Harnessing the Natural Biology of Adeno-Associated Virus to Enhance the Efficacy of Cancer Gene Therapy

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats-Associated Protein 9 System: Factors Affecting Precision Gene Editing Efficiency and Optimization Strategies

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated (Cas) system is a powerful genomic DNA editing tool. The increased applications of gene editing tools, including the CRISPR-Cas system, have contributed to recent advances in biological fields, such as genetic disease therapy, disease-associated gene screening and detection, and cancer therapy. However, the major limiting factor for the wide application of gene editing tools is gene editing efficiency. This review summarizes the recent advances in factors affecting the gene editing efficiency of the CRISPR-Cas9 system and the CRISPR-Cas9 system optimization strategies. The homology-directed repair efficiency-related signal pathways and the form and delivery method of the CRISPR-Cas9 system are the major factors that influence the repair efficiency of gene editing tools. Based on these influencing factors, several strategies have been developed to improve the repair efficiency of gene editing tools. This review provides novel insights for improving the repair efficiency of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system, which may enable the development and improvement of gene editing tools.

Channeling the Natural Properties of Sindbis Alphavirus for Targeted Tumor Therapy

Sindbis alphavirus vectors offer a promising platform for cancer therapy, serving as valuable models for alphavirus-based treatment. This review emphasizes key studies that support the targeted delivery of Sindbis vectors to tumor cells, highlighting their effectiveness in expressing tumor-associated antigens and immunomodulating proteins. Among the various alphavirus vectors developed for cancer therapy, Sindbis-vector-based imaging studies have been particularly extensive. Imaging modalities that enable the in vivo localization of Sindbis vectors within lymph nodes and tumors are discussed. The correlation between laminin receptor expression, tumorigenesis, and Sindbis virus infection is examined. Additionally, we present alternative entry receptors for Sindbis and related alphaviruses, such as Semliki Forest virus and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus. The review also discusses cancer treatments that are based on the alphavirus vector expression of anti-tumor agents, including tumor-associated antigens, cytokines, checkpoint inhibitors, and costimulatory immune molecules.

rAAV Manufacturing: The Challenges of Soft Sensing during Upstream Processing

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) is the most effective viral vector technology for directly translating the genomic revolution into medicinal therapies. However, the manufacturing of rAAV viral vectors remains challenging in the upstream processing with low rAAV yield in large-scale production and high cost, limiting the generalization of rAAV-based treatments. This situation can be improved by real-time monitoring of critical process parameters (CPP) that affect critical quality attributes (CQA). To achieve this aim, soft sensing combined with predictive modeling is an important strategy that can be used for optimizing the upstream process of rAAV production by monitoring critical process variables in real time. However, the development of soft sensors for rAAV production as a fast and low-cost monitoring approach is not an easy task. This review article describes four challenges and critically discusses the possible solutions that can enable the application of soft sensors for rAAV production monitoring. The challenges from a data scientist's perspective are (i) a predictor variable (soft-sensor inputs) set without AAV viral titer, (ii) multi-step forecasting, (iii) multiple process phases, and (iv) soft-sensor development composed of the mechanistic model.

Adding recombinant AAVs to the cancer therapeutics mix

Gene therapy is a powerful biological tool that is reshaping therapeutic landscapes for several diseases. Researchers are using both non-viral and viral-based gene therapy methods with success in the lab and the clinic. In the cancer biology field, gene therapies are expanding treatment options and the possibility of favorable outcomes for patients. While cellular immunotherapies and oncolytic virotherapies have paved the way in cancer treatments based on genetic engineering, recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV), a viral-based module, is also emerging as a potential cancer therapeutic through its malleability, specificity, and broad application to common as well as rare tumor types, tumor microenvironments, and metastatic disease. A wide range of AAV serotypes, promoters, and transgenes have been successful at reducing tumor growth and burden in preclinical studies, suggesting more groundbreaking advances using rAAVs in cancer are on the horizon.

Suicide gene therapy in cancer and HIV-1 infection: An alternative to conventional treatments

Suicide Gene Therapy (SGT) aims to introduce a gene encoding either a toxin or an enzyme making the targeted cell more sensitive to chemotherapy. SGT represents an alternative approach to combat pathologies where conventional treatments fail such as pancreatic cancer or the high-grade glioblastoma which are still desperately lethal. We review the possibility to use SGT to treat these cancers which have shown promising results in vitro and in preclinical trials. However, SGT has so far failed in phase III clinical trials thus further improvements are awaited. We can now take advantages of the many advances made in SGT for treating cancer to combat other pathologies such as HIV-1 infection. In the review we also discuss the feasibility to add SGT to the therapeutic arsenal used to cure HIV-1-infected patients. Indeed, preliminary results suggest that both productive and latently infected cells are targeted by the SGT. In the last section, we address the limitations of this approach and how we might improve it.

Recombinant adeno-associated viruses as a gene delivery vehicle for the use in molecular medicine

Viral mechanisms for the delivery of genetic material are widely used in molecular medicine. Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAV) represent a promising tool for in vivo gene delivery. The review considers nosological spectrum, molecular mechanisms, the choice of drug administration route depending on target structures, the choice of serotype, and the methods of active ingredient manufacturing for rAAV-mediated gene therapy.