Heart failure (HF) remains a serious public health concern despite recent advances in medicine. Currently available drugs only address symptoms of HF, thus new approaches for curative therapies are sorely needed. Gene therapy has been proposed as one such promising approach; unfortunately, many candidate genes would lead to serious clinical side effects if delivered systemically. Additionally, considerable loss of delivery vectors to off-target organs require high vector doses to be used in order to achieve therapeutic effect at diseased tissue sites. To address these challenges, we propose to engineer adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors that can specifically target cardiac tissue damaged after a myocardial infarction (MI). The key scientific premise of this project is the observation that extracellular proteases, specifically matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are elevated in damaged cardiac tissue post-MI. We have developed a platform of protease- activatable AAV vectors that can deliver genes in response to the MMPs elevated post-MI. Promisingly, upon intravenous injection, our engineered AAV vectors are able to achieve significantly improved targeted gene delivery to the high MMP region of the diseased heart in vivo, and this targeted delivery is accompanied by decreases in delivery to non-target organs. In this R01 project, we aim to design, build, and characterize an improved panel of protease-activatable AAV vectors for HF treatment.
In aim 1, we will create AAV vectors that can target different disease stages post-MI.
In aim 2, we will use molecular modeling and structural approaches to study the AAV capsid variants and to further improve our vector designs. Then in aim 3, we will use in vivo molecular imaging to characterize the in vivo specificity of the engineered vectors in relation to elevated MMP levels in the heart post-MI. Finally, in aim 4 we will test the therapeutic efficacy of using the protease-activatable AAV vectors in in vivo models of MI-induced HF. Overall, by improving the specificity of AAV vectors for target cardiac tissues, we aim to (i) overcome the need to use invasive administration strategies; (ii) minimize delivery to off-target organs, leading to decreased side effects as well as decreased overall vector dosage needed to achieve therapeutic effect, and (iii) reduce any dose-dependent immune responses against the vector.

Public Health Relevance

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US and new therapies are sorely needed. This project aims to develop a gene therapy approach that can deliver therapeutic genes specifically to sites of heart damage after a heart attack. The engineered gene delivery vectors should enable localized treatment of the diseased part of the heart while minimizing unwanted side effects in other organs.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HL138126-02
Application #
9684642
Study Section
Gene and Drug Delivery Systems Study Section (GDD)
Program Officer
Schwartz, Lisa
Project Start
2018-04-15
Project End
2022-03-31
Budget Start
2019-04-01
Budget End
2020-03-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2019
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Rice University
Department
Biomedical Engineering
Type
Biomed Engr/Col Engr/Engr Sta
DUNS #
050299031
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77005
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