Safety and Efficacy of AAV Retrograde Pancreatic Ductal Gene Delivery in Normal and Pancreatic Cancer Mice

Kayla A. Quirin, Jason J. Kwon, Arafat Alioufi, Tricia Factora, Constance J. Temm, Max Jacobsen, George E. Sandusky, Kim Shontz, Louis G. Chicoine, K. Reed Clark, Joshua T. Mendell, Murray Korc, Janaiah Kota

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV)-mediated gene delivery shows promise to transduce the pancreas, but safety/efficacy in a neoplastic context is not well established. To identify an ideal AAV serotype, route, and vector dose and assess safety, we have investigated the use of three AAV serotypes (6, 8, and 9) expressing GFP in a self-complementary (sc) AAV vector under an EF1α promoter (scAAV.GFP) following systemic or retrograde pancreatic intraductal delivery. Systemic delivery of scAAV9.GFP transduced the pancreas with high efficiency, but gene expression did not exceed >45% with the highest dose, 5 × 1012 viral genomes (vg). Intraductal delivery of 1 × 1011 vg scAAV6.GFP transduced acini, ductal cells, and islet cells with >50%, ∼48%, and >80% efficiency, respectively, and >80% pancreatic transduction was achieved with 5 × 1011 vg. In a KrasG12D-driven pancreatic cancer mouse model, intraductal delivery of scAAV6.GFP targeted acini, epithelial, and stromal cells and exhibited persistent gene expression 5 months post-delivery. In normal mice, intraductal delivery induced a transient increase in serum amylase/lipase that resolved within a day of infusion with no sustained pancreatic inflammation or fibrosis. Similarly, in PDAC mice, intraductal delivery did not increase pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia progression/fibrosis. Our study demonstrates that scAAV6 targets the pancreas/neoplasm efficiently and safely via retrograde pancreatic intraductal delivery.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)8-20
Number of pages13
JournalMolecular Therapy - Methods and Clinical Development
Volume8
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 16 2018

Keywords

  • AAV
  • AAV6
  • ERCP
  • PDAC
  • gene therapy
  • intraductal
  • pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis
  • retrograde pancreatic gene delivery
  • targeted gene delivery

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Medicine
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

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