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The use of lentiviral vectors for gene transfer into hematopoietic stem cells has raised considerable interest as these vectors can permanently integrate their genome into quiescent cells. Vectors based on alternative lentiviruses would theoretically be safer than HIV-1-based vectors and could also be used in HIV-positive patients, minimizing the risk of generating replication-competent virus. Here we report the use of third-generation equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV)- and HIV-1-based vectors with minimal viral sequences and absence of accessory proteins. We have compared their efficiency in transducing mouse and human hematopoietic stem cells both in vitro and in vivo to that of a previously documented second-generation HIV-1 vector. The third-generation EIAV- and HIV-based vectors gave comparable levels of transduction and transgene expression in both mouse and human NOD/SCID repopulating cells but were less efficient than the second-generation HIV-1 vector in human HSCs. For the EIAV vector this is possibly a reflection of the lower protein expression levels achieved in human cells, as vector copy number analysis revealed that this vector exhibited a trend to integrate equally efficiently compared to the third-generation HIV-1 vector in both mouse and human HSCs. Interestingly, the presence or absence of Tat in viral preparations did not influence the transduction efficiency of HIV-1 vectors in human HSCs.

Lentiviral vectors are being developed to satisfy a wide range of currently unmet medical needs. Vectors destined for clinical evaluation have been rendered multiply defective by deletion of all viral coding sequences and nonessential cis-acting sequences from the transfer genome. The viral envelope and accessory proteins are excluded from the production system. The vectors are produced from separate expression plasmids that are designed to minimize the potential for homologous recombination. These features ensure that the regeneration of the starting virus is impossible. It is a regulatory requirement to confirm the absence of any replication competent virus, so we describe here the development and validation of a replication competent lentivirus (RCL) assay for equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV)-based vectors. The assay is based on the guidelines developed for testing retroviral vectors, and uses the F-PERT (fluorescent-product enhanced reverse transcriptase) assay to test for the presence of a transmissible reverse transcriptase. We have empirically modelled the replication kinetics of an EIAV-like entity in human cells and devised an amplification protocol by comparison with a replication competent MLV. The RCL assay has been validated at the 20 litre manufacturing scale, during which no RCL was detected. The assay is theoretically applicable to any lentiviral vector and pseudotype combination.

ProSavin is an equine infectious anemia virus vector-based gene therapy for Parkinson's disease for which inducible HEK293T-based producer cell lines (PCLs) have been developed. These cell lines demonstrate stringent tetracycline-regulated expression of the packaging components and yield titers comparable to the established transient production system. A prerequisite for the use of PCL-derived lentiviral vectors (LVs) in clinical applications is the thorough characterization of both the LV and respective PCL with regard to identity and genetic stability. We describe the detailed characterization of two ProSavin PCLs (PS5.8 and PS46.2) and resultant ProSavin vector. The two cell lines demonstrate stable production of vector over a time period sufficient to allow generation of master and working cell banks, and subsequent large-scale vector production. ProSavin generated from the PCLs performs comparably in vivo to that produced by the standard transient transfection process with respect to transduction efficiency and immunogenicity. The development of ProSavin PCLs, and the detailed characterization described here, will aid the advancement of ProSavin for clinical application.

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