New non-viral gene transfer procedures are needed for human gene therapy in order to achieve long-term maintenance and expression of newly introduced genes. The purpose of this project is to continue evaluation and validation of the Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon system for its efficacy to catalyze integration of transgenes to cure mucopolysaccharidosis diseases in murine and canine model systems. In the past few years we have demonstrated our ability to deliver both 2-glucuronidase (GUSB) and a-L-iduronidase (IDUA) encoding genes to mouse liver and thereby correct accumulation of storage vacuoles in non-neural tissues of MPS I mice. Here, we propose to extend these studies in order to determine the efficacy of the SB transposon system as a gene transfer vector in the mouse brain and in the liver of a larger animal as a prelude to scale-up for human gene therapy. Our results indicate that hydrodynamic injection of therapeutic transposons is the best method for non-viral gene delivery to livers of adult mice for long-term expression. We hypothesize that this procedure also can be efficacious in humans if applied to individual organs or tissues in a relatively non-invasive manner using catheter delivery. Accordingly, the project has three sub-goals. The first will employ the mouse model system: 1) Examine the duration of expression of IDUA following delivery of SB transposon vectors in the presence of immune responses (Aim1). The second is to develop an effective delivery of SB transposons into dog liver (Aims 2 and 3). The third sub-goal is to examine the subsequent duration of expression of GUSB and the effects in the MPS VII dog model (Aim 4). We will examine the physiological, neurological, and behavioral effects of expression of GUSB in enzyme-deficient animals, as well as inventory the integration site preferences of the transposon vector following hydrodynamic delivery into chromosomes of dog liver to help evaluate potential risks from insertional mutagenesis. The experiments in this project will provide an assessment of the capacity of SB as a gene-transfer vector to target therapeutically important organs in an in vivo gene therapy protocol. The results will lay the groundwork for its future application to human gene therapy of a variety of diseases, e.g., several MPS diseases and hemophilia, which can be treated by gene delivery to the liver.

Public Health Relevance

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are medical conditions caused by deficiencies in any of several enzymes that result in physiological abnormalities and mental retardation. Recombinant enzyme replacement therapy is available but treatment costs can range from $100,000 to $1,000,000 per year. The goal of this grant is to determine whether transposons containing therapeutic genes can cure MPS disease in dogs as a model for human gene therapy.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DK082516-03
Application #
8277315
Study Section
Gene and Drug Delivery Systems Study Section (GDD)
Program Officer
Mckeon, Catherine T
Project Start
2010-05-01
Project End
2014-04-30
Budget Start
2012-05-01
Budget End
2013-04-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$313,556
Indirect Cost
$105,903
Name
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Department
Genetics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
555917996
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Country
United States
Zip Code
55455
Aronovich, Elena L; Hyland, Kendra A; Hall, Bryan C et al. (2017) Prolonged Expression of Secreted Enzymes in Dogs After Liver-Directed Delivery of Sleeping Beauty Transposons: Implications for Non-Viral Gene Therapy of Systemic Disease. Hum Gene Ther 28:551-564
Tolstyka, Zachary P; Phillips, Haley; Cortez, Mallory et al. (2016) Trehalose-Based Block Copolycations Promote Polyplex Stabilization for Lyophilization and in Vivo pDNA Delivery. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2:43-55
Aronovich, Elena L; Hackett, Perry B (2015) Lysosomal storage disease: gene therapy on both sides of the blood-brain barrier. Mol Genet Metab 114:83-93
Carpentier, Claire E; Schreifels, Jeffrey M; Aronovich, Elena L et al. (2014) NMR structural analysis of Sleeping Beauty transposase binding to DNA. Protein Sci 23:23-33
Maiti, Sourindra N; Huls, Helen; Singh, Harjeet et al. (2013) Sleeping beauty system to redirect T-cell specificity for human applications. J Immunother 36:112-23
Hackett, Perry B; Largaespada, David A; Switzer, Kirsten C et al. (2013) Evaluating risks of insertional mutagenesis by DNA transposons in gene therapy. Transl Res 161:265-83
Aronovich, Elena L; Hall, Bryan C; Bell, Jason B et al. (2013) Quantitative analysis of ?-L-iduronidase expression in immunocompetent mice treated with the Sleeping Beauty transposon system. PLoS One 8:e78161
Tan, Wenfang Spring; Carlson, Daniel F; Walton, Mark W et al. (2012) Precision editing of large animal genomes. Adv Genet 80:37-97
Wolf, Daniel A; Hanson, Leah R; Aronovich, Elena L et al. (2012) Lysosomal enzyme can bypass the blood-brain barrier and reach the CNS following intranasal administration. Mol Genet Metab 106:131-4
Kebriaei, Partow; Huls, Helen; Jena, Bipulendu et al. (2012) Infusing CD19-directed T cells to augment disease control in patients undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation for advanced B-lymphoid malignancies. Hum Gene Ther 23:444-50

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