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A novel gene delivery method transduces porcine pancreatic duct epithelial cells

Gene Therapy volume 21, pages 123–130 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

Gene therapy offers the possibility to treat pancreatic disease in cystic fibrosis (CF), caused by mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene; however, gene transfer to the pancreas is untested in humans. The pancreatic disease phenotype is very similar between humans and pigs with CF; thus, CF pigs create an excellent opportunity to study gene transfer to the pancreas. There are no studies showing efficient transduction of pig pancreas with gene-transfer vectors. Our objective is to develop a safe and efficient method to transduce wild-type (WT) porcine pancreatic ducts that express CFTR. We catheterized the umbilical artery of WT newborn pigs and delivered an adeno-associated virus serotype 9 vector expressing green-fluorescent protein (AAV9CMV.sceGFP) or vehicle to the celiac artery, the vessel that supplies major branches to the pancreas. This technique resulted in stable and dose-dependent transduction of pancreatic duct epithelial cells that expressed CFTR. Intravenous (IV) injection of AAV9CMV.sceGFP did not transduce the pancreas. Our technique offers an opportunity to deliver the CFTR gene to the pancreas of CF pigs. The celiac artery can be accessed via the umbilical artery in newborns and via the femoral artery at older ages—delivery approaches that can be translated to humans.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Joseph Zabner for his helpful input on the manuscript. We would like to thank Maisam Abu-El-Haija, Shelby Burdette, Leah Reznikov, Hyder Chowdhry, Michael Rector, John Morgan and Benjamin Steines for their technical assistance with handling tissues, animal care/feedings, necropsies and the Gene Transfer Vector Core for virus production. This work was supported by the National institute of Health (NIH) DK084049 (AU); University of Iowa Biological Sciences Funding Program (AU), NIH/University of Iowa Center for Gene Therapy of Cystic Fibrosis and Other Genetic Diseases Pilot Grant (AU); NIH DK54759 (BD); NIH P01 HL51670 (PBM); Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Student Traineeship Grant (EB).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    M A Griffin, M S Restrepo, M Abu-El-Haija, E Buchanan, P B McCray Jr, A Divekar & A Uc

  2. Department of Otolaryngology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    T Wallen

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    T Rokhlina, Y H Chen & B L Davidson

  4. Department of Neurology and Physiology & Biophysics, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    B L Davidson

  5. Department of Radiation Oncology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    A Uc

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  1. M A Griffin
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Griffin, M., Restrepo, M., Abu-El-Haija, M. et al. A novel gene delivery method transduces porcine pancreatic duct epithelial cells. Gene Ther 21, 123–130 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/gt.2013.62

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