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A novel MVMp-based vector system specifically designed to reduce the risk of replication-competent virus generation by homologous recombination

Gene Therapy volume 8, pages 921–929 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Recent work highlights the potential usefulness of MVM-based vectors as selective vehicles for cancer gene therapy (Dupont et al, Gene Therapy, 2000; 7: 790–796). To implement this strategy, however, it is necessary to develop optimized methods for producing high-titer, helper-free parvovirus stocks. Recombinants of MVMp (rMVMp) are currently generated by transiently co-transfecting permissive cell lines with a plasmid carrying the vector genome and a helper plasmid expressing the capsid genes (replaced with a foreign gene in the vector genome). The resulting stocks, however, are always heavily contaminated with replication-competent viruses (RCV), which precludes their use in vivo and particularly in gene therapy. In the present work we have developed a second-generation MVMp-based vector system specifically designed to reduce the probability of RCV generation by homologous recombination. We have constructed a new MVMp-based vector and a new helper genome with minimal sequence overlap and have used the degeneracy of the genetic code to further decrease vector–helper homology. In this system, the left homologous region was almost completely eliminated and the right sequence overlap was reduced to 74 nt with only 61% homology. We were thus able to substantially reduce (∼200 ×), but not completely eliminate, generation of contaminating viruses in medium-scale rMVMp preparations. Since the remaining sequence homology between the new vector and helper genomes is weak, our results suggest that contaminating viruses in this system are generated by nonhomologous recombination. It is important to note, unlike the autonomously replicating helper viruses produced from the first-generation vector/helper genomes, the contaminating viruses arising from the new packaging system cannot initiate secondary infection rounds (so they are not ‘replication-competent viruses’). Our findings have important implications for the design of new MVMp-based vectors and for the construction of trans-complementing packaging cell lines.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the ‘Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique’ (FNRS), the ‘Télévie’, ‘les Amis de Bordet’ and the Medic Foundation. We thank P Spegelaere for the gift of pSP116 and M El Boutaibi for constructing and characterizing pME3. We are grateful to B Van Vaerenbergh for critical reading of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d'Investigation Clinique et d'Oncologie Expérimentale, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles

    F Dupont, A Karim, N Mine & B Avalosse

  2. Institut Scientifique de la Santé Publique Louis Pasteur, Bruxelles

    J-C Dumon

  3. Département de Biologie Moléculaire, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

    B Avalosse

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  1. F Dupont
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Dupont, F., Karim, A., Dumon, JC. et al. A novel MVMp-based vector system specifically designed to reduce the risk of replication-competent virus generation by homologous recombination. Gene Ther 8, 921–929 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gt.3301477

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