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Directed evolution of adeno-associated virus to an infectious respiratory virus
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Directed evolution of adeno-associated virus to an infectious respiratory virus

Katherine J. D. A Excoffon, James T Koerber, David D Dickey, Matthew Murtha, Shaf Keshavjee, Brian K Kaspar, Joseph Zabner and David V Schaffer
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.106(10), pp.3865-3870
03/10/2009
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0813365106
PMCID: PMC2646629
PMID: 19237554
url
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0813365106View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Respiratory viruses evolve to maintain infectivity levels that permit spread yet prevent host and virus extinction, resulting in surprisingly low infection rates. Respiratory viruses harnessed as gene therapy vectors have illustrated this limitation. We used directed evolution in an organotypic human airway model to generate a highly infectious adeno-associated virus. This virus mediated gene transfer more than 100-fold better than parental strains and corrected the cystic fibrosis epithelial Cl − transport defect. Thus, under appropriate selective pressures, viruses can evolve to be more infectious than observed in nature, a finding that holds significant implications for designing vectors for gene therapy and for understanding emerging pathogens.
Biological Sciences

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