title: Corneal transduction by intra-stromal injection of AAV vectors in vivo in the mouse and ex vivo in human explants.
abstract: The cornea is a transparent, avascular tissue that acts as the major refractive surface of the eye. Corneal transparency, assured by the inner stroma, is vital for this role. Disruption in stromal transparency can occur in some inherited or acquired diseases. As a consequence, light entering the eye is blocked or distorted, leading to decreased visual acuity. Possible treatment for restoring transparency could be via viral-based gene therapy. The stroma is particularly amenable to this strategy due to its immunoprivileged nature and low turnover rate. We assayed the potential of AAV vectors to transduce keratocytes following intra-stromal injection in vivo in the mouse cornea and ex vivo in human explants. In murine and human corneas, we transduced the entire stroma using a single injection, preferentially targeted keratocytes and achieved long-term gene transfer (up to 17 months in vivo in mice). Of the serotypes tested, AAV2/8 was the most promising for gene transfer in both mouse and man. Furthermore, transgene expression could be transiently increased following aggression to the cornea.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hippert
authors.forename: Sandy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ibanes
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Serratrice
authors.forename: Franck
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Court
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Malecaze
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kremer
authors.forename: Vasiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kalatzis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003315:Cornea / Q000821:virology*; D060527:Corneal Keratocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D003319:Corneal Stroma / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D000229:Dependovirus / Q000235:genetics*; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D014161:Transduction, Genetic / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; C485184:enhanced green fluorescent protein; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins