Guinea pig adenovirus infection does not inhibit cochlear transfection with human adenoviral vectors in a model of hearing loss.
Routine surveillance of guinea pigs maintained within a barrier facility detected guinea pig adenovirus (GPAdV) in sentinel animals. These guinea pigs served as models of induced hearing loss followed by regeneration of cochlear sensory (hair) cells through transdifferentiation of nonsensory cells by using human adenoviral (hAV) gene therapy. To determine whether natural GPAdV infection affected the ability of hAV vectors to transfect inner ear cells, adult male pigmented guinea pigs (n = 7) were enrolled in this study because of their prolonged exposure to GPAdV-seropositive conspecifics. Animals were deafened chemically (n = 2), received an hAV vector carrying the gene for green fluorescent protein (hAV-GFP) surgically without prior deafening (n = 2), or were deafened chemically with subsequent surgical inoculation of hAV-GFP (n = 3). Cochleae were evaluated by using fluorescence microscopy, and GFP expression in supporting cells indicated that the hAV-GFP vector was able to transfect inner ears in GPAdV-seropositive guinea pigs that had been chemically deafened. Animals had histologic evidence of interstitial pneumonia, attributable to prior infection with GPAdV. These findings confirmed that the described guinea pigs were less robust animal models with diminished utility for the overall studies. Serology tests confirmed that 5 of 7 animals (71%) were positive for antibodies against GPAdV at necropsy, approximately 7 mo after initial detection of sentinel infection. Control animals (n = 5) were confirmed to be seronegative for GPAdV with clinically normal pulmonary tissue. This study is the first to demonstrate that natural GPAdV infection does not negatively affect transfection with hAV vectors into guinea pig inner ear cells, despite the presence of other health complications attributed to the viral infection.
Hankenson
F Claire
FC
University Laboratory Animal Resources, Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. fclaire@upenn.edu
Wathen
Asheley B
AB
Eaton
Kathryn A
KA
Miyazawa
Toru
T
Swiderski
Donald L
DL
Raphael
Yehoash
Y
D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000257:Adenoviridae Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D003051:Cochlea / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006168:Guinea Pigs / Q000821:virology*; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation
D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins