction by human vitreous humour. Gene Ther 28, 242–255 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41434-020-0162-8

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