Highly efficient transient gene expression and gene targeting in primate embryonic stem cells with helper-dependent adenoviral vectors.
Human embryonic stem (hES) cells are regarded as a potentially unlimited source of cellular materials for regenerative medicine. For biological studies and clinical applications using primate ES cells, the development of a general strategy to obtain efficient gene delivery and genetic manipulation, especially gene targeting via homologous recombination (HR), would be of paramount importance. However, unlike mouse ES (mES) cells, efficient strategies for transient gene delivery and HR in hES cells have not been established. Here, we report that helper-dependent adenoviral vectors (HDAdVs) were able to transfer genes in hES and cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fasicularis) ES (cES) cells efficiently. Without losing the undifferentiated state of the ES cells, transient gene transfer efficiency was approximately 100%. Using HDAdVs with homology arms, approximately one out of 10 chromosomal integrations of the vector was via HR, whereas the rate was only approximately 1% with other gene delivery methods. Furthermore, in combination with negative selection, approximately 45% of chromosomal integrations of the vector were targeted integrations, indicating that HDAdVs would be a powerful tool for genetic manipulation in hES cells and potentially in other types of human stem cells, such as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.
Suzuki
Keiichiro
K
Division of Gene Therapy, Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Hidaka, Saitama 350-1241, Japan.
Mitsui
Kaoru
K
Aizawa
Emi
E
Hasegawa
Kouichi
K
Kawase
Eihachiro
E
Yamagishi
Toshiyuki
T
Shimizu
Yoshihiko
Y
Suemori
Hirofumi
H
Nakatsuji
Norio
N
Mitani
Kohnosuke
K