title: Clades of Adeno-associated viruses are widely disseminated in human tissues.
abstract: The potential for using Adeno-associated virus (AAV) as a vector for human gene therapy has stimulated interest in the Dependovirus genus. Serologic data suggest that AAV infections are prevalent in humans, although analyses of viruses and viral sequences from clinical samples are extremely limited. Molecular techniques were used in this study to successfully detect endogenous AAV sequences in 18% of all human tissues screened, with the liver and bone marrow being the most predominant sites. Sequence characterization of rescued AAV DNAs indicated a diverse array of molecular forms which segregate into clades whose members share functional and serologic similarities. One of the most predominant human clades is a hybrid of two previously described AAV serotypes, while another clade was found in humans and several species of nonhuman primates, suggesting a cross-species transmission of this virus. These data provide important information regarding the biology of parvoviruses in humans and their use as gene therapy vectors.
authors.affiliation: Gene Therapy Program, Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3601 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Guangping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Luk H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Vandenberghe
authors.forename: Mauricio R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Alvira
authors.forename: You
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calcedo
authors.forename: Xiangyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D000229:Dependovirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010322:Parvoviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D011323:Primates / Q000821:virology; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012703:Serotyping; D000515:alpha 1-Antitrypsin / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D000515:alpha 1-Antitrypsin