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Construction of a novel expression cassette for increasing transgene expression in vivo in endothelial cells of large blood vessels

Nagadhara Dronadula,Liang Du,R. Flynn,Joshua M. Buckler,Jordan Kho,Zhilong Jiang,Shinji Tanaka,D. Dichek

Published 2010 in Gene Therapy

ABSTRACT

The success of gene therapy hinges on achievement of adequate transgene expression. To ensure high transgene expression, many gene-therapy vectors include highly active virus-derived transcriptional elements. Other vectors include tissue-specific eukaryotic transcriptional elements, intended to limit transgene expression to specific cell types, avoid toxicity and prevent immune responses. Unfortunately, tissue specificity is often accompanied by lower transgene expression. Here, we use eukaryotic (murine) transcriptional elements and a virus-derived posttranscriptional element to build cassettes designed to express a potentially therapeutic gene (interleukin (IL)-10) in large-vessel endothelial cells (ECs) at levels as high as obtained with the cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate early promoter, while retaining EC specificity. The cassettes were tested by incorporation into helper-dependent adenoviral vectors, and transduction into bovine aortic EC in vitro and rabbit carotid EC in vivo. The murine endothelin-1 promoter showed EC specificity, but expressed only 3% as much IL-10 mRNA as CMV. Inclusion of precisely four copies of an EC-specific enhancer and a posttranscriptional regulatory element increased IL-10 expression to a level at or above the CMV promoter in vivo, while retaining—and possibly enhancing—EC specificity, as measured in vitro. The cassette reported here will likely be useful for maximizing transgene expression in large-vessel EC, while minimizing systemic effects.

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