Suspension Culture Production and Purification of Adeno-Associated Virus by Iodixanol Density Gradient Centrifugation for In Vivo Applications

Summary

Adeno-associated virus is produced in suspension cell culture and purified by double iodixanol density gradient centrifugation. Steps are included to increase total virus yield, decrease the risk of virus precipitation, and further concentrate the final virus product. Expected final titers reach 10¹² viral particles/mL and are suitable for pre-clinical in vivo use.

Abstract

This protocol describes recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) production and purification by iodixanol density gradient centrifugation, a serotype-agnostic method of purifying AAV first described in 1999. rAAV vectors are widely used in gene therapy applications to deliver transgenes to various human cell types. In this work, the recombinant virus is produced by transfection of Expi293 cells in suspension culture with plasmids encoding the transgene, vector capsid, and adenoviral helper genes. Iodixanol density gradient centrifugation purifies full AAV particles based on particle density. Additionally, three steps are included in this now-ubiquitous methodology in order to increase total virus yield, decrease the risk of precipitation due to contaminating proteins, and further concentrate the final virus product, respectively: precipitation of viral particles from cell media using a solution of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and sodium chloride, the introduction of a second round of iodixanol density gradient centrifugation, and buffer exchange via a centrifugal filter. Using this method, it is possible to consistently achieve titers in the range of 10¹² viral particles/mL of exceptional purity for in vivo use.

Introduction

Recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors are widely used tools for the treatment of genetic diseases, including spinal muscular atrophy, retinal dystrophy, and hemophilia A^1,2,3. rAAV vectors are engineered to lack viral genes present in wild-type AAV⁴, a small, non-envelope icosahedral virus with a linear single-stranded 4.7 kb DNA genome. AAV was first discovered in the 1960s as a contaminant of adenovirus preparations⁵. Despite its small capsid size, which limits the size of the transgene that can be packaged to a ma....

Protocol

The composition of the solutions and buffers used in this protocol are provided in Table 1.

Solution	Composition
AAV lysis buffer	1.2 mL of 5 M NaCl solution
	2 mL of 1 M Tris-HCl pH 8.5 solution
	80 uL of .......

Discussion

The double iodixanol density gradient purification protocol is the universal method because it is applicable to any AAV mutant variants, regardless of their receptor specificity. Early methods of AAV purification relied on particle density and included isopycnic centrifugation in CsCl and continuous sucrose density gradient centrifugation¹⁹. Later, serotype-specific approaches were developed, which made use of monoclonal antibodies bound to Sepharose columns²⁰. A novel dens.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
5810 R benchtop centrifuge	Eppendorf	22625501
8-channel peristaltic pump	Watson-Marlow	020.3708.00A
Automated cell counter	NanoEntek	EVE-MC
Avanti J-E high-speed centrifuge	Beckman Coulter	369001
Benzonase	Thermo Scientific	88701
Biological safety cabinet	Labconco	322491101
CO2 incubator with shaker			Set at 8% CO2 and 37 °C
Conical centrifuge tubes	Thermo Scientific	339652	50 mL
Conical centrifuge tubes	Thermo Scientific	339650	15 mL
Disposable micro-pipets	Fisherbrand	21-164-2G	Capillaries
Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline without CaCl2 and MgCl2  (DPBS) (10x)	Sigma-Aldrich	D1408
ECLIPSE Ts2R-FL inverted microscope	Nikon
Expi293 Expression Medium	Gibco	A1435101
Expi293F cells	Gibco	A14527
Filter tips	USA Scientific	1126-7810	1000 µL
Filter tips	USA Scientific	1120-8810	200 µL
Filter tips	USA Scientific	1120-1810	20 µL
Filter tips	USA Scientific	1121-3810	10 µL
Hypodermic needles	Tyco Healthcare	820112	20 GA x 1-1/2 A
Ice bucket with lid	VWR	10146-184
JS-5.3 rotor	Beckman Coulter	368690
Magnesium chloride solution (1 M)	Millipore Sigma	M1028-100ML
Metal stand and clamp	Fisherbrand	05-769-6Q
Microcentrifuge tubes	Eppendorf	22600028	1.5 mL
Needle nose pliers
Optima XE-90 ultracentrifuge	Beckman Coulter	A94471
Opti-MEM I Reduced-Serum Medium	Gibco	31985062
OptiPrep density gradient media (iodixanol)	Serumwerk	AXS-1114542	60% iodixanol solution
P1000 Pipet	Gilson	F144059M
P2 Pipet	Gilson	F144054M
P20 Pipet	Gilson	F144056M
P200 Pipet	Gilson	F144058M
Phenol red solution	Sigma-Aldrich	P0290
Phosphate buffered saline (PBS)	Sigma-Aldrich	P4474
Pipet-Aid XP pipette controller	Drummond Scientific	4-000-101
Plasmid pCapsid	De novo or Addgene, etc.	N/A	We used pACGrh74.
Plasmid pHelper	Addgene	112867
Plasmid pTransgene	De novo or Addgene, etc.	N/A	We used pdsAAV-GFP.
Pluronic F-68 polyol solution (10%)	Mp Biomedicals	92750049
Polyethylene glycol 8000	Research Products International	P48080-500.0
Polyethylenimine HCl Max (PEI-Max)	Polysciences	NC1038561	Dilute in water to 40 μM
Polypropylene centrifuge tubes, sterile	Corning	431123	500 mL
Polypropylene centrifuge tubes, sterile	Corning	430776	250 mL
Polypropylene Optiseal tubes	Beckman Coulter	361625
Serological pipettes	Alkali Scientific	SP250-B	50 mL
Serological pipettes	Alkali Scientific	SP225-B	25 mL
Serological pipettes	Alkali Scientific	SP210-B	10 mL
Serological pipettes	Alkali Scientific	SP205-B	5 mL
Shaker flasks	Fisherbrand	PBV1000	1 L
Shaker flasks	Fisherbrand	PBV50-0	500 mL
Shaker flasks	Fisherbrand	PBV250	250 mL
Shaker flasks	Fisherbrand	PBV12-5	125 mL
Sodium chloride solution (5 M)	Fisher Scientific	NC1752640
Sterile syringes	Fisherbrand	14-955-458	5 mL
Syringe filter	Millipore	SLGV013SL	0.22 micron
Tris-HCl pH 8.5 (1 M)	Kd Medical	RGE3363
Trypan blue solution	Gibco	15250061
Tube rack assembly	Beckman Coulter	361646
Tube spacers (x4)	Beckman Coulter	361669
Tubing for peristaltic pump	Fisher Scientific	14190516
Type 70 Ti fixed-angle titanium rotor	Beckman Coulter	337922
Ultra low temperature freezer			Set at -70 °C
Vivaspin 20 centrifugal concentrator	Sartorius	VS2041
Water bath			Set at 37 °C