301. AAV Capsid Engineering to Improve Transduction in Retina and Brain

AAV Vectors II AAV biology and vectorology but, more importantly, are of specific significance to the HCC controversy and may provide insight and resolution over the matter of AAV-associated HCC.

studies in patients with achromatopsia caused by CNGB3 mutations. A Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating rAAV2tYF-PR1.7-hCNGB3 is scheduled to begin in 2016.

299. Safety and Biodistribution Study of rAAV2tYF-PR1.7-hCNGB3 in CNGB3-Deficient Mice

300. Changing the Route of Administration to Improve Liver Transduction by Recombinant AAVBased Vectors

Guo-jie Ye1, Ewa Budzynski2, Peter Sonnentag2, T. Michael Nork3, Paul E. Miller3, Leslie McPherson2, James N. Ver Hoeve3, Leia M. Smith4, Tara Arndt Arndt2, Savitri Mandapati1, Paulette M. Robinson1, Roberto Calcedo5, David R. Knop1, William W. Hauswirth6, Jeffrey D. Chulay1 1 Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation, Alachua, FL, 2 Covance Laboratories Inc, Madison, WI, 3OSOD, Madison, WI, 4 Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings, Seattle, WA, 5 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 6University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Background: AGTC is developing a recombinant adenoassociated virus (rAAV) vector expressing the human CNGB3 gene, for treatment of achromatopsia, an inherited retinal disorder characterized by markedly reduced visual acuity, extreme light sensitivity and absence of color discrimination. Here we report results of a toxicology and biodistribution study of this vector administered by subretinal injection in CNGB3-deficient mice. Methods: Three groups of CNGB3-deficient mice (n= 35 per sex per group) received a subretinal injection in one eye of 1 µL of vehicle (balanced salt solution with 0.014% Tween 20) or rAAV2tYF-PR1.7-hCNGB3 vector at a concentration of 1 × 1012 vg/mL (1 × 109 vg/eye) or 4 × 1012 vg/mL (4 × 109 vg/eye). The other eye was untreated. Ten animals/sex/group were used for toxicology evaluation with ophthalmic examinations and pathological evaluations, 10 animals/ sex/group were used for biodistribution evaluation, and 15 animals/ sex/group were used for efficacy evaluation. Half the animals in the biodistribution and toxicology groups were euthanized 4 weeks after vector administration and the remaining animals were euthanized 12 weeks after vector administration. For animals in the biodistribution groups, blood for qPCR analysis was obtained on Study Days 3, 8 and at euthanasia. At necropsy, samples of eyes, brain, heart, liver, gall bladder, kidneys, spleen, thymus, lungs, adrenals, ovaries, epididymides and testes were obtained for histopathology (for animals in the toxicology groups) or DNA PCR (for animals in the biodistribution groups). For animals scheduled for efficacy evaluations, electroretinography (ERG) testing included scotopic and photopic tests performed at Week 4, 8, and 12 on each eye and serum was collected at euthanasia for measurement of antibodies to AAV and hCNGB3. Results: There were no test article-related changes in clinical observations, body weights, food consumption, ocular examinations, clinical pathology parameters, organ weights, or macroscopic observations at necropsy. Cone-mediated ERG responses were detected after vector administration in the treated eyes in 90% of animals in the higher dose group, 31% of animals in the lower dose group, and none of the untreated or vehicle-treated eyes. Microscopic pathology results demonstrated minimal mononuclear cell infiltrates in the retina and vitreous of some animals at the interim euthanasia, and in the vitreous of some animals at the terminal euthanasia. Serum anti-AAV antibodies developed in most vector-injected animals. No animals developed antibodies to hCNGB3. Biodistribution studies demonstrated high levels of vector DNA in vector-injected eyes but little or no vector DNA in non-ocular tissue. Conclusions: Subretinal injection of rAAV2tYF-PR1.7-hCNGB3 in CNGB3-deficient mice was associated with no clinically important toxicology findings, rescue of cone-mediated ERG responses in vector-treated eyes, and vector DNA detection limited primarily to vector-injected eyes. These results support the use of rAAV2tYF-PR1.7-hCNGB3 in clinical

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Nerea Zabaleta1, David Salas1, Anna Majowicz2, Rubén Hernandez-Alcoceba1, Valerie Sier-Ferreira2, Jesús Prieto1, Ignacio Bilbao1, Gloria González-Aseguinolaza1 1 FIMA, Pamplona, Spain, 2uniQure, Amsterdam, Netherlands The liver is a central organ in metabolism and there are numerous inherited metabolic disorders that have their origin in this organ. Gene therapy represents a promising therapeutic approach for this type of diseases. Although in preclinical studies using AAV-based vectors high and long-term hepatic expression has been achieved, there are still some concerns about the expression levels and the percentage of hepatocytes that can be transduced. This is of particular importance for diseases in which the deficiency of an enzymatic activity is associated with the generation of toxic products that require the transduction of a high percentage of hepatocytes. Therefore, the main goal of our study was to improve liver transduction efficacy by an AAV serotype. For this purpose, the vector was administered directly to the liver via suprahepatic veins (SHV) using a catheter and balloon occlusion or via the hepatic artery (HA) with balloon occlusion of the suprahepatic vein. The experiment was performed in Macaca fascicularis, with 8 animals being infected with a dose of 3x1013 gc/kg of an AAV5 expressing the reporter gene hSEAP (human secreted embryonic alkaline phosphatase) under the control of a liver specific promoter (AAV5-AAT-hSEAP). The first group (2 animal) received the virus systemically in the saphenous vein, the second group (3 animals) received the virus via the SHV with 10 minutes of balloon occlusion and the third group (3 animals) via the HA with 10 minutes of balloon occlusion of the SHV. The procedure could only be performed on the right branch of SHV and HA due to the small size of the left SHV and HA branches, reaching only 40% of the liver. hSEAP-specific activity in serum samples of the groups that received the virus directly in the hepatic blood flow was higher compared to the animals receiving the vector by peripheral intravenous injection. This was correlated with the presence of a higher number of viral genomes in the liver of the animals. Moreover, when their distribution was analyzed we found that the animals that had received the virus through the SHV or HA displayed higher infection rates in the right side of the liver, where the administration had been performed. In conclusion, direct administration of the vector AAV5-AAT-hSEAP through the hepatic blood flow with balloon occlusion was associated with higher transgene expression and an increase in vector genomes in the injected area. Studies in bigger animals in order to reach both sides of the liver should be performed in order to explore the potential use of alternative routes of administration in the clinic.

301. AAV Capsid Engineering to Improve Transduction in Retina and Brain

Jennifer Sullivan, Lisa Stanek, Michael Lukason, Elizabeth Barry, Shayla Russell, James Morris, Bryan Mastis, Anna Alves, Jie Bu, Lamya S. Shihabuddin, Seng Cheng, Abraham Scaria Sanofi Genzyme, Framingham, MA Gene therapy vectors based on adeno-associated virus (AAV) are currently in clinical studies for numerous disease indications including Leber’s congenital amaurosis, age-related macular degeneration, hemophilia, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson’s disease. AAV vectors hold considerable promise as therapeutic agents; however there is potential to further improve the efficiency of AAV gene Molecular Therapy Volume 24, Supplement 1, May 2016 Copyright © The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy

AAV Vectors II delivery and efficacy by making modifications to the AAV capsid. The AAV capsid can be engineered to incorporate mutations that alter its transduction activity, tropism, biodistribution and immunogenicity. We have constructed variant AAV vectors harboring a variety of capsid modifications including those that negate receptor binding and have tested these vectors in several tissues including the eye and brain. One variant, AAV2HBKO, is an AAV2 based vector containing mutations of critical amino acids known to be required for binding to its receptor, heparin sulfate proteoglycan. Interestingly, an AAV2HBKO vector delivering a secreted transgene, sFLT02, unexpectedly resulted in a 2-log increase in transduction compared to parental AAV2 when delivered subretinally to the mouse eye. Subretinal delivery of an AAV2HBKO vector expressing EGFP demonstrated that these capsid modifications resulted in an increase in photoreceptor transduction compared to the unmodified AAV2 vector. In contrast, the AAV2HBKO vector demonstrated a lack of transduction activity following intravitreal delivery to the mouse eye. In addition, we evaluated the transduction and tropism of AAV2HBKO in the mouse brain. In a head to head comparison with AAV2, the AAV2HBKO vector facilitated widespread striatal and cortical expression following an intrastriatal injection while AAV2mediated expression was restricted to the site of injection. Similar to AAV2, the tropism of AAV2HBKO was primarily neuronal with little to no transduction of astrocytes or microglia. Biodistribution data suggests that this vector, when delivered systemically in the mouse, has significantly reduced liver transduction but a higher propensity to be delivered to skeletal muscle and heart compared to the wildtype AAV2 vector. We will present data evaluating the transduction activity, tropism and biodistribution of the AAV2HBKO variant. These studies illustrate the potential for improving the efficiency of AAV gene transfer via targeted capsid engineering.

302. Molecular AAV Capsid Evolution Is Not Primarily Restricted by Inadvertent Shuffling of the Assembly-Activating Protein AAP

Stefanie Grosse1, Magalie Penaud-Budloo2, Eduard Ayuso2, Dirk Grimm1 1 Dept. of Infectious Diseases/Virology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany, 2Atlantic Gene Therapies, INSERM UMR1089, Universite de Nantes, Nantes, France

A 2010 report that Adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) encodes an additional protein in the second open reading frame of the cap(sid) gene significantly changed our perception of the biology of this virus. This so-called assembly-activating protein or AAP appears to interact with the major viral capsid protein 3 (VP3) and to chaperone its assembly into virus-like particles, via mechanisms that remain unknown. Moreover, it was shown that deliberate mutation of the AAP gene diminishes AAV particle production. As the AAP open reading frame fully overlaps with that of the AAV capsid proteins VP1/VP2 (and partially VP3), it is likely that the AAP gene is inadvertently disrupted or mutated during molecular AAV evolution protocols that involve capsid gene shuffling (homology-directed recombination of cap gene fragments). To study this possibility comprehensively and to provide solutions, if needed, we first investigated the role of AAP for 9 further AAV serotypes other than AAV2. Therefore, we knocked out AAP expression in serotypes 1, 3-9 and rh10 while leaving the rep and cap genes intact. Indeed, all mutants were markedly impaired in particle production, confirming that functional AAP is critically required for at least 10 different AAV serotypes. Notably, all vectors were fully restored upon co-delivery of the corresponding AAP via an extra plasmid during particle production. Furthermore, when testing the cross-reactivity of all AAPs

Molecular Therapy Volume 24, Supplement 1, May 2016 Copyright © The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy

with the AAV2-AAP mutant (AAV2mut), we observed a broad interchangeability except for AAP4 and 5 which predominantly rescued their cognate serotype. These results were confirmed independently in a baculovirus AAV2 vector production system where we also observed a dramatic reduction in particle yields upon AAP mutation. Interestingly, in both, mammalian and insect cells, we consistently noted that absence of AAP reduced the steady-state levels of VP proteins, suggesting a similar biological function of AAP in the two heterologous cellular systems. As we could rule out an effect on the transcriptional level, we postulate that AAP-mediated chaperoning of AAV virion assembly indirectly stabilizes VP proteins in cells of different species. To explicitly dissect the role of AAP in the context of molecular AAV evolution, we produced five different AAV capsid libraries with increasing complexities, subcloned 46 randomly selected shuffled AAPs from these and tested them with the AAV-AAP mutants. Out of these 46 shuffled AAPs, 37 could rescue AAV2mut, and two more efficiently complemented an AAV5-AAP mutant. In total, 84.8 % of all tested AAPs were functional. Of note, the highest proportion of defect AAPs was found in libraries that contained the diverse capsids of AAV4 and 5. We thus shuffled serotypes 2, 4, 5, 8 and 9 and produced viral libraries with or without a cocktail of excess AAP from all five serotypes. Strikingly, albeit up to 40% of all AAP genes were predicted to be non-functional as a result of inadvertent shuffling, AAP trans-complementation had no significant effect on particle yields. Collectively, our data suggest that albeit AAP is disrupted to some extent during AAV capsid gene shuffling, this is likely not a major restriction for the efficiency and success of this technology.

303. Deletion of Pdx1 in Mouse Pancreatic Ducts by CRISPR-Cas9 Mediated Gene Editing

Aiping Lu1, George K. Gittes2, Johnny Huard1, Ping Guo1 Orthopedic Surgery, UTHealth at Houston, Houston, TX, 2Surgery, Childrens’ Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

1

Introduction: The homeodomain transcription factor Pdx1 is crucial for pancreas formation. Pdx1-expressing cells are first observed at embryonic day 8.5 (E8.5), prior even to the earliest indication of morphogenesis, in endodermal cells designated to give rise to the pancreas. In adult mouse, Pdx1 protein is transiently expressed when pancreas is injured, such as Langerhans islets damage in alloxan induced diabetic mice, implying Pdx1 may be necessary for the neogenetic formation of β-cells from mature ducts. In order to study the role of pdx1 in the pancreatic duct for pancreatic regeneration, most investigators use the Cre-lox system to generate duct-specific Pdx1 deletions in mice. This method is able to delete Pdx1specifically from tissue or cells with or without a tamoxifen-inducible (cre-ERT2) system; however, several caveats and limitations exist with tamoxifen-induced depletion. In addition, the cre-ERT2 system may be leaky, resulting in constitutive rather than inducible activation in some cells. To overcome these flaws from the Cre-ERT2/lox system, we decided to use a novel CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technique to delete pdx1 in pancreatic ducts. Methods: We previously used a mouse short Sox9 promoter (468 bp) to generate a recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) carrying a reporter GFP (AAV6-Sox9-GFP), and this recombinant virus construct was infused into the pancreatic ducts, through the common bile/pancreatic duct, to specifically tag the duct cells. In order to address pancreatic duct specific deletion of Pdx1 after alloxan ablation of beta-cells, we first to applied the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technique on the HEK293-CMV-GFP cell line in vitro (Figure 2) and ROSA26 LSL tomato reporter mice ex vivo (Figure 3), and then employed AAV6 mediated CRISPR-SaCas9 under the control of the mouse sox9 short promoter, coupled with paired guide RNAs (gRNAs) flanking S121